Ok. Great info. Let me take a little different tack because you are the second one to mention Tamiya acrylics. I have just about every color of Tamiya acrylics there is. Are you folks saying Tamiya Acrylics spray just as well, or better than, Model Air Colors?
I was going for Model Air because it is claimed is that they are airbrush ready out of the bottle. Are Tamiya Acrylics airbrush ready out of the bottle? If not, what’s the correct thinning ratio and what is the best thinner to use with them?
If you already have Tamiya paint, definitely stick with that. 100 times better than Vallejo will ever be. Thinned with lacquer thinner they spray wonderfully. I don’t use any formula for thinning, just mix until it sprays how I want it, but I would guess about 50/50. If you really want easy painting switch to MRP immediately and you will never look back, however Tamiya is very good.
I like spraying Model Air more than Tamiya but like was said earlier Model Air feels spongy after it drys. Tamiya feels smooth but the mix is hard to achieve.
Yes, Tamiya air brushes superbly. You can thin it with their thinner or generic lacquer thinner for best results. Usually a 2 parts paint to one part thinner ratio is a good starting point, but may need variation. The main downside of Tamiya is that most of their colors are “generic”, so to speak. Most , aside from the more recent releases, are not matched to FS, ANA, BSC, RAL, or RLM standards, if you work in builds that use those. But aside from that angle, they really are great paints to use. And you can easily add a drop of this color or that color to any of their main colors to get them close enough to what you need for accuracy adjustments.
I never understood why tamiya has such a limited range of colours. Their spray paints have a great variety, especially for the car modeler. But, for some reason, they don’t have those same colours in their acrylic range/bottle range.
My new primer of choice is Stynlyrez by Badger. A online friend here sent me a bottle last year, I’ve used nothing else since.
Other primers I’ve used and like (end echoing others above); Tamiya surface primer (all textures), Mr Surfacer, Alclad surface primer.
Two to run from (IMO). Model Master grey primer. Not even a primer, it is a color called grey primer. And Vallejo surface primer, which must be great for figure painting and stuff. But for the rest of us, it doesn’t adhere that great and it doesn’t sand, just gums up.
BTW, Vallejo acrylics (Model Air and Model Color) are my go to paints, so I’m not throwing stones at Vallejo, I just don’t care for thier primer.
To chime in on the Tamiya discussion, I agree with my mates here, it is really good stuff and sprays great. But the color selection is way to limited for me, and I don’t care to mix colors (just personal preference/laziness…I actually admire folk who do custom mix)
Go to Megahobby.com. 4 oz. bottle for $11.25 There are three colors to choose from. Amazon and Ebay can provide deals, but can also provide crazy prices, like the one you found. Personally, I would rather order from online hobby stores so that they stay in business. I would use a local hobby store (brick and mortar) if I had one near by.
I’m embarrassed to admit I ordered these in Oct last year and haven’t used them yet but, I got all the available colors(6) of Stynylrez in 4oz bottles for $44.48 from Amazon. They shipped from Supreme Hobbies. So the colors are: white, gray, black, red brown, olive green and neutral yellow. Somehow I managed to get free shipping but don’t recall how. And, as I said, I haven’t actually used them yet so I can’t attest as to how they spray but most of what I’ve read has been good. That’s about $8 per 4oz. Not inexpensive but 4oz should go quite a ways.
Haven’t tried Model Air either but plan to. Their Metal Colors intrigue me as, from what I’ve read, you can tint them with any of their other colors. I think that would be very handy for natural metal finishes, jet exhausts and such. Tip dry hopefully can be handled with Flow Enhancer or whatever.
I think the key is to pick a type/brand of paint, learn how to work with it and stick with it until you know it inside out. Model Air offers a large selection of colors and you can always adjust them to suit your particular application. If wanted. As long as they stay where you put them.
