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Enamel paint options?


sapperastro

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Hi all,

 

I recently got back into the hobby in a big way after a decade of little building, and went for what used to work for me; Humbrol enamel.

 

I still have a small variety of Humbrol paints from the late 80s and 90s/early 2000s during my previous modeling time, all of which are just as good to use as I remember them. However, the new stuff isn't up to scratch at all, and while I will still chance it from time to time, I am looking for good, Brushable, enamel paints. I have airbrushed extensively in the past, but rarely do so now, preferring the hairy stick.

 

Just to let everyone know; I use Acrylics too and enjoy alternating. My favourite acrylic is by far Revell aqua color even though it is difficult to get here in Oz. I have a small selection of others too, but I also enjoy painting with enamels, so this question is primarily for those paints.

 

So I currently have humbrols, and find them to be very lacklustre (the new stuff) with the occasional great tin, and often rubbish tin.

 

I use bottles of Tamiya enamel, which are still great paint for brushing. The lack of colours can be a little painful though, especially when I see all those Humbrol colours....I know Tamiya enamels are not in the UK, just letting you know.

 

So what does that leave?

 

Has anyone got recent experience with Revell enamel these days? I can get hold of that if need be. How does it hold up to old Humbrol? Or even new Humbrol?

 

Testors enamel (model master, or whatever it is called)? Has anyone tried this with brush painting? I have heard through the grapevine that this, too, has gone down the gurgler quality wise. Truth?

 

I think I can get Xtracolor direct from Hannants, perhaps not. I have been told it brush paints terribly (again, vs old Humbrol/Tamiya enamel). How is it really?

 

I know that there are various other enamel paints out there, but none seem available to me here (with regards the dangerous goods shipping business).

 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Edited by sapperastro
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Well I vote for Xtracolour, certainly for spraying but even here you do get the OCCASIONAL duff tin.  I never really brush paint large areas so can't honestly comment on its performance in this regard.  Revell I find too thick.  Most Humbrols are OK IMHO.  HTH

 

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I am a brush painter and for many years I used Humbrol enamel, trying sometimes different brands.

I agree with Graham about Revells and Humrols. For me Humbrols matt colours are ok, they need to be carefully stirred and

thinned and is better to brush them over a primed surface.  

I have tried only Matt Black from Testor's and it was a wonderful colour.

After some attempts I had quite good results with Xtracolour, they have a fine pigment, but at the beginning

of my learning curve they were difficult to brush, probably I made some errors using thinner.

For me all gloss paints are a bit more difficult to use.

WEM coloucoats are very good paints but now in Italy is very difficult to find them.

Cheers

 

 

 

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Colourcoats is alive and well. It hasn't been owned by WEM for 2 years now and since WEM is owned by someone in California these days, WEM and Colourcoats are amicably separated in internet search engines :) Just look for Colourcoats and you'll find us on the first page of Google hits.

 

In Australia our dealer is Creative Models who carry an extensive stock.

 

In continental Europe our dealers are Naval Models in the Netherlands and NNT Modell + Buch in Germany. NNT can usually get them anywhere in Europe by road transport, and Naval probably can too if you ask him :)

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Colourcoats eh? Very interesting. I will have to check out Creative models.

 

Has anyone used Colourcoats before? How do they stack up in the brush painting arena?

 

Edit: Woah, $6.50 a tin from Creative Models....Economy of scale I guess. I won't turn my nose up if they are really good.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by sapperastro
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I use the Colourcoats a lot, they remind me of how paint used to be when you were a kid :)

 

When I brush-paint it I generally do two coats each thinned about 50% and that works well for me, though if you are the impatient sort I don't see any reason you couldn't just use it 'neat' and do it in one coat.

 

I don't know how 6.50 AUD stacks up against the pound these days, but it is really good paint.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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Jeez Stew, you know how to hit a nerve don't you? "remind me of how paint used to be when you were a kid".....they should pay you ;)

 

Ok, I think I will try buying a small lot to complete, say, a Caunter scheme for my Crusader kit to give them a whirl. Portland stone, Slate and silver grey I am guessing are the correct colours from the Colourcoat range.

 

$6.50 isn't the end of the world, but it is more expensive than pretty much any other model paint on the market here. A few examples; Humbrol here is $3.50 to $4 for a tin locally. Tamiya enamel or acrylic $3.50 (10ml). Revell enamel $4. Revell Aqua $6 but that is because the one seller basically has the whole Australian market, and that is 18ml. Italeri Acrylic 20ml I can get for $4.50, which is rebranded Vallejo model colour in Federal standard colours. So yeah, it is a little pricey, but if it really is as good as you say, it will be worth it. We shall see.

 

Edit: Regarding thinners, is mineral turps (white spirits I think they call it over there) good enough for brush thinning? Or Humbrol enamel thinner? I have Tamiya enamel thinner as well. Do they all work well with the Colourcoat enamels?

Edited by sapperastro
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Xtracolour is brushable but is a bit of a faff and wouldn't be my first choice. Its advantage is that it dries glossy so you can get straight on to the transfers when dry. On the downside, it can take a while to dry.

 

Colourcoats brush well and would be my pick though I'm told Precision paints are as good.

 

Humbrol is variable with some tins being completely unusable. Revell paint is better but rarely has the right colour without having to mix.

 

John.

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I haven't used Testors paint in some time, but when I did they were brilliant paints, easy to brush and airbrush and when matched the the FS standard they were very accurate. Don't know if they are different now as they don't seem to be imported here anymore

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I find that neither Colourcoats (old WEM examples) nor Xtracolour give satisfactory coverage with a single coat brush-painted.  I prefer to use an undercoat of a suitably near Humbrol, which is then rubbed down and the desired accurate shade (CC or XC) applied over the top.

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It depends on the colour being used and how much contrast it's expected to cover up.

 

Self-levelling and quick drying times are contradictory requirements. Adding more pigments and extenders improves opacity by displacing oil but then it's too thick to brush, so the user adds oil (thinner) to reduce viscosity to get it to brush on well which in turn reduces pigment content for any given area being brushed and we're back to square one with coverage.

 

Brush painting just needs several coats to build up opacity. Some colours are better or worse than others to work with. Matt colours tend to cover better than satins which in turn cover better than gloss.

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I am pretty certain that most of you here have used pre mid 90s humbrol enamel paint.

 

I still have a few tins of it here, and while it is very thin once fully stirred, the coverage AND self leveling is nothing short of amazing. A recent 1/72 hurricane I was painting called out for the familiar H29 and dark green (I use 116). The 29 is a Chinese hornby tin, of the lucky strike type that brushes pretty good. First coat terrible. Second coat fairly good. Third coat looks great. All thin coats over bare plastic (with the odd bit of paint over seam lines for checking.

 

Next up I opened up my ancient 116 dating from the 80s (Humbrol written at the top 'enamel' written in the middle with a blue and orangey red band). I had to stir it for, literally, 10 to 15 minutes until the goo had melted off the stirring stick. Very thin. i painted it on and perfection. One coat, totally opaque and self leveling. I couldn't believe the difference. And no new paints I have tried so far come close to this. None. The Tamiya enamel is getting there, but that is about it. None of the Acrylics came close either, though some of them go well too (Vallejo and especially Revell Aqua).

 

I don't really know why this is the case. It would be great if somebody could outline the reasons why paint from the dark ages could be so brilliant while new paint cannot replicate, let alone surpass it. So if somebody has the the actual answer, I would love to read all about it.

 

I will give the colourcoats a go and see how they are.

 

edit; Just thought I would add in that the drying of the 116 was very fast. I could see it drying within 15 minutes or less after brushing. Much faster than the H29 I painted prior.

Edited by sapperastro
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  • 3 months later...
On ‎27‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 07:22, SovereignHobbies said:

Colourcoats is alive and well. It hasn't been owned by WEM for 2 years now and since WEM is owned by someone in California these days, WEM and Colourcoats are amicably separated in internet search engines :) Just look for Colourcoats and you'll find us on the first page of Google hits.

 

Jamie!

At the moment you don't have RN 01 RN 10 or C 03 in stock, any idea how long it will be before I can place my order, I need these to complete the set for HMS HOOD, the other seven are in my shopping cart.

Edited by allyby
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On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 4:50 AM, sapperastro said:

 It would be great if somebody could outline the reasons why paint from the dark ages could be so brilliant while new paint cannot replicate, let alone surpass it. So if somebody has the the actual answer, I would love to read all about it.

I'm pretty sure that it is because some of the chemicals in old enamel are no longer considered safe but doubtless Jamie at Sovereign can give the full answer.

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2 hours ago, allyby said:

Jamie!

At the moment you don't have RN 01 RN 10 or C 03 in stock, any idea how long it will be before I can place my order, I need these to complete the set for HMS HOOD, the other seven are in my shopping cart.

 

Hi allyby,

 

I'm out at my daughters' swimming lesson but got Gill to check. RN01 and RN10 were already done and webstore stock quantities are updated now. We'll have C03 ready before Sunday night ready for Monday's post.

 

Best regards,

 

Jamie

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24 minutes ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

Hi allyby,

 

I'm out at my daughters' swimming lesson but got Gill to check. RN01 and RN10 were already done and webstore stock quantities are updated now. We'll have C03 ready before Sunday night ready for Monday's post.

 

Best regards,

 

Jamie

Thanks Jamie, now you don't know where I'll get a wooden deck for it in 1/400?

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2 hours ago, allyby said:

Thanks Jamie, now you don't know where I'll get a wooden deck for it in 1/400?

 

I don't have any myself. Artwox or Woodhunter may make them though.

 

It's not one of the more popular scales to be honest. I take it this is the Heller kit you have?

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26 minutes ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

I don't have any myself. Artwox or Woodhunter may make them though.

 

It's not one of the more popular scales to be honest. I take it this is the Heller kit you have?

Airfix, but I believe it's the same kit as Heller, not too great a detail but a good starter before I try my Tamiya 1/350 models.

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