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Tamiya vs Vallejo vs Mr Color Acrylics


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Ok so I have not laid paint on plastic in over 10 yrs.. The last kits I completed, I had great success with Tamiya Acrylics. They went on flawless and smooth especially using Tamiya's thinner. I still have several small jars, however, they are over ten yrs old and although they seem fine, I should probably replace them. While visiting the forums, I am hearing many speak of Vallejo and Mr. Color and am wondering which is better.. I am painting modern AF and Navy jets.. Thanks for the advice you have all been very helpful getting me started again!

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Ask the question of which is better of 10 model builders and you'll get 10 different answers. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages but it's important to know each paint line has it's one support products in terms of thinners and such.

 

Tamiya is an acrylic in name only. Because it's produced in Japan they can call it whatever they want and they choose to call it an acrylic. What it really is, is a cellulose based alcohol paint. It's designed specifically for airbrush painting and not a very good brush paint. It does require thinning but that's because if it were airbrush ready in the bottle we would get only half a bottle due to cap loss while in transit from Japan to the US. It does have the advantage of the allowance of a generic (cheap) thinner. 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol works fine for the thinning of paints as well as for cleaning of the airbrush. Some will use lacquer thinner as well but this kind of defeats the myth that acrylic paints are "safer" than enamels and lacquer based paints. I've asked why some use lacquer thinner and the response is the quicker drying time. I personally spray thin coats and have never found it necessary to use lacquer thinner in my painting process when using Tamiya.

 

Tamiya paints are also limited regarding some colors. When building one of their model kits they call out the proper percentages of their paints to get the right color for that particular subject. If you are building a model by another manufacturer, you don't have the benefit of these call outs.

 

Vallejo makes a brush paint, Vallejo Model Color and airbrush paint Vallejo Model Air. Model color can be airbrushed but you have to know what to do to make it work. Vallejo has brush cleaner and airbrush thinner/cleaner, they are not the same thing. The airbrush thinner must be used to get good performance of paint flow through the airbrush. They also provide Airbrush Flow Improver.  Flow improver acts as a lubricant to reduce tip dry issues and poor performance through the airbrush. These products will allow for Model Color to be used through the airbrush but it will take time and experience to get confidence and knowing the right proportions of paint to thinner. There are no set percentages of these products to guaranty success. Each color performs differently and other factors such as ambient humidity are going to be factors to consider when airbrushing.  What a guy does in Florida will be different to what a guy in Colorado does. There is no substitiue for Vallejo's thinning products. Some will claim they use ammonia based products or Windex but this is harmful to the airbrush as well as to the paint. It will break the resins down in the paint and compromise it.

 

Vallejo, whether using Model Color or Model Air requires a primer coat first. Without a primer the paint has a weak bond with plastic. If masked without primer the paint will lift from the model surfaces. Vallejo makes a number of primers in white and various shades of grey.  I've personally learned a medium Tamiya grey paint will work nicely as a primer for Vallejo. It holds the paint and aggressive masking will not lift the paint.

 

Mr. Color I have not worked much with but I do know this. Like Vallejo it requires the use of the product thinner in order to work. There is no generic substitute that works with this paint, the paint will curdle in the airbrush and not spray at all. So be aware the cost of the thinning agent that is needed. 

 

Edited by 86Sabreboy1
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Mr Color is a lacquer; it's my fa·vor·ite paint! You have to learn to spray close lest it dry in-flight, even with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, which has a retarding agent. But, once you learn, it's just wonderfully thin and amazingly smooth. The thinness of the paint means you need to pay attention to surface prep.

 

Mr Hobby does have an acrylic line.

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I reckon if you're used to Tamiya acrylic, stick to them. I'm in hiatus right now (have been for a 3-4 years), but when I was still building, I only ever used acrylics, mostly Tamiya and Gunze/GSI Aqueous Hobby, and some LifeColor occasionally. Between Tamiya and Aqueous Hobby, I actually prefer the latter, especially their semi-gloss range.

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I've used 30 year old Tamiya paints at times with no issues. It's not the age, it's how much it has dried out or changed chemically in the jar. Try a little of your "old" paint on a scrap piece and see if it still works OK before you decide you need to spend the money to replace.

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4 hours ago, bdt13 said:

I've used 30 year old Tamiya paints at times with no issues. It's not the age, it's how much it has dried out or changed chemically in the jar. Try a little of your "old" paint on a scrap piece and see if it still works OK before you decide you need to spend the money to replace.

 

Wow thanks for mentioning that I was not aware of the shelf life!

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On 10/19/2017 at 9:51 PM, dnl42 said:

Mr Color is a lacquer; it's my fa·vor·ite paint! You have to learn to spray close lest it dry in-flight, even with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, which has a retarding agent. But, once you learn, it's just wonderfully thin and amazingly smooth. The thinness of the paint means you need to pay attention to surface prep.

No more profound words - work work work yes but the payoff is the smoothest sheer finish.   Mr Paint (not to be confused w Mr Color) has identical qualities and is all the rage.

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, metroman said:

 

 

Can you dry-brush enamel based paint on top of Mr. Color? I used to use Tamiya Acrylics then dry-brush w/ MM Enamels. I would also use the MM Enamel for a panel line wash and it would wipe away without removing the paint.. Also, what do you find is the easiest paint to hand-brush, for example, black, inside an aircraft cockpit..

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 Since you haven't air brushed in 10 years, I'd start with a refresher course in air brushing so that you're up to par with today's techniques. How we painted 10 years ago is vastly different then how we air brush these days. Light even coats are the norm, paints at thinned out more, compressor psi settings are lower with 10 psi not being unheard of. Distance to the model is also another major change.  I'd also tear down your air brush and clean it thoroughly.  What type of air brush do you have? If you have an external single action unit, I'd really give some thought to buying a internal single or duel action AB. there are major advantages to internal vs external, let along duel vs single action. 

 

 I'd start off watching some of the multitude of videos out there. Just be careful whose videos you're watching. Ones from Phil Flory, Bobby Waldron & Paul Budzik will give you a proper foundation, and they really know their stuff. They'll also go through the various major lines of paints which should help you make a decision as to where to start. Paul has a series on Air Brushing and Air Brushes which IMHO is the best out there. 

 

Joel

 

 

 

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