When I was I kid and teen I used Humbrol enamels because that's the only paint that was available. Now since getting back into the hobby acrylics are more common than enamel (and less on the nose). I haven't been 100% however with result. While airbrushing giver a more even finish I the feel and look just hasn't been right to my eyes.

I recently started doing research for some Russian armour I'm building and it clicked the results from airbrushing Tamiya and Gunze (to my eyes at least) give a "soft" finish to the coat (some colours make this more obvious than others) vs a more "thick" or "solid" finish on real armor. So I picked up some Tamiya enamel today and resprayed an M60 I had previously been working on unhappy with the finish. I think this is much closer to actual finish.

This a T-80 I recently completed for 48hour group build on another site and shows the effect I'm talking about of "soft" finish



This is the harder (more like vinyl?) effect that real armor has


This is the result from Tamiya enamel

Closer to the real thing IMO

What are other peoples opinions and preferences and why?
(Just trying to sort all this crap out in my head)

Andrew, I think the difference might be that the acrylic paint you are using has a dead flat finish while the enamel has a satin finish. The surface of the acrylic paint has more texture causing the light to be absorbed rather than reflected which, in turn is causing a "soft" appearance as you suggest.

The acrylic paint could be drying flat for a number of reasons: the amount or type of thinner used, the properties of the color or brand of paint, air pressure settings, etc. I would guess that some experimentation may be in order to get a similar finish to the enamel paint and one suggestion independent of the above is to mix the paint with a satin varnish before spraying. How much will depend on the finish desired.

Good luck.

I agree with Don. Modern armor does not generally have the "dead flat" finish common to the brand of acrylic you have been using. Adding a matte coat, after you have finished the camo should remedy this. I for one, find matte can even be used on vehicles fielded later during World War II.

I stay away from clean shiny tanks that came out of the factory, I prefer they take a few rounds to the head & dusty as hell.
I prefer the used look , or on maneuvers.
My 2 cents

I would concur with those thinking real tanks had and generally still come out with a sort of "satin" semi-flat finish, as versus a deep flat "soft" finish.

As the paint fades, it gets flatter in finish. Fading, dust and added dirt all increase this flat look.

I often use Floquil RR enamels and these yield a soft, fine-grained light satin finish which can be dulled further as desired with added flat coats and dust and chalk, etc. I often add a bit of Future to my Tamiya paints to get them a bit closer to the satin finish as versus the dead flat Tamiya will often yield from the AB. (of course, if you thin with alcohol and make drying faster thereby, as I do, you will get flatter finishes. Add retarder, thin with windex or water, add Future and you will get a smoother, more-satin finish from the Tamiya). I just used some Vallejo Model Color acrylic for the first time last night - sprayed a 6:4 water / paint mix from my Iwata and got a nice, very fine-grained light satin finish. From this sample size of one I'll claim Vallejo could be a good paint to get that satiny coat if that's what you prefer!



Bob