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Modeling in General
General discussions about modeling topics.
Enamel or Acrylic?
Machu
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 01:49 PM UTC
I'd like some opinions on which is better: enamel or acrylic.

yagdpanzer
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 04:33 PM UTC
I prefer enamels as I brush paint my models. Acrylics are a bear to brush paint.

I prefer Humbrol over other enamels as I get better results vs other brands.

Just my 2 cents.
Stormbringer
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 05:00 PM UTC
I too only use enamels (99.9% humbrol) for the simple reason that whenever i try acrylics (mainly Tamiya) i am never happy with the results.Like Yagdpanzer i brush paint my models as i have no facilities for using an airbrush etc.
HTH
Peter
blaster76
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 05:17 PM UTC
I airbrush, and I prefer Model Master enamel. I think the color variety of the acrylics is going to eventually make enamels go the way of the beta max, so I am going to learn how to mix them to work through my airbrush.
TwistedFate
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 05:36 PM UTC
Acrylics all the way (almost, I spray my car bodies with rattle can enamel usually). Model Master Acryl actually. They have a great color variety, are easy to clean and can be AB straight from the bottle. (I thin them to make them go a little farther, but you don't have to)
Merlin
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AEROSCALE
#017
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 06:20 PM UTC
Hi Machu

I use enamels and acrylics for airbrushing and have had good results with both. Enamels seem generally more robust than acrylics, but I read recently about a guy who thins his Tamiya acrylics with cellulose to get them to bite into the plastic so they don't lift. I haven't tried it yet... has any else?

Hannants Xtracolour is a great enamel, because the paint dries gloss, ready for decals. It's best to thin it with cellulose because Xtracolour seems to take much longer to dry than other brands (I have heard talk that new batches seem to dry quicker, but I'm still using old stuff).

I love Gunze Sanyo acrylics for airbrushing, but the supply seems to have all but dried up here in the UK. They're really smooth and tough. Brush-painting with them is another matter though! Ugh!

Vallejo acrylics brush beautifully, if that's your game, and I'm starting to use them for a lot of my detail work. I'm still working on airbrushing successfully, but the advice I've received is to really, really, really shake the bottle and thin with distilled water or their own-brand thinner.

Hope this helps

Rowan
DaveCox
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 07:02 PM UTC
I only brush paint, and use a mixture of Humbrol enamels and Tamiya acrylics depending on the application. I would normally use the acrylics for the main colouring and enamels for washes and dry-brushing as they won't react with the basecoat.

PS: anyone actually manage to drybrush acrylics - they dry too quickly!
steve203
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 08:07 PM UTC
Hey, I use MM Acryl and Poly Scale Acryl. The clean up is easy, fast dry time, and I have not had any problems getting a variety of colors. I order most of my usual colors from Testors on-line in bulk and pick up the odd stuff here and there locally.
Delbert
#073
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 08:34 PM UTC
I perfer Model Master Enamals because they work really well for me. I can airbrush them with no problems and get great results.. plus they seem to have the largest selection of color's, and are carried by several of my local hobby shops.

I also have had some nice results with Tamaya acrylics but i've only airbrushed them a couple of times...........

in my personal stock...... around 175 bottles of Model master Enamal. and 7 bottles tamaya acrylics.. 6 bottles of polyscale and 1 bottle of floqual......

and thats my 2 cents worth.........
Siggi
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 09:39 PM UTC
Acrylics totally suck to hand brush whereas enamels can be worked endlessly with a brush.

Both are fine in an airbrush. Personally I use the ModelMaster acrylic sachets in my airbrush and now use enamels only for washes or on items where hand-brushed acrylic just isn't going to make the nut.

scoccia
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Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 10:22 PM UTC
In my view there is not something that's definitely better than the other. Id depends quite a lot on personal preferences. I prefer to airbrush acrylics due to the easier maint/cleaning after spraying and to use enamels for all the others applications, specially brushing them by hand (because I use mainly Tamiya's that are not the best if used that way). On the other hand I know lots of pepole that are very happy to hand brush other acryls like Vallejo or Lifecolor.
In my view the best is to buy a jar per type, make your own experiments and see on the field wich is the solution that fits you best.
Ciao
Holdfast
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IPMS-UK KITMAKER BRANCH
#056
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Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2003 - 01:37 AM UTC
:-) I agree with Fabio, it really is mostly down to personal preference. I use both acrylics and enamals. For the mass of accurate colours in the range I would go with Xtracolor. I went off them because of the their long drying time. I found however that, as Rowan says, thinning with celulose makes the paint dry much quicker. I also have it on very good authority that they can be made to dry as quickly as acrylics. I just have to find the substance concerned :-) I will report back :-)
Mal
TankCarl
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Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2003 - 03:32 AM UTC
I use Model Master enamels,through a Badger Crescendo 175 A/B.
I use 70 paint to 30 thinner. And my pressure is arund 10-20 psi. (++) (++)
cfbush2000
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Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2003 - 05:17 AM UTC
I may switch to Arcylics for airbrushing, although I have some learning to do. I have used Model Master Enamel in the past. But on my last model I tried MM Acrylic and liked the results. My only problem was that the airbrush seemed to clog a lot.
avukich
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 - 01:42 AM UTC
I personally hate enamels because I hate cleaning up after using them, but that being said I do still use them. I tend to use acrylics when airbrushing and enamels for the details that I brush paint. I like to use Polly S and Tamiya acrylics for airbrushing and Humbrol and MM enamels for brush painting. For those of you who think that acrylics suck fro brush painting, have you ever tried Polly S? Tamiya MM acrylics suck to brush paint with, but in my experience, Polly S paints just as smooth as enamels.
AJLaFleche
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 - 06:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text


PS: anyone actually manage to drybrush acrylics - they dry too quickly!



I love acrylics for drybrushing. The fast curing time helps. Some of the best effects I've gotten were with some old, really thick, Polly-S (predecessor to PollyScale). It would build up nicely on the highpoints.
avukich
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 - 06:08 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Quote:
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PS: anyone actually manage to drybrush acrylics - they dry too quickly!

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I love acrylics for drybrushing. The fast curing time helps. Some of hte best effets I've gottne was with some old, really thick, Polly-S (prececessor to PollyScale). It would build upp nicely on the highpoints.



I have to agree with Al here. I use Polly-S for drybrushing all the time and find the fast curing time to be an asset.
keenan
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 - 06:08 AM UTC
I'm with AJ on the dry brushing thing. I dry brush almost exclusively with those really cheap craft paints you can pick up at Hobby Lobby for less than a buck.

Shaun
thebear
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Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 - 10:18 AM UTC
I used to be sold on enamels but have switched over to using Tamiya and Gunze paints exclusively for airbrushing..Just drop some windex in that color cup and all is clean (well almost) I love the semi-gloss finish on the Gunze paints and the are quite tough once they are dry...I still use enamels mixed with oil paints for weathering effects .

Richard
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