Greetings all painters,

I have been building scale models of all sorts since the 1950s and used all sorts of paints, as of about 1986 I discovered a whole new world of paints. Acrylic craft paints, known as hobby or craft paints they are used in all types of hobbies and work very well on plastic kits with little preparation.
Simply scratching the surface of any plastic parts with gentle motions using a fiber scouring pad with a little warm water will prep the part to be painted without removing the surface details such as rivets and hinges.
Airbrushing with mix of 50% blue tinted windshield wiper fluid will produce a smooth finish and for aircraft these paints come in glossy colors as well for U S Naval aircraft and similar applications. Hand painting can be done with using a minimum amout of water for thinning, I use very little water as I apply these paints to figures with a minimum on each application.
Drying time is shortened by using a hand held hairdryer (my wife bought mine) set on low heat and passing it over the model about 6 inches above in even passes. This will eliminate pooling and streaking of the paint.
Once the parts of the model are painted and the model in a stage for weathering these paints cannot be beat, simply apply a thinned wash of the black acrylic paint to the entire figure or vehicle, whatever the case and dry thouroughy with the hairdryer. Then using a lighter tone paint with very slight amounts lightly brush over the raised parts of the model, this will bring out the features and leave shadows of the lesser noticed sections.
For further reference to these ideas see my posts on the Features section and my Facebook page; Hobbies in a Barn.

All the best,
johncpo

House paint works in much the same way. And, for the price, can't be beat. Plus, they can color match any other paint or surface.

Thank you for the great feedback, I discovered that these acrylic paints such as "Applebarrel" and "Creamcoat" actually started out as paints used in ceramics and went on to be used for wood kit projects sold at Hobbylobby stores. My main enjoyment is the price, and the no-odor factor.