I bought this to see if it would be a decent alternative to Tamiya XF-86, as that's frequently out of stock and comes in small bottles. The AK seems to be a pure acrylic rather than a hybrid like the Tamiya, and suffers a lot because of it. It sprays fine and looks pretty nice when dry, but the biggest problems are the durability and the finish. Tamiya XF-86 forms a nice, reasonably durable shell with a chalky finish, and it sprays on very thin. The AK topcoat forms what I'd almost call a film-- it's very noticeable. I might have gone too heavy with my application, though. It looks fine, but it's not very nice to touch; it's almost a little sticky. Now, realistically once you get it in a nice pose you probably won't touch it again, but posing it while topcoated runs the risk of absolutely wrecking the finish. It comes off very easily. I was able to scratch some off with my nail. This topcoat is likely better suited for spraying models that are already posed as some people do, but as that isn't my workflow I can't speak to this product's eficacy for that. Overall, it's fine. It's definitely good enough and its reasonably cheap for a large quantity, which is the biggest advantage. It also doesn't cause panel lining to run or do any damage to waterslides or other paint in my experience. I just would caution using it on something with a lot of movement or spraying it on segments that you then combine.

Recommends this product