Jump to content

Tamiya paints are lagging behind


Recommended Posts

I watch several YouTube builders and see them using AK Interactive and Ammo paints. These lines seem to grow and really capture the look of aircraft colors and various shades. Plus chipping fluids and other weathering aids. 
While Tamiya, where it used to be the go-to line, isn't changing at all. It's missing so many common colors, forcing the painter to mix crazy ratios. 
Once again, it seems they're content with their existing market and customer base. Expanding their color line would keep them competitive and current. Thoughts?

 

-Jeff

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, ST0RM said:

I watch several YouTube builders and see them using AK Interactive and Ammo paints. These lines seem to grow and really capture the look of aircraft colors and various shades. Plus chipping fluids and other weathering aids. 
While Tamiya, where it used to be the go-to line, isn't changing at all. It's missing so many common colors, forcing the painter to mix crazy ratios. 
Once again, it seems they're content with their existing market and customer base. Expanding their color line would keep them competitive and current. Thoughts?

 

-Jeff

I was told that Tamiya only makes the colors needed for their models.

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, ST0RM said:

Expanding their color line would keep them competitive and current. Thoughts?

Tamiya will do what sustains Tamiya's business model and spending money in order to saturate a product niche may not be a component of their business model.

Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, ST0RM said:

I watch several YouTube builders and see them using AK Interactive and Ammo paints. These lines seem to grow and really capture the look of aircraft colors and various shades. Plus chipping fluids and other weathering aids. 
While Tamiya, where it used to be the go-to line, isn't changing at all. It's missing so many common colors, forcing the painter to mix crazy ratios. 
Once again, it seems they're content with their existing market and customer base. Expanding their color line would keep them competitive and current. Thoughts?

 

-Jeff


 

I agree,  the lack of common colors has always kept me from getting many Tamiya paints.   I do use some,  the LP metallics are fantastic for example.   

Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Da SWO said:

I was told that Tamiya only makes the colors needed for their models.

Well, they're missing several WWII colors. Green and Yellow Chromate immediately comes to mind. 
But if their business line continues to make money, they wont make any additions.


 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I buy a mix of Gunze, AK, and Tamiya. They play very well with one another and with each other's thinners. The Tamiya lacquer line is very nice and usually a cheaper option. 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Mixing Tamiya paints can yield some nice results for specialized colors. That's what I did when I made the weird interior green that USMC FJ-2's had.

 

Still. Vallejo/Mig/AK paints are really useful and easy to spray in many cases. I've been building up a collection of them for my projects. Heck, I still even have the old Aeromaster acrylics Vallejo made before they went out on their own and made their own line. They're still great paints even though they're 20 years old now. I've used their US Interior green on so many USAAF/USAF kits in my stash.

 

One other acrylic line that I've grown enamored with are Vic Hobby colors. They're hard to find outside of Japan, and even in Japan you only find them at Yodobashi Camera and HLJ. They however have some of the smoothest sturdiest finishes I have ever gotten with my kits.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I absolutely love Tamiya paint (the 'original' acrylic paint) for its ease of spraying and great results, as well as the relatively new bottled lacquer paints.  I will always use them as a preference when the color, out of the bottle, or with minimal mixing effort, gives me what I need.  That said, like some of you, it is frustrating that they have chosen not to expand their acrylic line with paint colors that would probably be big sellers for them.  However, being the top, or near the top, model and accessory manufacturing company, if the business they currently do gives them adequate return on investment, why would they change?  The same argument probably applies to the decals they provide in their kits, which many modelers complain about.  Don't expect changes coming in either of those areas, though.  They appear to be doing just fine without our 'help' in telling them what they could do better.

Edited by Curt B
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

They always provide color callouts, but the inevitably include expensive spraycans or mixing two bottles together. Sounds like they’ve got a racket going. 
 

Plenty of other lines out there…

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Tamiya are a commercial operator, just like any other. If their market research indicated that a broader range of colours were worthwhile to serve their target audience, they would produce them.

 

Remember that the vast majority of Tamiya products are sold to people who buy a model, assemble it by following the instructions, use the indicated paints and enjoy the results they get. They are not interested in perfect color matches, aftermarket details or worrying about 'accuracy'. That's the preserve of those of us who have become hung up on getting it 'right' (just to be clear, that includes me).

 

The explosion of specialist paint ranges from other manufacturers on the other hand are aimed at the more discerning/demanding modeller. Several of the new generation paint producers are also very good at marketing and obtaining product placements and endorsements.

 

Different markets, different business strategies.

FWIW - I'm a Tamiya paint user. I've used them for 30+ years and I'm really comfortable with creating any mixes to suit my needs. I could (and occasionally do) buy other brands for specific purposes such as flourescent/hi-viz colours but my paint drawers contain 99% Tamiya acrylics.

Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, John Tapsell said:

Tamiya are a commercial operator, just like any other. If their market research indicated that a broader range of colours were worthwhile to serve their target audience, they would produce them.

 

Remember that the vast majority of Tamiya products are sold to people who buy a model, assemble it by following the instructions, use the indicated paints and enjoy the results they get. They are not interested in perfect color matches, aftermarket details or worrying about 'accuracy'. That's the preserve of those of us who have become hung up on getting it 'right' (just to be clear, that includes me).

 

The explosion of specialist paint ranges from other manufacturers on the other hand are aimed at the more discerning/demanding modeller. Several of the new generation paint producers are also very good at marketing and obtaining product placements and endorsements.

 

Different markets, different business strategies.

FWIW - I'm a Tamiya paint user. I've used them for 30+ years and I'm really comfortable with creating any mixes to suit my needs. I could (and occasionally do) buy other brands for specific purposes such as flourescent/hi-viz colours but my paint drawers contain 99% Tamiya acrylics.

 

Interesting. So, seeing as it’s very easy for you to mix those paints, is it safe to assume it’s easy for Tamiya to do as well? Like, it wouldn’t cost them anything to do it? To offer additional colors that every other hobby paint manufacturer offers? 
 

Instead, they make you buy a can of spray paint that costs 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 times as much as a a bottle of X or XF - most of which is going to end up floating away as overspray. OR…they make you buy two or three bottles of paint to mix together to get a color they should have in their line already. 
 

Sounds like their market research told them this is an easy way to cash in. 
 

I understand that spray paints are easier for the novice, and I understand that in MOST cases those spray can callouts are reserved for larger areas, such as a fuselage (but not always). But those novices are still asked to use bottled paints for the rest. Do they brush paint them on since they’re novices? If so, where in the instructions does it say to mix with Retarder to get any chance of a decent hand brushed finish? Or are they airbrushing? In which case they’re wondering why they have to buy spray cans. 
 

So many of us just go with other lines of paint if for no other reason than simplicity and consistency. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sometimes it is easy to mix Tamiya paints to get a specific color, other times, it's really difficult.  Speaking for myself, it's about 50%-50% easy to difficult.  Remember that mixing colors to obtain another color isn't as easy as 'eyeballing' what SHOULD end up as a final color.  In order to get certain specific colors, you may have to mix 3, 4, 5 or even more colors to arrive at the one you're looking for, and unless you have a color analyzer, sometimes those mixes are next to impossible to obtain.  Plus, let's not forget there is the ubiquitous 'scale factor' that is so often mentioned when paining models, and then there is the subjectivity of the human eye/brain, and THEN there is the effect of washes and/or weathering on a final color, AND THEN where are you getting the color you are trying create...from a book or a computer screen, and all the vagaries of ink and screen calibrations, and on and on...  Suffice to say, paint colors on models can be a VERY deep subject, indeed.  I often try to get a color that is at least close to what I see in my mind's eye, or compared to an image which I THINK looks good or close enough.

Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, CFster said:

 

Interesting. So, seeing as it’s very easy for you to mix those paints, is it safe to assume it’s easy for Tamiya to do as well? Like, it wouldn’t cost them anything to do it? To offer additional colors that every other hobby paint manufacturer offers? 

Mixing your own small quantities of paint to match a colour is one thing, Developing a commercial production run of a new paint colour is a very different proposition and it does cost money. Tamiya are fundamentally a kit manufacturer who sell paint on the side. Tamiya is hardly unusual in that respect. Airfix kits list Humbrol colours. Revell kits list their own colours and so on. It's all about maintaining brand loyalty amongst your core market and encouraging them to buy more of your products.

 

The many specialist paint producers are just that - paint manufacturers. They are a different animal. Paint is their business and that's what they are set up to deliver.

Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, John Tapsell said:

Mixing your own small quantities of paint to match a colour is one thing, Developing a commercial production run of a new paint colour is a very different proposition and it does cost money. Tamiya are fundamentally a kit manufacturer who sell paint on the side. Tamiya is hardly unusual in that respect. Airfix kits list Humbrol colours. Revell kits list their own colours and so on. It's all about maintaining brand loyalty amongst your core market and encouraging them to buy more of your products.

 

The many specialist paint producers are just that - paint manufacturers. They are a different animal. Paint is their business and that's what they are set up to deliver.


Doesn’t address my points. 
 

They were able to develop costlier spray cans in these colors, why not bottles? Why do their kits call for bottles AND spray cans? 

Link to post
Share on other sites
6 minutes ago, CFster said:


Doesn’t address my points. 
 

They were able to develop costlier spray cans in these colors, why not bottles? Why do their kits call for bottles AND spray cans? 


+1 

 

hit the nail on the head there. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
18 hours ago, CFster said:


Doesn’t address my points. 
 

They were able to develop costlier spray cans in these colors, why not bottles? Why do their kits call for bottles AND spray cans? 

Because they believe that's what their market wants. The continued availability of both cans and bottles - and a general lack of new paint colours in their range - tends to demonstrate their market research was accurate. Any smart company invests in products that their research indicates are wanted by their core markets. Tamiya may be seen as a global brand but the reality is that their primary market is Japan. That's where they sell the bulk of their output so that's the market that they cater to. The rest of the world represents a minority market to Tamiya in terms of sales.

Link to post
Share on other sites
22 minutes ago, John Tapsell said:

Because they believe that's what their market wants. The continued availability of both cans and bottles - and a general lack of new paint colours in their range - tends to demonstrate their market research was accurate. Any smart company invests in products that their research indicates are wanted by their core markets. Tamiya may be seen as a global brand but the reality is that their primary market is Japan. That's where they sell the bulk of their output so that's the market that they cater to. The rest of the world represents a minority market to Tamiya in terms of sales.

YES YES YES YES!!!! They have a HUGE Asian market. The U S is a minority. They cater to their own first and foremost!

Link to post
Share on other sites

That seems to be a repeat of what you said before, but doesn’t answer my questions. 
 

Are spray cans the same price as 10ml bottles in Japan?

 

Does one 10ml bottle cost as much as two 10ml bottles in Japan? 
 

Why are some of their callouts for bottles, and some for spray cans? 
 

I’d like to know the logic behind it. Marketing data only demonstrates that many of their customers are gullible enough to think they have to use Tamiya paints so they spend the extra money. It’s called a racket. If they didn’t make such awesome kits they wouldn’t be able to get away with this. 
 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, jonwinn said:

YES YES YES YES!!!! They have a HUGE Asian market. The U S is a minority. They cater to their own first and foremost!

Mr. Hobby is also based in the Asian market, yet they offer a huge line of FS/RAL/RLM/etc. colors.  

 

The Tamiya acrylic paint line is still stuck in the 1990's and is highly over-rated.  Mr. Hobby, Mr. Paint, and AK paint lines all run circles around Tamiya. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...