AK Interactive Paint and Weathering Products

What AK Interactive makes

AK Interactive is a paint and finishing-products maker for scale modelers. Its own website lists acrylic paints, metallics, enamels and weathering effects, plus diorama textures and vegetation, model kits and figures, wargaming products and printed guides. The registered address on the site is in Logroño, Spain.

Its main acrylic line is called 3GEN, or 3rd Generation. AK describes the range as "the most sophisticated acrylic paints for scale modeling", with high coverage and a matte finish that suits models and figures. That's the maker's own wording. We note it as the maker's claim, not a measurement.

On Amazon US, our data for this page holds six AK Interactive listings: five paints and fluids for the model itself, and one concrete texture for the diorama base. They split into four jobs:

• Color: three acrylic paint sets
• Thinning: one 3rd Gen thinner, 100 ml
• Weathering: one heavy chipping fluid
• Ground: one concrete terrain texture, 250 ml

That's a small slice of what the maker sells. It's still enough to see how the brand is organized. The paints give you color. The other three products change what the color does after it's on the model.

AK Interactive paint sets in the grid

Three sets are listed. None of the titles lists every color or every bottle size, so read the listing photos before you choose.

3G Grey for Spaceships Set 11614

This is a set of grey acrylics from the 3rd Gen range, made for science-fiction models. The title gives the set number, 11614, and the theme. It doesn't give the number of bottles or the names of the greys.

Grey sets make sense for one simple reason. A big grey hull painted in one grey looks flat. A few close greys, laid on panel by panel, give the eye something to follow. That works on any spaceship, licensed or invented, and it works on a tank or a ship hull too.

I own eleven greys and have an opinion about each of them. A set like this skips the step where you buy them one at a time and argue with yourself in the paint aisle.

Who it suits: anyone building a sci-fi kit, or anyone who wants a family of close greys that were picked to work together. Who should skip it: a builder whose next kit is a bright race car.

3rd Gen Acrylics Neon Colors Set (6 Paints)

Six neon acrylics, per the title. This is the one AK listing in the grid that states a bottle count. Neon paints are bright, saturated colors. On models they show up on sci-fi lights, mecha accents, racing details and figure effects.

Neon is not a color I own. My shelf is greys, browns and one tin of olive drab I keep for emergencies. I can see the appeal, though. A small spot of a bright color on a grey model is where the eye lands first.

Who it suits: figure painters and sci-fi builders who want a few loud accents. Who should skip it: someone painting a WWII aircraft to match a reference photo.

Intense Colors Acrylic Paint Set AK11612

This set is listed as acrylic, with the set number AK11612. Its title doesn't say 3rd Gen, and it doesn't list the colors or how many bottles come in the box. Check the listing photo for the color chart before you buy.

The name suggests strong, saturated colors. That's as far as the title goes, so that's as far as we go.

The 3rd Gen thinner and why it's in the grid

The 3rd Gen Thinner 11500 is a 100 ml bottle made for the 3rd Gen acrylics. Thinner does two jobs. It thins paint so it flows through an airbrush, and it can thin paint for the brush so it lays down in smoother coats.

The rule I follow is simple. Use the thinner the paint maker makes for that paint. Tamiya's modeling guide says the same about its own paints: use the matching thinner when you airbrush. Mixing one maker's paint with another maker's thinner is a test, not a plan. Run tests on a plastic spoon, not on the model.

If you buy only one AK listing to see how you like the range, a paint set plus this thinner is the sensible pair. Paint without its thinner tends to get thick in the bottle over the months. A thinner bottle buys you time.

Heavy Chipping Effects Acrylic Fluid #089

Chipping is the look of paint worn off metal: scratched edges on a tank, scuffed steps on a truck, worn hatches. AK Interactive calls its heavy effects fluid an odorless acrylic product "to replace hairspray", made for large chipping effects. Modelers used hairspray between paint layers for years to get the same result. This bottle does that job on purpose.

Here's the method from AK's own product page, in my words:

1. Paint the model in a dark color, or in the color you want to show through the chips.
2. Brush or airbrush a generous coat of the fluid over the area.
3. Paint an acrylic top coat over it. That's the color everyone will see.
4. When the top coat is dry to the touch, wet the area with water on a brush.
5. Lift chips with tweezers, a toothpick or the brush.

Two notes from the page. The top layer it describes is acrylic paint. And the timing matters: step 4 waits until the top coat is dry to the touch, not fully cured and not still wet.

Lucho looked at the bottle and had one comment. "Chipped paint on purpose. At the shop, people pay us to fix that."

Who it suits: armor, trucks, aircraft walkways and anything else that should look used. Who should skip it: a builder who wants a showroom-new car body. Heavy chipping on a new car looks like a parking-lot accident.

Diorama Effects Concrete Terrain 250ml

This is a ground texture: a paste that dries to look like concrete, for the base under a model. The title gives the size, 250 ml. AK's website groups products like this under diorama textures.

A diorama is a small scene: a tank on a broken street, a truck at a loading dock, a figure on a sidewalk. Concrete is a common ground for modern scenes, warehouses and city streets. You spread it on a base, let it dry, then paint and weather it like any other surface.

Who it suits: anyone who has finished a vehicle and wants it standing on something better than a bare shelf. Who should skip it: a builder whose models live in a closed display case on a mirror. The mirror is already the ground.

How to pick within the brand

AK Interactive's listings in the grid don't come with skill levels or age labels. Pick by the job instead.

• A sci-fi kit on the bench: the grey set for spaceships, plus the thinner
• Bright details on a figure or mecha: the neon set
• A first set of strong colors: the Intense Colors set, after you check the color chart in the photos
• A tank or truck that should look used: the heavy chipping fluid, after the base coat
• A model that needs somewhere to stand: the concrete terrain texture

If you're new to acrylics, start with one set and the thinner. Paint a spare runner or a plastic spoon first. You'll learn how the paint covers, how long it takes to dry and how much thinner your brush or airbrush wants. Those numbers belong to your room, your humidity and your tools, so nobody can hand them to you.

If you already have a paint system you like, the effects products are the easier way to try AK. The chipping fluid sits between layers, and the concrete texture goes on the base, so neither one asks you to change the paint on the model itself.

Brush or airbrush

Acrylic hobby paints go on with either. A brush needs nothing else, and Tamiya's guide covers both pointed and flat brushes for detail and larger areas. An airbrush needs a compressor and thinned paint. AK's chipping fluid page says the fluid can go on with a brush or straight from an airbrush.

My advice is boring and it works. Learn the paint with a brush on small parts. Move to an airbrush when you have a big, smooth surface that needs an even coat. If you want to read about airbrush feed types and nozzle sizes, the airbrush kits page covers them.

What the listings don't tell you

Here's what the six titles leave out:

• Color names: none of the three set titles names the colors
• Bottle sizes in the sets: not in the titles
• Bottle count: stated only on the neon set (six)
• Drying times: not stated in our data
• Finish: the maker calls the 3GEN range matte; the listings don't add more

Every one of those is on the listing photos or on the maker's site. Look there before you order. A paint set bought for its box art is a gamble.

Safety around paints and fluids

Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or fluid maker's label for masks and gloves. The U.S. EPA lists paints, solvents and hobby supplies among household sources of fumes, and advises plenty of fresh air and following label precautions. Keep paints, thinners and effects bottles out of reach of young children, and close the caps when you're done.

Where AK Interactive fits in the hobby

On a model, the kit gives you the shape. Paint and effects decide whether it looks like a toy or like a used machine. That's the space AK Interactive works in. The model kits section covers the kits themselves, and the brand catalog lists the other paint makers we track.

If you're choosing between paint brands, compare the same three things on each listing: the paint type (acrylic, enamel or lacquer), the matching thinner and the colors in the set. The brand name comes after those three.

Base coat, fluid, top coat, water. Then the toothpick.