Paint conversions

[colsom]

Hi all,

 

I'm more or less a newbie to modelling. I don't count the airfix kits 50 years ago as experience. At present I'm half way through a Heller 1:100 kit of HMS Victory I started 40 years ago. I'm retired now so have the time.

I need a little advice on paints please. My only paint experience is with Humbrol enamels which is what I am using to finish Victory. Once that's finished though I have several aircraft kits to complete......4 Airfix, 1 Revell and 2 Hasegawa kits. I am trying to settle on one brand of paint, probably Vallejo as it is available locally, as is Humbrol. I have a brand new and as yet unused airbrush, which I am keen to have a go with, so will probably go with Acrylics as everything I've read suggest they are more user friendly than enamels. I have found loads of conversion charts which I assume are good to use but have found that some of the Gunze Acrylics have no equivalent listed against Humbrol or Vallejo. Does anybody have any suggestions as to where I can find mixing information or would I just be better off trying to find a Gunze supplier and just buy the paints I can't get from Vallejo?

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Col.

[Beardie]

Hmm I can't help with the Gunze conversions I'm afraid. Personally I am still a devotee of classic Humbrol enamels although I have had bad experiences with buying new tins and so rely on my stock of old tins and buy up old tins when I can find them. I airbrush them and find them much more user friendly (apart from any concerns about the solvent smells) than acrylics. Sovereign Hobbies who is a member on Britmodeller produce a wide range of enamels and, although I haven't used them myself I have heard much praise of them. Acrylics can be a steep learning curve to using through an airbrush as they are prone to clogging in the nozzle due to drying of the acrylic unless handled correctly. This doesn't happen with the much slower drying enamel.

[Giorgio N]

Personally I'm a big fan of Vallejo paints but if I had a reliable Gunze supplier I'd probably use these as they spray beautifully and are easier to use in an airbrush than Vallejo. At the same time I never had much luck in using gunzes with the hairy stick while Vallejo paints are great with this.

Conversion charts are simple to find for Gunze to Humbrol but not for Gunze to Vallejo.. honestly I've yet to find a proper conversion chart for Vallejo paints, even their own is not good IMHO. Vallejo paints were introduced mainly for figure painters and as such have only a relatively limited number of options matched to aircraft paint standards. Some of their paints are not bad at reproducing actual aircraft paints but trying to match for example modern US greys is a nightmare.

The same Vallejo have a range of paints specific for airbrush use and some of these are matched... how well ? Hmmm... some are good and some are not.The more recent ones are sure better than the older ones.

Overall my advice would be to understand the actual scheme you're interested in, and from there select the paint in the range you can find in your area. At worst, ask on this forium about the specific subject, someone will be able to help with personal experience

[Tzulscha]

I generally use solvent paints like Humbrol to brush and acrylics like Vallejo to spray.

I find that solvent paints stick better than acrylics so I will usually do a solvent base colour for my acrylics to stick to.

Usually a lacquer out of a rattlecan. They dry REALLY fast and you can lay acrylic over them in just a few hours.

I like Tamiya for that although there are many others to choose from.

Gunze in particular does a range of different lacquer primers from 500 (high build) to 2000 (thin base).

 

Most acrylic paints can be thinned for spraying with isopropyl alcohol (or whatever the local equivalent is).

Gin and Vodka make terrific paint thinner but a bit pricey or water and a tiny amount of soap.

Vallejo paints however are sensitive to alcohol thinners, they can clot the pigments.

You didn't say what kind of airbrush you have but everyone does it a little differently.

 I like roughly the consistency of water at about 20 psi for most spraying  and thinner consistency and lower pressure for finer lines.

As a rule of thumb, the finer the line, the thinner the paint, the lower the airpressure and the closer to the surface you are spraying.

 

Paints are a subject which can be happily argued about for days.

You are the only one you have to make happy, so whatever works for you is good.

 

 

[colsom]

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful,

 

[Giorgio N]

Small update after trying some of the newer Vallejo Air paints. I bought a few specific RAF colours last Saturday, Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Sky. I have yet to spray them but I immediately tried them on some plastic using a brush. I'm positively impressed, the Ocean Grey looks quite good and the Sky is not bad if a tad on the greyish side. The green was hard to judge as with the brush I could not get enough coverage (these are prethinned for use with an airbrush). I've now unearthed an old Spitfire that I never finished, will try them on this and see what the result is like.