Product Review: 502 Abteilung (MIG Productions) OilSET for Modelers - Set ABT 320: Vehicle Weathering and Effects; contains six 20 milliliter tubes of oil paints and a small set of directions; price US $25
Advantages: very finely ground pigments produce rich, dense colors; when thinned with mineral spirits produce excellent washes/stains
Disadvantages: no major items noted
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all modelers wanting to take finishing to the next level
As more and more armor modelers gain skills and start to branch out into more advanced finishing techniques, many of them start to experiment with using oil paints for stains, washes, filters, or even painting entire models. Most now start with simply putting small =93dots=94 of paint on their models and then working it into the paint with a thinner such as mineral spirits, or putting a daub of the paint into the thinner to form a wash (or really thin it out to form a filter).
I have used the 502 Abteilung oils for about a year now and they are very well suited to modelers=92 uses and tastes. Each one consists of a very dense color base (e.g. finely ground pigments) and a very solid, smooth consistency (no separation or =93globbing=94 when squeezed from the tube.
This set is specifically for weathering vehicles and consists of six separate color tubes: ABT 125 (Light Mud); ABT 160 (Engine Grease); ABT 080 (Wash Brown); ABT 130 (Dark Mud); ABT 093 (Basic Earth); and ABT 001 (Snow White). As can be seen from the selection they are useful for any armored vehicle, nationality independent.
The other good thing about these sets is they are a bargain =96 one single tube of 502 Abteilung oils retails for around $6 and here six of them together are $25 or $11 off the full price, a very good deal. (Note that even so they are less expensive here than most Windsor & Newton oils are at Michael=92s or other art supply stores.)
Note that if you use them in a wash it is a good idea to first ensure the model is coated with an acrylic finish (fine if you paint with acrylics but if you are a diehard enamel user like me a coat of Future will provide the necessary protection) and also mix the wash with an accelerator such as Liquiprin for reducing oil paint drying time.
Overall this is a good deal and one I personally plan to use a lot.
Cookie Sewell