Hey all,
What paint brand are you guys using to replace the colors from Testors since they are no longer making model paints? Ive seen a couple of peoples benches and they seem to be using 3 to 4 different brands. Since Ive been away from the bench for the past nine years I have had to start looking for replacements to all of my Testors paints. Aside from Tamiya Ive tried Vallejo and AK and so far I’m liking them but they dont seem to have as an expansive range of the FS Standard colors. ANy suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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I like Mr Color paints. Thinned with their leveling thinner they are very predictable.
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Have you checked AK-Real they have a pretty good range of FS and,modern,and international,and they spray just like Tamiya.
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You will probably get a different suggestion with each reply. I have both of the paints mentioned by John and Tony. I tend to lean towards Mr. Color and Tamiya myself. But I have, and use, Tamiya LP, Ammo by MIG, AK Real paints. Probably best to give a few different brands a try to see what you like best. I love how easy Mr. Color and Tamiya paints thinned with leveling thinner go down.
AK - 3G, Real, and Xtreme Metal
Tamiya - both lacquer and acrylic
MRP
Mr. Color
Vallejo
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I mostly use Tamiya, but if there’s a specific Testors color I look it up on Scalemates and see what they have listed for similar colors from other brands.
I like and use Tamiya XF, X and LP paints and my only complaint about Tamiya is that the colors don’t fall in-line with the FS paint identification system. The complex mixing formulas drive me nuts. When I really need a specific color, I go to Vallejo Model Air. I love the way it airbrushes without any fuss, especially if I only need six or eight drops to put into my Badger 100g.
I never even thought to look at Scalemates to see what a good equivilant fo a Testors color
+1 to Mr. Color. You cannot beat them mixed with their leveling thinner, and on top of a Mr. Surfacer primer coat. It does seem that there have been some issues recently with getting colors into the US; not sure what the cause is, but I was at Colpar in Denver yesterday, which is probably the biggest and best shop in the Rockies and they were totally out of Mr. Surfacer and the staff was mentioning issues in ordering and getting paints. For my TPS scheme on my SH-2F, I had to order from two different sources to get all the grays. But they are still my first choice if I can get the colors.
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Colpar’s is the Best!
I live in The Springs and drive up to Colpar’s (Aurora store) at least once a month!