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Current paint.

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:55 PM

Revell have a line of enamels.  I've used a couple and have been pleased.

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    June 2021
Posted by rocketman2000 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:54 PM

I still use MM with the colors available, but if I cannot find the color I need in Testors,  I now use Tamiya lacquer.  Works very well.

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    August 2021
Posted by goldhammer88 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:50 PM

Humbrol has a pretty extensive line in enamel, but sourcing locally can be a problem, as you've seen.  You might have to get some items from online sources

 

  • Member since
    April 2020
Posted by Eaglecash867 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:42 PM

Eaglecash867
...the little square bottles from Testors.  They still make those and sell them at Hobby Lobby, and they're just like what you remember from the 80s.

Whistling

 

"You can have my illegal fireworks when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers...which are...over there somewhere."

  • Member since
    January 2022
Posted by Svt40 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:37 PM

I saw that Model Master line has been discontinued.

Who else has enamels that are good?  Seems all I can find are acrylics.  I prefer acrylics for airbrushing but weathering. washes and drybrushing I prefer enamels.  So base coat in acrylic, then weather in enamels.

As I said I do have the Vallejo model master paint set and the local store is carrying Mission Model acrylics.


Also am I the only person who still does drybrushing? Seems like it's a forgotten art.

  • Member since
    February 2021
Posted by MJY65 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 2:24 PM

IMO:  Acrylics just can't match the finish of either lacquers or enamels.  They may be the best choice if you have no way to exhaust fumes, but that's about the only real advantage I can see.  Lots of messing around to get a finish that is almost like...

  • Member since
    April 2020
Posted by Eaglecash867 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 1:56 PM

You can never be sure about how something actually turns out in those YouTube videos.  It could look perfectly fine in a video and actually be fairly nasty in real life.  As I understand it, you're asking about brush painting?  If so, have actually had pretty good luck with painting small details with the Vallejo Model Color, but I can't really say how it would look if I painted a larger piece with it since anything larger than a wire, switch, or knob I tend to airbrush these days...mostly because of the nice, thin, even paint layer you get with an airbrush.  But, I have to say that I'm still not all that impressed with the durability of their paint.  It rubs off and chips really easily.  For most of my brush painting now, I have actually gone back to Model Master Enamels (which I still have quite a few of), and I love the little square bottles from Testors.  They still make those and sell them at Hobby Lobby, and they're just like what you remember from the 80s.  The great thing about those old-school enamel paints is that the paint thinner they use is completely harmless to my airbrushed paint work, since I almost exclusively use MRP lacquers for airbrushing now.  You can brush the enamels on right over the top of it, and even remove unwanted enamel from it with paint thinner with absolutely no damage to the lacquer...you won't see the dreaded faint base color start to show up on the q-tip as you're cleaning up the unwanted enamel on top of it.

For airbrushing, if you ever use MRP, no clearcoat is needed prior to decals.  I just put on clearcoat after decaling and weathering to give it an extra layer of protection and to give it the desired sheen.  I build mostly military aircraft, so those are generally flat or semi-gloss.

"You can have my illegal fireworks when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers...which are...over there somewhere."

  • Member since
    May 2021
Posted by OldRetiredEngineer on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 1:04 PM

Welcome to the 21st century! I also returned to modeling after a 30 year absence - about 5 years ago. I pitched my Binks "Wren B" airbrush and compressor and started over again.

Yes, painting has changed. Both in types of paint and expectations of the finished product. I use Mission Models acrylics almost exclusively. I usually thin to 60% with Misssion Models thinner. The result is a thin paint which airbrushes well, although multiple coats are required for an opaque finish. Thin coats allow the underlying surface detail to show through (along with underlying scratches, seams and other boo-boos). Thin coats also allow paint modulation, pre-shading or post-shading to enhance the completed product. I usually find that three or four thin coats are required for complete coverage.

Clear coats will help unify the final paint job, since different pigments may have differing degrees of gloss. Clear coats also provide a measure of resistance to scratching and unwanted damage to the completed paint. Applying gloss clear will help alleviate decal silvering. 

 

  • Member since
    January 2022
Current paint.
Posted by Svt40 on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 12:00 PM

I've been out of modeling for about 30 years. Getting back into now that my eyes are getting bad.

I've been watching a lot of modelers on Youtube.  One thing I have noticed is that a LOT of them slather paint on very thick.  Yet it comes out looking fine afterwords.

In my experience doing that in the 80's it would cause a loss of detail and would just look like the paint was caked on.  So I learned thin coats when brush painting with both enamel and acrylics.

Yet when I try thin coats with current paints it does not work well at all. Vallejo and Mission Model are the current acrylic brand paints I have.  My 30 year old Model Master enamel and Tamiya acrylic paints still work as I remember.  

Is this just the way the new paints are made?  Thicker coats that dry to a smooth finish?  Also the Vallejo paint seems very fragile once it's been applied and easily rubs off, even if the model is washed prior to painting.  Are clear coats something that is required with the current formulations as well?

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