A.K. Interactive

  A few weeks ago I received some weathering products and a video from A.K. Interactive USA and had the chance to try some of the products out. The big name behind these products is Mig Jimenez, and I am sure he played a big role in producing these new weathering products.

Besides the review, I will show some of the effects I achieved using these products.

Contact info in the USA is:  www.ak-interactive-usa.com

The Video

The video runs about an hour long and covers most weathering techniques such as Filters,Washes streaking and staining.
Two models are used in the video, a panther and a King Tiger, are the master of weathering Mig shows step by step how to apply the and perform the techniques. Besides the A.K. products, Mig also uses MIG production products such as SIN filters and washes. This is a good example of using various products to achieve the most realistic effects possible.


A.K. weathering products

The items I received for review are:

AK 011  White Spirits
AK 013  Rust Streaks
AK 012  Streaking Grime
AK 014  Winter Streaking Grime
AK 015  Dust Effects
AK 016  Fresh Mud
AK 017  Earth Effects


  The products are enamel based paints and are thinned for immediate use. The paints come in a large plastic 35 ml. bottle so you do get your money's worth with these products. The paints are thin enough that they can be used with the air brush, and the good thing is that you don't have the clumping of the pigments at the bottom of the bottle like with normal enamels. On the side of the bottle is a picture of the actual effects you get with these paints. As with all enamel paints, I highly recommend proper ventilation when using them.

 The paints can be mixed together to get different color shades and effects with very good results which is a must when weathering a model.


First up is the AK 011 White Spirits. Basically this is the thinner to be used with these paints for thinning and cleaning of your paint brushes.




AK 013  As the name suggests, this is used for creating rust streaks and rusty washes.  This is thin enough that you could use it for rust staining as well.



The below image shows the effects of this rust wash.



AK 012 Streaking grime and AK 014 Winter Streaking Grime.  These two are in my opinion a valuable asset in the weathering tool box. With these two you can create the streaking often seen on tanks, and anything else that is out in the elements.




The pics of the effects created with these two products speak for them selves.




The last three are also important in weathering military vehicles.

AK 015 Dust Effects, AK 016 Earth Effects and AK 017 Fresh Mud

These products are an alternative to the standard Oils and pigments normally used to weather vehicles. As with the other products, these can also be mixed to obtain different color shades and effects. For caked dirt and mud it is recommended to mix these colors with plaster of paris.




The pics show some examples of the effects that can be achieved with these three colors.




All of the products here can be using in a layering method to create the effects. I always start light and add as needed to get the right effect, and these are perfect for that.

Instead of painting some of the paint on a sheet of plastic, boring and unrealistic, I will show the effects I achieved on a real model using the techniques shown in the video.



Streaking Grime effects


I started with the AK 012 Streaking Grime, applying it in various rough streaks tapering it off a bit towards the bottom of the stroke. I had planned on applying to layers so I went somewhat light  the first time.



After waiting about 30 minutes it was time to form the streaks. Using a White Spirits dampened paint brush I started working the streaks in a downward motion. The goal is to fade the streaks somewhat and not have unrealistic black lines.

The enamels dry pretty quick and have a very flat sheen to them. When trying to do this effect with oils will some time leave a satin sheen on the paint finish. I was very impressed so far, but wanted to try more with these products.






With the darker streaking Grime applied I let this dry for a couple of hours before beginning the next step. For the lower section of the upper hull I chose to mix AK 014 Winter Streaking Grime and AK 015 Dust effects. I did this for two reasons, first I wanted a lighter shade of grime and not the greenish winter grime, and second I wanted to see how the paints mixed with one another.

I applied the winter grime the same way as with the darker streaking grime.



I only applied one layer of the lighter streaking grime, mainly because there is to be dust and dirt so a heavy grime was not needed. The pic below show the effects I was able to achieve with the streaking products.




To see how these would look and react to a lighter base color I applied these same streaks to a turret with three different colors.  The first pic is the normal streaking grime and the second is the same mix used on the hull side.






Below is the end result of the streaking test/ experiment. I think the products are best when used on lighter colors, but will also work on dark paint.







Dust, Earth and Mud effects



My first experiment was to try spraying some dust on the lower hull. I thinned a mix of AK 015 Dust effects and AK 017 Earth Effects to a dust color to use as a base for the weathering to follow. Since the paints are already thinned I only had to add a couple of drops of white spirits to it.

I applied just a light misting of this dust colored mix in preparation for the actual dirtying of the lower hull.
 



The next test for the dust and earth effects is to create dirt spatter on the lower hull and road wheels. I also wanted to see how well the paints will work with other products, in this case pigments from MIG Productions and some plaster of Paris.

By mixing these three different products I am hoping for a dusty dry effect.




Using an old paint brush and setting the air pressure to about 30 PSI , I gave short bursts of air in the directions I wanted to apply it. This to be the lighter dust/dirt build up so complete coverage was not needed.








I then applied more of the earth and a small amount of the mud effects to the pigment and plaster mix. This was placed mainly in the areas where dirt and mud build up would occur.

I will at a later time follow up with a darker earth/mud wash in the recessed areas of the running gear. Over all the effects were easy to apply and dried very fast and to a dusty dry finish.




Rust Effects

AK 013 Rust Streaks.  I applied the rust streaks in the same manner as the streaking grime, only on some of the chipped areas. I first applied the vertical streaks, and let this dry an hour or so. Then with a larger white spirit dampened brush I formed the stains and streaks on the turret.

I usually use oil paints or another product to get the same effect, and find the AK 013 rust steaks product just as good. I have yet to try this product on a larger rusty area so I cannot say how well it would work, but have a very good feeling about it.








Conclusion

Other than the fact that it is an enamel product and proper ventilation is a must when using them, I can highly recommend them. One of the good things about these products is that they are thinned more than regular paints and so you don't get the pigments clumping at the bottom of the jar. All that is needed is to shake the bottle a few minutes and it's ready to use.

These products save the modeler time in having to mix his own paint colors to achieve the effects created using these paints. This is definitely another tool in the tool box and will help improve my weathering skills, resulting in a better model.

I will also be using and mixing these products with other manufacturers products to get the most out of them, and will be using and posting a review on the A.K. slimy grime colors in the very near future, on yet another model.

I am hoping they will extend the rust streaking line to different shades of rust, to allow for more realistic rust effects in the future.



Rob