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Alternative to Humbrol enamels


beetcleaner

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I've been using Humbrol enamels for as long as I can remember but have finally come to the end of the road with them due to variable quality control. I am thinking of moving to Tamiya paint and wondered if they are best used with Tamiya's own brand of thinner or is there a cheaper alternative that can be used for mixing/cleaning airbrush etc.

 

Any other suggestions on alternative paints would be very welcome. Thankyou 

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Why would you limit yourself to one manufacturer?  There is no single "perfect" producer that covers everything, although "new kids" such as Vallejo, MiG and AK interactive seem to be much more agile in introducing new colours in comparison to "dinosaurs" such as Tamiya or GSI. 

 

Personally I have quite a zoo of different paints - Tamiya, GSI, Humbrol, Revell, AKAN, Vallejo, MiG, AK, Alclad-II, XTra, Hataka, Citadel; acrylics/enamels/lacquers, and use them all. It took me some time to get a "feel" of each manufacturer, for example Tamiya and GSI acrylics are very similar in terms of thinning and spraying but very different from AK/Mig/Vallejo. 

 

As to thinners - if you understand basic chemistry you may save a lot on "brand" thinners, you just need to know when to use white spirit, water, IPA or cellulose thinners. 

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Lots of people rave about Sovereign Hobbies ‘Colourcoats’ paints. Not as easy to obtain outside the UK, however I’ve not come across anyone that’s said a bad word about them. They have an extensive range of authentic colours that will easily replace your old Humbrol tinlets. 
 

Cheers.. Dave 

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As Pin said above experiment with different brands to see what suits you. If you’re brush painting with Tamiya then you’ll need to use flow improver.

 

If you want to stick with enamels then Colour Coats are very nice indeed and well researched and Jamie Duff who owns the company is also a member on here to.

 

HTH

 

James

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When I returned to the hobby 18 months ago (after a 25 year) absence, I noticed the acrylic paints had really taken off, so decided to give them a go instead of enamels.

 

To be honest, mixed results! I quite liked Mr Hobby and Tamiya for spraying (not great for brush), hated Revell. 

 

On the plus side, the colour range in acrylics is amazing, and fast drying is a plus. But the hassle of getting the right thinner for a particular paint (and clean-up) working out mixing ratios etc. is a pain. Sure, the acrylics themselves are perhaps less smelly (healthier?) but some of the other materials ...

 

For me the big hassle was drying time, in particular tip dry when using an airbrush. Ultimately I have gone back to enamels for the bulk of my work. Fast drying is not normally an issue for me, but control and reproduce-ability  is. I agree with you that Humbrol has gone downhill in a big way (as an aside I opened a 30+ year old tin of Humbrol Authentic the other day - what lovely paint, and still worked perfectly) so my go to brands are Xtracolour and Colorcoats. Xtracolor is more readily available I think, but their range in my area of interest is not as good as Colourcoats. Both brands airbrush extremely well, but I think Colourcoats is better with the hairy stick.

 

I still use acrylics where drying time is a benefit (e.g. cockpit interiors), and if I'm stuck for a color, but on the whole, simplicity, consistency and predictability are important factors for me, which is what I get with enamels. 

 

Cheers

 

Colin

 

 

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I tried acrylics once and was not impressed, so I stayed with enamels.

My wife has a very sensitive nose so I use Xtracolor thinners and Badger cleaner for cleaning my airbrush, she is happy with this, plus the 8" extractor fan in the study.

My main paints are Xtracolor and Sovereign Colourcoats, but I also use Humbrol, Revell and Testors Model Master paints depending which paint matches the colours on my subject.

The Model Master paints though are hard to find in the UK.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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8 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Lots of people rave about Sovereign Hobbies ‘Colourcoats’ paints. Not as easy to obtain outside the UK, however I’ve not come across anyone that’s said a bad word about them. They have an extensive range of authentic colours that will easily replace your old Humbrol tinlets. 
 

Cheers.. Dave 

I'm in the USA and I also use Colourcoats; unquestionably the best paints I've ever laid hands on.

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