I am just getting back into the hobby after an almost 18 year hiatus and I will say a lot has changed, especially in the paints department. First off let me say that I am going to be focusing on military models from the WWII era, I probably will be starting off with a Jeep or another transport vehicle. I have no idea what paints I should buy, is there a basic list of paints that I should have on my work bench for every model? What brand of paints should I buy? Is there a paint set that I should get or should I buy it pot by pot? Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated, and I want to just say thank you right now for your help and I hope that sometime down the road I can help you in return.
Selecting paints is but the first step in a life-long debilitating addiction, embrace this thought.
That said- would you prefer to work in acrylics, enamels, lacquers or what?
I primarily use Model Master paints in both acrylic and enamel formulas as they’re readily available in the US and they’re also locally stocked so I can make a last-minute re-up when needed. MM also has colors for pretty much every popular modeling subject, making guessing “what color?” less of an issue.
As far as basics go, It’s hard to build up a stock of colors until you know what you’re going to be using most often… in time you’ll just know what you need (and don’t have handy).
Some manufacturers do sell theme-specific paint sets, which can get you pointed in the right direction but you’ll doubtlessly need to augment those limited line-ups with other colors.
Hope this helps.
Good information above – all good points. It depends on what and how you want to paint. If you’ve been out 18 years, you’d be surprised at how much acrylics have changed. I like to use them when I can because it’s easy cleanup, as opposed to solvent-based enamels. But even though acrylics are tougher than ever, it’s still hard to beat enamels for a tough-as-nails finish. I like 'em both for spraying. For hand-berushing, my favorite is Vallejo – they have a zillion colors and, hand-brushed, they level well and don’t show brush marks. Amazing stuff.
I’d say, rather than buying a set of something right away, try a few different types and see what you like before loading up.
Good luck, and enjoy!
There is a forum just for painting and airbrushing in this group of forums. There have been a number of threads about paint selection in the recent past. I suggest you hop over to that forum and peruse the last few weeks of threads.
I take issue with the easy cleanup of acrylics. Yeah, they are easy to clean up if you do it immediately. However, if you get distracted and the stuff dries in your airbrush or brush, then cleaning out the hardened paint is actually harder than with enamels. And, you do need a solvent, just a different solvent (water-alcohol mix).
Just buy the colors specified for the model you are going to work on. The instruction book usually lists colors, hopefully by several manufacturer’s color numbers.
Then when you start a second kit, do the same thing. Pretty soon you’ll have a hundred little bottles of paint on your bench! No need to buy a “set”.
For spray paints I like Model Master (Testors) and tamya. Get yourself about 10 or 15 different shades of grey. you can never have to many greys on hand.
Other colors to keep in stock that you will use often are flat black and gunmetal. A silver, steel or aluminum color is another you will use a lot.
…Unless its 50 shades of gray…[:O]
I try to use acrylics whenever possible. I prefer to use Tamiya or Vallejo. Tamiya 10ml jars are cheap and Vallejo airbrushes very smoothly. They do dry fast but I like the no odors and the cleanup with cheap store brand Windex. Enamels have their place. If you’re doing an aircraft and have to do alota masking then I’d say go with an enamel or add a little bit of Future to your acrylic paints. It’ll help them harden up better so they’ll be less likely to pull of when remove the masks.
Personally, using Vallejo’s primer and paint (model air), I find after a few hours I can’t lift it with masking tape, even if I try. There’s something about it that is tough as nails. I was talking to a fellow in a local hobby store the other day, and he told me “15 minutes after spraying the primer, he had to scrub with a lacquer thinner to remove it”, and personally I’ve found the same of their paints after a 24 hour dry.
I think it’s easy just to buy paints for each model you build as you go along,paint ain’t cheap.When you select your first project,just select the colors you need for that one,then same thing for the next and eventually you will accumulate a variety of colors on your bench,but there is no need to pre stock everything,just what you need for each build.Then your stock will grow on its own.
I find paints pretty cheap (even the proprietary thinners) compared to the price of kits these days. I have passed up a number of kits I would like to build but just do not want to pay that price. I have never passed up a kit because I would have to buy too many colors of paint.
I usually buy paint specifically these days for a new kit project because I use Testors enamels, and these have a definite shelf life problem- well, at least after they are opened once or twice.
Yeah, I tend to buy the colors I need for each kit I start. Someone mentioned keeping a stock of colors you use a lot, so I always have black, white, different grays, browns and a few silver colors. I also will tend to buy primary colors-bright blue, red, green, yellow, because they allow you to mix colors and get just about anything you want. This allows me to avoid having to buy another color, because I’m a cheap bastard. I will print out 5 Hobby Lobby 40% coupons for the week they are running that and buy a bottle of paint each day, since they only allow one coupon usage per day. However, that knocks a jar of paint from over $4.00 down to $2.25.
I am a fan of the Model Master Acryls and use them on 95% of my builds. You have to get into the habit of cleaning your airbrush immediately, and to me they are still very finicky when you spray, so they need to be thinned just right. After five years of using them, I’m just getting comfortable to the point where dealing with them is force of habit. Still easier than dealing with enamels or lacquers, at least in my own opinion. YMMV.
I match up all the colors I will need and keep them in stock all the time,I have always done it that way, now I use Acrylics
once you know how to get a good seal on your jars, and you know to breathe into the jar each time you close it,keeping Acrylics around is not that hard
there are 48 more paints since that was taken, mostly Lifecolors and the Testors Acrylic group
Rex
Why breathe into the jar?
Steve
oxygen is one of the elements that dries paint,air is oxygen and nitrogen and some inerts,we exhale Carbon Dioxide, nitrogen and the same inerts
you just breathe towards the jar a bit, the CO2 is heavier than Oxygen, it is displaced, then cap it off
you now have a jar sealed with no free Oxygen in it
I have long since forgotten who’s tip that was,but, it is from the days of using Floquil and Dio-Sol, before the first set of Model Master paints came out
Rex
Rex,
Thanks for the tip.
Steve