Using Kaleido Color Works Paints on a UTI MiG-15
By Matt Bittner
Overview
When I first got a hold of the Kaleido Color Works paints, I needed to figure out what subject to use them on. Having recently moved to Europe, I didn't bring a lot of my stash with me "just enough" to keep me interested and busy. Lo and behold, one of those I brought with me was a collection of Eduard 1/144 UTI MiG-15s so why not? Once I decided on using the Indonesian markings that came with the kit, using the Kaleido Metal Colors seemed natural.
First Phase
Building the Eduard UTI MiG-15 wasn't difficult although I did decide to use a bunch of aftermarket on the kit: Eduard's own photoetch set; and the Master set that consists of the gun barrel, pitot tube and antenna aerial wire post into the fuselage. The Eduard photoetch set consists of cockpit details; antenna masts; and undercarriage doors. I also used stretched wire for the antenna wire, after drilling a small hole in the top of the fin.
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Since this is an article about the paints and not the build, I will just provide a link to my earlier MiG-15 build, although that one didn't use the photoetch set. Since I have two more UTIs to build, hopefully I will provide another article show casing those, especially since I have another photoetch set to use.
Second Phase
Once I had the majority of the kit together, it was time to use the primer on the UTI (as well as other kits I had in progress at the same time). Because the UTI was going to be "aluminum" I opted to use the Kaleido black primer on it. Other in progress kits that received the gray primer were a Triple Nuts 1/144 JF-17 and a RetroWings MiG-21UM conversion of the Eduard 1/144 MiG-21 kit (soon to be seen here in its own article).
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The primers worked wonderfully out of the bottle. One suggestion is to move some of the primer into another container, or use a pipette (or some other device) to extract the paint from the container. It's a tall container and doesn't have the typical nozzle that you would find on other paint bottles, such as Vallejo, etc. By using the pipette you will avoid spilling paint in areas you don't want it. I did not polish the black primer as I was wondering how the model would look without it being smooth, plus the finish on the MiG-15 wasn't that "shiny".
One of the questions people will have is, are these primers sandable? Since they're acrylics it's a valid question and I will report yes, they are sandable and won't peel like other acrylic primers. I spilled some primer on the nose of the MiG-21UM and was able to sand it away, feather the edges, and re-spray the area with excellent results.
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Third Phase
Now that the UTI MiG-15 was primed (and the vertical tail masked - I just kept the black primer in that area), it was time to start painting. First I used the Steel Metal marker on the speed brakes and under the nose around the barrel of the cannon. Since Eduard provides masks for those areas, I thought it best to first paint those areas first and then mask. And because I was given the markers as well, it was a perfect opportunity to use also those. It worked wonderfully and I had zero issues. The markers are the type where you have to shake them first and then press the tip into "something" (I used a paper towel) to get the paint to flow. They have a nicely narrow, pointed tip so there were no issues applying the paint in those small areas.
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After those areas were masked, it was time to apply the aluminum paint to the rest of the model. The Kaleido paints can be used straight out of the bottle which is a huge blessing. I sprayed at 20psi which seemed to work best. The aluminum covered in one coat which was another blessing.
Once the paint was dry it was time to gloss the model prior to adding the decals. The Kaleido gloss again sprayed wonderfully and I was able to apply just one coat.
Fourth Phase
After adding the decals, and applying another gloss coat over those, I did a little bit of weathering on the UTI MiG-15 before it was time to add all the rest of the pieces to the kit prior to finishing the model. I didn't have the Kaleido semi-gloss so I used Vallejo instead. With that, the model was finished. Note that I staged the model on a Coastal Kits base.
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Conclusion
I am glad I was given the Kaleido Color Works paints to try. Because of this, these are now my go-to primers, metallic colors and metallic markers. I used to use the Stylnrez primers in the past as my go-tos, but now the Kaleido primers have replaced them. Plus, the Kaleido Metal Colors are now my go-to paints for everything "metallic". My prior go-to paints for those were Vallejo Metal Colors.
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All in all I am impressed with Kaleido Colour Works paints and once they increase their color choices I will definitely pick up more. Huge thanks to Gaahleri for sending the paints to review. Here is a link for 10% off your order.