This may be a stupid question but could I mix two acrylic paints from different brands like vallejo, tamiya, and model master acrylic or would this not work?

I don't use all the paints you've mentioned, but I will say that I generally avoid mixing brands in the same bottle. This is because not all 'enamels' are 'enamels' not all 'acrylics' are 'acrylics', etc. The chemistry of paint is tricky and doing it wrong can ruin a lot of work. There's an article somewhere around here about paint chemistry and types and their relationship. I'd just be careful.

Now, I will mix /some/ paints. For example, I'd mix testors acrylic and pactra (if they still make that, I don't know). I'd also mix regular old testors enamel with model masters enamel. But that's probably the limit of what I feel safe doing.

I'm no expert. But, it's precisely because of that I play it safe. I've ruined more than one project with crappy paint, odd bubbles, spider webs, orange peal, flaking, etc. Any number of odd problems! YMMV

Tamiya and Gunze can be mixed.

Vallejo and Model Master Acyrlic can be mixed.

You don't want to mix between those 'lines'. Don't mix tamiya and vallejo for example.

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Tamiya and Gunze can be mixed.

Vallejo and Model Master Acyrlic can be mixed.

You don't want to mix between those 'lines'. Don't mix tamiya and vallejo for example.

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Alright, thanks a lot. It's good to know this stuff now so I don't ruin a model later!

I mostly use Tamiya and Model Master acrylic paints, and they don't mix well. As a matter of fact, they will separate just like oil and vinegar. Yet I thin both with either Tamiya X20-A which is Iso Alcohol based or with Lacquer thinner.

Joel

You likely won't ruin a model because you'll see as soon as you mix those two that it's not gonna work.

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You likely won't ruin a model because you'll see as soon as you mix those two that it's not gonna work.

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And there's always the experimental proof -- decanting a small amount of paint from one line, mixing it with a similarly-decanted small amount of paint from the other line, mix them, and if there's no visible reaction, brush-paint them onto a piece of leftover sprue and let it dry, then look at what it dries like to see whether the behavior of the mixture is acceptable.

I remember back in high school getting an unexpected but attractive result from accidentally getting two layers of glaze on a ceramic piece before it was fired, from the interaction between the glazes. Sometimes you luck out and get something useful, but it's not something you can count on.