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I have been having issues with my brushes as they keep going out of shape (fine ones most of the time). Just wondering if any one had any ideas on reshaping them?

I just received the new P.11a re-box from IBG, and there's this interesting red civil aircraft that I will build. IBG recommends using a Hataka paint, HTK-D013, the problem for me is that it's a water-based colour for miniature painting. How could I get a colour resembling RAL 4002 using existing Tamiya/MRP/Mr Color/Hataka Orange paint, mixing a base colour with some other colour? Or mixing several together, I'm not looking for a perfect match for RAL 4002, just something that is the same type of red. If @Casey or anyone else who understands colour mixing could help I would appreciate that.

Hi all just getting in to a bit of painting and thought what colour primer for what colour paint. Is it black primer for black or dark paint and white primer on white or light shades and grey primer for grey colour. Or does it matter. ALS can you use acrylic primer with acrylic paint or enamel primer with acrylic. It’s probably been thrashed out before but I thought I would ask.

Looking for a bit of advice, I’ve been airbrushing for around 6-12 months using Ammo by Mig solely, however I picked up a Tamiya sea blue Xf-17 for the Corsair F4U. Does the paint need to be thinned for airbrushing and if so, can IPA be used or even Mig thinners? Thanks in advance.

One of the worst thing about airbrushing is the dust particles that get stuck on the painted surface. I have managed to mitigate the problem after starting to use mainly MRP and Mr Color lacquers. But especially when a wet coat is needed, particles of this floating lint gets on the painted surface. Usually I don't care if the finish is not totally perfect, I build aircraft and most of the time a final matt varnish will hide the imperfections. But I have a 1/24 Ford T Model from ICM on the way, and they also just released a new A model which I'm interested in. Glossy paint exacerbates the dust problem, so I'm thinking that I maybe would use a spray can or a portable small compressor & airbrush, and paint the parts requiring glossy paint outdoors. My actual question is, how much stuff there is floating in the air outdoors, would it make a difference? I was surprised when last summer one day I noticed how the air was full of small floating particles, they were visible against the light. Looked like the dust we have indoors. Are they there the whole time, but they are not just visible?

https://imgur.com/a/iIrRBlX I was convinced that for the radome/intakes/wing edges I needed FS36270. But it's way too light and too blueish gray. Can I save this by just lightly spraying the base FS36170 over the lighter parts to blend it in to the base colour more? Tamiya F35-A kit here in 1:72. Paints used are MRP 280 camouflage grey (FS36170) and Gunze/Mr Colour 306 grey (FS36270) I feel dumb, somone told me I needed fs36270 and I believed them. And it's clearly incorrect!

I use Tamiyas clear orange and yellow when making wood grain imitation, and they're good for that. But for a situation when I would need to mask the surface very soon after spraying, I would prefer a lacquer version. I have MRP's orange and yellow, but to me their orange seems too reddish. I also bought Mr Color GX Clear Orange, and it's too bright. Do you have experience with Mr Color's regular clears, or the ones from Real Colors, and if so are the colours a good equivalent to Tamiya's X clears?

Hi all I'm thinking about purchasing a Flyhawk 1/700 scale model of HMS Cambeltown. One of the suggested paints is Mountbatten Pink. The instructions give 3 options: 1. 8:1 Mr Hobby H61: Mr Hobby H84 (MrColor C35: MrColor C42); 2. 8:1 Tamiya XF-12:XF-9; and 3. WEM Colorcoats RN18 I don't have the MrHobby/MrColor or WEM Colorcoats paints but do have the Tamiya paints and also X-17 (Pink), which I assume is the incorrect shade, hence the mix. I am not a fan of mixing paints, as I tend to mix either too much, or, in most cases, not enough and then getting a slightly different shade when I do mix some more. I would rather buy the 'correct' color, than mix and waste paint unnecessarily. Suggestions? Advice? Thanks in advance.

As it's not legal to buy disposable plastic spoons in the EU, or order them from abroad, I ordered two sets of these from Aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003737747272.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802SpAoAd Although they are more expensive than spoons, it's nice that it's a compact deck so storing the swatches is easy, and also finding any particular swatch, as they're divided in sections by the main colours. And the background is in white, grey and black, to mimic the three most common primer colours. So all in all, looks to be quite nice and practical product.

Nick Millman writes in "Real Colors" that "ANA 505 Light Yellow superseded Lemon Yellow and is approximately similar to FS 13655 (which also superseded it in March 1959). However, 505 is noticeably lighter, brighter and less 'orange' than FS 13655. I have MRP-386 whuch is labeled as FS 13655 / ANA 505. I don't know if it matched to FS 13655, probably it is. Is it possible to make a yellow paint less orange by mixing it with some other colour? At some point, maybe ever for my SB2U-1, I will need Lemon Yellow, I would like there to be a noticeable contrast between the wings and the Lemon Yellow parts. I'm planning to use Mr Hobby C329/H329 for the US Navy Yellow. Maybe there is already enough contrast between these two colours. My DSPIAE colour test cards haven't arrived yet, they would be very handy for situations like this, when deciding what colours to use.

Hi All I am just about to start building an Eduard 1/48 scale model of a BF109K-4 (weekend edition). One of the suggested paints is MrColor GX05, Susie Blue'. That color is not on any of the 4 different suggested paint schemes, so assuming that it's for something internal. As I don't have it and don't want to buy it if it's only ever going to be used once (got enough of those already, lol), does anyone have a suggestion for a similar color in a different make (Humbrol, Revell, Tamiya, Vallejo, A-Mig, etc) or even a MrColor/Mr Hobby Cxxx/Hxxx that I could use instead? Having just had a quick look through the instructions, I cannot see where it is used at all (mind you my sight isn't as good as it was), but I guess it would still be useful to know for future use and to anyone else for that matter. Thanks in advance.

Good evening, I am embarking on the interesting mission of a 1/72 Fairey Delta 2 and wish to portray it in the guise of when it had just broken the absolute air speed record. This is a peculiar colour. I wondered if some of the more knowledgable modellers here might be able to help as I can’t seen to pin the shade of colour down that I I’ll need to paint the model. See below photos for reference : Cheers, Ash

Hi fellow modellers. I have a problem with my Hataka red line paints. They stay sticky after airbrushing. I have used different thinners with them (hataka, vallejo, green stuff world) but the result is the same. Do any of you experience the same problem? Any solutions? I have tried to airbrush the Hataka blue line (for brush painting) and they seem to work better. They spray easy and dries fast without the sticky feeling. Looking forward to hear your experiences with these paints. Happy modeling. /T

So, I wanted to do a repaint of my Takom Coelian and wanted the late war or 'what if' colours. Couldn't find the resadagrun in the Real Color range, and wanting to keep the finishes consistent (Mig Ammo always dries satin) I decided to look into the 3rd Gen acrylics as they had the colours I needed in a set. Brilliant. Got them and the thinner. Review vids looked positive. Great. I just tried them. They are not at all great. For brush painting, not bad. Good coverage but they still streak. For airbrushing... What a nightmare! Thin it 50/50 with the correct thinner. Spatters and slings paint like web. Thin it 30/70. Inconsistent coverage and it floods. It took an AGE to clean the airbrush out. It was drying around the tip like vinyl paint (contrary to that 'no tip drying' claim) . I tried it with lacquer thinner as suggested as well. Much like AKs 'advice' that you could thin RC with water, this turned out to be bogus as well with similar, goopy results. Should've known after the RC stuff (before I eventually figured them out with no help [and actually being ignored in emails] from the manufacturer) that this stuff was too good to be true. If I can't get it to work, wasted money on the set, the white, primer and thinner, and will have to pay more to get the appropriate, lighter dunkelgelb from Mig Ammo -.- Does anybody know how to resolve this? I'm at a total loss, and I'm not willing to risk my model at present with these results. My airbrush/mini compressor will spray Mig Ammo, Tamiya, RC, Hobby Aqueous and Stynlrez primer without trouble with appropriate thinning. Gaz

I'm currently building the above model. The final suggested paint for Version A (Red Army, Unit unknown, Russia 1941) is a 1:1 mixture of XF-4 & XF-58. I'm not keen on mixing large amounts of different paints, as I either don't make enough (and then the next mix is a slightly different shade to what I had before), or, I make too much, which is really a bit of a waste, even if I manage to store it, as I doubt there would be enough for the next kit that needed that mix. I looked up the Tamiya KV-1 (which I built previously) to see what color that was, but couldn't find the suggested color leaflet that came with the kit (annoying as I have kept all the instructions to the kits I've built). I then looked up Trumpeter's KV-3. This gave Russian Green (1) (Mr Color #135), which I don't have. The only comparison paint I have is Revell 36161 (Emerald Green), but this looks a bit too bright (Modelshade gives a 4star comparison). I'm probably ordering some more kits next week, so could wait and order the MrColor then. However, is there another paint that is more akin to this mix, (Humbrol, Vallejo, Hataka, Life Color, etc.) which I could order at the same time? Thanks in advance.

I have just ordered this kit and looking at the suggested paint requirements (Scalemates give instructions for the 152H-1), one of the paints is MrColor #103. This is given the description as 'Gun Stainless', with no Mr Hobby equivalent, but an Italeri #1405. As this is an ex-Dragon and Trimaster Kit, I'm assuming that this color no longer exists, or is under a different code, (MrColor #103 is thinners for Mr Color paints). Italeri does not give #1405 on it's website either. I've looked through the Scalemates instructions, page 3, and it is used on one of the brackets (part G18) that hold the engine inside the fuselage (the opposite part, G19, gives MrC #60, RLM02)! Any suggestions as to what color this is supposed to be and why it is different to its opposite part? Thanks in advance

I was in the Hornby shop this morning in Margate and was pleasantly surprised to see a new ( incomplete ) range of enamel paint. I am aware that there not everybody's cup of tea but they are the only paints that I have used in fifty odd years. I have tried Xtracote but could not get on with them in the long term. Incidentally, on the floor was a stack of the new Vulcan kits reduced to £50. Keith

Hi there, does anyone else have difficulties with the Ammo by Mig product A.MIG-0008? It is the RAL 7021 Dunkelgrau. For some reason, whenever I use it (generally over a primer) it bubbles and leaves a shiny finish. I never have this problem with any of the other acrylics by this company. It is well shaken before use and is within 1 years purchase so not sure what the issue is. I would say that it is me but as mentioned, I do not have any problems with the other acrylics by Mig, they go on a treat. Cheers.

I'm hoping I've placed this in the right forum. My laptop hard drive completely crashed, and so I have had to purchase a new laptop. As a result, all my modelling (and other) type shortcuts, I've had to set up again. One was a useful website that listed all the WW2 military personnel (British, US, German, etc.) and what colour their uniforms, accessories, etc. were painted (Vallejo paints). If memory serves me, this site was for painting gaming models. I've tried various internet searches, but no joy. As I said, this site was quite useful, as I've built a number of models that included figures, but the paint guide for them was a bit 'inconclusive', shall we say. I was probably looking for a particular manufacturers paint conversion website and came across the site by accident. Would be grateful if anyone knows this site and can let me know as well. Also, does anyone know if and when the Paint4Models website will be up and running again? I have the pdf version, but it is a bit of a bind trying to find an equivalent paint. Many thanks in advance.

Dear Fellow Modellers I'm sure this is an old subject, what the best paints are for the RFC PC10 colour, but as a confirmed Gunze paint enthusiast I wondered if anyone had advice on a Gunze paint or mix they could offer? Thanks Andrew

Hello, I've been working with enamels for a while but they can be expensive and come in very small containers. I've read a little about acrylics and would like to give them a try. I looked around on other posts but couldn't seem to find an answer about how to get started.😕 Can someone tell me what brands are cheap, reliable, and airbrush friendly to use? I also was wondering if you couldn't just use big jars of normal canvas painting acrylics? Does plastic modelling require special types of acrylic? Any input on brands, techniques, etc. is appreciated! Also, recommendations of clear coats to use would be nice. Thanks in advance!

So I just started having problems with my airbrush we're when I start to paint semi large areas on my model the paint from my airbrush starts to I guess dry in the air and leave a anti slip textor or a sandpaper texture all over the model. I don't know if it's because I need to thin it more, bad air pressure, to far away form the model, or my airbrush is just getting to old. I'm planning on getting a new airbrush so I dont want it to keep happening with the new one. I use Tamiya xf series of paint and I thin it with only Tamiya lacquer thinner in a cup before I pour it in the airbrush. Thanks for your time

Flecktarn German Camouflage - Figures Set (A.MIG-7037) AMMO of Mig Jiménez The German Army began experimenting with Camoflage uniforms before other nations in WWII. Post war in the Cold War this was agin looked at with experimental schemes being developed. Flecktarn B was the scheme chosen but only really rolled out after German unification. The word flecktarn is a composite formed from the German words Fleck (spot, blot, patch or pattern) and Tarnung (camouflage). The new uniforms were worn by all branches of the German Military. It was seen as somewhat controversial at the time as it was said to resemble Waffen SS uniforms of WWII. This six-paint set arrives in a cardboard box with a new more recycling-friendly card inner tray. Inside are six bottles of various green, grey and brown camo shades, along with Black and a Matt Varnish Each bottle contains 17ml of paint that is dispensed by a dropper that is found under the screw-top cap. Inside each bottle is a little stirring ball that rattles when agitated. AMMO paints separate quite readily, so having a metal ball in the bottle makes mixing them a lot quicker and easier. We’re all familiar with the quality of AMMO paints by now, and they have a pretty good reputation amongst us modellers, and dry a little slower than some of the competition, which can be of benefit when airbrushing or hand painting details. The colours in the box are as follows: AMMO.F-502 FIGURES PAINTS Outlining Black AMMO.F-504 FIGURES PAINTS Yellow Green FS-34259 AMMO.F-506 FIGURES PAINTS Medium Russian Green FS-34092 AMMO.F-515 FIGURES PAINTS Midgrey FS-36357 AMMO.F-532 FIGURES PAINTS Red Brown A.MIG-2042 Transparator Matt (17mL) The bottles all look rather similar when they have been allowed to separate in their carton thanks to gravity, but once agitated the differences become apparent. You may want to pick up, or already have white or dark grey/black to modulate the other shades to depict fading, or to create a darker shade to paint a base onto which the pure and lightened colours can be applied. Whether you’re a first-time modeller in this category or not, the colours will come in very useful to simplify the painting process, especially the choosing of shades. Some better diagrams of the scheme in use could have been included, but the modeller will have to find these for them selves. Conclusion If you want to create some decent looking modern German figures this set going to be very useful to take away any guesswork when it comes time for paint, though I do wish they would drop the black and varnish from the set and make it a bit cheaper as I would think modelers will have both of them already. Review sample courtesy of

Hello from the colonies! Model master flat coat has been my go to for years, since it’s been discontinued, I need to come up with another option. What do you all recommend for a good flat coat on aircraft scale models? Does MRP do a flat coat? I really like their paint.

Hola comrades, I just had a cunning plan but I wanted to see if anyone else has ever tried this themselves. I have decided to switch from Vallejo to Tamiya for Airbrush painting but Tamiya's jars are so inconvenient to me compared to Vallejo's dropper bottles. So i'm curious, has anyone here ever tried transferring their Tamiya paints to dropper bottles (either plastic or glass)? I'd like to know if it would work or just instantly dry up due to a adverse reaction.