sapperastro

Looks great. I wish there were still 1/72 Buffalos on the market these days. They are as rare as hens teeth around here. I love the old Tamiya kit, but it almost seems like the only game in town at the moment.

My advice: Only buy Humbrol acrylic from the new 18.2ml pots. It is very good paint. Anything else is a lottery.

The never ending changing hues of Humbrol. This is why I have a vast painted spoon collection specifying what colour from what tin.

I keep trying different metallics and keep being disappointed. Really, the only one I have consistent results with in the modern era have been Revell Aqua. Every time I use them, they work good. Out of the modern paints I have also tried Revell enamel (a strange sludge), Humbrol enamel (isn't metallic anymore), Humbrol acrylic (haven't tried the new stuff in the 18 ml bottle admittedly), Tamiya acrylic (weak), Tamiya enamel (awesome one time, rubbish the next), Model master enamel and acrylic (sometimes great, sometimes P weak), lifecolor, vallejo model color (both incredibly weak), the list goes on. Apparently there are a few airbrush only lacquers that are good, but since I use brush or airbrush, I need something that can do the job either way. I haven't tried the citadel metals, but there is a review for Revell aqua by a polish guy online where he compares the two, and Revell aqua beats them. Just google revell aqua revell. The website is called coloured dust I believe. I have also heard good reports about the Vallejo Metal color line. An alcohol based paint. Haven't tried it yet. I have some success with the model master enamel and acrylics, and tamiya enamels, but also some poor results. Revell aqua has been the only one that ticks the box every time. If you had asked this question years ago, I would have just said 'Humbrol enamel, now move along please'. But those days seem to be over.

Jamie, thank god all of the paints are ok.... Just kidding mate. I am incredibly happy that what could have been a catastrophe for you and your family has been turned into a mere pain in the proverbial. Of course you have insurance to deal with next 💩... You and your family are safe, thanks in part to your little tike there and your own response. The good work of the local flame busters saved the rest. You cannot ask for more than that. All the best, Greg

I know this is a little late, but I recently got a pot of Revell Aqua satin/silk white, and it seems to be a proper white. Not as good coverage as the matt variant though.

Aha, it all makes sense now. Thanks a lot to you both Jack and Troy, that certainly clears things up, and as said, clearly shows just how much colour is affected in both photography and under the harsh desert sun. Amazing. Thanks for the heads up on the colours Jamie, I have an order to make. Perhaps you may need to manufacture a new tin of US navy buff 😆 And thanks too for your input Graham.

Thanks gents, I must admit to having a certain ignorance of this period with the luftwaffe in Africa, so I was making up my own theory with zero evidence on the basis of: The Germans were deployed very hastily to fulfill a promise by Der Fuehrer to his mate Il Duce, and as the vehicles, tanks, et al were supplied 'as is' (there was no camo paint or scheme initially provided for them, with all being in the European Dark Grey scheme and merely covered in African mud and dust as an impromptu camouflage). I extemporised that this would follow suit for the Luftwaffe as well, with keeping the undercarriage/sides the standard European 65 or 76, while throwing some borrowed Italian paint for the top and spraying mottles on it with either an Italian olive or other dark olive green RLM that was at hand. With the unexpected success of the Afrika Korps (they were merely sent as a blocking force to keep the Italians in play, not drive on into the middle east), more thought went into logistics, specialised supplies for Africa, etc. So gents, I take it Colourcoats has good options for these? And if not (or, as is half the problem, they are not in stock here at the moment...), what enamel paint suggestions would you put fourth? I have access to Humbrol, Revell and Tamiya enamels. Greg (its all good Jamie haha)

Hello all, I am guessing many of you know what aircraft I am talking about here; the 'Black 8' Me109e in Libya with the coloured photo. I am making the airfix 1/72 version, but the photos clearly show a different set of colours to those airfix suggests. RLM 78 seems to be a far too dark, steel blue colour, while the RLM 78 is far too dark brown. Are that a borrowed Italian aircraft colour? As it looks virtually the same as the sandy shade they used on their birds. I am guessing the underside is RLM 76 or a faded 65?

I am pretty chuffed about it myself, but we still have to wait for a) the old rubbish to depart the stores and b) the new paints to ramp up production wise.

Hello all, After scouring the internet, harassing UK modellers, hoping to find whether the new formula, made in the UK Humbrol Acrylic paint was any good, I came up trumps. I decided to order 5 colours myself and put my life on the line in order to see whether anything had changed with this much maligned paint. Is it still paint on sandpaper? Does it have enough pigment to cover a white primed wingtip? Well, things have certainly changed... The colours I ordered were 33 black, 34 white, 29 dark earth, 60 scarlet and 64 light grey. I wanted a green and blue to round out the colour spectrum, but there wasn't any in stock, which we will get to later... The paints come in tall, somewhat narrow plastic bottles with fliptop lids. I believe many other acrylic paint brands use them, including citadel 20 or more years ago. I am too lazy to post photos, so google search for them under Humbrol acrylic 18.2ml. Yes, 18.2ml. Same price, more paint. This leads them up against Revell Aqua, Vallejo, etc favourably, leaving the old 14ml in the past. Just regarding the bottle, if you are one of those people that must paint from the bottle (I am not) then make sure you blue tack them down; they look like they could fall over quite easily...On to the paint! After giving them a thorough stirring and ladeling a small amount onto my mixing area, thinning when required and painting with a brush on unwashed white plastic dessert spoons; H33 black: a good consistency. A lazy person could brush from the bottle, but don't. I thinned it slightly with demineralised water, stirred it up, and glided it on to the spoon. One coat covered it neatly. The paint leveled out by itself, and no brush strokes at all. The finish is slightly satin, and reminds me a great deal of Model Master acrylic paint. So far, things are really looking up for Humbrol... H34 white: Here we go. Flat White. Always a nemesis, but....not so much here. The paint was extremely thick in the bottle. I thought I was looking at Revell Aqua for a second (which I didn't mind, Aqua being my favourite acrylic paint), and I even put some demin water in before stirring it further. This was tricky, as the paint almost filled the entire bottle to the top, but I managed. I then ladeled some of the still very thick paint onto the mixing plate, and thinned it down further with water, bit by bit, then, after mixing it all up with the brush, glided it over the spoon. Again, the paint leveled out excellently and, while not fully opaque, did a damn good job of it. The second coat completed the coverage. Yes, I just said that. Again, satinish finish, and excellent coverage for a white. Humbrol has good paint? Stop those cat calls gentlemen... H29 dark earth: Ah, my favourite shade for this RAF/Commonwealth colour. I know this is always in dispute, but I don't care. Moving on... Same consistency as the 33 black, same procedure, same excellent leveling. Took two coats to cover to full opacity, no brush strokes. Almost an exact match for the H29 new enamel, just the tiniest bit lighter, I think. My vision is pretty good, but the difference is incredibly small. Things just keep getting better.... H60 Scarlet: Red, another problem child of the painting world. Coverage is usually poor....well, consistency is the same as the 33 and 29 above. Same procedure. Two coat coverage, with the possibility of a third here. I am fairly happy with the two coats, but a third might make a slight difference. In any case, really good result. Again no brush marks, good leveling. What can I say? H64 light grey: Same as above in all details except one coat coverage. Well, Humbrol has turned a corner. I haven't bothered airbrushing them, but since they don't have the sandpaper grit in them, which was the airbrush killer for the previous iteration, I cannot see why using usual procedures with water based paints cannot be used. For brushing, I can say: go and buy a few pots and see for yourself. I cannot see you being disappointed. as I am pretty fussy with paints. About bloody time Humbrol. Now start getting these things into the shops in numbers, and take back the old rubbish still sitting there. Oh, and expand the colour range to at least match the enamels. Enjoy

I can get away with no primer with acrylics after thorough washing and using paints that stick well (Revell Aqua, Model Master Acrylic, etc), but Vallejo has never worked for me in this way. Those rattlecans will get the job done for you, and at least speaking of the Tamiya, it dries quickly too (though it does stink until it dries...). Good luck.

And make sure you get a respirator or a good extractor fan. You don't want that stuff getting in to you.

A primer needs to be able to stick well to plastic. Is the primer water based acrylic? If so, you need to wash your model kit thoroughly before, otherwise you will have big issues. I have also found Vallejo to have poor adherence to plastic. Try priming with some Tamiya primer from a rattlecan.

I had a conversation with someone that works at a UK hobby shop and he claims that the new bottles do indeed contain UK production Humbrol acrylic paint.

I have no idea, though I would certainly like to know. In my emails to Humbrol, they have told me they are switching production from China to the UK for their acrylic line, so I have been waiting until I see some positive proof of this stuff in the wild to give it a go. Since this is the first new bottle type I have laid eyes on, I wondered if these were part of the first batches, and really want to know whether the stuff is any good, consistency, brushing ability, coverage, adhesion, etc etc.

Hello all, I saw this when looking at Hobbycraft. Cannot get them sent to Aus though. Can anyone confirm if these are the new UK Humbrol acrylics? https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/humbrol-scarlet-matt-acrylic-paint-18ml-60/637155-1008 18.2 mls? Thats new. I wonder what the contents are like. If anyone has any of these yet, do tell.

Good to hear somebody else is having luck with the undersized wrap around label tins. If these tins continue being good, perhaps I can keep on using Humbrol...once the colours slowly switch over in the racks anyway...I might have to break in at night and bin all of the other tins. How would you explain that in court?

I did have a matt white Humbrol that fits the description of Rays issue. The tin is full of basically toothpaste consistency (or harder) paint, that you need a putty knife to take out, and it is filled to the top with this stuff, so you need to spoon out lumps of it to try and thin. PITA. Ray, what did the labels look like on those tins? did it have a top sticker for the colour? or painted lid? I want to see whether the paints you got were from the crap that is still circulating through the system, or one of the new new tins with the undersized labels.

Hello all, I have a fair collection of 1/76 models, with plenty more in the stash, but from what I have seen 1/72 seems to have taken over for anything newer than the last two airfix additions some years ago (Cromwell and King Tiger). Does anyone know of any other company that does injection molded kits for 1/76 still? If not, what are the best brands for 1/72? I tried a couple of Hasegawa 1/72 armour kits but found them to be seriously wrong in shape (though they did go together easily).

If you haven't had made in the UK Humbrol enamels that have had the problems I described above, you have been very lucky. For the life of me I don't know how you haven't found any to date. Both Tamiya and Revell enamel, and Revell Aqua, are very thick in the tin, and attempting to brush paint them 'neat' would be a disaster, so I at any rate know exactly what you are talking about and much prefer thick paint that needs thinning. That being said I prefer paint that covers, levels, and dries, and it is due to the fact I have quite often come across these problems with the new Humbrols, that I have only bought the newest labeled tins due to them not having these issues (so far). Whenever I have to buy the full labeled Humbrol UK tins, I wince when opening, wondering whether I have bought a winning ticket or not.

Agreed. Revell matt white is an off white. Good enough if that is the only white on the project, but if you are touching up another white....

The only new tins of humbrol I have found to be almost uniformly good (proving you stir well and thin it before use) have been tins that have an undersized label around the sides, and a paper sticker on the top. Any other incarnation have been a total lottery. However, the lids on these particular tins are very shallow, so I am hoping they are actually sealing well. Perhaps those having endless luck could describe, or even post a picture, of these paints that never give them problems? Because here, in my locals, the new new style I quoted above are only found with very popular colours, with others having the 'lottery' UK tins, or old Chinese vintage tins. Of the latter styles I refuse to purchase anymore. With the lottery versions I either get; a) Thick but still decent when thinned. b) Thick but no covering power or leveling ability even when thinned. c) Same as above but includes an added bonus of taking days to dry, and can be rubbed off easily even when it dries.

I don't really have loyalty as such, but being so used to their colours and what I tend to use them for, it does frustrate me having to mix other brands paints to get close to what i want to use. I daresay the others here have a mix of nostalgia (Humbrol was an awesome paint. Just get an old tin out and try it. It still surprises me to this day), habit, colour preference and the fact it is a UK company, made in the UK, by UK workers, would be a big factor too I imagine. That being said, I am also surprised that nobody seems to have marched up to Humbrol head officer (or Rustins in London) and offered to brush out the crap tins in front of them as a demonstration. I am guessing most people don't bother complaining to Humbrol either, but rather throw their tins away and move on. I am sure that had this happened back in the 80s or earlier, there would have been official modelling clubs marching enmasse to Humbrol HQ bearing torches and pitchforks, but with the sheer amount of different paints on the market, along with the migration to acrylics, users of enamel paint are scattered far and wide. The only time I see them are the few times I venture to major swap meets around the city, where there are a surprisingly large amount of enamel users. The few modellers I know locally use acrylic paint or Mr. Color. These days, I usually purchase other brands of enamels (Tamiya, Revell and Colourcoats) but always keep my ear to the ground in case Humbrol has turned the corner, as they still carry colours that you just cannot find in other enamel paint brands.

I don't buy the EU law excuse. If that were the case. then Revell and Colourcoats would have the same issues. The fact that they don't leads back to Humbrol quality control, or lack thereof. Saying that, the newest tins seem to be making the cut, but there is that much old China/New UK starter gunk still in the stands (especially here) that it makes buying Humbrol a lottery, whereas every tin of Revell enamel and Colourcoats has been perfect for me. Humbrol acrylic recently started being made at the same UK factory as the enamel, as the Chinese stuff went from bad to worse, but I daresay most of the stock you will find is Chinese rubbish. I only hope Humbrol can weather the storm, as it has been a pretty bad run of years for the brand with the stupid idea of sending it off to the far east. not to mention frustrating for users. I know what to use for virtually any project using the Humbrol colours, so when I have to use other brands, it becomes trial and error, as the colour conversion charts are not worth the paper they are printed on (hint: If you see Revell light olive posted as a match for Humbrol light olive, throw the chart away, as it is clear that person didn't even attempt to match the colour, which precludes virtually every colour matching chart on the planet).