Memories of Pactra...

QUOTE: Originally posted by schmeter pit Ah, yes! PACTRA FLATS! PACTRA 'NAMEL! After all this time since their demise, I'm still using many of them that I bought way back when. They had colors that are not available today from anyone, i.e. Khaki, Flat Roof Brown, Mustard. I even use them to mix with Testors once in a while. No problems. Other than the small spray cans, they were available in three other sizes: the small square plastic 1/3 oz. bottle, the round 2/3 oz. plastic bottle, and the larger round 15 cc glass bottle. The only bow-wow that I can recall, was their Clear Flat and Clear Gloss. They yellowed like crazy after only approx. one year. Pete

Originally posted by J-Hulk I loved those little faceted, crystal-like bottles! Flat Roof Brown...now, there's a name I've not heard in a long time... The Flat Roof Brown was the best for painting dark brown leather aircraft headreasts and early sports car seats. When dry, just burnish it slightly with an old piece of t-shirt or flannel and it will look exactly like leather! Pete Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 6, 2003 1:29 PM The Pactra name is still around; Testors uses it for their R/C car paint line. I used a lot of Pactra as a kid in the '70s because.....the hobby shop a few blocks from home (I practically lived there) carried it. But they had only a bare-bones selection--none of the exotic colors. I remember using Testors fairly regularly, too, of course depending on when mom was running errands near a place that sold it and I could tag along. Back in those days, I found that the relative quality of the two products wasn't nearly as significant my tendency not to mix any paint too well before I applied it and the way I daubed it on that made it look like it had been applied with a toothbrush or Q-tip. My how I've grown up! Oh yes, I still have some Pactra Turquoise, lavender, and silver. I wonder if any of it's still good..... Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 6, 2003 8:25 PM Testors did indeed purchase Pactra some time back. I used to prefer Pactra, those square bottles were works of art, but I think it was the color selection I liked best; I don't really recall there being any significant difference in quality or ease of use. the Testors web-site still lists some Pactra paints, but in a very limited selection of acrylics and laquers - no enamels, I believe. I never see Pactra in the stores, but I think they cater to the RC scene for the most part. Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 21, 2003 9:50 PM i am in possession of a box of nine little bitty bottles of Pactra that have 10cents on the labels. The bottles have never been opened, and still look fine. They date back to the 1950s. Reply Edit Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 1:14 AM Sniff. I miss my Pactra, too. Snarf, snarf Reply Edit MikeV Member since April 2003 From: Hayward, CA Posted by MikeV on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 8:21 AM Why am I hearing Barbara Streisand singing in my head? "Memories, like the corner of my mind......." Mike “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon Reply Costas K Member since August 2011 Posted by Costas K on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 2:11 PM PACTRA was founded by Alfred L. Davenport Jr. a Honored WWII U.S. Naval officer (1921-2010). I had the privilege to know this fine and exceptional gentlemen.  He was very dedicated to the hobby. PACTRA produced the finest paints, as well as the best BALSA I ever took to my hands. In 1972 I first took in my hands the PACTRA International range of colors. I was amazed of the fine spray lines and full and smooth coverage I could get with these super colors. Then all stopped around the late 80’s or early 90’s if I remember well. I remember Alfred L. Davenport Jr. telling me, that one morning, all of a sudden, he was informed that TESTORS acquired the majority of the shares of PACTRA and we has dismissed from president. His words were, that he lost all the efforts of his life, he lost his company, in one night. TESTORS then bough, Floquil, Polly-S and became the monopole of US made hobby paints. Now they damped all these fine products, as they succeeded the final goal. Kick the competition out of the market. Not that good for all of us, the dedicated modelers. Actually these brands produced paints for the real enthusiasts. This is a small market share for a big company like TESTORS. It is peanuts for them. On the contrary if these brands were still in small “hands”, they could still be in the market and make all of us, the models specialists, happy Reply Real G Member since May 2011 From: Honolulu, Hawaii Posted by Real G on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 10:32 PM Pactra Authentic International colors were a favorite of mine!  I don't know how "authentic" they were, but the military color choices were superior to Testors.  Does anyone remember the color "Weather"?  The stuff with a little brown pigment in whatever they used for a liquid carrier?  I loved the stuff, even though you could just as easily thin down some brown paint and get pretty much the same result.  I also really liked the large sized, squat, round jars for sloshing color on my bigger 1/72 models.  Back then, you could swab a kit with a thinner based wash and not worry too much about the underlying paint from dissolving, unlike today. “Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!” Reply Texgunner Member since February 2003 From: Cameron, Texas Posted by Texgunner on Thursday, August 7, 2014 12:04 AM I used a bit of Pactra back in my model car days, mid-60s, I'd say.  And, I used their Nato Brown I believe it was called, for the dark color here: It was great paint iirc.  Too bad it's gone now. "All you mugs need to get busy building, and post pics!" Reply mitsdude Member since February 2007 Posted by mitsdude on Thursday, August 7, 2014 11:17 AM Anonymous The only bow-wow that I can recall, was their Clear Flat and Clear Gloss. They yellowed like crazy after only approx. one year. Pete Indeed, I have a bottle of the clear gloss sitting right here. Its a dark amber in color and about as thick as molasses!   Reply mitsdude Member since February 2007 Posted by mitsdude on Thursday, August 7, 2014 11:34 AM I too preferred Pactra. Mainly for the colors and also it was a few cents cheaper than Testors. Cents were important back then because I also had a comic book budget! To put this in perspective comics were 12 cents new and 5 cents used at a local used book store. About 6 years ago I went through all my old Testors and Pactra enamel paint bottles (from the 60's)  and trashed all the ones that were dried out or had the consistency of putty. A good 85% of the ones I trashed were Pactra.. That percentage suggests it was the paint and not some other factor. Reply stikpusher Member since July 2004 From: Sonora Desert Posted by stikpusher on Friday, August 8, 2014 12:29 AM I miss Pactra as well. They had a Dark Olive Drab that was perfect for Vietnam era US AFVs, a superb Metallic Gray/Gun Metal color and several others in their 'namel line. Their International Colors line had some great colors that I really miss as well. One they lablled as "suntan" was perfect for the faded olive green of US uniforms, and their Khaki was perfect shade with just the right hint of yellow in there. Yes, Testors F'ed over all us modelers when they gobbled up and discontinued all their US based competition. So much for anti monopoly laws here. Thier quality control is poor nowadays, and while they do have a nice wide selection of colors available, I would much rather have the option of choosing between brands for all my needs. All I know is that nowadays if I have a choice for a color between Testors or Humbrol in enamels, I will opt for Humbrol in most every case.   F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town! U is for URANIUM... BOMBS! N is for NO SURVIVORS...        - Plankton LSM   Reply JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login Register SEARCH FORUMS FREE NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. FORUMS PRODUCT REVIEWS READER GALLERY HOW TO VIDEOS SHOP ABOUT US FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy