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The best acrylic paint


vimto

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Hi,

     Can anyone recommend the best acrylic paint for hand brushing?.

I am currently using Revell aqua but have become fed up with limited colour options.

The next paint job will be a late war King Tiger and I was considering the sets from  AK Interactive ,Mig Ammo or Vallejo

I know an air brush would be the best option but only get limited time to play!

 

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41 minutes ago, vimto said:

Hi,

     Can anyone recommend the best acrylic paint for hand brushing?.

I am currently using Revell aqua but have become fed up with limited colour options.

The next paint job will be a late war King Tiger and I was considering the sets from  AK Interactive ,Mig Ammo or Vallejo

I know an air brush would be the best option but only get limited time to play!

 

Have a look at the work of @PlaStix, who specialises in brushing acrylics, he put up a YouTube of his technique, he uses various paint brands.

 

Hopefully he'll pitch in, an airbrush is a great tool, but has a learning curve and requires care and clean up etc, so it's not always the "answer" 

HTH

 

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Unfortunately, you are using it. You could search for revel instructions on their website, they give mixing instructions that I have used. Fairly easy once you get your head around it.

 

I am an enamel user, that enjoys using acrylics on models 'in between' as a way of detoxing. I have found Revell to be the best by far with a brush. And while it can be annoying dealing with their colours, they still match quite a few subjects. They are easy to brush, tough as nails, and self level brilliantly.

 

Vallejo; I find them weak. They come off very easily even giving them a dirty look. They don't thin down nearly as much as Aqua, and separate out very easily, and I have had issues getting good coverage across broad areas. YMMV.

 

Humbrol; the new type brush well. Unfortunately, they have variable quality, and many have had very rough finishes of late, where I think they are using some cheap form of matting agent, as this roughness is comparably less in their satins, and none in their gloss paints. I have given up on them until they fix themselves up.

 

Model Master Acrylic; I rate these nearly as good as Revell Aqua with a brush. Very easy to use, levels excellently, and sticks to the model like something nasty to a blanket.

 

Italeri; same as Vallejo.

 

Lifecolor; Very thin. I need more time with them.

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Revell Aqua is good but has a limited colour range. My personal favourite is Hataka. It's available in two forms, optimised for brush or airbrush. I find both are fine for hand brushing.

 

John.

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In terms of coverage, ease of use and repeatable results, the now discontinued Aeromaster/Polly Scale acrylics by far. They're easy to brush or spray, have good opacity, don't lift if you look at it a bit funny (I'm looking at you, Vallejo!). It was a terrible shame that they were discontinued, as nothing else I have tried was as reliable. 

 

I have to say, I think that Vallejo paints are awful. The stuff beads, pools and I struggle to get it to stick to anything! Misterkit paints are even worse. Whilst Tamiya paints give a better coverage, I find them too grainy (whatever I do, the finish is too rough for my taste). You've seen how Lifecolor can be hit and miss. Although I have some of the new formula paints, I haven't got around to using them yet. I kinda get the feeling I probably won't bother.

 

Ultimately, I've gone back to enamels. Yes, they might pong a bit more than *some* acrylics, but choose a decent brand such as Sovereign Colourcoats and you'll have consistently good results and an unmatched choice of well-researched, accurate colours.  Enamels also have the advantage of being far more consistent to use across manufacturers and have far fewer foibles.

 

All of this, of course, is just my opinion, but i have to say, the painting stage has been far less stressful since I went back to enamels!

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I find Vallejo great for small stuff; figures, details, etc. But trying to cover anything large and I don't bother. I get the same issues then as Lasermonkey. With Revell Aqua, I can get a not too far shy of and airbrush finish, it sticks, it is hard wearing...I just need to mix some colours. I write down my successful mixes, and keep meaning to get some decent pots to mix them up en masse and store them in. I have tried virtually every other acrylic that is on the market, and few really come close. Once you learn how colours interact, it becomes a hell of lot easier mixing them too.

 

I find using Revell and Model Master Acrylic (everyone says MM Acrylic is basically a slightly worse version of Pollyscale, so I wish that was still around...) covers most colours, and those it doesn't I mix up. If there was a paint line with the same colours as Humbrol, filled with Revell Aqua, I wouldn't need to look elsewhere.

 

Of course, there are enamels....;)

Edited by sapperastro
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Hi,

 

I'm little bit surprised by the very negative opinions about Vallejo paints 🤔

 

The Model Air range is very easy to use with airbrush, once thinned depending on what you want to achieve ... opaque layer, transparent over preshading ... and even with brush for small surfaces and details.

 

Another positive point is the great range of colors ... and if you want more, you even have the Model Color and other ranges.

 

However, there's some negative points as usual with acrylics ... airbrush clogging when wheather is wet and/or hot, very fine lines need much attention and a steady hand, etc. I experienced the same with Hataka, AK and others paints.

 

One strong advice : don't use Model Color paints for airbrushing ... or know exactly what you do as they are not designed for that use and even thinned and flow improver added, they require much more attention than other acrylics 🤪

 

I wonder if most negative comments about Vallejo paints are not caused by using the wrong paints 🙄

 

On the other hands, enamels and lacquers are probably better at airbrushing ... but there's some strong negative features : first of all, the chemical involved are really hot and if like me you are proned to ENT problems, forget about those paints, strictly forbidden even with a paint booth and mask 😷 ... don'' even mention the environmental issue ...

 

So your choice ... but there's no miracle solution !!

 

About airbrush use : the learning curve is steep at the beginning but if you plan to be a serious modeller, I think it's one of the key tools, even if some very talented modellers achieve fantastic paintjobs without airbrushing.

 

Just my .2 cents, E

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2 minutes ago, Kev The Modeller said:

Ammo is fine but better airbrushed, AK is ok but think on balance Vallejo is better for brush painting.

Very well summed up ... +1 !

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Etienne, the OP is a brush painter....

 

And as for Vallejo model color, easy to airbrush. 50/50 liquitex airbrush medium (depending on colour), a few drops of flow improver. Done. Brush painting is a whole other arena.

 

But I digress.

 

I have never bothered with AK or MIG, Hataka, etc. Sorry Vimto.

 

Apart from enamels, which I assume you are not interested in, you already have the best that I acrylics have worked with, brushwise.

 

 

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I like Vallejo (I've even airbrushed a Model Colour easily) and Lifecolor for brush painting, most of my ship models are brush painted with Lifecolor.  I found AK Interactive paints to be similar to Vallejo Model Air, so best used with an airbrush, as they are a bit thin for brush painting (except for small areas). A lot of people seem to like the Hataka Blue line of paints, which are advertised for brush painting. Always make sure you prime the surface for acrylics.

 

thanks

Mike

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I have tried looking for 'Brush' reviews of the Hataka Blue Line but so far seen nothing but people trying to airbrush them and complaining. And by brush reviews I mean actually brushing the entire model, not touching up small pieces.

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Hi Vimto. As @Troy Smith mentioned - I do all my painting with brushes. An airbrush isn't really an option for me as I have nowhere to use one. As you mentioned - Revell Aqua paints are very good for brush painting, especially when thinned with water and using flat brushes for larger areas. Humbrol acrylics are mostly okay, although, as has been mentioned, some batches are better than others - I always try to test a new pot of paint on some scrap, rather than the kit I'm working on, to make sure it goes on okay. Humbrol do have a slightly better range although it's not extensive. I have used Vallejo paints but not on large surfaces - I have found them to go on okay. I have also used some Citadel Games Workshop acrylics and found, like Humbrol paints, some are better than others - their metallics were particularly good though - you just have to get over the names they call them!  :winkgrin: As Troy also mentioned I have done a video about how I paint using acrylics, water and flat brushes and there is a link to it in my signature at the bottom of this post. It's a bit on the long side so make sure you know where the fast forward button is!

Kind regards,

Stix

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It depends on what you're trying to paint. As has been mentioned, if you're painting objects with lots of surface texture, then many water-based paints will give a decent finish straight from the pot (or thinned with a little water). The real test comes when you have a large flat expanse to cover in a single colour - such as some of the panels on you King Tiger. You want the paint to stay wet long enough so that a) you can blend everything together without instant brush marks, b) it has a chance to level. But you don't want it to be so watery that it runs, or so thick that it looks like you dipped it. Adding a little drying retarder and/or flow-improver will probably help you in this area. I would recommend getting some of each and experimenting with creating a dilution that works for you by practising on some plasticard or a paint mule (check the directions - most of them are not intended to be mixed neat into the paint). I use the Liquitex stuff as that's what they stocked in my local art store, but there is also Winsor & Newton, Golden, and others, along with many of the hobby paint brands own stuff. I'm not a fan of the Vallejo retarder though, and most of the hobby brands are hugely more expensive. Though the Tamiya stuff supposedly works wonders with their otherwise un-brushable acrylics.

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Vallejo for me. I have to confess though I wouldn't contemplate trying to brush paint something like a 1/35 Tiger, that's a job for the airbrush for which I find Vallejo Model Air superb - just shake well and stick it in the cup!

 

It helps that my nearby stores all keep good stocks of Vallejo too.

 

Give Games Workshop a try their paints are excellent (if weirdly named and slightly expensive) and there's usually shop somewhere near you.

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The Model Color was always intended for brush painting as I understand it and Model Air for airbrush. I find that the Model Color brushes very well with no additives. As for the airbrush, well it does have a bit of a learning process but once mastered it really is a very handy tool to be able to use. Some colours are just easier to cover with an airbrush, white, yellow and red to name three..

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On 10/06/2018 at 11:19, lasermonkey said:

the painting stage has been far less stressful since I went back to enamels!

What he said! I used to brush paint tamiya arcylics as a teenager somehow! 😧

 

Very few headaches with good enamels IMHO i am on diet of mainly made in hull humbrols and have thankfully procured a lifetimes supply now!

I need to try mr sovereigns paints when the moolah allows though! 

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Just a thought; you guys have Xtracrylix over there, a paint I have no easy way of obtaining (Hannants postage is a bit off for international pricing). Has anyone used these to brush paint models before? They seem to have a very good colour selection. I have often wanted to try them and Xtracolour, but there are no stockists down under.

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