Where can I find Tamiya Enamel paint??

bandk7 · 03-01-2008

I can find plenty of Tamiya Acrylic in the UK but no Enamel, other than on Japanese websites.. I think it may be because their enamel paint isn't in accordance with UK standards etc. but where do most people get the paint from? Will customs allow enamel paint into the UK if ordered from one of these Japanese sites, and which sites one/s are recommended?
Thanks!

**GEEDUBBYA** · 03-01-2008

Howdy Bandk7,

Well, being from the United States, I cant answer your question about the customs and their policies on enamels from Japan in the U.K. . I do know that aerosol paints wont be shipped via airmail and being that ya'll are surrounded by just a little bit of water I can see where most things must fly to get to ya'll.
Now I searched this site: http://www.tamiyausa.com/ and didnt see any "enamel paints" even offered, however, there were polycarbonite paints and acryilcs, you might check them out or.....
here is a link to "Great models webstore"

http://www.greatmodels.com/

If you will look on the left of the page you will see the search feature, click on it. On the next page, type in Enamel paint then "show me in stock items only" then under category, select "all" then under manufacturer select "tamiya paints". Click "search" and you will find 99 results for tamiya paints. Again, even though the search was for "enamel paints", the results listed do not specify enamel.

This link http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...AdvancedSearch
Will take you to "Tower Hobbies" website where Tamiya paints are shown, again, no enamel, but plenty of spray and polycarb and acrylic paints. Now the spray paints might be abit of a problem as aerosols are not shipped by air anymore...well not here anyway.

However......and i am not sure if you have used them before or not, I am assuming you have, testors makes a full line of enamel paints. Testors enamel and various commercial spray paints like Krylon and others are all I use...simply because i too, prefer enamel over acrylic.
And testors does offer acrylic paints as well as aerosols and all of their paints are more readily accessible here as well as "less expensive".

I am sorry if this doesn't help ya any, if not, maybe someone else will be able to provide a more useful reply.

have a good day,

greg

bandk7 · 03-01-2008

hi GEEDUBBYA,

Thanks for all that info! but I'm afraid they led to either Tamiyas acrylic range or their spray-can range.. I'm just looking for their square glass bottle for airbrushing (or brush) in enamel - the X and XF range... Also, the prices in the US are a fair bit more expensive than the tamiya acrylic in the UK; but thanks again for all your help!
hopefully someone will have the answer...

rjwood_uk · 03-01-2008

as far as i was aware they done make them any more. i might be wrong though.

have you tried using their acrylics? or any acrylics for that matter? is there a specific reason you want to use enamels?

bandk7 · 03-01-2008

Hi rjwood uk,

I am sure they still make them as you can find them on tamiya.com on japenese site, but they only deliver to japan on official site.
I want enamel for its finish, but also because it's specifically referred to in the instructions on the bike I'm building.. and acrylic is not hard and tough enough for polishing.
thanks for the response though! Does anyone here use Tamiya enamels?
B

rjwood_uk · 03-01-2008

you should really try the tamiya rattle cans, they are a synthetic laquer and produce a lovely finish wich is hard enought to buff/ploish and do loads of things with, they have 3 different ranges as well, one for normale colours, one for aircraft and one for doing r/c car shells (which might have some nice colours for you in)

bandk7 · 04-01-2008

Thanks for that rjwood, however the spray can range does not cover all the subtle shades and colours that I need. the search continues but I'm still sure that I will find some solution!
B

Plastickitbasher · 02-03-2008

Bank7
Try here they are UK based
Hiroboy - Scale Model Car, Bike Kits and Accessories.
Some are out of stock

Hope it helps

tigertc · 02-03-2008

As far as iam aware, the entire TAmiya paint range is under review to match EEC rules. There has been no resupply for at least 3 months in the UK. Went in to my local model shop on Saturday and the guy there still has no fiirm date from Tamiya for this problem to be resolved. I think GeeDubya posted a link last week to a page that cross references lots of paint codes. you may have better luck finding a match within the Humbrol range.