Hi this is ken Holland I’ve been a model builder for a very long time I’ve always used testors enamels I have used just a few acrylic over the years I’m trying to switch to acrylics for brushing what acrylic can I buy ready to use for one coat coverage without building up layers
Vallejo Model Color and Panzer Aces line are very good for hand brushing
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First, it’s good to remember that there are different acrylics. That is, many modelers think “acrylic” means “water-soluable”, because many brands of acrylic paints are water-soluable. But “acrylic” refers to the chemical makeup of the binder (I think it is) in the paint. Something to be aware of.
Vallejo’s Model Color is water-soluable; I don’t know about Panzer Aces, because I’ve never used it.
Andrea’s Andrea Color, LifeColor, Reaper’s MSP Core Colors, and the craft store brands Americana, Folk Art, and Apple Barrel, are all water-soluable. So, they can be thinned with water (some prefer distilled water), and cleaned up with water. They can be used with a wet palette, which I use. They can also be thinned and cleaned with isopropyl.
Tamiya’s acrylics, on the other hand, use an alcohol-based binder. You can try to thin them with water, but I get my best results with them, whether airbrushing or brushing by hand, using Tamiya’s proprietary acrylic thinner to thin them. I clean my paintbrushes with isopropyl after using them.
You can use the brands I’ve mentioned for one-coat coverage, more or less, but my experience is to apply them in a couple of thin layers. Trying to lay down a single coat tends to wind up with too thick a coat and obscure details.
Hope that helps!
Best regards,
Brad
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Panzer Aces is a Vallejo brand also, waterbased. It hand brushes well like Model Color. Vallejo’s Game Color and Mecha Color lines are formulated similarly to Model Color as they hand brush well and can be thinned for airbrush use. The paint’s names may be more generic and not recognized as a ‘military’ color - but they work and will fill the need.
Why so many different brands to do the same thing? Well, my take is the wingnuts don’t like the treadheads and vice-versa, Gamers don’t like military. And Mechas dont like anybody. Vallejo has all the bases covered, 
Everybody is happy
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Any type of artists acrylics I’ve bought off Amazon work fine for brush painting.
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Which really is a win-win-win, if you don’t hold any of these prejudices – because each Vallejo line has plenty of unique colors and “special effects” type paints and anyone not taking advantage of all the options is, IMO, missing out!
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I use Vallejo Model Air Color paints for hand brushing. Granted, they’re mainly for airbrushing instead, but they can be hand brushed. But it might take more than 1 coat depending on color used and model being built. But I like them for their self leveling quality and range of colors. I’ll never go back to Tamiya. Never.
I have used Vallejo Model Color, Model Air, Panzer Aces and Game color paints for brush painting and each works well, though I find model air less suitable (depending on the color). Model Color is the closest to a “One Shot” paint, because it has the highest pigment concentrations, but in my experience to get the best results with brush painting you have to build up the color with thin layers to minimize brush strokes and keep the paint film reasonably thin.
Konrad
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Thank you I’m going to start with the Vallejo model color as suggested
I personally like Italeri & Revell acrylics. The new generation of Humbrol acrylics work well too. Pactra acrylics are still available from Poland. I’ve used all and can recommend them.
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