Paint question?

[adam350]

Hi
What paints do you reccomend to paint a model? I know of Humbrol and Tamiya? Which other brands are good? Which paint is the best? Which paint is the easiest to use?

Thanks for all suggestions.

[blacman]

I work with Gunze. Very thin and fine surface.

[BombMagnet]

The "best" paint is the one you feel most comfortable working with. Everybody has their favorite brand that they swear by. However, here is my humble analysis of some of the popular paint brands in response to your question:

In terms of cleanup, acrylic paints are by far the "easiest" to use. Many people (myself included) have completely ditched their enamels in favor of acrylics. There are also two kinds acrylic paint: solvent based (i.e. Tamiya, Gunze) and non-solvent based (Vallejo, Italeri, Revell Aqua Color). Enamels do have some advantages. They adhere well to the surface and you can get a good, thin coat with them. As for acrylics, Tamiya and Gunze have similar properties.

In terms of general ease of use, I find Vallejo and Italeri to be the easiest to use by virtue of their dropper bottles. You can easily do a custom paint mix and get the ratio right every time because of the paint dropper bottles. If you airbrush, you can simply put the required number of drops right into the paint cup and stir it with a small brush. If you brush, you can drop them onto an artist's palette. I give the last place to Revell Aqua Color because their �bottles� are a real pain to use.

In terms of color accuracy, my first choice goes to Model Master and Humbrol. A close runner up would be Italeri. If you are looking for a specific color standard such as Federal Standard, RAL, etc. then these are excellent choices. Italeri is acrylic, and both Model Master and Humbrol have acrylic versions. I give Vallejo Model Air the last place simply because I find their colors too dark. However, this can easily be corrected by adding white using their handy dropper bottles.

In terms of health and environment, I place Vallejo, Italeri, and Aqua Color at the top by virtue of their non-solvent, non-toxic formula. I airbrush in the basement and have no fumes from spraying.

Best color fur brushing is Vallejo Model Color, Italeri, or Aqua Color by virtue of their thickness, ease of spreading around with a brush, and their "self-leveling" nature. (That is, when paint is too thick it tends to level out instead of creating blobs.) Keep in mind these paints are very thick. I give the last place to Model Master Acrylic because it is too thin to brush in my opinion.

For airbrushing, I find Vallejo Model Air the best/easiest because it is pre-thinned and has the dropper bottles. Tamiya, Gunze, and Humbrol also give excellent results when properly thinned. Model Master Acrylics are very tricky to work with because they are very thin to begin with.

As this is a model ship forum, I must also mention the White Ensign who has a great selection of accurate ship colors, but they are enamels. Lifecolor (acrylic) also makes some ship colors and while I have yet to try them, I hear good things about them.

Personally I use almost exclusively Vallejo, and when I need a very specific, specialized color, I go with Model Master or Italeri.

I admit my analysis is a bit subjective, but at least it is a starting point for some good discussions. Let the games begin!

[silvershadow]

thanks for the info..it is really helpful.

[davidwaples]

If you're looking at acrylics I've had good success with the Lifecolors paint. They've released some naval colors. It is thinned with water and adding a drop of retarder helps slow the drying process. They have an ever expanding choice of colors. Like most acrylics they can be fragile so be sure to protect the finish after you paint. I've also heard good things about Valejo and Italeri acrylic paints.

For enamels my paint of choice for naval subjects is White Ensign Models. They are color matched by Snyder and Short to actual paint chips. They spray beautifully.

Dave

[BombMagnet]

If you're looking at acrylics I've had good success with the Lifecolors paint. They've released some naval colors. It is thinned with water and adding a drop of retarder helps slow the drying process. They have an ever expanding choice of colors. Like most acrylics they can be fragile so be sure to protect the finish after you paint. I've also heard good things about Valejo and Italeri acrylic paints.

For enamels my paint of choice for naval subjects is White Ensign Models. They are color matched by Snyder and Short to actual paint chips. They spray beautifully.

Dave

Glad to hear from someone about the Lifecolor. Thanks!