Recommendation for paint for brush-painting?

Albert - I use Vallejo almost exclusively... and love them!  They airbrush like a dream, but best of all I can brush them too, as in landing gear, wheels etc...

they are called the "enamels of acrylics" and I have to agree, they hand brush smooth without brush marks or the such (especially if you use their thinner), being they come in a eye dropper type bottle you can meter out the paint AND thinner without worry of ratios or wasting them.  3:1 ratio works perfect for airbrushing, right out of the bottle for brushing.

They do have two main variants in their paints.. model air and model color.  I like the model air because I can brush it without thinner and spray it as well...

the only problem is that they aren't named standardly as in the RLM and RAL colors have different names... BUT, if you are interested in trying them (or anyone else for that matter)  I have a conversion chart matching up to standard RLM, RAL and FS paint names I would be happy to forward to you...

If you have any questions about the Vallejo line let me know, Darson (member name here) is also a recent convert and probably be more than happy to answer any questions you have as well...

I can't comment on the Humbrol, I have a few tins but haven't used them yet... I have heard good things about them too, but I was sold on my first bottle of Vallejo and won't go back!  I am slowly replacing the entire inventory with it...

Which one (Model Air or Model Color) is the better one for brush-painting?

I'm an old Testors (actually any) enamel user from days of old (60's).

So what you are saying Tom, is if I try Vallejo model air, I might like it and possibly switch to acyrlics?

It flows, self levels and can be worked similar to enamels?

I heard horror stories of some acrylics drying as people were actually still brushing it on. I had nightmares of my 1/24th bucket seats or dashboards having clumps in them.     LOL

Albert - in your situation doing brush painting, the Model Color would probably be best.  It may have to be thinned, and if you do have to thin it, the Vallejo branded thinner is best.  As this is a water based acrylic you can't use alcohol or the Tamiya type thinners, the make the paint clump up in the cup.  Distilled water will work but I prefer the bonding additives and retarder in the Vallejo thinner.  It's about $4.00 for a bottle and I've had the same one for over a yr now.

Jim - I think if you tried them you would be pleased.  As I mentioned you can brush paint them and airbrush them as well no matter which type you get.  The have a longer dry time than say the MM acrylics which gives you time to smooth out a paint ridge or such before it dries, it doesn't leave brush marks either due to the long drying time.  To me it's a lot neater painting with them as they are in the dropper style bottles.  If I knock one over I'm not worried about my carpet.  They have an awesome color selection, and even though they don't have standard names sometimes you can cross reference the colors using a reference chart (I have a copy and would be happy to email it to whomever wants it)

There's also this online chart I found just then:

http://www.aoou52.dsl.pipex.com/Models/humbrol-paint-xref.htm

 

Thanks Tom

I'll give them a try! 

Any idea what kind of shelf life they have once opened?
I mean, they don't dry up or get clumpy in a couple of months or something... 

Jim - I first bought Vallejo about 1.5 yrs ago and am still using the same bottles, in fact I was using 3 of those bottles tonight!  the old thinner started acting a little wierd so I bought a new bottle.  But $4.00 a yr for the thinner sounded reasonable to me!   I now have about 45 bottles of Vallejo and growing!!!

I recommend buying maybe just a few colors from Colorado miniatures (www.coloradominiatures.com) and trying them out before you commit... Do you airbrush?  if you do, go for the Model Air line, I use them for both airbrush and hand brush with no probs... usually with hand brush it takes 2 to 3 coats but I never get a thick buildup or brush marks (with a decent red sable brush, not the testors nylon bristle type)  Model Color can also be airbrushed but only with  thinning.. I haven't tried their metallics line, I noticed you do autos as well, so can't testify to it... but the regular paints have been wonderful!!

you can buy at:  www.coloradominiatures.com (click on search by brand in the left frame and choose Acrylicos Vallejo) and reference the colors at:  http://www.ttfxmedia.com/vallejo/cgi-bin/_modelis_menu.asp?p1=ing .. click on either model air or model color and you can see the colors first hand... www.acrylicosvallejo.com has a lot of info on techniques etc... but I think either of you could figure it out in nothing flat!

BTW: there is still a small amount of tip dry with the Vallejo line but nothing like the others... I just give a good blast of paint when that happens and it clears and I keep on painting!!

Albert - follow the same link to Colorado Miniatures but immediately click to page 6 and that starts the Model Color section... if you are not in the US the Vallejo website I listed has distributors around the world on its site...

thanks for the info! i'll definitely get myself some!

WOW... thanks Tom for all the great info and links, mighty informative and helpful.

Guess I better get some and try it. 

Humm... I wonder if they're listed in one of my distributor catalogs I'm impatiently waiting for. 

Andrea/Vallejo strongly recomment thinning their paints before applying it. I use plain old tap water very effectively. I haven't airbrushed it since I'm using it on figures and generally only airbrush a primer coat. Go to http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com choose Model Color from the drop down menu and scroll to the bottom for a downloadable tutorial on this style paint.

I have a 5 or 6 year old bottle that's just about empty and several bottles that are easily 4, maybe even 5,  years old and still very usable. The key here is the eyedropper bottle which restricts air from getting in even if left withthe cap off and will skim over, further sealing it. The only downside to this paint is you have to shake it til the proverbial cows come home the first time you use it and if it's been sitting a while.

I've had pretty good experience with Humbrol  acrylics but you should add dishsoap to reduce surface attention otherwise it's only good for detail work. Tamiya is good as long as it's stirred well you won't need to thin it.

Hope this helps