Humbrol Paints

The little tins of enamel were good quality paints, but not as convenient as the tiny American bottles. I liked them when I used to use them, still have a few tins.

I have used them in the past,on par with Modelmaster enamels,but I hated those tins.

I like them, but old school. One thing is they last forever. I have some tins that must be 30 years old and are still good.

Bill

Southpawslingshot?

 Now! that is a mouthful.

       As to your question. During the late Sixties and through to the Eighties I exclusivley used Humbrol. Why? Tis, simple my Lad or Laddie. You could trust the color compatability from batch to batch."Deck Bleached Teak" which I had to use a lot of for instance. This color stayed consistanty pure and stable for over thirty years. Then they decided it would no longer be offered.

      Leastwise the old company. Now I have a question for you. Are you talking about the old company's products or the New, which I don't even know who the Parent company is? At one time it was offered under the Monogram label even!

I've been a die hard Humbrol fan/user for 30+ years now. They did have some quality control issues several years ago when they switched production to China (imagine that, poor Chicom quality control), but that has been since corrected. For airbrushing or hand brushing there are no better enamels. Aside from the usual problem light colors such as Yellows, they give superb one coat hand brushing coverage. Their matt/flat colors give the flattest finish of any enamels, hand brushed or air brushed. Airbrushing is never a problem with clogging or tip dry. Using the tins does have a learning curve, and cleaning the lids before resealing helps keep the tins sealing properly for a potentially decades long shelf life on seldom used colors. The main trick to using them is stirring them thoroughly in the tin to insure proper mixing, and thinning them, if need be, outside the tin in the amount needed for the subject when hand brushing. Once they've dried and cured, you'll get a finish that can withstand any subsequent handling. Don't pour them from the tin when you're mixing or thinning for airbrushing, but instead use a dropper or the Tamiya paint stirring stick spoon end for those purposes.

Ditto on the 30+ years with Humbrol. Still have a tool box drawer full of them and they are still good.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

fox

Ditto on the 30+ years with Humbrol. Still have a tool box drawer full of them and they are still good.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

 

I have tins of Humbrol that are more than 60 (!) years old and still as good as the day they left the factory. It's my go-to paint, with Colourcoats an extremely close second. As long as you keep the lids and rims clean and the tin well-sealed, they will last forever.

Agreed about the really old days - Humbrol paint was terrific, if you didn't have a problem with the tins.  Some years ago (ten years?) they had some quality control with the tints in their tint and the wonderful old "fact" that the color matched from one tin to another went away and we could no longer trust them. 

Then, in just the past year or so, I guess, they switched from enamel to acrylic paint and the wonderful consistency was now history.

So I am no longer delighted with Humbrol paint.  They may still be a tad bit better for hand brushing than the types that come in dropper bottles, but that's not saying much for me.