Hello,

I mostly use tamiya acrylics. I use tamiya with an airbrush and it works fine, I'm doing good with tamiya paint and an airbrush...

But problems do arise when I try to paintbrush something like a figurine gun k98 or mp40 or whatever that small. Paint do not stick well and I only have time to get one stroke, on the second stroke the fresh stroke sticks and get removed...
Tthe surface seems already dry but underneat it is not.

I'm thinking I do not have the right paint for the job. Or I might to something wrong...

Any suggestions ?

the paint should be fine as long as its mixed well.
try maybe using a smaller brush and smooth strokes on a smaller area. That works for me

i have a bottle of tamiya xf-15, if thats the right code for the flesh and sometimes it seems the paint is to thin, and trust me folks, i mix the heck out of it. maybe its just the bottle? or its not mixed properly, thats what id say, maybe to thinned or not thinned enought...try using different ratios for thinning, and mix properly, it should fix the problem.... you also might have gotten an old bottle of paint, fresher the better.

Dont give up!
oh, did you celebrate the 24th?

Frank

Ok,

How should I mix the color ? if a do the base color ?
In my example, the k98 I was painting the wood.
(red-brown) but I did not diluted it with anything.

Should I have ?

I'm a little confused as when to thin my paint and when not to thin...
Ah to thin or not to thin....

And yes I did celebrate the 24th !

Francois I've read this same complaint many times about Tamiya paints and I'm really beginning to believe it's true. Many people have said that Tamiya might have changed their formula over the years and that the new one doesn't brush paint as well. Of course you can try to thin it differently, or perhaps leave it out to thicken up a bit before painting, but this is one reason I've begun to get Model Master Acrylics. Tamiya is still excellent for airbrushing, but brush painting might not be it's strong suit anymore.

maybe tamiya should have two different lines of paint one dedicated to airbrushing and one to brush painting.

As for brushpainting i agree with Rodger, the paint has changed over the years as i dont seem to be able to brush paint it as well as before, its a little harder but sometimes possible. its a matter of experiencing with different thinning ratios.

As for painting out of the bottle, i dont recomend it. Even if i do it sometimes to save time, i get better results when i dilute the paint properly. Iam no expert, but when i paint figures i like to play with ratios of thining depends which layer of paint iam at. I have tried this on my last figure, and iam quite pleased with results. The reason why your problem occures now jsut cliqued as iam writting, your paint is to thick, thin it and it should be fine. I jsut remembered a similar problem i had.

Here's an article you might want to read if you like painting figures, helped me a bit
http://www.ttfxmedia.com/vallejo/cgi-bin/_modelis.asp?p1=ing&p2=modelcolortecnicas

Enjoy And hope i helped
(which part of quebec are you from?)

Frank

Since I started modeling, about 5 years ago, I always used Tamiya paints. But recently I experienced problems similar to yours and it pushed me to try other brand of paint.

Now I almost always use Humbrol emanel, Model Master emanel, and a little Model Master acryl.

Tamyia's acrylic is (or were...) a very convenient system for beginners. It smells almost nothing, it cures fast and it cleans easilly. But emanel paint like Humbrol and Model Master worth the trouble I think. Especially for painting vehicules, it gives a more realisic finish.

This said, I don't know what could completly solve your problem...Sorry

sorry for that... i spot 2 other quebecers, which makes three with me, and it seem iam the one who been around here to longest... sure doesnt make me feel lonely in my province anymore :-) which part of quebec are you from? with the three of us using tamiya paint iam starting to believe its the only abundant paint in the province? i cant find humbrol oils, and only recently found humbrol enamels at my lhs. And The only enamels around are at walmart... and some model master and and testors at a hobby shop in st-therese along the 15. and iam not ready to pay 4 bucks for a bottle of model master paint and 2-3 bucks for testor. The hobby shop in st-jerome closed down and had a lot of scenic stuff and awsome prices and a good counter for paints but his wife passed away a few years back and he sold the shop. And the other shop iam aware of is in two mountains and htey only have tamiya! and some testor....

What to do what to do?
Frank

Well the local hobby store where I am (In terrebonne, quebec canada) has mostly tamiya paint in stock. Sure they got some testors enamels or acrylics in stock but not as in many colors as tamyia...

I'm really considering changing from tamiya to whatever people could suggest me. Humbrol maybe ?

And what is the difference between enamels and acryls beside latter smells nothing and cure faster ?

It is my first experience with figurines and it is becoming quite a frustrating experience...

I tried to find vallejo paint as I was suggested by some people, but I have yet to find it here in quebec.

Anybody in quebec know where we can buy Vallejo paint ?

Any suggestions welcome

I've ranted many times on Tamiya paint.
I've been in this hobby as an adult since the mid 70's. When Tamiya was introduced in the States, it was great for brush painting, I can remember guys brush painting cars virtually no brush marks. I swore by Tamiya, even for figures. Maybe 10 or 12 years ago, the formula changed. It was nearly impossible to rush on and when mixing a color, it would dry up faster than you could paint 1/35 face and hands. Trying to paint uniforms gave the same results as Francois notes. The first stroke woould skin over immediately but would dissolve at the edges wher the fresh paint was applied.
If you're going to be using a brush, you have to make a decision here. Deal with the frustration of Tamiya paint or make a switch to another brand. I have been using Andrea and Vallejo paints for my figures almost exclussively over the last year and couldn't be happier. I'll use the occasional Model Master, Floquil or PollyScale as well.
One advantage of moving to another brand, any other brand, will be a much greater pallette of colors, even before mixing.

Mail order/online shopping may be your best bet.
Military Miniatures Warehouse
Sentinel Miniatures
The Squadron Shop

Thanks again for your input Al,

Would Humbrol or Model Master be a good choice if I was to change from Tamiya ?

Humbrol lasts forever! I had some copper plate that finally was useless after 20 years. (I didn't use it that much :-) ). My LHS's don't carry that, but early on, it was my paint of choice. I did mange to get a couple tims on a vist to a not so LHS and it still seems pretty good. ModelMaster is excellent paint, both in the enamel and acrylic formulations.

Hi,
Just wanted to say that I recently swapped from Tamiya to Vajello Acyllics and Model Master enamels.
And I couldn't be happier!
In particular the Vajello is beautiful to work with - the pigment in the paint looks so even,rich and luxurious. I love the stuff!!
To top things off, in Sydney, Australia Vajello isn't that much more expensive than Tamiya.
Vajello = $6 for 17 ml
Tamiya = $3 for 10 ml
HooRah!

To answer to you Francois 3442, I live in Gatineau. There's a hobby shop in Hull but they mainly sell artist product. They do have only Tamiya, Humbrol, and a little Model Master.

In Ottawa there's another hobby shop mainly involved with trains, tanks and planes. But they also only have Tamiya, Humbrol, and a wide range of Model Master. It's the only place where they have Dragon model in stock.

I also think that for Vallejo paint the only option is buying it on the web. Same thing for Mig pigment. Everytime I see an awesome model wheathered with Mig it makes me crazy that its not distributed here !!!

Sooner or later I'll have to get a credit card.

Sentinel and Military Miniatures Warehouse will do regular mail order using money orders.

I ran into this problem both with airbrushing AND using a brush. After many wasted bottles of paint, I switched to Model Masters and haven't looked back since.

Hi Francois. I use tamiyas for airbrushing only. In fact 95% of what is used in the airbrush is Tamiya acrylics. I tried one time to brush it on and what a disaster that was.
When using the brush I use Humbrols. I prime first using tamiya acrylics and airbrush, and then brush paint humbrols over the top. I even mix some oils into the humbrols to increase the drying time when needed.
Humbrols can be airbrushed as well, but I like tamiya for the ease of cleaning, and milder smells.



I have some humbrols up to 10 years old now. Make sure you place the lid properly and dry away any paint on the opening. Its quite possible to reach for a colour, the next time you need it, only to find it has a skin thicker than your own.
Humbrols are also excellent for washes. I use humbrols own enamle thinner for this, and possibly the best for dry-brushing.

I would have to strongly agree on this point. I recently bought a batch of Tamiya paint bottles from a hobby shop, and the labeling is different to conform to regulations in the US... the paint is much thinner then it use to be.... I actually like the new formula... the older paint was much thicker, less thinned. But it also sucks because since the paint is thinned, the paint doesn't disolve on the surface of the model evenly.

Francois,
if your considering using Vallejo (i love them) then you might be interested in the chart i put up some time ago
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/279

martin

Hi guys,

I am sorry to hear of all the diffculties everyone seems to be having with TAMIYA paints. I must say that I am stationed here in Japan and have recently started using these about 4 months ago. I really havent had any of the problems that you guys have mentioned. Mybe its fresher paint here?????