Acrylics for brush painting?

[zuludog]

Firstly, I only do brush painting

As a returnee I have a lot of enamel paints, mostly Humbrol standard/general and authentics/camouflage colours, so I've been using those
But now I need to replace some of them
I have found the equivalent colours in Humbrol's current range, but I've had another idea

I've tried acrylic paint and didn't like it, though that was just a couple of pots that came with an Airfix kit, and I suspect they are not the best
So I thought I'd give acrylics another go - they certainly seem to be more popular.

Can you recommend a range of acrylic paints for brush painting, please; and preferably straight out of the tin, without needing any thinning
Colours would be mostly WW2 RAF & USAAF

 

[BarryW]

Vallejo Model Colour I would suggest but many brush painters say Vallejo Model Air works well with a brush. I use an airbrush and only paint small detail with a brush, hence I use VMA, I find it works well but it does take several coats being thin paint.

You are right about Humbrol, total crap, by the way.

Why not get a cheap airbrush and give it a try?
You can get a much better finish with a whole range of weathering effects possible particularly effective for your subjects. It does take a lot of practise and patience but its worth it.

 

[Ian M]

Those pots of paint in starter kits is rubbishy and should be banned. Lol.
I use Vallejo model color for brush and air brush.
Although they can be used direct from the bottle, they will be easier to work with if thinned a little. I recommend Vallejo thinners and retarder. Acrylic paint dries a lot faster than oil base paints and you could find them drying to quick. Also the finish will be better.

 

[spanner570]

Vallejo Model Colour, but this has to be thinned. I use ordinary tap water - nothing fancy.
" " Air. Straight from the bottle.

Nowt wrong with those little starter tubs.

I've never needed to use any retarder. I just work quickly, with no fiddling about.

It is possible to get equally as good a finish with a brush as with an A.B.

 

[dubster72]

.
Nowt wrong with those little starter tubs.

It is possible to get equally as good a finish with a brush as with an A.B.

Two huge cans of worms opened there Ron! :eek:

 

[peterairfix]

Try tamiya acrylic paints I use them and find OK much better than humbrol

 

[zuludog]

An airbrush?
Years ago I had an airbrush & compressor and tried to make my models to the highest standard I could. In fact I won a competition or two at my local IPMS branch
Then came marriage and modelling was postponed again & again; I sold the airbrush & compressor

Now I only make models to a reasonable standard for my own satisfaction, and to be honest, I couldn't be bothered with all the masking & faffing about that an airbrush involves

I think I'll get a couple or so of Vallejo Model Air and Vallejo Model Colour, and a Hataka set, and see how I go with those
If I still don't like them I can always go to Humbrol's current range.
It seemed to take a lot of Searching & Surfing to find conversion charts between the old Authentics to Humbrol's current range, and to pin down or identify 'official' colours but it's done now, and I've made my own record for any future use

Just re - read and noticed peterairfix's post about Tamiya acrylics, so perhaps I'll add a couple of those as well

 

[BarryW]

Don't worry about convesion charts there are a lot of websites out there that can help get the right colours. these would help.
https://www.cybermodeler.com/resource6.shtml
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/colorcharts.asp
http://www.fritzthefox.com/features.html
https://www.cybermodeler.com/color/cockpit.shtml



With Vallejo, if you use Model Air, then there are their Air War Series paint sets that will help you get the right colours for your preferred WW2 RAF and USAAFsubjects. They are very comprehensive with a totally revamped range.
http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/en_US/model-air/family/17

 

[Deleted member 5819]

Hi I only brush paint and use Vallejo model colour thined with de-lonised water, Lifecolor is a good one, AK & MIG can also be brush painted ok

 

[Doug Hughes]

An airbrush?
Years ago I had an airbrush & compressor and tried to make my models to the highest standard I could. In fact I won a competition or two at my local IPMS branch
Then came marriage and modelling was postponed again & again; I sold the airbrush & compressor

Now I only make models to a reasonable standard for my own satisfaction, and to be honest, I couldn't be bothered with all the masking & faffing about that an airbrush involves

Interesting point there, and I have a lot of sympathy. I've moved in the opposite direction recently - away from brush and into airbrushing. It does produce excellent results, but there's no doubt that (as executed by me at least), the hassle factor with airbrushing is higher, and can introduce an element of stress. I find brush painting very relaxing, and sometimes with the airbrush I find I have to tell myself, 'You're supposed to be enjoying this!'.