All the Real Color products are available through of www.ak-interactive.com, check them!
The new Real Colors paint range is a very, very special step forward for AK.
And we guess for you, too.
AK Real Colors is a state-of-the-art acrylic lacquer paint developed in our own laboratories.
We are bringing to you a whole new range of acrylic lacquer paints and another step in the evolution of the products from our company. That has been a project we have been quietly thinking, working and developing for a long, long time.
Our objectives were for an improved chemical formula over other brands in the market and a paint of the highest quality. And finally, after all that lengthy, quiet development and testing, we have them ready for you to enjoy: Real Colors.
Just to start, a line of 114 references (Standard, WWII, Modern, Clear and Varnishes) perfectly suited for AFVs, and readying a similar line specifically for aircraft. So stay tuned in the coming months ;)
Check all the Real Colors videos HERE in our Youtube channel
FORGET THE CLOGGING:
AK REAL COLORS
FLOWS SMOOOOOTHLY
IN YOUR AIRBRUSH.
Spraying is now a real pleasure and thanks to our new chemical formula, even if you damp the surface too much, the paint stretches and dries with a nice matt finish.
FOR DILUTION,
OUR REAL COLOR THINNER
WORKS REALLY GREAT...
BUT OTHERS TOO.
Can be diluted with our own specific thinner or the ones from other brands and types: acrylic lacquer (non-vinyl), lacquer thinner, alcohol...
HOLDS FIRMLY
ALL KIND
OF WEATHERING
AND EXTRA EFFECTS.
Paint adheres and dries perfectly with a soft matt finish, so you can throw on it all the treatments, punishment and weathering you love to make.
HIGHLY COMPATIBLE
WITH OTHER
ACRYLIC LACQUER
BRANDS.
If lost in a forgotten island, you can easily mix Real Colors with the stock of paints from other brands you may have ;)
Our brand new paint needed also a brand new bottle.
So we are pleased to introduce to you our exclusive, practical, new 10ml glasss bottle...
COLOR LABEL ON TOP
Easy to spot what you need.
AIRTIGHT SCREW CAP
Paint always fresh & ready.
10ml GLASS BOTTLE
Perfect to store our
new formula, highest quality paint.
Perfect to store our
114 accurate, precise colors.
AK QUALITY
Our bottle.
Our paint.
Your enjoyment.
We had the right formula.
Now, for the right color, we needed the advice and expertise some wise men have acquired on this subject. It was time for calling to The Experts.
Their knowledge on the matter is second to none. They have researched for years through official, private and industry archives about the inception, development, production and use of military colors. Their work over the original army orders and documents, has been reflected in many definitive books and articles. All these have contributed not just in bringing for modelers a wealth of new and reliable information, but helped also dispelling a lot of myths.
We are grateful for the combined effort by these experts, which along with the study of preserved equipment and the laboratory work, make together the most detailed and meticulous study carried out by a paint brand to get our accurate, Real Colors.
Born in 1956 in Nüremberg, Germany. Studied precision instrument engineering and since 1988 is at the wheel of the family bussiness Farben-Kiroff-Technik in Fürth/Bavaria.
He’s both an expert technician and a big fan of the research and study of colors, and a devoted aviation historian. Along the years he has authored some real classic references like the two volumes devoted to the Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945, famous amongst modellers for the informative text, the number of previously unknown photographs and the useful color paint chip cards. He has also writen a good number of articles and publications. Actually aviation and historic museums (like the German Technical Museum Berlin, the Luftwaffe Museun Gatow, the Luftfahrtmuseum Laatzen, etc.) and a number or European private restorers are making good use of his knowledge to reproduce the original colors.
Born in 1963 at Wroclaw, Poland. Work at the Wroclawís University of Economics in Macroeconomics Department as professor. His specialization is international marketing and cultural considerations of international business.
Since 1991 is the owner of ACE Publication publishing office and information agency. He has co-operated with many Polish and foreign publishers like Caraktere SARL from France, Hobby Japan and Shinkigensha from Japan, and Magnum-X and Stratus/MMP Books from Poland. Has writen over 50 books, both on armor (like T-34-85 1944-1945 camouflage & markings, IS tanks camouflage and makings, Panzerwaffe aces camouflage & markings) and aircraft (like Il28 Beagle, MiG-21bis, Fokker D.XXI, MiG-29 Fulcrum camouflage and markings, Su-27 Flanker family camouflage & markings, MiG-29 close-up photo book, Macchi C.202 Folgore, Fiat Cr 42 Falco) and over 200 articles published in Poland and around the world.
Born in 1940 at Northampton, UK. Worked briefly in aviation and coach-building, was member of the Royal Observer Corps, teachied aircraft recognition and nuclear blast/fallout monitoring, and was emergency driver/technician for 30+ years until retirement as an Operational First Line Manager.
Mike has a lifelong interest in military aircraft and vehicle camouflage & colors. He has writen and self publish four most useful booklets on WW2 British military colors: the concise text and notes, the line drawings showing the camouflage schemes and patterns, along with colour chips and paint mixes, have become a handy reference and a must for British Army modellers. He also produces a range of 1/76 decal sheets, and builds aircraft and military vehicle models whilst researching accurate color mixes for WW2 RAF aircraft and from other nations. Has also co-authored five books on pre-WW 2 USAAC, USN/USMC, pre-WW RAF and F.A.A. and training aircraft.
Born in 1952, Steven J. Zaloga is a recognized American historian, defense consultant, and author on military technology. He has received a bachelor's degree cum laude in History from Union College and a masters degree at Columbia University. He has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for over two decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade, has served with the Institute for Defense Analyses (a federal think tank) and presently is a senior analyst at the Teal Group.
He has researched and published many books and articles dealing with modern military technology and warfare, especially the US Army in World War II as well as Russia and the former Soviet Union. He is also a noted scale armor modeler, member of the AMPS (Armor Modeling and Preservation Society) and a frequent and very active contributor to several modelling websites.
For the study of preserved equipment to get the best idea of the original colors we trusted in recognized and independent laboratories. Usually these pieces have suffered from weather and exposure, but some fairly protected parts show clearly how these colors looked when new. These match the original color chips, sometimes differing just a little due to the variety of paint components used.
The composition of the color can be find out using current technology with a + -1% error, depending on the pigments used, the specific colors and the state of conservation. The technique used to discover the originally used pigments is based on the color curve in the visible spectrum band. The perception of the color depends on the type of illuminant or light that affects the object, and the human eye that observes the object.
Various factors can alter the perception of color, so a spectrophotometer is used to apply the light (daylight, incandescent and fluorescent) in the same way every time to collect a consistent, objective color curve. That color curve would be of a determined color, with a determined illuminant and composed of several pigments. We must find out the pigments and their combination to get a color curve which matches the curve generated by the original sample. A database maintains the characteristics of each original pigment and its specific curve, so a program can match and select the right ones for the color curve to be the same under all three illuminants. It could be possible to reach a certain color along different paths and pigment mixtures. But only one of them is the one that will reproduce, exactly, the original mixture of pigments with the exact same curve under all of the illuminants. That’s the Real Color.
We are grateful for the combined effort by these experts, the study of preserved equipment and the laboratory work, that make together the most detailed and meticulous study carried out by a paint brand to get our accurate, Real Colors.
113 COLORS • STANDARD • WWII • MODERN • CLEAR • VARNISHES
133 COLORS • WWII • MODERN
To round-up the Real Colors presentation to the modelling community, we thought about preparing a special book.
A limited edition and accurately printed book devoted to the original colors of WWII, authored by experts Jürgen Kiroff, Przemyslaw Skulski, Mike Starmer & Steven Zaloga.
A real travel through the research of official, private and industry archives about the development and use of colors on German, Russian USA and British AFVs. 200 pages full of text, color photographs, camouflage schemes, profiles, general camouflage rules, etc. A must book for modellers who like to know more about the real thing and THE definitive guide for WWII AFV Colors.
German colors & camouflage.
• RAL system & color cards. OKH regulations • Pre-war • Early war • Russia • Africa • The Tricolor system • The beginning of
the end • The end • Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun color comparison • Original color parts and analysis • WWII color photographs •
Soviet camouflage.
Camouflage of the Red Army vehicles • Description of paints • Original color parts • WWII color photographs •
British camouflage.
The color standards • Pre-war, B.E.F. & Home Forces • New colors & changes • U.S. supplied vehicles • Middle East Colors: The
Caunter Scheme. Other areas • Caunter cancelled • October 1942 & post Alamein • Tunisia, Sicily & Italy colors • Change of color
• The Far East •
U.S. Army camouflage
Olive Drab • Camouflage paints. • Camouflage manuals • Field camouflage • Camouflage in the Pacific •
Extremely important, the chips that appear in the book, even though they are not painted with paint (which would increase the complexity of the publishing process and make the book prohibitively expensive) are highly controlled and calibrated in the most precise way, under the current parameters of printing and technology, to provide the modeller with the most accurate color chips available. The tolerance of colors in the book is +/- 4%.
The Real Colors for aircraft models could not be introduced without releasing a special book devoted to this subject. Renowned researchers Maciej Góralczyk, Gerald T. Högl, Jürgen Kiroff, Nicholas Millman and Mikhail V. Orlov teamed up in order to produce the most up-to-date reference book on the aircraft colors of the main WWII adversaries: Germany, United States, Great Britain and Soviet Union.
The resulting study is a comprehensive guide to the colors and camouflage schemes, presented on over 200 pages and illustrated with several color profiles, document reprints and dozens of b/w and color photos, many of which are very rare. Included is the latest information on the Luftwaffe’s late war colors, which have been reproduced as scale colors on the basis of the original paint factory recipes by Gerald T. Högl and Jürgen Kiroff. For the very first time, the unparalleled research on the Soviet Air Force colors done by Mikhail V. Orlov is introduced to the non-Russian readers. Nicholas Millman’s archival research brings us accurate reproduction and description of the colors used by the USAAF, US Navy and RAF/FAA.
This book is a true must-have for anyone with even a slight interest in WWII aircraft colors.
Extremely important, the chips that appear in the book, even though they are not painted with paint (which would increase the complexity of the publishing process and make the book prohibitively expensive) are highly controlled and calibrated in the most precise way, under the current parameters of printing and technology, to provide the modeller with the most accurate color chips available. The tolerance of colors in the book is +/- 4%.