Model Acrylics vs Artist Acrylics

[kbriffa]

Hi. I was wondering, essentially (besides name) what is the difference between model acrylics we are familiar with like Humbrol, Vallejo etc. and the acrylics that artist painters use? I am asking as I have better access at the moment to artist acrylics and I am considering using them to paint on a scratchbuilt plasticard engine shed?

 

Kenneth

[Theakerr]

I use artists acrylics a lot because they are cheap and come in a very wide range of colours. I do also use model acrylics. In my opinion the artists acrylics have more body to them and depending on how they are used can give a texture to the surface being painted. I use them a lot for my "dry-brushing" where the thicker texture makes them really good and they have the ability to completely mix with other colours so that one can get a really nice blend. Also over here they come in nice containers such that one can squeeze out a small amount. They can be thinned but then some of the "covering" capacity seems to be lost. The model acrylics are much more liquid and as such can give a much more uniform finish over a large area. I do not find them as good for drybrushing. I also find that they do not blend as well with other colours, even from the same manufacture. As an example i have just finished lightly weathering some Bachmann suburbans. To do this I airbrushed the chassis using acrylic oilyblack , then detailed the frame with artists acrylics (twos shades of brown, black green and a white. FYI, I live in Canada so my statements may not be true your side of the pond.

[Rumblestripe]

What Theakerr says is pretty much on the money. Artist's acrylics have more body to them to allow techniques such as impasto. Modeller's acrylics have a finer pigment and a higher pigment density. I.e. the pigment is ground finer and there is more of it. Craft acrylics such as "Deco" or "Folkart" are something of a halfway house between the two, they lack the bulk and body of a true Artist acrylic but do not have the higher pigment density of the modeller's paint. Craft acrylics are great for scenic work where their value for money allows you to use them liberally. I tend not use Artist's acrylics much but craft acrylics are very useful.

[WardRail]

 

I've been spraying Artist's Acrylic - the cheap stuff sold for school use - Chromacryl brand out here. Yes it has a lot more body than Model Acrylics but its easy enough to spray - I've been mixing a dollop of it with warm water in the bottom of a Paashhe jar til its like a thick soup, then adding more water to fill the jar to the 2/3rds level and spraying it on carpet underfelt type long grass with my ever trusty VL..

 

To my suprise it workled perfectly the first time I tried it (and every time subsequently as well !) The binder in it doesn't like my normal choice of acrylic thinner (IPA)and tends to go rubbery, taking the paint with it.. WHen that happened, I let it dry and peeled it out of the jar in one lump, luckily I hadn't started spraying, it literally went rubbery that quick ! Therefore, water was the answer to thin it. I've also used acrylic house paint in much the same manner, although (depending on brand), that does thin with IPA

 

Best

Matthew