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Hi,

I am finally getting my painting rig set up.

1. core drill in basement wall for exhaust vent with ducting in place.     check

2. DIY paint hood constructed .                                                                      check

3. Iwata airbrushes (eclipse and neo gravity feed) ready.                          check

4. california air tool ultralight compressor in place.                                    check

5. bits and pieces (regulator hoses, QD, moisture traps) in place.            check

 

My question for you all revolves around paint.

What paint line would you all recommend for using as a go to line of paint?  I am looking for any suggestions.  

 

I will be building mainly modern military aircraft with a mix of modern armor.

 

I have heard nice things about "the old standby's" gunze and tamiya. though I find that tamiya's line is a bit lacking in color variety.  Gunze seems to be difficult to come across.  

 

Tempting me are the following recently introduced brands:

Mission Model.

Bombshell Brew.

MRP (acrylic and laquer) 

AK interactive.

Any recommendations are welcome. 

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My paint brand of choice is Mr Color, an acrylic lacquer. Airbrushes beautifully, dries fast, and has a hard durable finish. Downside is it smells! Hard to find in the USA though, so I get most of it from Asia. I've used MRP, which is also an acrylic lacquer, but it is quite pricey and also hard to find, but is superb paint. 

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Sounds like you  have a great rig there.  Especially with a permanently connected spray booth.  I am envious, I still put the hose in an open window. I can not work up the nerve to drill a big hole in the side of my house.

 

Among your list I have used Mission models and MRP lacquer Mission Models goes on very smooth, and covers well.  Make sure to read the thinning guidance on the mission models website. I was able to apply decals with no clear coat.

 

I have also used MRP Lacquer, and everything you hear is true. It is great stuff, it is very thin out of the bottle, yet covers covers very well.  Since it is so thin, you can spray very fine lines, making freehand camo effortless.

 

I also use Mr. Color lacquer, it is easier to find,  however out of the bottle it is much thicker. Thin it with Mr Leveling thinner.

 

I say try as many different paints as you like. I think it is good to be comfortable with many different paints, because sometimes you run into a situation where a color you need is only available from 1 company. 

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Kurt H. said:

Sounds like you  have a great rig there.  Especially with a permanently connected spray booth.  I am envious, I still put the hose in an open window. I can not work up the nerve to drill a big hole in the side of my house.

 

Among your list I have used Mission models and MRP lacquer Mission Models goes on very smooth, and covers well.  Make sure to read the thinning guidance on the mission models website. I was able to apply decals with no clear coat.

 

I have also used MRP Lacquer, and everything you hear is true. It is great stuff, it is very thin out of the bottle, yet covers covers very well.  Since it is so thin, you can spray very fine lines, making freehand camo effortless.

 

I also use Mr. Color lacquer, it is easier to find,  however out of the bottle it is much thicker. Thin it with Mr Leveling thinner.

 

I say try as many different paints as you like. I think it is good to be comfortable with many different paints, because sometimes you run into a situation where a color you need is only available from 1 company. 

 

 

 

 

Amazingly, it was cheaper to core drill the extra vent, than convert a hopper window to one which had a vent!  It turned out our home builder used a window brand that did not have a replacement sash with vent.  I would have had to replace the entire window.  the core drill was 1/3 the cost.

 

Thank you for the perspective.  I figured as I am just getting started back in, it would be good to standardize on a specific brand.  For example: I see no reason to use any other metalic than AK interactive's extreme metal.  I will try with everything I can.  Heck, I might just roll the dice on a few bottles of that Bombshell Brew.  It seems inexpensive enough to experiment with.  Plus, I do want to support the startups, especially if the product is good.  

 

I guess I am a bit perplexed about testor's parent company shutting down the model master line.  I am sure it is all about money.  

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I am a Tamiya person myself, especially for armor. Thin it with Tamiya yellow cap thinner (Joel here on ARC posted that tip and it works great) and it sprays with ease. I use Tamiya grey primer first, then spray my colors. Durable paint that you can mask and not worry about the paint lifting. Some colors you have to mix, but its not that hard and there are mix ratios online to help you. If you don't want to mix colors, Testors Acrylic paints are compatible with Tamiya. Some don't like the Testors acrylic paints as they can be fragile to work with (and this is true). But I find they hold up well over top of Tamiya primer and/or Tamiya paint. Low odor, quick drying, and easy to find here in the Keystone State where you also are located I notice.

 

Not on your list, but I've been fooling around with Vallejo Model Air recently and have been impressed by it.

 

Have fun and good luck!

Regards,

Don

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10 hours ago, ytsejam87 said:

bob, thanks!  

 

Have you had any experience with the new MRP acrylic?

Yes. MRP is fantastic paint. It's very similar to Mr Color (both are acrylic lacquers). I use MRP when I can't find a specific color from Mr Color (like Soviet AF, which Mr Color has no out of the bottle matches). I would gladly switch  over exclusively to MRP except for one reason-----Cost, it's much more expensive than Mr Color. 

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So, I wandered in to the local Hobby Lobby and in an interesting moment, thinking about paint, What do i see on the pegboard?

 

The Vallejo USAF Colors "Gray Schemes" from 70's to present 

box of 8 paints!  

 

So I whipped out the 40% coupon, and picked it up.  I also bought a bottle of their retarder.  

 

I will let you know how it turns out!

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19 hours ago, ytsejam87 said:

So, I wandered in to the local Hobby Lobby and in an interesting moment, thinking about paint, What do i see on the pegboard?

 

The Vallejo USAF Colors "Gray Schemes" from 70's to present 

box of 8 paints!  

 

So I whipped out the 40% coupon, and picked it up.  I also bought a bottle of their retarder.  

 

I will let you know how it turns out!

 Be SURE to use only Vallejo thinner and also their "flow improver" product for acrylic paints (it can actually be used with most other types of acrylic paints with great effect, I can vouch for Testors Model Master, Taimya, and Mr Hobby; it prevents paint from drying and clogging up the airbrush nozzle/tip).

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6 hours ago, dsahling said:

 Be SURE to use only Vallejo thinner and also their "flow improver" product for acrylic paints (it can actually be used with most other types of acrylic paints with great effect, I can vouch for Testors Model Master, Taimya, and Mr Hobby; it prevents paint from drying and clogging up the airbrush nozzle/tip).

dsahling, thanks for the tips.  Do you have any experience using their airbrush cleaning, vice "flow improver with thinner"?  Looking thru the "intertubes" I see this where folks had noted that the airbrush cleaner included both the flow improver and thinner.

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The Vallejo thinner very well may include those two products I just don't frequently use Vallejo much.  I used them on one project without the flow improver and had a hell of a time getting them to spray properly.  However, I live in Denver, CO at 5280 ft. with the altitude, humidity, pressure are much different and  certain paints are difficult to work with.  

 

I used to use Mr Color Lacquer but after a while the fumes just got to be too much in an apartment even with an exhaust fan (I'll still use them for Luftwaffe WWII subjects that require mottling camouflage because they work best I find for this kind of work by being easily controlled, tip doesn't clog or dry, doesn't run or get too thick).  

 

So now I prime with Stynylrez Primers, and use Model Master acrylics with their brand of thinner with a few drops of the Vallejo Flow Improver and use a 0.4mm nozzle.  I find Model Master to be readily available and comes in a wide range of colors that are pretty accurate the flow improver and 0.4mm (as opposed to the 0.2mm nozzle get them to work really well).  If you manage to find the Mr Hobby Aqueous range (they don't come in an as many colors as the Model Master line) use them with Tamiya acrylic thinner and they work just as good as Mr Color but without those harsh fumes.

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