Paint question

I’ve got a question for you guys. I’ve used some paints over the past, but I was wondering what (Most of you) paint companies are best. I use Model Master, Tamiya, Model Paint, (The brand), and a bit of Mig. are there any major ones I should try out?

I don’t use mig that often, though :slightly_smiling_face:

I’m a big fan of Tamiya and Gunze (Mr Hobby) acrylics. They perform consistently and reliably when thinned with Mr Levelling Thinner especially. Lately I have also been using Lacquer paints from Tamiya, Gunze. MRP and also from SMS (a local brand here in Australia). The good thing about SMS and MRP lacquers is that they go straight from the jar to the airbrush cup, no thinning required, they spray beautifully and dry very quickly so you can mask off and move to the next stage literally within minutes. The downside is the odour, they are quite strong.

I’ve found the best way to check out options is to jump on YouTube and watch some paint review videos, there are hundreds of them out there by modelers from all levels.

Cheers, D

You can get excellent results from just about any brand of model paints. My best advice is find the brand and / or type of paint (enamels, lacquers, water base acrylic, or cellulose based acrylic) you like or can find easily and stick with it until you master all of its pros and cons.

In my experience, there is no single brand or type that is foolproof or which has no potential issues or drawbacks. User experience and skill has much, much more to do with getting good results than the brand name on the bottle.

Having said all that, I almost exclusively use Tamiya paints for airbrushing and Vallejo Model Color paints for hand brushing.

However, I also use artist oils over acrylics for painting figures, and I have a lot of Floquil Model RR paints that I still airbrush with, and I also use Citadel / Games Workshop, Andres, and Reaper for hand brushing.

I’ve been building models for well over 50 years, and I’ve used many other different paint types and brands in the past - Pactra, Testors (old and Model Master), Humbrol, Revell, Floquil Military Colors, Poly Scale, etc., etc., etc. …

Again, my best advice is to find a brand and type that is readily available at the nearest LHS and learn to use it or pick a medium (hobby enamels, water based acrylics, lacquers, or cellulose based acrylics) and stick with that until you have some very specific reason to change. Learn to make the paint “dance to your tune and not make you dance to its.”

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Availability is another consideration. A great paint that you cannot get is not helpful.

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I just tried out some of the Mission Model Paints,they have a big color range.You need their thinner and polymer,but it really lays down nice,a smooth hard finish.I also use the usual suspects Tamiya and Vallejo.I did this Sherman in Mission Models

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My main port of call is Tamiya. It also goes down to what everyone has mentioned, and at the end of the day, its what you think works best for you. I tend to use Tamiya like i said before, but mix slight colour variations depending on what I’m modelling. I also have a few Vallejo, and also a few Lifecolor Panzer sets, which are really nice and flat when applied. One thing I have picked up on when I have been following peoples builds is washes. They can make a hell of a difference, So hopefully Santa will be bringing me a few of the ones I asked for (if SHMBO was listening lol)

I’m going to drop this reply in extra belatedly :wink:

In my experience, the question of “what the best paint is” is entirely predicated by what you are looking to achieve. For instance, do you want to paint a glassy finish on a motorcycle, or do you want to paint tools in 1/35? What paints work best will depend based on the task they are used for.

This is all a roundabout way of me saying that I’m about to speak in generalities.

In my neck of the woods here in the frozen north, most hobby stores will carry Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, and not much else (although Testors enamels do appear frequently). I understand that many people like using Vallejo paints, and I myself use them for painting faces, but not much else to be quite honest. The majority of my work is either armour or shiny airplanes, so I have begun to use Tamiya lacquers on a daily basis. At the risk of sounding like a Tamiya fanboy, it is my opinion that they are probably the best paints out there. Good base coats to weather for armour, and the clear does wonders on the shinier things.

Mission Models is a fairly new paint line, in fact the store I work at only started stocking them about six months ago. If you airbrush, I highly recommend having a stash of these, especially if you like doing military subjects. These acrylics are pre-thinned, and they spray a very pleasant finish. They’re also non-toxic, so almost all of my detail brush painting is done with them.

One paint line I’d recommend if you like cars, motorcycles etc is Splash paints. They sell these 2-part lacquers and good lord do they look nice. The only downside with these paints is that the line they’re in is fairly niche, so your best bet in getting them is to order them straight from Splash itself. Biggest downside: they’re EXPENSIVE! But they do sell 2K gloss clear, so that’s something to consider.