An old dog needs new tricks.

QUOTE: Hi everybody.....Well truth to tell i am over fifty and have been modelling since I was seven and Airfix was discovered..Oh the good old days.

Ditto ... although I consider them to be the bad old days when parts didn't even come close to fitting, glue was sniffable, and nobody had an airbrush.

QUOTE: My question which will probably start a hailstorm of comments is............What advantages does Acrylic paint have over Enamels which I have used for to many years to remember. I know the drying time is much shorter but I really feel I should give it a go as so many companies are going the Acrylic road. So what should i be doing?ie..thinning,airbrushing,decalling,varnishes,everything basically......

Check this topic:
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26746
He asked the exact same question.

Jim, like yourself I always used enamels, this would have been back in the 80s during my first flirtation with modelling as a kid.

When I returned to AC modelling last year, I returned with an AB, and having had bad experiences with a Humbrol AB and enamels in the 80s thought acrylics represented less of a risk to my investment.

Bearing in mind that I also spray indoors, and have 3 little kids to think about, I also thought they would be less of an issue from a fume perspective, which has proved to be true.

As far as I am concerned, they do everything that expect paint to do, without stinking the house out, and are rediculously easy to clean up after. They take a little extra effort when brush painting, as it is a good idea to use then in conjuction with an acrylic thinner like Tamiya's which contains a retarder. But then I AB practically every thing, so that is not really an issue.

By the way I use Gunze and Tamiya, as I have found these to nice excellent results, with a great range of colours.

Sorry to go on, but I hope it helps.

Karl

Airbrushing? Yes... internal mix being the usual first preference. External mix works even with fast air drying acrylics, but the whole experience of internal mix is so much nicer.

There are many times I open various brands of acrylic, stir it up, shake it for a few minutes, and it does not need to be thinned for airbrushing. Enamels are where you can set your thinning practices for each brand and type. Acrylics need to be thinned according to their behavior from one jar to the next. I've wondered if fluctuating humidity is a factor in why I'm always thinning acrylic differently each time I airbrush it.

Jim, I'm with you, I cannot get out of the habit of using enamels. I have tried acrylics to a very small degree with some success. However like "jdavidb" points out, I seem to have problems in the thinning area. I have done enamels so long I can judge thinning required by color almost by heart. I just have problems spending weeks or evens months on assembling a model, to risk playing with an entirely new paint media. So until they are forced off the market, enamels are what I will stick with.

Borg.. I'm know what you mean. I know enamels are beginning to be looked down on a bit by the new generation of modellers but as you say when you know the medium by heart it is hard to change.
I have tried some car acrylics before when the job really called for it and I like the superfast drying times but it is just making the leap to the small bottles!! and learning a whole new routine of mixing,thinning,airbrush etiquette etc..

talk about an old dog!! saltydog!!

i prefer acrylic, as my badger 155 has an open-tip design, and that makes it easy to remove the dried paint on the needle.