hey, i dont mean to crush you guys w/ such a broad question, but my paint supply is really low (im a new modeler) and i was wondering, what paints i should use, if this helps, i only model 1/35 scale armor and buildings/dioramas, so if you guys could give me a list of paints from tamiya, model masters and polly scales, that would be mucho excellent!!!! if you need my email, let me know

Hey Mech

I do SciFi but from what I understand from reading the Armor guys posts they use a lot of acrylics
and (I think) do oil washes over them.
Try a look at Model Masters, Humbrol and Polly Scale
all available from the advertisers that help keep Armorama going.

HTH

I don't understand your question, do you want the whole list of paints that you need? or the lis of manufacturers?
if you want the list of paints, then it depends on the kind of armor you build, for American armor olive drab comes in handy, and for German armor you need a little more: dark yellow, red brown, dark green, panzer grey, and thats all I can think about for now, but there could be more.
Then there are the basic colors that you allways need, like black, white, some color choice to simulate rust, gunmetal, silver paint for headlamps. there is also some ulikely colors, but those you will have to buy as you need.
something else to think about is oil paint for washes and figures, pastel chalks for weathering, and thinner for all of this paint. so this is all I could think about, but I'm sure there is more

I'm a big fan of Acryllic, and am sponsored by DecoArt... the stuff is inexpensive, has great shade variety, and covers wonderfully... if thinned correctly, it can even be used in an airbrush. However, when using an airbrush, my favorite is the Tamiya Acryllics in the 23ml bottle - the bottle threads screw directly on to my Badger 350!

Since you say you build a lot of armor I am going to assume you use an airbrush. If so, and you are after acrylics, I think that Tamiya would be a good choice. Model Master also has a line of acrylic paints but I can't comment on those since I have never used them.

If you are going after enamels then Model Master series of paints would probably do.

If you ever decide to get into figure painting I would highly recommend Vallejo or Andrea acrylic paints. They are simply superb.

I use MM Acryl, which is great for both brush painting and airbrushing. PollyScale really rules for airbrushing, though it is a tad more expensive. They have some nice pre-mixed weathering colors which are convienent for that final touchup (like dust, mud, grimy black, etc.)

Stephen

Greets,

We needs to know what era.

WWII, IMHO you only need 5 colors for US and Wehrmacht: olive drab, panzer gray (Dunkel Grau), panzer yellow (Dunkel gelb), and red brown. OD works well for German dark green and USSR, too. The colors can be mixed for Afrika Korps, and the gray and brown can be dilluted for washing.

Ok, throw in silver, black, red, yellow and white. These for washing, lights, tinting, etc. There are ten (10) colors that can cover about any subject.

I love Polly Scale, prefering it to Tamiya. I've had no problem hitting it with alcohol, Dull Coat, Future, vinegar, ammonia; it does not lift off with tape unless I have been careless. It airbrushes and brushes great.

As you expand your pallette, PS also boasts an extensive railroad color line with its military series. Depot Buff, Concrete, etc. all make good WH AFV colors; many, many ODesque greens. If you want to prime your Germans, they have Red Oxide.

Don't get me wrong, I use Tamiya but I think Polly Scale is superior and easier to use.

Model Master, I have that too, but see above.

Now, that said, all three lines produce colors that the other two don't. You will find concensus that one or another's XXXX color is the most authentic.

So, IMHO, modeling WWII armor, you only need the 10 (ten) colors above--IF you are willing to settle for the basics, OR willing to do some mixing for more authentic colors.

Me, I have literally hundreds of bottles spanning some 30 years and probably a dozen manufactureres!

Your intrest will dictate you color.
But media use is a personal preference.. Acrylc and Enamal. I use both.
Airbrushing, I found Acrylics to be the best for flow, dry time and clean up.
Do some shopping on an internet web site that supply paints for model kits... Weathering, Armor, Aircraft....
Start using those and you will figure out what you use the most and what type of media.

Thats true -
to some degree you'll have to also take the plunge and see what your personal preferences are, which you use most, which vendor you like, etc

Let us know how it comes back for you

well for me.. tamiya olive drab ,dark yellow, german grey , khaki, flat earth and dark green covers most of the small details such as mud, seats, bags etc

lol thats a hard question indeed.

I got about 45 colors of humbrol (enamel), 20 of revell (enamel), 1 of tamiya (because german grey of humbrol was sold out, they wont make it anymore), and 2 skincolors of vallejo, but i think ill get more of vallejo for shading and wash a bit for the figures.

this is indeed a very subjective question.

for me, i have almost all range of tamiya acylics to keep me busy. I stock also almost hundreds of gunze water based acrylics. I didnt fancy enamel much so only about 20 of them are in my stocks.

if u want to know the full range of colors, this link will help u
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/colorcharts.asp

cheers

geez...this post is still here haha, this is from when i first started getting serious about armor, thanks for all the posts ,but the paint situation has been handled :-)