Acrylic advice

Having used the Mission Models paints, I will say that they are good. But nothing to quite "rave" about. I still prefer enamels in most cases, primarily due to their properties. It's good to hear the Mission is expanding their paint line. I do hope that they expand to cover naval colors as well as automotive. 

Don Stauffer

Hi, Simon

I am facing the same problem, with the announcement about Testors cancelling their Model Master enamels line.  I am long time user of Testors paints (from my balsa flying model days, even before there were plastic models), using first Pactra enamels, but then soon moving to the Testors ones.

I have two objections to acrylics.  First, they occasionally dry in my airbrush if I am not super-diligent about cleaning it as soon as I am done spraying (even a distraction like a phone call has led to clogging.  Secondly, I often model airliners, and autos, which call for glossy finish.  I cannot get as glossy a finish with acrylics as I can with enamels.

My friends who are more experienced with acrylics say the addition of retarder to the acrylic paint will solve both of my problems.  They say they have no clogging problem, and get a glossier finish.  Sounds like it will make life easier as far as airbrush clogging). I am still not sure their gloss acrylics are as glossy as my enamel finishes, though.  I may have to resort to clear coats, though it is so easy to overdo those.

I have not tried the retarded acrylics yet, but I'll post with my impressions when I do.

 

 

I'll be keeping a close eye on Mission Model paints.  They are coming out with their aircraft colours this week, and their automotive colours will be coming out very shortly.  People are raving about these paints, and it looks like they are planning on covering all modelling subjects, not just focused on military.

Mission paints has been on my radar since I first heard about them. Just haven't gotten around to ordering a few yet.

I've picked up a couple of the Mission Models paints. So far, I have been quite happy with them. They airbrush and handbrush equally well. For hand brushing, they are far easier to use than Tamiya, and more consistent in results (one coat coverage, flatness) than Vallejo. Their color line right now is mostly armor centric, but they do have lots of colors in that area that nobody else makes. I know that I will be buying and using more of their paints in the future.

Going to second some of the above advice. I use Tamiya for airbrushing but it is dismal for hand painting unless you thin it and paint the same piece multiple times. For hand brushing I tend to use vallejo it is ok but im not completely sold on its ease of brushing. I do keep some enamels for drybrushing and weathering. I use a vallejo airbrush flow improver with Tamiya and it seems to help tip dry considerable unless im doing really fine work at low pressures.

There is also the new line of mission models acrylics that might be the ticket if your switching to acrylics for the first time. Have read some fantastic reviews stating they apply similar to laquer and are hard to mess up unless you really try. I am waiting for primer to arrive so I can do a test run and see how it compares to vallejo poly primer which seems to go down dusty.  They have good ww2 armor color sets as well as some aircraft. I would honestly love to give the paint a go myself but no one nearby sells its and @ $11 a bottle shipped I can only afford the primer. Being new they can be a bit harder to find so maybe that is why the prices are still a bit high.

Guess what Im getting at is one paint brand may not do it all. Might have to pick and choose the colors you will brush often and do the same for colors you would airbrush often.

So many brands out there to choose from. Model Master, Tamiya, LifeColor, Aeromaster (look in ebay - wonderful paint), Gunze/Mr. Color (if you can find any), Vallejo Model Air, Mission Paint, etc...

Hi, Simon

I am facing the same problem, with the announcement about Testors cancelling their Model Master enamels line.  I am long time user of Testors paints (from my balsa flying model days, even before there were plastic models), using first Pactra enamels, but then soon moving to the Testors ones.

I have two objections to acrylics.  First, they occasionally dry in my airbrush if I am not super-diligent about cleaning it as soon as I am done spraying (even a distraction like a phone call has led to clogging.  Secondly, I often model airliners, and autos, which call for glossy finish.  I cannot get as glossy a finish with acrylics as I can with enamels.

My friends who are more experienced with acrylics say the addition of retarder to the acrylic paint will solve both of my problems.  They say they have no clogging problem, and get a glossier finish.  Sounds like it will make life easier as far as airbrush clogging). I am still not sure their gloss acrylics are as glossy as my enamel finishes, though.  I may have to resort to clear coats, though it is so easy to overdo those.

I have not tried the retarded acrylics yet, but I'll post with my impressions when I do.