Humbrol Enamel Paints

[ikcdab]

My local model shop was happily still selling humbrol yesterday (Saturday 9th). And the proprietor was fully aware of the situation....

It all depends on your interpretation...

[melmerby]

On 08/04/2022 at 06:53, Shed Driver said:

I think that this was known for some time Hobbycraft stopped selling Humbrol enamels sometime ago and now stock Revel.

They also stopped selling DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic (made in USA) and replaced it with Pebeo (made in France)

 

Not AFAIK anything to do with Meko, so I don't think a change from Humbrol to Revell signifies anything.

[K14]

4 hours ago, Butler Henderson said:

Knowing Hornby they probably ordered far too many a few years ago and Rustins have not actually made any recently. The sale of enamels will no doubt have dimished with the improved acrylic range.

 Not necessarily an ordering error. A mere three 5 Litre cans of gloss paint will produce over a thousand 14ml tinlets, so for an order to be worth any manufacturer's while you'd easily end up with stock in the tens of thousands.

[Drifter]

With regard to Revell enamels. They are recalling certain gloss and satin enamels dependent on Batch numbers, dates etc. They reformulated their enamels from the beginning of 2021. So Revell knew then and obviously well before 2021. So Humbrol presumably knew around the same time?

[SamThomas]

Whilst appeciating the well meaning behind banning certain substances I question the need to round up the existing stocks & dispose of it with respect to the environment & the carbon footprint possibly created.

 

IMHO, Hornby should take the lot back & credit all the retailers that they have supplied with it.

 

There will be the temptation for some people to simply dispose of the paints in domestic rubbish so it ends up as landfill.

 

There will be quite a large (relativly speaking) amount of the "dodgy" stuff available for some time on various stands at shows/exhibitions for some time anyway.

[Mark Saunders]

3 hours ago, SamThomas said:

 

There will be the temptation for some people to simply dispose of the paints in domestic rubbish so it ends up as landfill.

 

I would expect that most of us will keep it till used up!

 

There was never a recall on paraquat .

[SamThomas]

4 hours ago, Mark Saunders said:

I would expect that most of us will keep it till used up!

Sorry, I was referring to retailers who have stock that they cannot send back to Hornby for credit or cannot be bothered if they cannot get credit & don't want to sell it.

 

It would appear that the issue also effects some Revell paints.

Edited April 11, 2022 by SamThomas

[pete_mcfarlane]

On 10/04/2022 at 21:18, Butler Henderson said:

Knowing Hornby they probably ordered far too many a few years ago and Rustins have not actually made any recently. The sale of enamels will no doubt have dimished with the improved acrylic range.

My inner cynic says that they had run low on stocks of Light Aircraft Grey or similar, had to order another batch from the suppliers,  and that's what triggered the whole recall situation.

 

[ikcdab]

So I really don't understand this.  Some retailers have stopped selling, saying it's now illegal.  However, there was plenty of humbrol on sale at the Bristol exhibition yesterday. 

Is this just down to interpretation? If so, that will be why they can't send stock back.

[spamcan61]

10 minutes ago, ikcdab said:

So I really don't understand this.  Some retailers have stopped selling, saying it's now illegal.  However, there was plenty of humbrol on sale at the Bristol exhibition yesterday. 

Is this just down to interpretation? If so, that will be why they can't send stock back.

From previous retailer comments on this thread it seems Hornby have never formally notified all their retailers of the situation, so some might still be blissfully unaware anyway.

[33C]

The latest batch of Humbrol paints I have bought, has been very, very thin. Almost unusable even after a thorough stirring. Whereas the old stuff is a 2 coat maximum.  😬

[Mike_Walker]

4 minutes ago, spamcan61 said:

From previous retailer comments on this thread it seems Hornby have never formally notified all their retailers of the situation, so some might still be blissfully unaware anyway.

That was certainly the case at my local shop.

[spamcan61]

On 11/04/2022 at 11:02, Drifter said:

With regard to Revell enamels. They are recalling certain gloss and satin enamels dependent on Batch numbers, dates etc. They reformulated their enamels from the beginning of 2021. So Revell knew then and obviously well before 2021. So Humbrol presumably knew around the same time?

As detailed by 'MikeB' a page or so back in this thread formal discussions about a ban were initiated in 2016, so any paint manufacturer should've know what was going on.

[Gilbert]

My understanding is that retailers have been given somewhat ambiguous information and Hornby aren't offering to take the paint back. If someone else has better info I'd be grateful! Some have withdrawn it and some have not...I assume the risk associated with normal hobby use is very low. US modellers will be aware that virtually everything you buy now has been determined to be carcinogenic - particularly in California IIRC?

Chris

[SamThomas]

If these paints do contain substances injurous to health, bearing in mind we are not talking in quantaties to repaint the Forth Bridge (& yes, I am aware it's no loger continuously repainted) will that really be an issue. After all, we are continually ingesting substances that will not harm us provided that intakee is in quantities.

 

Moving on, if the manufacture (irrespective of the branding) of these paints has used such substances then they should be compelled by law to take stocks back, disposed of them (1) correctly & recompense anyone who has returned them.

 

There will be many resellers that continue to sell old stock, especially at swapmeet type events (2)& many modellers who will continue to use them.

 

As it happens I ceased using Humbrol & other enamals a long time ago to use acylics.

 

(1) Surely, the risks should be re-assetained as tiny quantities of these "substances" spread around will be less of a problem than a small warehouse full of paints ?

(2) Just look at the amount of old non-PATested controllers on sale at swapmeets to see that a lot of resellers neither know or care much about safety.

[Widnes Model Centre]

We have just received an update from Hornby:

 

 Humbrol enamels can legally be sold in Britain. 
 

They cannot be exported to Europe.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Widnes Model Centre

[Deltic]

On 05/05/2022 at 15:57, Widnes Model Centre said:

We have just received an update from Hornby:

 

 Humbrol enamels can legally be sold in Britain. 
 

They cannot be exported to Europe.

I understand Retailers can still seek to return stocks purchased this year, or as the note states Legally continue to sell to UK customers. IMHO it is around the potential to ingest MEKO, I suspect the level of solvent may have a quicker detrimental impact - but then who drinks paint or paints it directly onto their skin.

[longchap]

5 minutes ago, Balgrayhill said:

Never underestimate the stupidity of people

Quite so and I've seen many a YouTube modeller with once clean hands liberally covered in paint! Whatever would their mothers say?

 

[KAR 120C]

On 05/05/2022 at 15:57, Widnes Model Centre said:

We have just received an update from Hornby:

 

 Humbrol enamels can legally be sold in Britain. 
 

They cannot be exported to Europe.

I’ve read through the posts above and I’m still unsure as to why the paints can be sold here but can’t be exported to Europe.   Is exporting them prohibited because of a trading agreement or prevented due to different health and safety standards in the UK and EU? 

[longchap]

6 minutes ago, KAR 120C said:

I’ve read through the posts above and I’m still unsure as to why the paints can be sold here but can’t be exported to Europe.   Is exporting them prohibited because of a trading agreement or prevented due to different health and safety standards in the UK and EU? 

 

I live in France and can no longer obtain any modelling materials by post from the UK which contain solvents, which I understand complies with current legalisation, the solvents no longer being able to be shipped from the UK by post.  Acrylics are okay, but not enamels.

 

Bill

 

 

 

 

[Widnes Model Centre]

8 minutes ago, KAR 120C said:

I’ve read through the posts above and I’m still unsure as to why the paints can be sold here but can’t be exported to Europe.   Is exporting them prohibited because of a trading agreement or prevented due to different health and safety standards in the UK and EU? 

European REACH regulations make the paints illegal to sell. After Brexit the UK adopted most of the regulations, but not all.  There are still UK REACH regs but they didn’t include MEKO in The Appendix. There was a Public Heath England paper in 2019 saying there was no evidence MEKO was carcinogenic. 
All of which could of course change.

[Mike_Walker]

10 hours ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

European REACH regulations make the paints illegal to sell. After Brexit the UK adopted most of the regulations, but not all.  There are still UK REACH regs but they didn’t include MEKO in The Appendix. There was a Public Heath England paper in 2019 saying there was no evidence MEKO was carcinogenic. 
All of which could of course change.

So, I'm now confused.  If the UK REACH regulations don't mention MEKO why can't Humbrol enamels be legally sold here?

[Widnes Model Centre]

3 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said:

So, I'm now confused.  If the UK REACH regulations don't mention MEKO why can't Humbrol enamels be legally sold here?

Hi Mike,

If by here you mean Britain? They can be sold here.

[Mike_Walker]

Thanks.  Yes I do.  Let's hope supplies will be restored to normal ASAP.

[bmthtrains - David]

So…why did Humbrol recall them in the first place? 
 

David