Here's my issue: All my customizing endeavors revolved around paintbrushes and Testors Model Masters Acrylic paints -which have been discontinued for 3 or 4 years now. It sucks because i didnt know about the discontinuation until about a year after they were discontinued. I went to my local hobby shop and they were long gone. I did my best to conserve my remaining reserves but, am past running on empty now and need to shift over to a new product line. I've considered ebaying 4-year-old bottles of Model Masters at inflated prices and even have a few in my watch list, but there are a couple crucial colors I have been unable to find.
I tried to use Tamaya, but they are totally incompatible and dry so damn fast it was virtually impossible to lay down a smooth coat. They seem to be solvent-based?
From what I understand Apple Barrel or whatever they're called are garbage.
I've never tried Vallejo but they seem to be designed for airbrushing? Plus they say something about their paint settling in the crevasses and automatically creating tone contrasts? I prefer to be in control of all aspects of tone, hue, lightness, shade, etc.
I recently came across a line called Mission Models. https://missionmodelsus.com/ They look promising but I'm apprehensive about pulling the trigger on an order only to be sorely disappointed. Has anyone fooled around with these?
I know some of you fine fwooshers have dabbled with multiple brands and can hopefully illuminate my understanding of a particular brand's properties or suitability as a replacement for (or supplement to) Model Masters which I just love.
Preferred properties: Water soluble, excellent brush application, primer coat not required, nice and opaque, and wide color selection.
Please enlighten me Fwoosh.
I wish I could give suggestions. I too, was a Testors Model Masters acrylic user, and have not yet found an alternative. I rarely paint figures these days anyway. I'm more of a swapper, using plastics that are already the intended color I want. My supply is also dwindling down, so I've been very conservative about what I paint. I was able to pick up some essentials like flat black and warm and cool skin tones off Amazon a few years back.
Well, that explains why I can't find Testors Model Masters acrylics anywhere. I haven't done any serious painting in years, but from time to time consider it. But the only model paints I can find at any hobby stores anymore are enamels, and I hate those.
Learn something new every day.
I know a lot of customizers swear by Vallejo - I just don't have a lot of shops near me that carry it. I put various paints on my Amazon Christmas wish list every year - but people are afraid to buy that for me and don't, so I don't have as much of it as I would prefer - but it seems to work OK for me brushing it on.
But don't trust me - I've done plenty of customs using thinned out acrylics from Hobby Lobby like Blick or Folk Art or in a pinch even Apple Barrel from Wal Mart and they turn out fine enough for me for shelf display (though won't stand up for heavy play)
I primarily use Citadel but have plenty of Vallejo too. In my experience, Citadel base paints have unparalleled coverage and come in a wide variety of colors. Just be sure to get the base paints if you're looking for strong opacity and coverage. The layer paints are thinner, but are still great for building up thin layers. I usually buy mine from Amazon, as many sellers offer discounts if you buy five or more pots at a time.
Also, really wish we had a dedicated custom board.
Also, really wish we had a dedicated custom board.
Apparently I can make subforums. This power will no doubt go to my head. Regardless, we've got one now. https://thefwoosh.com/community/official-fwoosh-custom-board/
Fantastic @ibentmyman-thing ! Thank you for using your powers for good.
I use Vallejo. You do sometimes have to dig the bottom a little to get the good color up and mixed. So I can see why they seem airbrushy at times. They also have lines for wash and air brush in particular so make sure you aren't using those. That said my customizing has fallen off a cliff.
I bought a bunch of 3D printed heads earlier this year and I have printed a grand total of four of them... out of 20? And those were helmets!
It's getting the skintones right that I struggle with most - and starting that process from scratch is so unfun I just leave them all with gray or terracotta unpainted heads on my shelf.
And for awhile all of my blonde custom figures had their blonde turn green like they were spending hours in chlorine, which also killed my desire to do it. I don't know which paint was the culprit - it was many different plastics, so it was the paint - but the colors for blonde are usually a mix of skintones which leads me back to my first problem. 🙁
I too, was a Testors Model Masters acrylic user
No wonder your customs always looked so sexy!
Also, @ibentmyman-thing can you migrate this thread over to the new customs subforum to keep things organized?
Revell aqua feels like model master sticks just as well but lacks in some basic colors like the blues are all dark and look weird when lighten. Brown matt was orangish. Tar black and flesh are great.
Formula p3 I used in the past was mostly good silver white and beaten purple were good but the paints made everything sticky after they were a year old even hard plastic parts but never saw anyone else mention this.
Never tried mission model but I had no problems with tamiya myself.
Badger model flex looks interesting but haven't tried myself.
Tried vallejo once and it didn't stick at all of course I don't primer just sand joints and all the paints listed above are all scratchproof.
Can this thread be moved into the new custom subforum?
I was a die hard citadel user for years, but since i'm so slow at finishing figures and also don't do many customs, the paints dry up often before I even come close to finishing a pot. I absolutely love their qualities and would absolutely use them forever if the containers were better.
I moved over to Vallejo and really like them. I've had no issues and they have a twist-on cap that preserves the paint quite a bit longer. Their color palette is more limited than Citadel, though. The squeeze bottle option allows for easier mixing of colors as well. The coverage and pigment is great. No need to thin them, imo.
Recently, I couldn't find a good gunmetal silver in any of my favorite brands, so I gave the D&D paints a shot and was absolutely blown away by how good they are. They have fantastic pigment and coverage and go on super smooth. I will probably buy some more to test more colors. They are even more limited in color options (as far as I know..), which is disappointing.
I will never use Apple Barrel or any of those cheap paints for figures. They require sooo many coats and they're often chalky looking when dried.
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