Hands-on video review: Clayton examines AMMOs new ATOM paints...

AMMO by Mig Jimenez recently released a new type of paint. Nothing special about that one might think, but this one was said to be a big shift in their range, not just a re-bottle or a re-branding, but a different formula & type of acrylic paint. Clayton has a set that he has trialed in a new video for the Modelling news in his hands-on review today...

Hands-on video review: ATOM paints...

From AMMO by MIG
Set used: ATOM Russian Tanks Colors - WWII Set

Set No #ATOM-20705

12 x 20ml jars

Price: £28.34 (for this set)
Product Link on the Ammo Website

There wouldn’t be too many, if any people in this great hobby of ours unfamiliar with Mig Jimenez and the modelling empire he and his team have built. The range spans from paints and weathering products to a comprehensive list of publications and how to magazines. Pretty much if you need it to build and finish your models Mig has a solution.

If you are like me, you are pretty set in your ways when it comes time to paint your models…I began my adult modelling journey using acrylics through the airbrush but soon after made the jump to using lacquer paints. As a general rule lacquers are a lot harder waring and far more forgiving to spray and seemed to give me a greater versatility with my finishing. The thought of going back to acrylics was simply not a consideration.

When I saw the launch of the new Ammo ‘ATOM’ line of paint I can’t say I gave it a lot of thought other than being a little sceptical that it was probably the same paint but in a different bottle in an attempt to generate sales, and just how different could an acrylic paint be anyway?

Some of the new sets in the ATOM range. They of course are sold as single paints also...

But in the interests of bringing the dedicated Modelling News viewers a measured and unbiased glimpse into the new paint I thought I’d test them and share the results with you here.

Firstly though, the packaging highlights the benefits of this new paint range. Non-toxic and self-levelling as well as odourless with a high covering power.

The pack I received is designed for Russian Tanks of WW2. To my surprise there was actually 12 colours in the pack which I thought was extremely generous. Usually, a Russian colour set would have the 4BO and a couple of shades however this set had Olive Drab for the Lend Lease subjects right through to Darker Greens for early war subjects. It also came with White and red for markings, a black brown, and a washable white paint for whitewash schemes. This really was the definitive set for Russian WW2 armour.

There is a lot to like about the bottle. It has a quick release pop top that can be operated using just your thumb. The plastic jar contains 20ml of paint and comes with a ball baring shaker inside, but the thing I like the most is it is transparent, and you can immediately see the colour of the paint.

I also received a jar of the AMMO acrylic thinner with the sample pack I received.

The packaging looked great, the bottles seemed to hit the mark and the range of colours in this pack was generous… but it would all mean nothing if it was difficult to use or couldn’t give me the results I was looking for. I primed a paint mule I had in the stash using Mr Surfacer 1000 from a can and was ready to test a couple of the paints.

A gallery of some of the experiments I made for the video review of these paints...

Nothing can explain the painting process better than a video, so check it out and see how I went about putting this new range to the test!

Clayton's video of this review is up on his excellent YouTube page - Workbench Hobbies 

Clayton Ockerby

You can get these and AMMOs other products from their website or their distributors. Thanks to them for sending these paints for us to review...

See more of Clayton's amazing works on his YouTube Channel, his modelling portal "Workbench Hobbies" or his FB page