I'm getting back into the hobby after a long dry spell. To my surprise acrylics have really come a long way. I stopped modeling because I was afraid of damaging my children (I'm already so damaged it doesn't matter...) because of limited space and ventilation etc., but now I can paint as much as I want.

I've wanted to hear from the informed public on what brand you like and why. I'm still looking around for what I like best. I started airbrushing acrylics with Model Master and the Tamyia and Humbrol I've used since then don't even come close. Model Master I guess was geared for airbrushing, but the thinning seems to be so picky, even between different colors.

I am breaking in a new airbrush, using a new medium, with a new compressor maybe the odds are just stacked against me!

Season's Greetings!

Let me know what you think!

Hi Brian,

I have been using acrylics for some time now. I must say I like Tamiya best, mainly because I find it easy to thin (using windshield wiper fluid, which contains isopropyl alcohol) and can get them almost anywhere. I have also tried ModelMaster acrylics, the ones that come in the paint pouches (the bottles are not available here in the Netherlands). I also liked them, but they are best thinned with water or a 50/50 mixture of water and alcohol. I have also used Pactra but they are difficult to thin for airbrushing. They are best brushed by hand. Have never seen the Humbrol acrylics before, even though the enamels are available even in hardware stores.
Other acrylics are Vallejo (have not tried them, difficult to get here) and Gunze Sangyo (impossible to find for me). Both are very good from what I have heard, IF you can find them....
Hope this helped a little bit!
Happy X-mas and happy modelling.

David Miller

Hey guys.
I use 3 different types, Model master Acryls, Tamiya, and Polly Scale. All great paints. Vallejo paints are awsome, best for figure painting though. Most of the time, I just shoot Model Master straight from the bottle. I use an Aztech Dual action and the siphon cap fits straight to the bottle. I add a few drops of rubbing achohol and stir the bottle real good and I havent had any problems. Tamiya has the best colors for modern Tri Color and Model Master has the perfect match for Desert Storm sand. Polly scale has them both.
Hope this helps in you out.

Merry Christmas and Happy new Years.

I too use the Model Masters and an Aztec. Model Masters are the most easily available forme.

I mostly use model master I thin with 6 drops of denatured alcohol Sometimes I use Tamiya if Model Master doesn't have the color-like red brown Does anybody know of a good acrylic color for british shermans-post d-day?

Hello to all!
I use Tamiya and Gunze, tamiya I use to thin with water since it makes the not to dry very fast, on the other hand the Gunze paints are only thinned with alcohol, and they are very thinned already in the bottle. By the way these brands are easier to find here in Brazil.
HTH
Cheers

I see you all enjoy the acrylics for airbrushing, but for the life of me I tried it once and I could not get the paint to spray right. So I returned to enamels and have stayed there.
I am assuming, from my reading here, that my mix must have been way off. Do you all pretty much use a 50/50 mixture of water and paint? I see the mention of alcohol and water and have also read about the windscreen fluid.

I do own Model Master acrylics and have done brushing with them. The Model Masters are all I can get my hands on without doing a special online order for paint.

Lucas Freeman
Brunswick, Maine

Doppler,

I think you are correct about your assumption, your mixture must have been off. I find I need to make my paints rather lean, that is adding thinner to at least 50/50. I use windshield washing fluid, but I am starting to use a 50/50 already made windshield/distilled water.

I distill the water myself. I use a large pan of water and boil it. After the water starts boiling I put the lid on, condensation collects on the lid and then I turn the lid over and collect the water into a bottle/container of some sort. Only H2O will be in that water since the minerals and such will not follow the steam.

When you use your enamels do you use a spraybooth?? If so, what type do you use.

HunterCottage,

Spray booth? No I do not use any form of spray booth. When I spray, using enamels as normal, I spray the model and pieces propped in the kit's box to block any excessive paint from spreading too far into my work room. Have done this for years.

As for using acrylics, my mix was then definately off as I was thinking more along the line of enamels. I was most certainly making the acrylic mix far too watery. It had sprayed fine. But the paint was literally bubbling and then sliding off the model onto the cardboard. It basically would not stick, even to already painted surfaces.

I simply got frustrated and stopped trying the acrylics for airbrushing. I went back to enamels like I had been doing for years.

As a side note, my local hobby shop owner insisted that acrylics were not good for airbrushing. That simply put the finish on to acrylics for me and I stuck with enamels for airbrushing. I like using acrylics for manual brushing for the ease of clean up, but when I spray I'd switch to enamels.

I'm willing to try again!

Lucas Freeman

Does anyone have any experience with the long-term stability of Tamiya and ModelMaster acrylics mixed together or layered?

-Neil

HunterCottage -

I'm into Tamiya Acrylics all the way. Don't use anything else, and haven't since 1986. Love the stuff...

Jim
San Jose, California
http://www.guntruck.com