has anyone tried the xtracryliix range of paints, seems like there is a good range of german armour colours.

Hi Rob
I have some xtracrylix to try, it seems to be very similar to Lifecolor.
Lifecolor have two german armour sets and two german uniform sets out which are very good matches check out the cammett web site www.cammett.co.uk, there is a link on the forums page (cammetts corner)
Regards Robin

Xtracrylix paints are very good. As good as tamiya acryls for airbrushing - just thin with a bit of distilled water.

They can, with care the hand brushed, unlike Tamiya.

Andy

I have a freind who purchased the red arrows red colour and he said that it is brilliant.

I agree these paints are very good, colour match wise, but i have no end of trouble thinning them for airbrushing. I have tried water, tamiya thinners, Hannents own thinners and the Vallejo dilutent, and they still cause problems. Not sure if it is my paint/thinner ratio or what. I have tried different ratios and still not got the correct results. Maybe i am just picky, any suggestions?

Regards from the Swamp

Eth

I had the same problems. Either they clogged the tip (very quickly) or had a mottled look on the model. I gave up and went back to Tamiya.

If anybody does get good results with these paints please post and let us know your mix.

It is good to know i am not the only one who has these problems, i was begining to think i was having brain fade........so can anyone help with this? Murdo has described exactly what happens when i try to use these paints*sighs*

Regards from the Swamp

Eth

I have spoken to my freind and said that he had no trouble thinning the paint down I will found out how he thinned it and post about it for you.

I have tried the panzer grey (can't remember what they call it), and they do have a very good range of colours. In it's favour the colour sprays from the brush very well and dries very quickly, within seconds, however I have found that this leaves a slightly textured finish, which will show up succesive passes of the brush, possibly causing the mottling mentioned by other posters. I think this is because it dries too quickly and doesn't settle out to leave a smoother finish. You have to use a very consistant technique for it not to show up. Maybe thinning a bit more than suggested or using a drying retarder would leave a smoother finish.

I have used Xtracrylics on a F-4u Corsair (a plane i know but i fancied a change) recently to good effect through an airbrush and thinned it with a little water (be careful not to use too much though). The "gloss ready" finish is great for aircraft that require a lot of decals and minimum weathering but i cant see it being an advantage for the heavy weathering that tanks need.

Not sure about that - the idea of gloss paints is many fold and one thing gloss coats are very good at (armour or aircraft) is providing a base for weathering - particularly washes. Have you ever tried applying washes to panel lines/crevices/weld seams where the underlying camouflage is matt paint? The wash will seep out into the surrounding area and trying to remove that seep is damn near impossible with the traditional cotton bud/white spirit. Granted with some types of weathering this effect can be useful but with gloss paint on the other hand this is easily achieved.

Remember, the gloss paint is not intended to be a final solution - thats what matt/satin varnishes are for.

Regards,

Lee

PS - I use Xtracolor almost without exception but I have used the odd Xtracrylix and cant say I've ever really suffered from problems except trying to spray on the hottest day of the year - that really buggered up the paint finish

Thanks guys, I'll just keep experimenting and if I find a good ratio I'll post it.

I've used these for some time and I really like them. They dry rock-hard and stick well. I've had absolutely no problems with primed surfaces, and they stick well enough to bare plastic when painting painting canopy frames etc.

For thinning, I've used their own brand thinner and water. With just the brand thinner, they collect at the tip very quickly. Using both water and brand thinner or just water alone seems to reduce the problem, but doesn't remove the need for q-tips for wiping the tip.
When using water for thinning, I noticed that it reduces the gloss of the paint. Using only water works great for cockpits and other smaller areas that don't recieve decals, you get a matt finish without additional varnishes.