Hi everybody! I am a new modeler with little experience, but tons of knowledge. Can anyone give me their opinion on what they think is the best acrylic color company? I am a brush painter, and I currently use Model Master and Tamiya acrylic colors.
Hey, MC. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to this, but I have never had much success with brushing on Tamiya acrylics. It dries too fast. The best acrylic for brushing that I have ever used is Vallejo. It’s amazing paint. Barrett
I agree with Vallejo for hand brushing,but you need to stick with their Model Color line or Panzer Aces.You can’t beat their vast selection of colors as opposed to Tamiya.
Tamiya acrylics work great if you use their paint retarder. One drop is all you need.
The best acrylics that I’ve ever used for hand brush painting was Polly S. Great stuff. Unfortunately that paint line is long gone. Although you may still occasionally find some old stock for sale here and there. Polly Scale, their replacement line, is now also OOP, and did not hand brush as nicely. It was formulated more thin for airbrushing, and did not always give good one coat coverage. I am no fan of Vallejo, due to mixing in those bottles being a hit or miss affair. The new Mission Models paints hand brush very nicely. And if you have access to them, Italeri Acrylics are not bad. Supposedly those are made by Vallejo, but their packaging is superior with a screw off/flip top lid that allows you to stir and mix them easily & properly.
If you are doing strictly hand brushing, you may also want to look into crafting paints or gaming paints. They have funky color names, but you can eyeball color matches to mainstream colors.
I don’t really like Model master Acrylics. They are thin and coverage is difficult. I do like Tamiya, although their color selection is not very useful. In general my favorite paint for hand brushing is Humbrol enamel, followed by Model master enamel. But others say good things about Vallejo and Mission.
I only use Acrylics for small areas, but as a couple of otehrs, my preffered choice is vallejo.
For airbrushing Tamiya, but brush painting like you are then I would also say vallejo and use a wet pallet.
Meh… Tamiya is good but they have such a limited color line. I use a wide variety of acrylics including Model Master, Pollyscale, Aeromaster, Tamiya, Mission Model, to name a few. As one already mentioned above - you will get different opinions and to be frank, there’s no wrong or right brand. Choose what you like, not what everyone else suggested.
I’ve tried mission models and will start replacing my Tamiya and life color paints with them as I run out.
I’m doing the same as Rambo, except I was using Vallejo.
Is there a ratio anyone could recommend for Tamiya paint retarder?
Thanks to everybody who commented!
If you choose to go with Tamiya paints, I recommend the stuff. There is a learning curve in using the paint with the retarder, but noting crazy.
I put 2 or 3 drops of Tamiya paint in a palette and then 1 drop of retarder. That’s it. Works perfectly fine after that for brush painting.
Hi ;
I agree with you " G "
Try a couple different brands from those you are currently using and see what you like best. Opinions are just that, Opinions. Only you can decide what works best for you. Good Luck.
That’s great! Thanks, everybody! Can water be used to dilute paints instead of retarder?
Depends on the brand. Tamiya, for instance is not thinned with water. Check the label or go to the manufacturer’s website for info on the best way to work with their paints.
Retarder is not for diluting the paint. It is for slowing the drying time to allow the user to brush the paint on properly before a dry surface skin forms and tears. Tamiya paints are notorious for this since they were reformulated in the late 80s or so. Their original paints when first released had no such issue. They hand brushed as well as any other brand.
But yes, you can dilute or thin Tamiya paints with water. I have done that on older bottles that were thickening up with age. Their thinner works better, but tends to be less long lasting. Each acrylic brand seems to have a different formulation, so their working with water is variable. And, unlike enamels, there is no one “universal“ thinner for acrylics. One brands thinner may or may not work with another brands paint. The same goes for isopropyl alcohol. It thins some brands, and turns other into goo.