Hey, hey. Searched through these forums and did not find what I was looking for so…
A friend of mine wants to get back into building models. He built models as a kid using the cheap little Testor’s paint bottles.
My knowledge of existing paint lines is really limited. I switched from Model Master enamels (now dead) to Vallejo Acrylics and have almost zero experience with anything else.
This person will never be a hard core model builder. He will not even try to paint a model ‘accurately’. He likes cartoon type stuff.
The perfect paint line would be cheap, have lots of vibrant colors, go on in one coat, self level, and not scrape off easily. Cheap craft paint will NOT work.
He is okay with the idea of priming but would avoid it if possible. He will brush paint everything, at least at first. He likes the idea of using an airbrush, eventually, if things work out.
Is there anything out there that comes close to meeting all these requirements? Would Tamiya paints do the job?
Thanks.
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My limited experience of Tamiya paints is that they are not easy to brush paint.
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No. They certainly are not.
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My experience is that the Vallejo Model Color line brushes nicely
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I feel like there is currently some issue with VMC, or at least as far as Hobby Lobby is concerned as the ones near me no longer carry it.
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For brush paint AK3gen works for me best. You can dilute it with water, is is drying matt. It is very good pigmented, and with drying it blures togetherer (levels), so paint strokes will vanish a little. The range is growing, but as it is easy to mix I have only basic colors…
With enough water you can blend colors together, make glacing effects, and so on.
I only use it for small things, so I can not say, how it works for a complete paint coat.
Rabbits
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I’ve been hand brushing AK 3rd Gen and Vallejo acrylics on 1/32 and 1/35 models, and both are a good choice IMO. I would even say that Vallejo may be better for paint brushing. With paint retarder, the strokes can be managed well.
I recently tried a Citadel paint, and I really liked it, although it was on for a small job, but I’d give it a go for a full paint job too.
Army Painter is advertising for high pigment paints, but I’ve never tried them myself. I think in terms of price, all those acrylic brands are more or less the same.
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Doug, not mentioned yet - AK Real Color lacquers. They meet ALL of these requirements. Plus they are easy to airbrush when he gets there. They have all the primary and secondary colors, plus their armor and aero lines. IMHO, they are THE paint on the market today.
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Lacquers with a hand brush? I keep reading conflicting opinions on that.
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Yes. They brush paint exceptionally well and self-level so no brush marks.
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Depends on what type of solvent/thinner they use …
water based lacquers are not as difficult as old fashioned lacquers
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I thin AK Real Colors with Mr. Color Levelling Thinner and the results are spectacular.
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New challenge unlocked!
I’m planning on getting an airbrush as an Xmas gift, but in the meantime I have an upcoming project that should be perfect to test this combo instead of the spray can or AKI acrylics!
How about the fumes though?
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Another vote for Vallejo from me. Easy to use, easy to clean, no nasty smells, huge amount of colours. The new Game range has a lot of variety with plenty of bright colours.
The Modelair range can be brushed too, but sometimes needs a couple of coats. The metallics in that range are excellent and go down nice and thin when brushed.
Priming is essential though as I find they don’t adhere that well to bare plastic.
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The fear of fumes is greatly exaggerated.
We are not really spraying half a gallon in each painting session …
Don’t spray inside a small closet, have a fan to blow in some fresh air.
Paint particles in the air will cause a “dust” layer so I think those are
a larger problem than the fumes.
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Most acrylics (NOT Tamiya “acrylics”) will perform well. But you must clean your brush really well after each use.
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May I suggest Army Painter acrylics or Games Workshop acrylics as they have a large selection.
In addition I mark my brushes so they use the same color. This way no cross contamination.
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If he has any interest in enamels, the MCW line might be something for him to look at. Mike has a good selection of military colors and pretty much any automotive related color under the sun.
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Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. I am looking up brands at Scale Hobbyist and getting an idea of prices for bottles and paint sets.
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I like Vallejo too, but it fails the “doesn’t chip off” test.
OP, your friend has some very tough requirements there! Frankly, getting good results requires work and some prep. I’m no expert but I feel like if such a paint existed that fit all your criteria, it would quickly monopolize the market and become the only paint used!
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