Hello all. I live in NYC and there are only 2 accessible hobby shops in the city, and they’re still kinda difficult to get to for me. I pretty new to this, so I always have trouble picking out paints that I’ll need for whatever build I’m doing. So I figured that I’ll order some online. My question is which colors should I get and from where. I generally prefer acrylics, I handbrush for now but might switch up to an airbrush. Generally I do German and Soviet armor of WWII and some aircraft.
Well your first trick is determining what “colors” you want to use in general and then figuring out which manufacturer you want to go with. Here’s a couple of links that might help you out, most of the online shops will list the colors by the manufacturer name and item code so it can be confusing without some sort of cross reference.
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/colorcharts_2.asp
http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/pmodels/mmhtm.html
For generally used German colors, this is a handy site to reference and then figure out what’s the best match with your particular brand or preference/availability.
I recommend going to www.squadron.com or www.modelmecca.com for paints and supplies. I use Tamiya, Humbrol, Polly Scale and Model Master. HTH.
Yep, as stated, you’ll want to determine some general colours, such as a few shades of greens, browns, grays, and yellows/baiges…then you’ll want to add some detail colours, such as black, white, etc, that you can use to alter the usual shades.
I myself use Tamiya (not that good for handbrushing) and Model Master Acryl. I’ve been trying to find a decent place that carries Vallejo as these seem to be best formulated for hand brushing.
Off Topic: Nice to see you posting Kaleu, always good to see you around here, even though its always too far long between your posts.
Thanks. I’ve been trying to get on here more often but have been working a lot on models and helping to get our local IPMS show ready for next year. To keep this on topic, here is the color mix I am using for the Trumpeter SA-6: Tamiya dark green mixed 1:1 with Tamiya Buff. I am using Vallejo and Games Workshop paints for the tools and other stuff on the vehicle.
I feel that enamels cover better with a brush than acrylics. Acrylics do dry faster and are easier to clean out of an AB without as much noxious fumes IMO. My all-time favorite enamels are the Humbrol in a tin.
A good place to start is the color call outs in the kit instructions. These will give you the basic colors needed. Then peruse the build articles in modelling magazines and online. The author will usually tell you what colors and brands he used. These are good places to start and after a while you will form your own opinions and develop your favoites.
Hey guys thanks a lot for the replies I’ll definetely check out the websites you mentioned. I’ll say this though, Enamels are a little too hardcore for me to use, gimme headaches and are a pain to clean off the brushes. I don’t keep kits on hand but tend to buy them on the whim, xcept for the one I’m working on now the new Dragon Sd.Kfz 234/1, so I can’t rely on callouts in instructions, but will definetely go through prior builds instructions to at least build up a database. But your posts have definetely been helpful. Now for another question, do you tend to mix your own custom colors or generally rely on the straight out of the can ones? I’m not just talking about lightening and darkening ut full on colors for wood handles or tools etc.?
I usually use the paints out of the bottle but sometimes I do mix colors to get a different shade if I want a faded or abandoned appearance on the model. For wood or metal colors I use Games Workshop “Vermin Brown” and Boltgun metal. I will also dry brush a small amount of Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna to get some grain in the wood. HTH.
I use tamiya with my air brush…great coverage and no bad odours they also dry really quickly, I thin them with car screen wash which really helps the flow from my air brush.
I have just started using vallejo for hand painting they are great…thinned with water, no odour and really good coverage. they come in really handy eye drop bottles which is great!
Cheers
Mark
Where in NYC? Staten Island has one of the best old time hobby shops.