Acrylic colors

[Santacarl]

Hi all....

First off a disclaimer of sorts. I know this isn't an aircraft model site but I'm working towards my first ship build in a long time by building a model I'm familiar with so that I can practice my technique with painting acrylics before I sink my ship model. So please bear with me... I'm trying to settle on what 'flavor' paints to spray and my question is leading me to that decision.

To my surprise the introduction of acrylic paint has made quite an impact since I last built a model. I've never used it before and as I began to research different brands and the colors I need for my first build using acrylics I was a bit surprised that I couldn't find a pretty basic color. This has me a bit concerned.

Before I start on my ship project (DD-805) I decided to take on a simple project first to practice spraying acrylics with my Iwata airbrush. I chose a Revelle B-17F (Memphis Belle) because I've probably built that model at least a half a dozen times over the years....at least. I figured I did not want to get sidetracked with the build so much that I missed the learning curve on the acrylic paint job.

I settled on Tamiya acrylics and was surprised that their 'version' of OD (XF62--Olive drab), which is on top of the Belle, is not even close to what I recall as OD.....it looks closer to a dark version of gunmetal grey...They also have a XF58 Olive Green....but it looks more like a forest green.....

Maybe, these are based on the IJN colors...since Tamiya is a Japanese company....I don't know..

In the past I always used Testors OD enamel....it is very close to the real world OD used in WWII. I can't seem to find an acrylic that is of that shade.

Does anyone know of another manufacturer who makes an accurate OD color? I am a bit concerned about wandering away from the major manufacturers since I don't know the reputations of most acrylic manufacturers.... I've heard horror stories about getting too far afield....

Or maybe someone would know which Tamiya colors and proportions it would take to make a traditional looking OD?

Frankly I'm starting to think maybe I'll stick with enamels....if they can't offer a color as basic to a military build as OD that is true it makes me wonder if I need to look at other options. I can only imagine how hard it might be to find some of the more exotic colors if I'm struggling with OD....

Any suggestions?

Thanks...SC

[BombMagnet]

I have found Tamiya paints to be a little off, and not just always darker than normal. I tend to ignore what the title of the paint is and go by how it actually looks.

Italeri paints are the closest equivilent to Model Master in terms of color accuracy and color range. They have a wide variety of Federal Standard colors. Their Olive Drab shade is excellent, and they also have the proper Medium Green for the US Army Air Corps, to form the camoflauge. If you are looking for a solvent based acrylic, then try Gunze.

When airbrushing Italeri, I use either their own thinner or Ultimate's universal thinner. Since the paint is thicker than what you might be used to, you have to thin it our more than you are used to. For Gunze I recommend using their own thinner.

I hope your experience with acrylics is good. I switched a few years ago and am never going back.

[biggles2]

IMHO, there's no such thing as the "perfect OD", or German Dark Yellow, or Mouse Gray, etc. US WWll Olive Drab is composed of only 2 pigments - black and yellow ochre. The OD will vary according to how much ochre or black is mixed. You can take a dozen different hobby paint companies and compare their OD shades - they will all differ to some extent. I agree Tamiya's OD is too dark out of the bottle. It's more like 1:1 shade, instead of being scaled for 1:72, or 1:35, or 1:48 - that's up to the individual modeler. I scale-fade Tamiya OD with their Buff, or sometimes German Dark Yellow, according to the scale I'm building in. Sometimes I also mix OD with Kakhi Drab for variations. US OD also tended to fade to a brownish shade (as opposed to the British WWll equivalent, which had a different composition, and faded to a greenish shade). Even though Tamiya paints can be thinned with a variety of solvents (tap water, alcohol, windshield washer fluid, etc.), I find it airbrushes best when diluted with their "lacquer" thinner (yellow top bottle).

[Santacarl]

Thanks for the feedback guys..... I'm glad to see it's not just my old eyes playing tricks on me.

[Santacarl]

Speaking of acrylics.....and how to...

Does anyone have any experience with Model Master acrylics? Do they 'prefer' a primer like some makes or will they airbrush onto bare plastic and not peel?

Thanks...

SC