Tamiya Acrylics still not on the shelves

It's all rumor, I doubt any one really knows.  I was told back in early March it would be late May.

That's what I'm afraid of!

their paint was never a problem but it was their thinner "X-20" that was. 

So why does nobody, and I mean nobody, have no stock of most of the flats?  Go and try to find XF-1 Flat Black (and many others).  Maybe they have the offending thinner as one of their constituents?

I got around the thinner problem by adding retarder to isopropyl, and it acts just like X-20.  But now I don't have the paint to thin!  Ran out of many colors months ago.

What I've heard from my LHS owner was that they are having some problems after Japan's earthquake. Don't shoot the messenger please. 2 of my LHS have plenty of empty slots on their Tamiya line.

My LHS is flat out of probably at least a third of Tamiya's line. They have some pretty big gaps in Vallejo (especially the grays and blacks) and Model Master (usually just the exact color I need, LOL), too. Not sure what that's about.

I've been increasingly making bulk buys online. Paints I need for my next 2-3 projects, plus any AM stuff, plus some stuff like brass tubing, etc, usually gets the total up to the point where the online price + shipping is still substantially lower than retail + sales tax.

Doesn't help with the Tamiya shortages, but I've had consistency issues with their stuff lately anyway (I thin with lacquer, but I think the temperature and humidity are mucking things up), so I've been increasingly using other brands. 

Check out these mail/internet order sites for Tamiya paints.  If one doesn't have the color you want/need maybe the other has it.

http://www.greatmodels.com/

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/index.php

It seems Squadron Mail Order is out-of-stock on a lot of Tamiya paints.

By the way, you'll have to copy and paste these into your browser.

Already had been through Great Models, my primary source.  Scalehobbyist has a few of my gaps so that helped.  I appreciate the tip.

Staples, i.e Flat Black, Flat White, and Dark Yellow are still a problem.  Also Olive Drab and Metallic Grey.

I have so much invested in Tamiya acrlics, including many pre-thinned color mixes ready to hit the airbrush, that I'm afraid I need to sit this out, as I have been for months.  If I give up and start to go model master acrylics, will isopropyl be a viable thinner?

The Tamiya order a local hobby shop recently made was not filled. The reason/excuse that the Tamiya supplier gave him was that Tamiya is changing the labels! They have not filled an order in this LHS since January 2011. Go figure!

It looks like we've gotten past these issues north of the border.  The lhs has full racks of Tamiya paints, plus other Tamiya finishing products I've never seen before.

This is all a labeling problem that has been going on for a long time. It has nothing to do with the Earth shaker that happened a few weeks ago.

 I talked to Tamiya USA in January and they said it would be out in the May. Just this week they said it would be three months before I see a shipment!

Thad

There's an LHS that's not so "L".  I happened to be int he area so I picked up the last 3 bottles of flat white.  Owner said the company that made their bottles got wiped out.  And added to that, everything that comes in to the US form Japan his put in quarantine until it is scanned for radiation. My wife works far a Japanese company and she confirmed that latter.  Their supply is back logged and customers are griping.

this is why i switched back to MM acrylics. i'll only use my tam acrylics if i really need to. 

randypandy831

their paint was never a problem but it was their thinner "X-20" that was. 

Sorry, my computer is being a ****. I wrote a message asking if anyone knew the specific problem with X-20, and if it was actually dangerous or not. Instead, my computer decided that it only wanted to publish the quote. Anyways, I then made a not-so-funny joke about how over-strict our government is about safety regulations when it can't even figure out its own budget (no partisan commentary intended). Hopefully my computer will actually publish my post this time.

Here's what Internet Hobbies says,

IMPORTANT! TAMIYA IS ONCE AGAIN BEING FORCED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO RE-LABEL THEIR PAINT LINE. THERE MAY BE OUTAGES OF CERTAIN COLORS WHILE TAMIYA IS IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING THIS PROJECT

Our LHS is fully stocked.

Kentucky Colonel

Here's what Internet Hobbies says,

 

IMPORTANT! TAMIYA IS ONCE AGAIN BEING FORCED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO RE-LABEL THEIR PAINT LINE. THERE MAY BE OUTAGES OF CERTAIN COLORS WHILE TAMIYA IS IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING THIS PROJECT

Sigh of relief. I feel your pain, but if this is a USA problem, then I guess I can leave off panicing. My store seems to have no troubles with supply.

Maybe I should move to Canada! :) 

Signed,

No joy in Nevada

I traveled to Tulsa, OK today to search for Tamiya paints. I went to the Hobby Town USA and they had maybe 24 bottles of colors I cannot use. I then went to Owasso, OK and he is loaded. The only colors he does not have are flat white and flat black. Those are the two colors I need. I am trying out Model Master Acrylic and Enamel paints in those colors. I have never used them but will play with them tomorrow. I have been using Floquil as needed. 

I have asked around and no one seems to know when the next shipment will be in. I did just happen to find a stash of Tamiya thinner I had forgotten about a few days ago in a drawer. I hope the problem is resolved soon. 

richardzoo84

 The only colors he does not have are flat white and flat black.  

Yup, that's what's missing the most 'round here.  I grabbed the least 3 flat whites and and LHS thats an hour+ away form me last week.

I did score yesterday in Norman OK. I found the 23ml flat black. I purchased the final bottles. I hope this will last me until a new shipment arrives in the US. I am thinking about looking in Canada or overseas for Tamiya products. I will let everyone know how it works out. 

Thanks for the update.  I'll be watching!

richardzoo84

I traveled to Tulsa, OK today to search for Tamiya paints. I went to the Hobby Town USA and they had maybe 24 bottles of colors I cannot use. I then went to Owasso, OK and he is loaded. The only colors he does not have are flat white and flat black. Those are the two colors I need. I am trying out Model Master Acrylic and Enamel paints in those colors. I have never used them but will play with them tomorrow. I have been using Floquil as needed. 

I have asked around and no one seems to know when the next shipment will be in. I did just happen to find a stash of Tamiya thinner I had forgotten about a few days ago in a drawer. I hope the problem is resolved soon. 

 

i have a load of tam paints but don't use them because X-20 is the best thinner period. i been using MM acrylics a lot recently with no problems. they dry fast so clean right after.

i have gunze paints on order. excited to give them a try. a lot of people love em.

I lucked out and found some X-20A! 

 I was on vacation (visiting the in-laws).  My brother in law took me and my son to see Cars 2 and afterwards for some Ice Cream.  We were at small Mom and Pop Ice Cream stand and I notice a Model Train store next door.   I ask my son if he wants to check out some model trains (of course he does!)  We walk in and it is mostly trains, but they have a section for kits, also Tamiya and PollyScale Paint racks mostly full.   I found several of the big plastic jugs of Tamiya X-20A, I grabbed one and bought a bunch of misc. Tamiya and Polly Scale paints.  You never know what you are going to find out there!

kirk4010

I lucked out and found some X-20A! 

 I was on vacation (visiting the in-laws).  My brother in law took me and my son to see Cars 2 and afterwards for some Ice Cream.  We were at small Mom and Pop Ice Cream stand and I notice a Model Train store next door.   I ask my son if he wants to check out some model trains (of course he does!)  We walk in and it is mostly trains, but they have a section for kits, also Tamiya and PollyScale Paint racks mostly full.   I found several of the big plastic jugs of Tamiya X-20A, I grabbed one and bought a bunch of misc. Tamiya and Polly Scale paints.  You never know what you are going to find out there!

 

blah...i should have checked the model train shop when i was around one. 

I'm trying ebay now.  There's quite a bit on there, I hope it's legit.  Lost an auction last night for a collection of 40 bottles of flats in various colors.

I really wish Tamiya would talk to it's loyal customers about the plan going forward.  This is very frustrating.

alcohol with flow aid seems to be working actually pretty good. 

How do the MM acrylics compare?  Do they cover well?