Barnaby Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hello I want to standardise my paints having settled on using ACRYLIC for health and ease with cleaning. I intend to be airbrushing as well as using brushes and would like to be able to use them straight from the pot. I also think the Station Mistress may allow me a brush painting session in the house occasionally. I've tried several manufacturers but would like to choose only one for my main paint store. So who would you suggest offers the best selection of "Railway" orientated ACRYLIC paints. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 I have been doing some more Google-ing but there seems to be just as many best choices as there are manufacturers. So that could mean they're all the same in being just as good or bad as each other? So not much further on with choosing. I have decided not to go with any that use anything other than water to mix down with, some minor retardants in the branded thinners is ok.I came across this on Utube >>> from Andy Y of this parish and they look promising. They hit the spot by suggesting named colours for specific tasks while still allowing me to shade mix should I want to. I keep reading things like Humbrol and Vallejo will scratch off with your nail but nothing to say if things were properly cleaned/primed before hand, hence me asking on here if any one has a definitive comment. I was looking at my local shops but none of them do Life Colour so that widens me up to using online purchases, so much for supporting my local stores. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted March 1, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi Barnaby, You would be surprised by what your local Halfords is willing to mix up on request. All their plastic primers are acrylic and can be bought either in paint can or spray can form. They will mix most colours to order in acrylic. I've taken paint splotches in and got them to mix and match the splodge. Do ask the price first though... Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giggle pin Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Hi. I only use tamiya paints. They are cheap enough and there is enough colours in the range to suit my needs - which are basic. I always thin the new ones that i buy, say 15-20%. This helps them lay evenly for me. I only brush paint. Whatever i paint i always wash with detergent first to remove any grease. Never had a problem with scratching, unless i try hard to do so. Bri Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Roger Sunderland Posted March 2, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 2, 2015 Hi I've used Lifecolour for a few years now. A very good range, BR colours and excellent weathering colours. The Vallejo range is also terrific, gives good coverage straight from the bottle, needs thinning for airbrushing though. The Humbrol acrylics are terrible, don't even come close to the above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Thanks gents some useful info there. I've ordered the Rail set from Lifecolor to have a go with and do some testing. Interesting about the Halfords paints, I might give them a try if I have a special colour to match that isn't achievable from Lifecolor. The learning has begun now the testing begins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I use Revell and Humbrol, because I have not yet had any problems with them. I like the cube shaped containers because they seem to seal better and are less prone to being knocked all over my working area, by my bull-in-a-china-shop hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 The Humbrol acrylics are terrible, don't even come close to the above. I found the original Humbrol acrylics, the ones in the larger circular tubs, were fine. The newer ones not so good. I've managed to get a few of the old tubs in assorted colours including the mid-blue which is the loco livery for my industrials. Never airbrushed acrylic, that is something to come but I tend to use Tamiya, Vallejo for detailed brush painting and anything (cheap craft ones etc.) for scenery and large areas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I am a great fan of Vallejo acrylics and they do a range that come ready thinned for spraying. They don't do railway specific colours and indeed some have strange names but you can generally get what you need by having a look - for example I use medium sea grey for LNER/LMS grey wagons, dark fleshtone for bauxite and flat earth for LNER NPCS brown. I also use Vallejo primers on plastic kits but with regard to the scratching comment - I have found that metal kits need a better primer and I have been using Halfords rattle cans to date for this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Games Workshop mainly as I find them excellent. They cover well when stirred properly and the matt dries matt too. I also use some Humbrol too. steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumblestripe Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I don't think there is an over-riding need to standardise on one manufacturer with the exception of Tamiya. My experience of Tamiya is that you need to use their proprietary thinners. So, although i do have the odd pot of Tamiya, I wouldn't mix them with anything else. That said, I principally use Vallejo there are 218 colours in their "Model Color" range and a further 129 in their "Game Color" range! Additionally, around 200 "airbrush ready colours". I doubt there's many railway shades that you couldn't find a decent representation of in that lot! I do use Games Workshop too, as I like their metallics better than Vallejo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglian Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Vallejo are the best quality acrylics I've used by quite a long way. They are very highly pigmented meaning that they can be applied very thin. They are however very delicate until protected with varnish and will rub off even with handling. Humbrol acrylics are nowhere near as fine pigment but are much harder wearing and their idea of colour is all over the place. Colour is subjective, or rather I should say the colours we apply to our small models is a subjective interpretation of the colour found on the real railway so the notion of there being a perfect match, in a bottle or can, for all railway models from 2mm to let's say 10mm scale is a bit misplaced. I therefore wouldn't worry too much about what fanciful name the paint may have, it's how the colour looks to you that really matters and it will change all the time depending on the ambient lighting. So do look at all paint ranges not just those with specific railway colour names. I have to say I've not airbrushed Lifecolor but I don't find them anywhere close to Vallejo for brush painting – I think they have too much 'body' to pigment and they don't thin or cover as well as Vallejo. For varnish I'm using Daler Rowney – you need to doctor it to get it to dry absolutely dead matt. The only thing that bothers me about it is that the varnish remains soluble with white spirit so I'd be very interested to know which varnishes others use that dry dead matt. I've been scared off anything oil based due to issues with yellowing over time. Testors is lacquer based and can also yellow in time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveb860 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 And herein lies the problem with asking this sort of question. Everyone will have a different answer. I don't standardise on any particular range, I use all the above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Yes Steve that's what I alluded to at the opening of this post, it does seem very much as if the paint beauty is in the eye of the beholder and many have a different favourite. I've gone for a Lifecolor set to play about with, what I am hoping is that their naming will get me somewhere near what I want, They will be repeatable and I can easily tweak the colour to what I want, I have a couple of sources both a local shop and online for them so I'm giving them a go. Thanks for all the tips and advice. EDIT I found this site https://www.airbrushes.com/ while doing my research and I've ordered some Lifecolor from them. They were very helpful on the phone and their web page is useful too a definite 1 shop hit for all your paint needs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montague Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I use Tamiya for airbrushing and Vallejo for brushing. I use the Tamiya paint with Tamiya thinner and clean the airbrush with window cleaner (with ammonia). As Tamiya is alcohol based, it is not as non-smelly as water based acrylics, of course, but I think it is great to airbrush and very easy to clean. Vallejo is great to brush paint. I use it with the Vallejo retarder and sometimes Vallejo thinner. Easy to clean up with water. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglian Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Montague, Do you have any issues with Tamiya rubbing off? Do you use their varnish with the matting agent? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Roger Sunderland Posted March 3, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3, 2015 Regarding truly Matt varnish, I've been very impressed with Testors Dullcote which is used by many military modellers. Not noticed any yellowing either. It was unavailable for a time recently which caused its price to rocket on ebay but it is fairly widely available again now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montague Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Montague, Do you have any issues with Tamiya rubbing off? Do you use their varnish with the matting agent? No, not really, but I very seldom paint anything that will get handled a lot. Most of what I do with the airbrush is weathering. I sometimes use Testors Dullcoat but only to matt the finish, not to protect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
47164 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Maybe some food for thought , b&q are now able to scann any object and then provide a tin of paint, so for a mere pound it seems a steal..assuming the check out girl got the price correct. The paints are acrylics and would need some thinning, but would be interesting to try or test with a colour such as br blue and if it could be adapted to use in an airbrush. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnaby Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 You can d/l an app too which your I phone/pad can use to scan the paint you want to copy/mix. It allows you to then mix up your own by the drops system, the only trouble is to get it precise you must have all the base paints to select from. I've only ever used my Ipad to scan paint and compare from it but Halfords have a similar system which is who I would use as I use their etch primers frequently. Maybe B&Q charge the £1 for the scan match process as their paint mini tester's cost more than that alone but it will be great news if I'm wrong. Additionally Halfords have some natural car paint colours that match for railway modelling. I think there is a paint list somewhere on here that shows this, I'll try and find the link. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted April 3, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2015 Hi all, Link to Halford paint matches.... http://www.bradfordmrc.org.uk/useful%20data.html Use this to see the direct matches to Halford car colours http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_UK_Railways/Colours_list Use this to get the paint specs to have paint 'made to match'. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
47164 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 The. Pots are 236ml. Which smells a bit as a loss leader given the price of smaller tester pots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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