Tamiya Enamels

The Tamiya web site doesn't show any enamels. They show acrylic and laquer sprays, but no enamels. Here is the link:
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/paints/index.html

I really like Tamiya acrylics, but as you say, they just plain dry too fast. I normally airbrush just about everything, but I have been able to improve hand brushing with acrylics (specifically Tamiya) by thinning the paint a LOT. In fact I thin it almost as much as I do for airbrushing it.

Tamiya thinner states on the bottle that the ingredients are an "Alcohol Mixture" but I think they may have some retarder in it or something because it really helps. I've tried plain isopropyl alky (which is what I normally use for thinning it for my airbrush) but the Tamiya brand works much better for hand brushing.

I usually put a few drops of paint in an old film canister lid. For every four drops of paint I add 1 drop of Tamiya thinner (I told you I don't hand brush much!) and that seems to work pretty well for me.

Thin with alcohol when brushing. It will help, but the trick really is to put on really wet paint then use the brush to spread them out fast before drying. Once it starts to dry then don't touch it with the brush. Let it level out. Don't put another layer on top of it even if you do have brush mark cause it will lift. Wait for it to cure then put on another thinned layer of paint.

Tamiya is not very easy to brush paint. For their enamel you pretty much need to find a friend in Asia to mail you some. There's hardly any source for them. On the other hand why do you want Tamiya branded enamels? There are other very nice enamels available in the states such as Floquil, Humbrol and Testors? Tamiya enamel is not that different. I still have a bottle that is over 15 years old.

Polly Scale and Model Masters acrylic paints are very good for brush painting. Easy to lean and goes on smooth. There is also Vallejo acrylics. Very nice paint. I'm painting figures with it.

Im gonna have to get some Tamiya thinner and see how it works. Hungfarlow I dont necessarily want Tamiya enamels, I was just curious because I have never seen them sold anywhere, if there was a way of getting some I would try some out just to see how they worked. But it doesnt matter much to me.

Not really worth the trouble to try them out. I want to say that they are most similar to the old Pactra enamels in the small bottles. At least the numbering system were similar and the colors closely matched the numbers too.