TUTORIALS - 4
AIRBRUSHING
ACRYLIC
PAINTS
by Roland Meunier and Paolo Pizzi
Acrylic paints are a relative novelty in the scale modeling world, at least when compared to their solvent-based counterparts. Chances are that most average modelers, unless very young or beginners, started experimenting with an airbrush spraying enamels or lacquer-based colors. I know quite many master modelers that never wanted to transition to the new batch of colors, most likely fearing that they would need to re-invent themselves to achieve the same kind of technical skill they already secured with solvent-based paints through years of experience. And of course most of them just ask themselves: "why bother?"
Others however did find advantages in acrylic paint and most of them discovered that after all the transition wasn't as painful as they thought it would be. For some, it was merely a matter of hours before they could do with acrylics the same things they did with solvent-based paints. Finally, some people learned the beauty of "bipartisanship" and to take advantage of the strengths of either types.
For those of you with less experience, let us briefly recap the advantages and disadvantages of acrylic and solvent-based paints:
ACRYLICS
PROS
CONS
SOLVENT-BASED
PROS
CONS
From this quick table, it emerges that for example you could use an enamel paint for laying the solid RLM76 light blue found on the underside and fuselage sides of almost all mid to late war Luftwaffe aircraft and then add the wing patterns and fuselage mottles of RLM74 and RLM75 with acrylics, which offer more flexibility.
For ship modelers it would make a lot of sense to use a first coat of enamel or lacquer paint for the solid hull/superstructure color, which will also act as a primer and then refine with acrylics that allow for more color variations and special effects.
One of the problems with acrylic colors is that they are in fact very different one brand from another and require different thinning ratios, different air pressures etc. Most importantly, they generally aren't "compatible" with each other. This has lead to many modelers using almost exclusively the one brand they feel most comfortable with.
The afore-mentioned flexibility of acrylics while allowing for a wide range of effects, it is also what scares the most of beginners and modelers transitioning from solvent-based paints. Basically it means that there isn't a good-for-all recipe for these colors such as use X PSI of air pressure and thin the color X% with the only one thinner you can use. Nope, you can probably thin your acrylic color in more than one way, you can use different pressure settings and different thinning ratios. The amazing thing is that what works for other it may not work for you and vice versa. And it also depends on WHAT you really want to get...
What we mean is that since acrylics are very versatile, you don't necessarily want just the best solid color coverage you can get. Acrylics easily lend themselves to various degrees of transparency which in turn make them unbeatable for such practices as mottling or weathering. This of course makes our work particularly difficult since the main objective of this article is to give you reliable pointers on these paints. We have therefore decided to give you two formulas for each brand of color, one to achieve the best possible coverage and the other to get a medium degree of transparency. Then it's left to your imagination and creativity.
It is important to remember that thinned paint is best used only immediately after the mixing and discarded after its use.
TAMIYA
- The Tamiya Acrylic Paint line is made up of about 70 colors,
including gloss and flat ones. The quality of the paint is superb and it's among
the types that are easier to use. It does not hand-brush very well however but
the main criticism is the limited range of colors which forces the modeler to
constant mixing. There no specific matches to Federal Standards, RLM or any
other standardization. Very rarely you can use one of this colors out of the
bottle, ship modelers should be aware that Tamiya's "Hull Red"
(XF-9) makes for the best representation of the red anti-fouling formula I've
ever seen. The other drawback of this line is its cost, definitely higher than
most competitors.
In this line there is a very interesting product called "Flat Base" (X-21) which is not a flat clear overcoat but a flattening agent for glossy colors. It is interesting how the flat base can be used mixed with Johnson and Johnson's "Future" acrylic wax (a.k.a. "Klear" or "Kleer" outside the US) to produce a finish that ranges from semi-gloss (70% Future, 30% Flat Base) to dead flat (50% Future, 50% Flat Base.) Tamiya also produce their own thinner (X-20A) which seems to work much better than alcohol or water. Unless you're trying to get some special effect, always use Tamiya's own thinner with this paint. Tamiya flat acrylics (XF-xx) produce a nicely flat finish, for dead flat add some Flat Base. Although someone swears by these colors being compatible with Gunze's acrylic, this is simply not true. By mixing the two you will achieve very unpredictable result and compromise the stability of the color pigments.
EVALUATION (1 to 5 stars):
The price rating reflects an average between
the price in the US and in France.
GUNZE
- The "Acqueous Hobby Color" line is made up of
over 200 colors, some of them specific matches such as RLM colors. No ship
colors. Some of the matches are excellent, others are a mixed bag. At any rate,
Gunze always seems to shoot for a 1:1 match and those who believe in the so
called "scale effect" will have to take this in consideration. Gunze
acrylics are very thin, so thin that they can even be sprayed unthinned. This of
course means that getting good hand-brushing results is even harder than with
Tamiya colors. Like Tamiya acrylics, Gunze paint is also quite expensive. The
price might appear only slightly higher than competing products but these
usually come in 15 ml (1/2 oz.) bottles whereas Gunze only gives you 10 ml (1/3
oz.)
Although distilled water can be used, we have found that the best thinner for the Gunzes is denaturated alcohol. This kind of paint tend to stick to bare plastic better than other acrylics and you may skip the priming phase (although it is very useful for spotting imperfections.) The Acqueous Hobby Colors produce a semi-gloss finish which is great for applying decals and avoiding any silvering problem. However using a gloss overcoat such as the afore-mentioned "Future" greatly helps in blending the decal film with the paint. Do not use Testors' Dullcote with Gunze acrylics, it has been found incompatible and may produce paint cracking.
EVALUATION:
AEROMASTER
- As its name implies, the Warbird Acrylic Color line is
meant for aircraft modelers and includes some 80 colors which are specific
standard matches, especially regarding WWII airplanes. Unlike any other
competing product, the Aeromasters have been specifically formulated to achieve
a realistically "toned down" finish, including a degree of scale
effect. In our humble opinion, out of the bottle the Aeromasters achieve the
most credible scale matches. However this comes at a price. We're not talking
about the cost, which is lower than the Japanese competition, but about its ease
of use (or lack thereof...) and suitable thinning ratios. It is harder to get
quality results with these colors because paint quality isn't as excellent as
Tamiya or Gunze. For example, these colors tend to give you a "pebbly"
finish and avoiding this dreaded result is not the easiest job in the world. We
have found rubbing alcohol to be ill-suited for this kind of paint because it
often produces an inconsistent finish. Distilled water seems to work much
better. Hand-brushing the color out of the bottle generally produces better
results compared to Tamiya or Gunze. The finish produced by the Aeromasters is
dead flat. Handbrushing is generally easier than with Tamiya or Gunze.
EVALUATION:
MODEL
MASTER - Although discontinued for over a year, Testors' Model
Master acrylic line is still found in most hobby shops in its characteristic
rack, especially in the US. These are "first generation" acrylics and
as such they're no match for the competition. In fact this is the very reason
why Testors have phased them out and produced the new Acryl formula.
Neither of us have ever achieved any satisfying result with this paint: it tend to form clots, it inevitably clogs the tip of the airbrush after only 15 minutes of use, it even gives off a bad smell, something very rare with acrylics. The color range includes about 70 colors, including a few dedicated to ship modelers. Most are matched to standards, even though the matches are sometime questionable. We have tried all sorts of thinning agents, the one that works best is Model Master's own thinner (#50499.) Handbrushing results aren't very exciting but since the paint is thicker than Tamiya or Gunze, it is slightly easier to get a good coverage.
EVALUATION:
(*) Considering that these colors are often given a clearance discount
ACRYL - Testors' new
acrylic line is much better than its predecessor. We don't know exactly how many
colors are available but the range is rapidly expanding and it's now at least
equal to the old Model Master line.
Acryl isn't bad but in our opinion still lags behind the Japanese competition. As all second-generation acrylics, the new paint is flexible enough to be thinned at various ratios. As for thinners, we have found that distilled water works well, at least as well as Acryl's own thinner (#50499), which is of course more expensive.
The best feature of Acryl is the dead flat finish which is achievable without any extra effort. The thing is that aircraft and ship modelers don't necessarily desire an absolute dull finish but for dioramas and military vehicles Acryl is truly good. The hand-brushing test produced a very decent result, second only to Polly Scale.
EVALUATION:
POLLY
SCALE - This second-generation acrylic line is a huge leap forward
when compared to the old Polly-S paint. Its range includes over 150
colors, most matched to standards. A good number of these color is dedicated to
ships with matches for all US Navy colors (WWII and modern) and some foreign
navies (especially WWII.) However matches aren't always credible and often need
some tweaking before satisfying results are achieved.
Hand-brushing is where these colors truly excel. No other acrylic paint is capable of hiding brush marks as well as Polly Scale. You still need to have basic skills, but your work is greatly facilitated if you elect to use Polly Scale for your retouching work. Especially in 1/700 scale, a degree of hand-brushing is almost inevitable and that's where most models fall in competition. On the other hand, this thicker formula requires more care when airbrushed and generally higher thinning ratios. Although denaturated alcohol works pretty well, the best thinner you can use with these color is the old Polly S thinner. Polly Scale also works very well when you need an acrylic wash.
EVALUATION:
MODELFLEX
MARINE COLORS - Made by Badger, the airbrush company, this
line has recently appeared on the market. These are the equivalent of the
Aeromasters for ship modelers. After the demise of the Floquil Marine Colors (which
anyway were not acrylics), it's nice to know that there is a line specific for
ships. As of this writing, it is still hard to find though.
The color range is nice and will expand in the future. Of course if you are a ship modeler, the color range is pretty much as good as it can ever get. Matches are surprisingly good, although scale effect is not taken in consideration. Paint quality is very good, although we still think that Tamiya and Gunze have an edge over any competition. Like Gunze, this paint is very thin and easy to airbrush. Even though it is thin, somehow Model Flex handbrushes better than Gunze, although not as good as Acryl, let alone Polly Scale. Distilled water works very well as thinner, although we have found no side effects in using denaturated alcohol. Considering that the latter makes the paint flow a little better, we recommend it as the thinner of choice for this paint.
EVALUATION: