Buy Tamiya or an alternative?

[tomkil]

I'm about to start building the Tamiya 1/20 RA272 GP racing car and am going to have to buy several paints.  I have two or three of the colours I'll need but it's been a while since I did any kit building.

 

Just wondering, do I go for the Tamiya recommendations or attempt to find cheaper/better alternatives? 

[Stef N.]

If you are airbrushing I still find Tamiya make some of the best paints around. And their new laquers are even better than their acrylics. Go with the recommendations.

[Steve Noble]

I wouldn't say there are really any 'cheaper' alternatives to Tamiya as their paints are very reasonably priced in my opinion. I've just returned to kit building after a 4-5 year break and recently purchased some of the newish Tamiya lacquer paints. They really are superb for airbrushing and I'd highly recommend them..

[Ray_W]

15 hours ago, tomkil said:

Just wondering, do I go for the Tamiya recommendations or attempt to find cheaper/better alternatives? 

 

Tamiya has still not been exceeded in terms of performance of course dependent on what you want to achieve - drying time, price, range, availability, ease of gloss finishing , toxicity, smell, strength, and the list goes on. There was a recent discussion along a similar vein regarding Tamiya here:

 

There are also many, many other threads on the subject. For example:

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235045118-paints-for-a-new-airbrush/

 

Hopefully some of the specialist auto modellers' recommendations come in. 

 

Importantly, there is now a huge range of modelling paints available with different performance characteristics and chemistry. Often, if the user does not undertake adequate research, giving them problems with paint compatibility and what thinners to use and clean up. This subject comes up regularly in this paint section. 

 

For me though, with good ventilation and a mask I like Mr Color's lacquer range. Tamiya also recently released a lacquer range that I have not tried. If Tamiya is your tried and true then OK to stick with it and not be disadvantaged while you do the research.

 

Ray

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Ray_W
Clarification

[tomkil]

Thanks for the gen fellahs.