What line of paints would you recommend?

Tamiya Acrylic.

It's a fact that they don't offer the range of some others, but most of the usual suspects are available. Tamiya airbrushes very well & is in my opinion a thoroughly consistent product.

Although some will shoot me down, I have tried to use Humbrol acrylic on several occasions (because of the wider range), & have been far from impressed with the quality & consistency in comparison to Tamiya.

i agree tamiya acrylic is good humbrol acrylics are just as good though, i have been using them for sometime now i also use revell aquacolour but i prefer humbrol acrylics and tamiya acrylics

hope this helps

Polly Scale paints are my absolute favorite.I like Tamiya,but it has a tendancy to disintegrate upon contact with other brands of paint and some times plastic.

I am big fan of acrylics; I use Tamiya and Testor's Acryls almost exclusively.

I'd advise your friend to do a couple of things. First get a FREE subscription to Model Retailer magazine which is one of FSM sister publications. It is for the retailer, not the consumer. If he is already getting it, is he reading it? It will help him see what is selling and what isn't before committing to stocking a product.

Second he should spend at least one day (two would be better) at this years iHobby Expo in Chicago (October) to visit with and see what products are available to him. He'll have the chance to meet and talk with the mfrs and distributors face to face. He'll also be able to take advantage of any specials they might be offering at the show. If he could even have his airline ticket paid for!

The thing about paints, you can never have enough lines or the offerings in the line. On the other hand having too much is a waste too, especially when it doesn't sell. Very few LHS stock everything for that very reason. Floor space is valuable, and having a paint rack filled with product that doesn't turn over does little for the bottom line. Bringing in a full line is expensive.

If he's having problems selling MM, what makes him think he can sell other lines? Apparently his customers aren't buying paint from him. So I ask the question, Where are they and what are they buying?

Tony,

I agree with him that Tamiya doesn't have a HUGE selection.  Fortunately for me, my needs are fairly simple.  I like their flat acryllics and use them almost exclusively.

However from time to time there is something special I need and like many of us in this hobby I too hate to mix!  When Tamiya doesn't have it, I go to Testor's Model Master lines. 

Other than Tamiya, I find the easiest paints to work with are Vallejo's model air, which shoots very well and comes in a decent military color range, and Golden's airbrush, which comes in a good primary and seondary color range. 

That being said, none of these options put together have as many choices as Testors MM Acryl

(who I also dislike!) 

Personally, I'm not at all wild about their(testor's MM) acryllics; but their enamels ROCK!!

Another vote for Tamiya.

Their selection will cover most needs. It's hard to tell the difference in the shape differences for some of the large selections.

Who said he's having any problems selling paint Hawkeye? And outside of being hit by the recession just like everyone else his customers are right there, buying from him. He's been selling Testors products for a long time and I don't know what may have happened, didn't feel it was my place to ask, but he didn't seem to be very happy with them right now.

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping maybe some Mr Color fans would chime in. He sells what Polly Scale paints are available now along with Floquil and Pactra. They're all Testors products. I agree with you guys, I like Tamiya acrylics. They work very well. I like MM enamels and acrylics too, I like having variety. And that's one thing about the Model Master line, it covers just about everything under the sun. I seriously doubt that he'll stop carrying Testors products, probably just some misunderstanding that will be ironed out. I am going to suggest again that he stock Tamiya and that if he would like something with more colors available then possibly Mr Color or Vallejo.

Tony

Wingman_kz

Who said he's having any problems selling paint Hawkeye? And outside of being hit by the recession just like everyone else his customers are right there, buying from him. He's been selling Testors products for a long time and I don't know what may have happened, didn't feel it was my place to ask, but he didn't seem to be very happy with them right now.

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping maybe some Mr Color fans would chime in. He sells what Polly Scale paints are available now along with Floquil and Pactra. They're all Testors products. I agree with you guys, I like Tamiya acrylics. They work very well. I like MM enamels and acrylics too, I like having variety. And that's one thing about the Model Master line, it covers just about everything under the sun. I seriously doubt that he'll stop carrying Testors products, probably just some misunderstanding that will be ironed out. I am going to suggest again that he stock Tamiya and that if he would like something with more colors available then possibly Mr Color or Vallejo.

Tony

I've used Mr. Color paints to an extent, and I've been pleased with them. Properly thinned they shoot like a dream, go down smooth and level well, and dry extremely fast.

I don't see Testors (MM and Pollyscale) being comparable to Tamiya, they will appeal to competely different people. Testors offers a huge range of colors, Tamiya a small (relatively) so requires mixing, MM and Pollyscale can be hand brushed, Tamiya not so much.

Games Workshop is pretty good paint, but the range of color is not aimed at the historical military modeler, so again, not a good replacement for Testors.

Vallejo is the only paint I am familiar with that could potentially attract the MM / PS users being friendly to brush painters and offering a wide range of historical colors. You have mentioned he doesn't seem interested in Vallejo though.

Sounds like he has found himself in a pickle not wanting to sell a brand of paint that sells well. 

Thanks batai37. I may order a couple bottles to try and show him the results.

Tony

HawkeyeHobbies

...Where are they and what are they buying?

Hawk is of course correct. I'd like to see my LHS stock only Colourcoat ship colors because I am modeling ships now. Two years ago, MM because I was building aircraft and blindly thought that a Testors RLM72 was in fact that. Ten years ago, the dude typing now was a model railroader and Polly Scale was the bomb.

Today I was in my LHS buying Floquil "Engine Black" for my HMS Victory, and I saw the usual befuddled dad with kid staring blankly at the wall of paints.

"Can I help?".

"I'm looking for Candy Apple Red".

"Oh, you two are doing a car model".

"No, he has a school project and we need a transparent red color for some fruit he made out of paper mache".

I'd like to see the hobby shop stock what the customers want. I can buy what I want on line.

I recently switched to Mr. Color from MM Acryl. I liked Acryl but read so many good things about Mr. Color that I switched. Very impressed. Tamiya is also very good.

Jay