Well after a painting session gone bad with Model Master oil based paint, SWMBO has decided that she and the new baby dont want to smell the fumes from the thinner and the laquer cleaned that I had been using to clean my airbrush and paint jars. So today, for my next project, I picked up a little of the Model Master Acryl water based paint. My question is, has anyone used this stuff? What did you think about it? Any problems that I need to be aware of? Thanks for your replies.

Hey IndyCopper...

Acryl is all I use. I have had good luck on base coats airbrushing it straight from the bottle. I have had various amounts of luck (read lack of skill) airbrushing thin lines without thinning, too.

I model in the basenment with the water heater and furnace, both gas. Didn't think blowing thinner around down there was a good idea. The acryl doesn't smell nearly as bad either.

Good luck,

Shaun

PS, What's the skinny on the pat downs at the RCA Dome? I am coming down Sunday for the game. Is there something Channel 13 isn't telling me?

I will add a few drops of MM acrylic thinner to it Maybe 6 or 7 drops for half a bottle of paint I also use the MM acrylic gloss and flat coats Those I don't add any thinner to those They shoot just fine (++) (++)

Overall decent. It could be my imagination, but the MM Acryl paints seem a bit 'tougher" than other Acrylics, such as Tamiya, both to chemical and abrasive treatment. Most recently I've had some trouble with oil-based washes attacking the finish on models, so I tried MM Acryl's line of clear varnishes, having had success with their paints, and they held up just fine, even with my ham-handed treatment. They also appear easier to use, although I did thin them with Isopropyl Alcohol. In general I'm usually unimpressed with Acrylics either in performance or sturdiness-of-finish, and usually prefer enamels with a lacquer varnish, but I have to grudgingly approve of MM Acryl. At least I'll continue using them.

Prof,

I haven't had any problems with the wash crazing the Acryl. I use W&N oils and odorless thinner.

Frankly, the main reason I like the Acryl is I can carry all the AB parts up to the kitchen sink and wash everything. No more soaking stuff in laquer thinner...

Shaun

I use the Model Master Acrylic as much as I can! I love the stuff, as it's really the only stuff that I can get that's acrylic. It smells "better", dries faster, and I can spray it without having to thin it! I hope this helps.

It's a fantastic product with a wide range of colors. I use it right out of the bottle with almost no problems (I did have some runs on a 1/144th B-52 on the curved fuselage, but that mave been my A/B skill versus the paint)

Keenan, not really sure about the dome thing. It may be that they are trying to ramp up the security a bit. I know in the past they just waved everyone one through with a cursory check. Be aware of the parking though. The south lot, where everyone tailgates, will be much harder to use, if at all. They just started the ground breaking for the new stadium there and it is really going to mess up the parking situation, I would give yourself extra time to find another place to park.

Having used both MM Acryl and Tamiya Acrylic paints, I would have to say that the combination of Tamiya paints and Tamiya thinner are pretty hard to beat.

Yes you have to take precautions when using hotter thinners when you do your wash....but I use an odourless thinner for my washes with oil paints and it doesn't attack the Tamiya paint at all.

The only thing I didn't like about the MM Acryls is that they are pretty thin right out of the bottle....which makes them ok for spraying, but suck for brush painting, not that Tamiya is much better for brush painting, but usually you can get by with 2 brushed coats of Tamiya....MM Acryl you would be lucky to get good coverage with 4 coats. However that is a minor point.

The only real bad point I would say would be that because the MM Acryls are so thin to start with, that you don't get as much "Bang for your Buck" as you do with Tamiya paints. As the MM stuff is already thin enough to spray from the bottle...it won't last as long as Tamiya paints which you usually thin 50/50 to airbrush with.

Other than that, they work well when airbrushed....and there are more varieties of colors, with specific FS numbers in their lines. So when you need that specific FS XXXXX color, and nothing else will do....there it is.....otherwise with Tamiya, you have something close...and you could probably custom mix something that would be even closer. MM Acryls is likely to have most of the popular colors already in a bottle for you.

In the end, it all comes down to what you are used to using, and what works best for you.