I will always have a soft spot and much respect for Humbrol Enamels.
Even for an inexperienced modeler with a basic starter airbrush like below an a can of Propel, thinned 1 to 1 with house hold lacquer, well stirred Humbrol sprays amazing well.
From 40+ years ago, couple of my very early airbrushing attemps using Humbrol, Badger Basic set & Laquer thinner. Humbrol was the only paint I could get to spray semi decent back in the mid 1970’s.
Yea, but it is so hard to get it stirred. I love Humbrol paints, but I hate those stupid little tins!
Ken
The tins were horrible. You had to make sure you cleaned the cap and rim completely or they would become hard to get on or off next time
So True! I kept a good sized flat blade screw driver handy back then to pry the stuck lids off.
IMHO it is easier to pry off the pressed on lid than unscrewing a cap locked solid by dried paint in the threads.
That is definitely true Robin. I too kept a small screw driver handy to get the lids off. Gotta say though, they did brush on very good.
Yup, I have a small supply of Xtracolor enamels as well. I like those paints almost as much as Humbrol. But they were harder to find at local shops. They had plenty of colors you could not get in other paint lines such as Cold War Warsaw Pact Air Forces, French Air Force, and Bundesluftwaffe colors. Between Humbrol and Xtracolor, you really had a huge line of colors available.
I’m with Robin on preferring to unstick a tin lid over a twist off bottle cap. And once you learn the tricks of stirring the tins, instead of shaking them to properly mix the paint, you get superb results, hand brushed or airbrushed.
Apparently I still haven’t learned that trick, because I have a hell of a time stirring, or shaking them.
My problem with the lids is not getting them off, that IS easy, it’s getting them back on again, tight, so they don’t leak or dry out.
Ken
Screw on caps: make sure the threads are clean to avoid issues later
Press on tin lids: make sure the sealing surfaces are clean to avoid issues later
In both cases some effort is needed to maintain the proper function of the system.
I think that cleaning smooth surfaces on a tin lid is easier than keeping the threads clean
but that is just personal preference.
Stirring: Tedious but at the same time it’s almost meditative.
The Zen of Humbrol tins or something …
A nice love tap with a hammer always worked wonders for that in my experience. Keep screw driver handy to pry lid off 
Anyway worked for me as a kid
Nothing to see here
Those are some OLD little 1/4 Oz Testor’s bottles because can actually see the paint!
The newer bottles seem practically wrapped in,warning labels. Almost have to turn the bottle over and look at the bottom to see the paint 
I still have several of the old Testors 1/4 oz. bottles that I got back in the early 80s sitting in my paint rack.
Pactra with the color caps! Now that’s old school:)
Yes, and the red Testors bottle, sixth from the right, has a Pactra labeled cap!
That’s a great lineup there - I think the red Testors qualifies as true vintage. I remember the big Pactra Flats bottles from the 70’s. The OP - still looking for one older than this -
At .19c I see that one as the oldest. The ones I pictured above are already at .30c
So, anyone have an .18c bottle? Lol
A basement flood wiped out my old paint containers years ago. But I have an interesting hobby paint story.
I was in my teens when the Wieboldt’s stores went out of business, and there was the Yorktown Illinois store (the space now a Von Maur) when had a semi-abandoned third floor which had some hobby supplies in it. I was tickled to find and buy a can of purple hobby spray paint for nineteen cents, even though I didn’t really get a bargain.
