My water based acrylic paint choices

My acrylics are Mission Model used with their thinner and medium

I also have very good results with Vallejo Model Color and Panzer Aces,if I use their thinner and Flow improver.

Although not a true acrylic,I enjoy Tamiya paints.

I have done a couple of kits with Life Color

HighDesertmodeler

After hours of testing various acrylic paints in our dry high desert environment, I can, humbly, offer the following advice:

Thanks for the info HighDesertmodeler greatly appreciated. We recently moved from a high desert climate where it was not unusual to see single digit humidity in the summer, to a climate with mid to high double digit humidity in the summer. I am actually looking forward to the new learning opportunity. I may change that opinion quickly once I actually start spraying 

...interesting 

I guess its just from saving up my money to buy my Paasche H 35 years ago and teaching myself to airbrush as a 15 year old.  I had always thought (perhaps wrongly) that the primary purpose of using an airbrush over spray cans or the old PreVal sprayers was so I wouldn't have to take everything outside.  So, I started with a paint pattern that was just big enough to get paint on the model from an inch or two away.  Did it like that for a couple of years before life changed with joining the Air Force and all the usual stuff that causes a lot of us to take a really long hiatus from modeling.  When I came back to it about 6 years ago, I still had those old habits.  I have sometimes watched instructional videos on airbrushing on YouTube and thought to myself "Holy cow that's a huge cloud of paint he's got coming out of that thing!  No wonder he uses a spray booth!".  Heh...just never learned to do it the right way I guess.  If I made a video, people watching it would probably say "Why is it taking him so long just to paint those 5 tiny landing gear parts?".  Its because I'm close in, and barely have any paint coming out of the airbrush.  Shouldn't work, but it does...I get really good results, so I don't see a reason to do it differently than I do.

I added the clarification regarding water based after your posting since I wasn't clear in my original subject - I'm the one that should say "DOH" not you, no sweat, my mistake!

... how do you avoid not having paint in the air? I was considering buying a ventilation system type box with an outlet to the outside to divert the paint fumes.

DOH!  I see the "water based" part in your subject line now.  Must have missed that before.  

Ventilation or wearing a mask don't seem to be a problem in my situation.  I don't have paint in the air, but I also airbrush a lot differently than a lot of guys do.

Sorry, I was referring to water based acrylics.  Yes, MRP being an acrylic lacquer sprays fantastically.  I have some of their Ral colors, and they're real easy to spray with no tip dry...but open that window and wear that Niosh mask!

I prefer to use MRP, Tamiya, Hataka Orange Line (lacquer), Mr Color, Mr Hobby Aqueous when finishing small scale efforts, 1/72 armor and planes, with intricate Camo and fine lines.  My focus is on German Luftwaffe and Panzers so my color selection from each of these manufacturers is limited to a couple of bottles each for given camouflage color.  

My airbrushing skills have improved with constant practice.  I only had a Paasche H, VL and a broken down Badger 100 when moving here four years ago from the Northeast.  I learned the hard way by purchasing airbrushes which are better suited for T Shirts and Canvas than stryene plastic.  I have settled on Iwata (Eclipses), GSI Creos (PS-270), Harder & Steenbeck (Evolution, Ultra) and Sparmax (DH103, SP20X, SP35).  Yes, I have too many airbrushes but I enjoy using each of them, and it's a lot cheaper than a golf club membership particularly if you can't play!

Give MRP paint a try too some time.  They shoot great right from the bottle in the high (5800'), dry climate of Denver, with no mixing ratios or any of that to worry about.  HUGE selection of accurate colors for all kinds of subjects...and they fully cure in less than an hour.  They are, by far, the most trouble-free, durable Acrylic Lacquer paint I have ever used.  Give 'em a try some time and see what you think.