For those who liked MM Acryl what are you using now?

[aaronw]

Primarily looking to fellow brush painters (hairy stick, not air). The airbrush people seem to have many options, and MM never seemed to rate highly for airbrush application.


With Model Master Acryl now joining Pollyscale and Floquil in the halls of fallen paint brands I'm looking for potential replacements. Particularly interested in good options for military colors.


I've used many of the well established paint brands over the years.

To save time by showing my preferences, and maybe help others who are in a similar situation I'll go down some of my experiences with other brands:


Citadel / Games Workshop - I have had good luck with these. Expensive and prone to drying out due to the flip top, but I find them very suitable for brush painting. They have some colors that work for military colors, but they are fantasy gamer oriented so finding military colors is strictly luck and recognizing the cross over. I've found they actually have quite a number of colors good for US interwar aircraft. Good availability.

Craftstore paints (Apple Barrel, Folk Art, Americana etc) - Cheap and generally do a good job, but like GW, matching military colors is pure luck, having a good eye and a handy paint chart in your pocket. I find them best suited to figures, and interior parts of models. Good availability and did I mention cheap?

Vallejo Model Color / Game Color - I've used these and they seem to do a good job with a brush, but I never got used to the dropper style bottles so my use has been limited. Good availability and currently high on the list of contenders to replace my current stock as it expires assuming my reacquaintance with it goes well.

Tamiya - I've brush painted with it, it can be done but requires great attention and the proper sacrifices be made to the paint gods. Not what I'd consider brush friendly at least without additives. Expensive, and limited color selection, too much mix this and that to get a desired color for my taste. Still a quality paint that I do use occasionally for small details, and I frequently use their clear colors.

Gunze / Mr Color - Very limited use of it, but my experience was similar to Tamiya, maybe a larger color selection. Expensive and limited availability.

Humbrol Acrylic - Very limited use, but was promising. Poor availability, moderate color selection and rumors it is being discontinued. In my enamel days, I was a fan of Humbrol, so it probably sits higher on my list of potential replacements than it probably should. 

Akan - Limited use since I've only used the WW2 Soviet aircraft colors and have built a whopping 3 WW2 Soviet aircraft so far. Good for brush painting once I figured out its quirks. Limited color selection (Soviet / Russian subjects) makes it a specialty paint. Poor availability and on the expensive side. 

 

Not used but on my radar:

Revell Germany Acrylic - Seems to have a nice selection of colors, but limited availability.

Hataka - Seems to have a very good selection of colors, and what little feedback I've heard it is brush friendly. Limited availability is the biggest knock against it.

Mission Models - Feed back suggests not at all brush friendly. Limited availability.

Xtracylics - Great color selection and receives very good feed back. Essentially unobtanium in the US thanks to hazmat shipping regulations. 

 


* availability in the USA, good meaning in most brick and mortar shops, limited being hit or miss in B&M shops, and a few online sellers, poor pretty much limited to manufacturers website, or limited selection at a few online sellers. 



So what have you got for me to look into.

First one to suggest Tamiya gets this guy. 



  
  

[tcoat]

I still have a pretty good stock of MM left for my brush painting but will likely be going mostly to Tamiya and Vallejo as I need to. I really don't have many issues painting any of the flat Tamiya paints by hand. It is just a matter of knowing you get one stroke of the brush per section before it starts lifting the paint already on back off. My only experience with the dropper bottle of Vallego is their Rust Stain and Streak set. I REALLY like how it brushes but I am never sure if it is mixed well enough since all I can do is shake it. Pretty sure I still have Humbrol on some of the kits I built as a kid that still hasn't fully dried after 60 years!

[Tojo72]

Vallejo Model Color and Panzer Aces
Mission Models

[eaglecash867]

For new paints, I have been liking MRP's figure/aqua paints, and Vallejo's Model Color paints for brush painting. I also have a pretty extensive selection of Model Master Enamels, as well as getting back into the good old fashioned Testors square bottles for brush painting. Since my primary method of painting just about anything is to airbrush lacquers, oil-based enamels from Testors have become particularly useful for detail painting. They can be brushed onto lacquers with no lifting/mixing of the paint, and any mistakes can easily be removed with paint thinner with no damage to the lacquer.

I'm with you on trying to brush paint with Tamiya paints. Sometimes I still do because they have a unique color, but I try to avoid doing so at all costs. They just don't brush well without a bunch of hoop jumping.

[stikpusher]

I am not overly sad at the demise of Model Master acrylics, mainly because I never cared for the new formulation compared to their original formula. But they did gradually build up in my paint inventory because quite ofter the local shops were out of the same shade in enamel...
As a replacement nowadays, Im mostly leaning into the various Vallejo lines. Mostly because that is what I can get at the local shops and Hobby Lobby. But a good primer is a must due to poor adhesion to bare plastic. Mission Models is a good replacement as well. Those brush paint well enough, although their lighter colors do require multiple very when hand brushed. Humbrol acrylics hand brush quite well in my experience, but are not available to me locally... Man do I miss living a short drive from Brookhurst Hobbies. I have yet to try any Revell acrylics. I do like the Testors 1/4 ounce square bottle acrylic paint sets that can be found at Hobby Lobby, but the color selection is limited.

[aaronw]

I think the only reason, I'm more upset at the loss of MM than Polyscale or Floquil, is that when those were discontinued there was some hope MM Acryl would expand to make up the difference. With the demise of MM Acryl, I have no more fall backs, so need to find something new. I'm resistant to change. 


I have to admit some snobbery towards the Testors square bottles. I felt like those were like tube glue, inferior and just for beginners. I've actually not used any in decades, but my Dad does still use some of their colors for his ship models. Simply because the colors match what he needs, and they are easy to get. Maybe I should re-evaluate them. 

Not familiar with MRP, but looks like more dropper bottles. Seems like a lot of paints are going that way, guess I'll just have to adapt. I never really thought about it, but I think it is the inability to interact with the paint in the bottle tcoat mentions that bugs me, cant stir it, can't easily add thinner. I guess on the plus side, that also keeps the paint better protected from the elements and potentially last longer. 


Reaper paints is another fantasy figure based paint I left off my list. I've not used them, but assume similar to Games Workshop.

I know there are a lot of new brands popping up, but it seems like most are aiming for those preferring enamels / lacquers, not acrylics. Other than MRP, looks like Vallejo is the major contender, guess it is time to embrace the dropper bottle.  


On a tangent, I really liked Floquil with their 1oz bottles. Although they cost more per bottle, they were actually cheaper than buying two of the typical 10ml - 1/2 bottles used by most.

I wish more would adopt 1oz / 30ml bottles. We pay a ton for packaging paint in tiny bottles. The small bottles make sense I guess if the idea is you buy the paint you need with each a model, but for most of us who are a little more serious (deranged) larger bottles would more practical and cost effective. Seriously I'd love to be able to get 1/2 pint (240ml) tins of model paint, Rustolium sells them and as the parent of Testors it seems an easy thing to offer. At $10-15 each, that is not much more expensive than the current prices of most hobby paints for 16x the paint. 

[stikpusher]

Testors makes some US military colors in those 1/4 ounce acrylic bottle sets, plus a few gloss and flat primary color sets, so yes, check them out. They are a tad bit thicker than their Model Master acrylics, so ideal for hand brushing.

[eaglecash867]

Jan 2, 2024 15:54:19 GMT -5 aaronw said:

I have to admit some snobbery towards the Testors square bottles. I felt like those were like tube glue, inferior and just for beginners. I've actually not used any in decades, but my Dad does still use some of their colors for his ship models. Simply because the colors match what he needs, and they are easy to get. Maybe I should re-evaluate them. 

Not familiar with MRP, but looks like more dropper bottles. Seems like a lot of paints are going that way, guess I'll just have to adapt. I never really thought about it, but I think it is the inability to interact with the paint in the bottle tcoat mentions that bugs me, cant stir it, can't easily add thinner. I guess on the plus side, that also keeps the paint better protected from the elements and potentially last longer. 

You would be doing yourself a disservice by not giving the square bottles a shot. Of all the brushable paint I have tried, I like those the best. They cover well and lay down smoothly with no brush marks. Not to mention their completely harmless nature when it comes to applying them on top of a lacquer. I have actually started using them for aircraft instrument panel dial faces, because I start off by airbrushing the entire instrument panel with white lacquer, then mask the dial faces and mask/airbrush everything else on the panel the color it needs to be with more lacquers. Then I paint over all the dial faces with Testors square bottle black. Just a light, easy wipe with a q-tip just barely damp with mineral spirits and I have perfect white instrument markings, without undoing any of the other work that was done on the panel with lacquers. Can't do that with acrylics because anything that removes those once they cure is also going to remove the lacquers.  Did this F-100D instrument panel using that method.  



The MRP figure paints do have dropper tops on them, but its a cap that can easily be unscrewed. My Badger paint mixer gets inside them with no issues. They, just like the Testors square bottles, work best without being thinned.

[aaronw]

Jan 2, 2024 18:24:02 GMT -5 eaglecash867 said:

Jan 2, 2024 15:54:19 GMT -5 aaronw said:

I have to admit some snobbery towards the Testors square bottles. I felt like those were like tube glue, inferior and just for beginners. I've actually not used any in decades, but my Dad does still use some of their colors for his ship models. Simply because the colors match what he needs, and they are easy to get. Maybe I should re-evaluate them. 

Not familiar with MRP, but looks like more dropper bottles. Seems like a lot of paints are going that way, guess I'll just have to adapt. I never really thought about it, but I think it is the inability to interact with the paint in the bottle tcoat mentions that bugs me, cant stir it, can't easily add thinner. I guess on the plus side, that also keeps the paint better protected from the elements and potentially last longer. 

You would be doing yourself a disservice by not giving the square bottles a shot. Of all the brushable paint I have tried, I like those the best. They cover well and lay down smoothly with no brush marks. Not to mention their completely harmless nature when it comes to applying them on top of a lacquer. I have actually started using them for aircraft instrument panel dial faces, because I start off by airbrushing the entire instrument panel with white lacquer, then mask the dial faces and mask/airbrush everything else on the panel the color it needs to be with more lacquers. Then I paint over all the dial faces with Testors square bottle black. Just a light, easy wipe with a q-tip just barely damp with mineral spirits and I have perfect white instrument markings, without undoing any of the other work that was done on the panel with lacquers. Can't do that with acrylics because anything that removes those once they cure is also going to remove the lacquers.  Did this F-100D instrument panel using that method.  



The MRP figure paints do have dropper tops on them, but its a cap that can easily be unscrewed. My Badger paint mixer gets inside them with no issues. They, just like the Testors square bottles, work best without being thinned.

I have a local Michael's, which is as close to a hobby store as I have within 70 miles. They carry the little bottles of Testors. Nice effect on the gauges, and it should work similarly over acrylics. 

I've used a similar technique with artists oils to darken closed bottom grill details, but found out the hard way that while the oils and thinner don't effect acrylics, they are a great stripper of some kit chrome.   

[reserve]

Still looking for a favorite. I've learned Tamiya acrylic works pretty well as long as you add some retarder and only mix small amounts but it's not ideal. I've used Mission Models which brushes well but the drawback seems to be the paint is easily damaged so one has to clear coat it. Square bottle Testors flat enamels work well as far as I can remember but it's been years since I used them; I do recall they make a pretty good transparent coat or a wash.

[aaronw]

So how about Hataka, anyone tried it?

I like that they have a series (blue line) specifically marketed towards brush painters. They also have interwar US aircraft colors which are not super common. They are from Poland, and not many stock it in the USA. There is an Ebay seller Rebel Alpha / Scott's Model Workshop who does carry them. I've bought kits and decals from him quite a few times since he tends to keep a decent selection of hard to find in the USA brands.



Other than that I guess it is time to peruse MRP and Vallejo to start making a list.

Thanks for the input.

[deafpanzer]

Haven't tried Hataka. I have been painting with Vallejo and it never disappoints me. I wish it airbrushes well but it doesn't but it is my top choice for brush painting after ten years.

[Medicman71]

When I brush paint, I use Vallejo like everyone else. But I've seen people that paint figures using AK 3rd Gen Acrylics. A lot of game shops are starting to carry them now.

[fermis]

Jan 2, 2024 18:24:02 GMT -5 eaglecash867 said:

Jan 2, 2024 15:54:19 GMT -5 aaronw said:

You would be doing yourself a disservice by not giving the square bottles a shot.

 I keep a dozen or so on hand...and use them!

I'm still miffed by the loss of MM (I used the enamels)...and their Metalizers.
I switched to Hataka lacquers....they do alright, but I miss MM.
I picked up a bunch of Alclad lacquers for NMFs....I REALLY miss MM Metalizer!

For doing the pre-shading/black basing...whatever you wanna call it. I bought 8oz cans of black and white (Rustoleum). It's basically the same as the MM, once you thin it down, and way cheaper than buying a bunch of "model specific" paints. Those 2 cover black, white, and every shade of grey you could want!