drooling bulldog Drooling Bulldog - the very first 10 shades.

[Fran]

Drooling Bulldog

Airplanes of the Great War in colours

By Sergey Mertens

The very first 10 basic colors.

Jer: 20ml

Price tag: 3.5£

 

 

        

Drooling Bulldog….A very awkward name, specialty in modelling world. But I really really love it.. It`s a fantastic name that use as background the very nice scheme from Ltn Carlos (Karl) Meyer Baldó Personal markings in your Fokker D.VII (serial 2012/18) "Drooling Bulldog", Jasta 4, 1918.

 

 

 

I saw some discussion around in some forums if it is a Bulldog or an

other type of dog…

One thing is for sure… It`s a dog.

Drooling Bulldog is the born child of Sergey Mertens, who thought that some specific colors for WWI could have their place on our little modelling world.

WnW since 2009 has been make a earthquake on the modeling world… Not only in WWI, but I think in all modeling world by giving the most complete models in the world.

For me, I know I suspect, the WnW models are far more better than any other brand… Tamiya and Eduard are near by, but still some to go.

On this “WnW fever” that looks like that is endless, no one besides MisterKit decided to go in the WWI colors and give modelers some direct and “accurate” paints

Until early this year… Now Drolling Bulldog comes to the rescue (and with a fantastic name, at least for me, as I already read in other forums some criticism to the name)

 

WWI colors has been in the past years a controversial subject… well in WWI modeling, almost everything is controversial … but in this case, being the war photos 100 years old, and all in black and white, everybody toss their arguments and nobody has the full reason.

This to say that I will not say that the color is a perfect match, because no one can say for sure.

Drooling Bulldog and the guys behind it, have been for the last two years study the real remain parts of WWI airplanes, taking in considering the color fading and time degradation.

Drooling Bulddog did go a step forward by making a chemical analysis of the color composition from the preserved remains of WWI aircrafts.

So Drooling Bulldog promise to give colors from the exact pigments used at that time. He also guarantees “real” reactions of the colors on the model (transparency of certain shades etc.).

 

I will not consider and making an opinion, or taking a degree, about the color precision to the real aircraft, because not only DB are the specialist has no one can say 100 % sure what are the correct color.

So, my thoughts are that DB is by far, the most accurate ones.

 

Now going out to the paints, you get a glass jar with a small sphere inside (like alclad but smaller but wider) to help shaking the paint.

 

The tap is black, and the label is printed in some “liked” wood color.

The jar is very beautiful.

If it was a food relations, with no doubt, they would be on the gourmet side of the shop.

 

They are quite resistant… believe I tested, unwittingly, it just fell of the bench and gravity laws did the rest.. and it bang on the floor and … nothing…

 

Now the first 10 colors:

 

0.   Aluminiun

1.   Farbrub (black)

2.   Zinkweiss (white)

3.   Kraplak (red)

4.   Caput Mortum (purple)

5.   Kadmiumgelb (yellow)

6.   Umbraun (brown or more umber brown)

7.   Chomoxidgrün (albatros green camouflage)

8.   Kadmiumchrmoxid (light green – you can achieved different shadows of Jasta 5);

9.   Presßischblau (Prussian Blue)

 

All the names are not very easy to spell.  And that are not very easy to read.

The label is fantastic and gourmet look but the name of paint is written in very small words and with italic type of a similar “free style script” font.

 

 

 

So unless you now the number color you want to use after making a little chart or the name color is quite difficult to read.

That`s the single low point for me.

 

Testing:

 

I use and test them on Vallejo paint primer surface, and plain plastic. I used the 1:72 Roden Staaken big wings at tester surface.

I first use directly from the jar, and with a 1,5 PSI and they work quite well with easy control.

With a 1/3 or 1/2 of thinner (Mr. Color Thinner), I could control better the paint flux and direction and the color modulation to avoid some tonal crush. And of course it dry fast.

These paints are marvelous on airbrush… are good as Gunze (a little better that Tamiya).

 

Black and aluminum are similar with Gunze and Tamiya respectably.

 

 

They are more for mixes that for direct application. Example: aluminium mixed white paint, you will get silver-gray color for Pfalz D.III.

 

The white has a behavior just gorgeous. The pigment and the ability of good cover, with an evenly coat, is just fantastic. For me, the BEST white ever.

 

 

 The red (or Kraplak) is a different color and it gives senses to what DB says about shades and transparency. With the red and yellow, the lightest color, it`s easy to make a color with shade but it`s quite complicated to make a non transparency cover.

 

 

Just look perfect to the Ernet Udet Fokker D.VII “Lo”.

 

The Prussian blue and the light green (Kadmiumchrmoxid) n.º 7 and 9 - also deserve a mention of its own.

 

 

Like the red, they are little transparent but not quite as the red.

As you can see, you can get different shadows each differs of layers of paint of the blue. More layers, and you get a more “purple” blue.

 

All others colors are with a more intense pigment and you still able to to control the final look and color saturation of the paint if you thinner your paint in order ½ of Thinner, and you can get some others color by mixing them, like Green Albatros, Lilac, Silver Plafz amoung others.

 

 

 

 

I confess that I`m not a big fan of mixing paints or maybe I`m just a slacker J… I confess myself…  But DB came to my rescue and already launch some of mixed colours and the mauve (lilac) is among them… So I can now proceed with my J.I!

 

Decal Setter/Softer like Micro sol doesn’t have any interference on the surface. I really didn’t put any decal on it but I use directly the decal solution and everything staid in perfection.

 

Conclusion
 

Since 2009, the very beginning of WnW, that specific color were needed in WWI modelling.

So DB has come to the rescue, and treat us all with some real good paints, with simply use, with an all new “world” in front of us, with new challenges with transparents paints that allow you to work with shades, pre-shades, layers etc.

Like I said earlier, I not discuss I the color is 100% correct. According with the work and method made, probably DB are the most similar to the original color (in here, some of you may said that everyone should have attention to the scale effect – I´m not one of those, But I respect and don`t have a firmly opinion about it).

 

Droling Bulldog do have a place in WWI modelling world because is the best that we can have and one day hopefully, they appear on WnW instructions paint table.

And please, give us a English website (e-shop)! J

 

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

 

Our truly thanks to Sergey Mertens and Droling Bulldog for these review samples and the trust given.

 

You can buy Droling Bulldog paints directly here.

 

 

[James H]

I'd love to see these used in anger.

[Dave J]

Interesting Fran!

 

I have some of these in the mail too.. I very interested in trying them!

[Fran]

You will love it Dave!

[Sergey]

Dear friends and colleagues! Very good news, the first parcel to the USA, was delivered without problems. I very much worried that there will be problems at customs, but it didn't occur! So, everyone to try paints of a Bulldog, can make the order on our web http://www.droolingbulldog.com/. Regards Mertens