And I thought I was cheap. Back in the 80's my 1st 2 or 3 jobs were at hardware stores where paint was custom made using charts to see how much of X or Y pigments was needed to make a certain color. Nowadays computers took the guessing work away. I'm a cheapo, I admit it. But using enamels from a hardware store was not my idea of modeling. In fact, the main reason I did quit modeling aircraft and armor back then was the lack of military colors. Just a few OD, Wood, etc from the square bottles at my local KB Toys.
Then to stay in the hobby I started to model 1/24 cars which for the most part were Red, Blue, Orange, Yellow which I had available from Testors at the local pharmacy, and other rare colors were available at the Dupli-Color section of my Western Auto store. Hardware store enamels are not the same as those from Humbrol, MM or Craft Paints are not the same as PollyS, Acryl, Tamiya. Starting by the pigments used to manufacture them Rust-Oleum OD might be the same OD in MM, but they are made for different applications. A $3+ jar of paint depending on the subject and scale can go a long way. I might have paid $15.00 on a kit, but my time and dedication is worth more; so I wont be cutting corners on the most important aspect of building a model, the finish. Just my opinion.
As for Tamiya still behind, I have a mix of of Acryl and MM Acryl in my stash, they are simply loosing my business.