Hello;
What difference is there between Tamiya, Vallejo, Hobby Color acrylics and cheap craft paints? I can use them for airbrushing too, in addition they are not toxic like my Tamiya paints. What makes these brands better than my local art store’s acrylics?
Thanks.
Tamiya, Vallejo, and Hobby Color acrylics are different from one another, and different from the craft paints. All three model/hobby brands are formulated to give a thinner dry coat to better allow petite molded detail to show thru better. If you airbrush, each of the hobby brands has their own thinner for airbrushing while thinning the craft paints is very much a matter of trial and error. Then there is color matching- Hobby Color is matched to various FS, BSC and RAL standards, Tamiya is more generic, but close enough in many colors, and Vallejo is going to be like craft paints where you are matching by eye or recommendation of someone to various colors required.
if using craft paint works for you, then by all means use it. I have found that simply buying the model paints you have closer color matches and easier airbush usage, but whatever floats your boat.
Crafts paints can be used. But keep in mind the quality of the manufacture; consistency of color between batches, consistency of and fineness of pigment grinds, appropriate base for the pigment to be mixed in and how is that designed to work on plastic and resin etc., both paint types have their own requirements and are created for different purposes. While either could be used, only in a small number of cases would crafts paint be “as good” as hobby paints on models. Scenic parts of a display can use crafts paints, where their courser pigment grinds are not so much of an issue. In certain situations, use on a model as a weathering or filter could be done. If it is a matter of cost then weigh the various factors, the car body-air plane fuselage-the ship’s hull and decking in hobby paint, the under carriage in craft paint or as soot from an exhaust pipe, the interior of an AFV or some such.
However should your experience been successful using craft paints, then continue on and tell us how you do it.
Bottom line; there is a reason for the difference in prices between crafts paint and hobby paints and it is not all because of corporate greed, but because of the end product and its users.
All that said, you decide what’s best for you in your situation. Heck many of us use all kinds of products to achieve their goals, Sharpies- real dirt- chalk-etc. etc.
Another issue is that many of the commercial model paints come in colors specifically formulated to duplicate well-used military colors.
If a color is not available in those lines, however, I have used the craft acrylics as a low cost finish. I find it hard to find a good buff for nautical subjects, and did find a good color for that in a line at Michaels. I thin it with the same isopropyl mix I use with the popular acrylics.
@Don, Thanks for replying. (others too)
Would you recommend thinning tamiya paints with ethyl alcohol? (or ethyl rubbing alcohol)
Is 99% isopropyl essential?
Thanks.
I’ve used acrylic craft paints with good results. One point to remember, though: the manufacturers sometimes tell you whether the finish is gloss, semi-gloss or flat, but frequently don’t. Best to keep the appropriate clear finish handy.
Hmm- I have never seen ethyl rubbing alcohol, so I don’t know how it would work. I generally use the 70-something percent stuff, though I keep a bottle of 93% on hand for other uses. Since you can use water for thinner, I think almost any percent alcohol would be okay. I use between 1:1 and 2 thinner to 1 paint.
Well, I have eau de cologne, was not sure if it is known in the US. It is 80% alcohol + lemon essence etc. It is akin to rubbing alcohol, I suppose. It is much cheaper than Tamiya thinner and cheaper than isopropyl.
I would worry about the lemon essence. Alcohol is a pretty simple molecule. The lemon essence could be a fairly complex organic molecule, which might do strange things. If there is ever a doubt on a mix like that, the answer is to try a test. Mix up a small batch and try it on some scrap plastic. I would not use it on a good model without such a test.
I’m a big fan of craft paint, all I use now. I’ve tried the Vallejo model air. Find it peels off if you happen to scratch it, and clogs up my brush.
craft paint dries super flat. And doesn’t rub off if applied to a properly prepped surface.
i thin mine with Liquitex airbrush medium.
I also use my own thinner sometimes which is 50/50 windshield cleaner/water and then the small space left in the bottle I add glycerin.
What makes the other brands better? The fact they have premixed colors for the particular model your making
But it’s not very difficult to mix a color up. And it just adds a more personal touch to your model in my opinion.
Yep! I find exact color matching to be a bit difficult, especially if you need to match a color in a decal. If the decal is placed over the color you are mixing, even a small error is quite noticable. If the match does not need to be exact (no other appearance of that color on the model) I often will mix my own color.
I wouldn’t use alchohol to thin Tamiya,dries out too quickly for me.I use the Tamiya Lacquer Thinner now.
Unless you drink them, I wouldn’t worry about the toxicity of Tamiya paints, any more than I’d worry about any of the other brands and their formulas.
Having said that, as far as acrylics go, I’m like many of the others in that I have acrylics across many brands, including Tamiya, Andrea, Vallejo, Model Master, and craftstore acrylics (Apple Barrel, I think is the one, and Americana).
The craftstore acrylics have more coarsely-ground pigments, generally speaking, and I don’t really airbrush them anymore. But they are excellent for weathering, and when I make groundwork, I use them for coloring the ground. I like using them for such applications, since they’re cheaper and can go farther, than the smaller, more expensive paints from other makers.
I’ve seen others use them, though, on things like painting figures, and get results that were just as good as they would have gotten using more expensive, purpose-made acrylics.
I thin them with water or with isopropyl, depending on what’s handy at the moment. When I airbrushed them, I used isopropyl.
What makes the other brands better than craft store acrylics? Well, generally speaking, they’re made specifically for scale modeling and for painting figures. They generally have very finely ground pigments, which impacts the way the paint looks when it dries and cures. And Tamiya’s paints were formulated for airbrushing, and are meant to be thinned. Once I learned that, and learned that they thin best using Tamiya’s proprietary acrylic thinner, I started getting consistently good results with their paint, whether applied by airbrush or by hand.
Hope that all helps!
Best regards,
Brad
Regardless of which smells less, I would think any type of paint that is sprayed through an airbrush (or spraygun), the resulting mist is harmful to the lungs.
regards,
Jack