Eight years ago I got back into Mil. modelling & there was a [ new to me,anyways,] world of acrylic paints.Two years ago I had to take a Sebattical from Modelling.I’m back in the saddle & have been told by a friend to go back to enamels.For many reasons.While he admidatley said weathering,Shading,Etc. , were more difficult,He knows my lack of skills.The Idea is that jumping back in will be more enjoyable [ especially w/ air-brushing ] & less fraught w/ probs. w/ enamels.Just like to here the Veterans take on this opinion. Keith
I use enamel for two reasons;
1- It is slower drying. I have had acrylics dry in my airbrush too many times. And the slower drying makes a better gloss finish for cars and civil aircraft.
2- Better coverage when hand brushing.
Reasons other folks don’t like it;
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slower drying. Admittedly enamel takes patience. It takes several days for gloss enamel to thoroughly dry so you can do other things with painted parts.
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Less smell with acrylics if you thin and clean up with water. However, none of the folks I know who use acrylics thin or clean up with water- they use alcohol or ammonia.
I would definitely disagree with your friend about shading. If you thin enamel properly you can tone or shade surfaces to a fine degree, like exhaust stains, dust, grime, etc. very well.
I like acrylics far more. If I want slow-drying paints for washes and shading, I use oils which take far longer to dry. Plus I like the sheen. clean-up is also insanely easy with acrylics, I accidently got overspray on a large-scale figure, but 1-2 passes with some 91% alcohol cured the problem quickly. Whatever you chose though, good luck! [Y].
Oh, and honestly, acrylics are the easiest things in the world to airbrush. I was spraying every 10 minutes for 2 hours 1 day (trying to get that figure ready for a contest) and cleaning took 5 of those 10 minutes. Spray water through, use an acrylic cleaner on the nozzle, needle, and the areas where paint travels, screw it back together, done. Don;t even have to do full dis-assembly unless you’re spraying a darker color next. Flat paints are nice and easy, they dry the second they hit the model, thus reducing chances of getting dust and junk on your model. Gloss paints are probably better in enamel, acrylic glosses are tricky. But honestly, the combination of fast-drying time, little cleanup, no toxic smells, and great flat paints, I choose acrylics every time!
To Don & Boba fett, both great & sensible logic.So While I thank you both,I am now staning in the middle of a Teeter-totter. Ultimately,we must assess all good advice then jump off the bridge.The Bridge starts a week from this Monday,[ when I start my re-indocctrination ].Contrary to popular belief,time not only doesn’t heal all wounds,it also isn’t much of a teacher when just reading about a topic. I thank you both & hope I have some input of my own to feed-back. rudedog
Good luck! Yeah, just balance what you want in the paint. Whatever paint meets the most of your criteria is the one. Also remember, different brands do different things. Tamiya is a phenomenal acrylic, but only out of the airbrush. Never try brush painting it, unless on REALLY small parts. Model-master and Polly-s is average in both applications. Vallejo is great for the brush, but needs a lot of thinning for the airbrush. Also consider the colors you will want. Some brands and types specialize in colors for specific genres. brand A. enamel might be good for WWII aircraft, but brand B. acrylic might be best for armor. take your time, because if you commit, you’re comitted. At $3 per 1/2 ounce (average price) you’re looking at several-hundred dollars for a gallon’s worth of paint. So, choose wisely!
Thanks again Boba.You are the 2nd person that confirmed what I already learned about Tamiya [ as far as being troublesome when used with a brush,such as figure’s ]. It’s funny how much you forgot what you learned after only a few year’s away !!! [ if that makes any sense ]. I actually live very close to a modeller I feel is a true artist, Al Lefleche.I remember him being a regular contributer here. He’s so far outta my league,I almost feel I’d be imposing on his very scarce time.Granted,I appreciate the time all of you experts take to impart your wisdom to all of us " Piker’s " rudedog .
Oh yeah, most stuff I’ve seen of Al’s is great! [Y] Plus he’s a great guy. Ask some advice of him, I’m sure he’ll d a lot to help ya! Most experienced people enjoy helping out the “newbies” or people returning. I certainly do, and I’m not even that experienced!Good luck to ya!
Thanks for the encouragement,Boba. Next week when I dive back in,It’s gonna be a Dragon 251/22. Pretty simple by most people’s standards.Still researching which theatre & paint scheme.I have yet to do the "U.S. version,french 75MM or 105MM half-tracks,all being in the same genre.Just one of the topics that intersest me.I’d forgotten how vague Dragon instructions can be.Much akin to “throwing darts”.Maybe it’s me.As I stated earlier,next Monday [ 11/01/2010 ] is my D-day.At this moment,I am tempted to use the "E-Z " tracks.They represent a later model Track,But I figure I need all the help I can get.Which brings me to another Que. Do most use Liquid when assembling Indie trax, as I used to do, or is there a smarter way. Thanks, rudedog
I used superglue on dragon T-80 tracks, and it was terrible. Karl (Doog) assembles lengths of track, and brushes liquid cement over the entire thing. (well, most of it) That seems to be the way to go. Personally, I’d go with a Tamiya kit instead of Dragon. Easy to understand, not too much in the way of miniscule parts, and engineered perfectly. An older kit (like their Panther A) would be nice. Not an accurate kit, but it looks like a panther and you can use it as a testing bed later. Just a thought.
I remember reading Doog’s replies & learned much from them. { back then ] . I like the Idea of doing a Tam model 1st,But like Doog,I have to shuffle money between A quad,A street bike & a Camaro I’m building. So I’m gonna have to run with what I have for now.I agree totally that Tamiya rules for ease of instruction [ & quality as well ].I’m afaraid I’m gonna have to start with the Dra. 251/22 for my rehab. What’s the worst than can happen, It’ll look like my 1st ? rudedog
Gotcha. I understand the feeling… lots of hobbies, not enough money.
Exactly.I’m cursed & blessed at the same time not having to share time & $$ with a partner.Free time is great but… rudedog
I much prefer enamels over acrylics. Brush painting they win hands down for quality every time. You dont need to worry about adding retarders, etc. to make them easier to work with. I am a HUGE fan or Humbrols for handbrushing, especially for armor and figure models. They also dry brush far better than acrylics. Washes with enamels have worked out better in my expereince. The best Acrylic line I have used, Gunze’s Aqueous, is no longer availble.
Eh, Vallejo is better than enamels for figs. Now for vehicles, yeah, humbrol is best for brushing.
Stikpusher,I keep hearing that enamels are the cat’s ass for brushing.Especially for foigures,& I’m starting to get sold. Again,I’m jumping back in after a Retirement.I did enjoy the ease of clean -up with acrylic’s.But for detail work,I was often globbed & frustrated. Thanks, rudedog
Boba I have tried Vallejos and am not sold on them for handbrushing. I have read the success that others have had with them, but not in my own expereinces. They are better than most, but still inferior to Humrol enamels to me. The only Acrylics I ever really liked for handbrushing was Polly S, but that line is long gone.
honestly, I got the EXACT OPPOSITE experience. I painted 2 figures (the heads) 1 with vallejo flesh, 1 with humbrol flesh. the vallejo went down perfectly, staying thin and catching detail, while being opaque. I tried humbrol 3 times, and each time I got a wildly gloss finish and it was thick and goopy… I mixed it, thinned it, DIDN’T thin it, you name it. And When I did thin it, I used their thinner. Just didn’t work. But I guess everybody has a preference. I also like acrylics because I use oils for the skin tones, so I don’t need a barrier between the acrylic while I would need one with humbrol.
Oh, and DEFINATELY agree with the Polly-S. Great stuff for handbrushing. Good coverage, thin, and about 10,000 colors. I like polly-S more than even my MM acrylics. CURSES!
When I was getting back into modeling this summer and getting the bench all set up and whatnot, I had every intention of choosing one brand of paint.
Yeah.
Just a few months in, and I’m all over the map. I’ve got enamels, alcohol-based acrylics, water-based acrylics, and a few lacquers. It really depends on what you’re going for…but I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no one perfect paint brand that encompasses airbrushability, brushability, low toxicity, ease of cleanup, etc. Every paint is a compromise and it’s a matter of picking the right tool for the right job.
I’m far from an expert, but here are my takes on the paints I’ve played with so far:
Testors Model Master Enamel - Tried and true. Brushes pretty well. Airbrushes pretty well. Cleans up with thinner, mineral spirits. Very good selection of colors. My paint of choice for drybrushing, hands down.
Testors Model Master Acryl - Used it once and threw it away. Some people love it. I’m not one of those.
Tamiya - Use it for airbrushing only. I thin with either their lacquer thinner or Gunze Mr. Leveling Thinner. Both work well. Mixed right (in my case about 2:1 thinner:paint), with the right air pressure and distance, it’s like spraying silk. Color selection is wanting, however.
Lifecolor - Good color selection. Brush paints well. Airbrushes like water, and not in a good way. Very thin paint that still manages to clog the brush if shot without thinner. Only way I ever got it to work was to build up coats in 7-10 layers. Also has very poor grip on plastic.
Vallejo - Brush paints wonderfully well but dries out fast. Mixed 1:1 with Future, it airbrushes beautifully. You might face tip dry issues if you’re spraying for a long time, but a wet q-tip fixes that. Great color selection but, in my experience, poor color matching with listed FS numbers.
Gunze-Sangyo Mr. Color - Awesome paint. I use their Mr. Surfacer as a primer, and sprayed some Mr. Color orange-yellow on my recently built Wildcats. Very impressed, even if it has a very strong smell.
White Ensign Colourcoats - Picked up several tins for the two Soviet planes I’m building, but I haven’t cracked them open yet. Still, I’ve heard pretty glowing reviews, so I’m hopeful.
Best of luck finding the paint(s) that work for you.
Actually, when you’re working with gloss paints, acrylics (eg. Tamiya and Gunze) can take just as long (or even longer) as enamels to cure. While it’s true that acrylics dry faster, they can take far longer to cure and harden. I’ve had Tamiya and Gunze gloss paints which, although touch-dry, were still soft a week or more after application. No such problems with the flat paints however.
Acrylics also require more attention to surface preparation - the surface must be absolutely clean and free of oil and dust or you will have adhesion issues. This is critical if your paint job involves any measure of masking. Enamels are less sensitive to this.
Heya Carlos,
If you tried brush painting Vallejo straight out of the bottle, you probably found they globbed up, dried on the brush and didn’t stick well to the plastic. There’s a trick or two to working successfully with Vallejo Model Color paints.
- Shake well and when you think you’ve shaken it enough, shake it some more
- thin the paint - it’s usually too thick straight out of the bottle
- moisten your brush before dipping it in the paint. Dip your brush in distilled water and then touch the tip to a paper towel to remove most of it. You want it moist but not wet.
- always use a nice flat primer to give the paint something to grip.
I might add that I’ve been using Tamiya acrylics for nearly 30 years and they’re my first preference, but I also have a number of Gunze Acrylics, some Vallejo, and several jars of Mr Color paints.
Is this the same Doog with the long hair & dirt bike from a few years ago ? Thanks for your reply.Somemore great ideas as those that responded when I started this thread.Sounds like you took some time away from this great hobby as well.With a New England winter approaching rapidly,The Kodiak ,FZ-6 & Camaro won’t be occupying much of my time,so I thought I’d get my feet wet again.Did you have the same malady befall you as I during the absence ? My arm’s seem to have gotten shorter & I now need reading glasses !!! Thanks again, rudedog