Hi everyone,
Due to recently moving I cannot use my airbrush right now. Ofcourse I do still want to make an aircraft model, a 1/48 bf109E to be accurate. So I will brush paint it. Now I have easy access to a few paints and I have been reading reviews. Yet I cannot choose… which paint out of this series would you pick?
-Vallejo model air (for airbrushing I believe so not great)
-Valleje Model Color
-Lifecolors
-Revell aqua colors
Thanks for the help everyone
Have a great day!
Most acrylic paint can be brushed well if you are willing to spend a little time figuring it out. Painting small surfaces has never been an issue for me, but when trying to paint larger areas with solid colors it can start to look bad. For me, the trick was to add some golden acrylic retarder to the paint (not to the jar/bottle), and find a viscosity that works well for the situation. The retarder slows down the drying time long enough to allow the paint to level itself out a bit better, and eliminate more of the brush strokes. Thinner paint will also retain less brushstrokes.
I would recommend starting with a paint that is thicker rather than thinner, since you can always thin a paint easily. I suppose you could increase the viscosity of a very thin paint by adding an acrylic gel medium to it.
If I had to choose just one acrylic paint off your list I would choose the Vallejo colors, simply because I have read more about them than the other colors on your list. Though being the person that I am, I would grab one of each just to try them all out. The Revell colors interest me due to their unique packaging.
PS. If I really had to choose just one paint to brush with, I would choose an enamel paint rather than an acrylic. I’m sure it’s my own lack of practice with painting acrylics on scale models, but I have had much better luck brushing Humbrol enamels. The slow dry time tends to work well with my limited time anyway.
Choosing from your list, I’d personally go with Vallejo Model Color. It has the best self-leveling properties of any hobby acrylic I have ever brush painted.
Hope you find one you are happy with!
LifeColor paints are also wonderful for brush painting, but are more spendy than Vallejo.
I just did some brush painting with some Ammo of Mig colors, specifically their Rubber / Tire black color. It flowed well and didnt tend to show brush strokes at all. I used it on the tires of my 1/32 Bf-109. I had never used Ammo products before and was actually impressed at the coverage. The paint is bottled similarly to Vallejo paints, but much, much thinner and contains an agitator in the bottle to help mix the paints. I do believe that Ammo products are more expensive than Vallejo however.
I don’t use any on the list. I use Testors enamel, and find it works well both for hand brushing and for airbrushing.
I use a wide range brand of paint - acrylics and enamels for both airbrushing and hand painting.
I used to go only with enamels but now am an acrylics man. Love the easy cleaning and no offensive odors! LOL! Love Vallejos line of paints.
I’ve never been able to successfully brush paint acrylic paints (Tamiya in particular) as they will “Roll up”. on all but the tiniest of parts or surfaces, and also won’t level. And you can forget brush painting gloss in any medium, unless you are paining a tiny light (for instance).
I find Humbrol flat enamels are the best for brush painting followed by Testors flat MM enamels.
Hello I’ve always used testers enamels trying to brush acrylics has been a nightmare how can i one coat acrylic without brush strokes
I do a lot with Vallejo. Proper thinning and patience to do multiple coats is key to getting consistent color without brush strokes.
Also important is to give each coat sufficient time to dry. Brush painting isn’t as fast an airbrush, but it is possible to get similar results.
I have always found enamels easy to brush.
You can brush Tamiya acrylics if you use their “Paint Retarder (Acrylic)”. Of course finding that precious fluid can be challenging.
Enamels always work well but need smelly chemicals to clean up the brush. I’ve worked with Humbrol, Revell and Tamiya for decades but now I’m switching to Vallejo acrylics because of the thinner smell that tends to fill the whole house. Also, enamels stick better so in general they don’t need a primer.
It was mentioned in some previous posts, and I’ll second it-for brush-painting, thinning the paint is important. I learned this over time, through trial and error.
I started out painting toy soldiers I cast, using Testor’s enamels right out of the bottle. I added other brands and media as I needed more colors. I didn’t mix colors back then, I bought a color off the rack. So I have enamels, like Testor and Model Master; water-based acrylics, like Andrea, and Vallejo Model Color; Tamiya’s X/XF acrylics, which are not water-based; and even water-based acrylic enamels from the old Pactra brand. I applied the old paints right out of the jar to my figures.
I noticed particularly with the Tamiya acrylics that they did not paint well this way. They would clump, and a second coat could lift the first coat off, even if it looked like the first coat had cured.
When I started playing with an airbrush, and read somewhere that Tamiya’s acrylics were formulated specifically for airbrushing, and were meant to be thinned, a light went on. I decided to try thinning them. It still took me some time till I broke down and bought Tamiya’s proprietary X-20A thinner and tried that. That’s when I got my best results, and I could lay down coats as thin as if they were sprayed.
So, for me, when I paint by hand, I do this:
With the Tamiya acrylics, the Pactra paints, and the enamels, I thin them in one of 2 ways:
This is just what I do and what works for me. You can try it for yourself and see whether it works for you, too.
Hope that helps!
Best regards,
Brad
I’ve had good luck brush painting with Vallejo Model Color and using their thinner. I also like to brush paint with Army Painter paints and I even brush paint with those acrylic craft paints. Good luck with your project.