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I don't think I appreciated just how weird those cube bottles are until I looked at EBMA's website and saw their paint rack for them. There's something wrong about them.
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Apr 11, 2023 22:59
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tidal wave emulator posted:This is the present state of my model bench, although I did tidy it up a bit as my gf needed to use the cutting mats for actual cutting rather than storing half-finished kits scattered about on them. Excellent loaf form. Bravo.
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Apr 11, 2023 23:06
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I do love paint bottles that actually include a color swatch somewhere on them. Not enough manufacturers do that. Bonus points for artists paints that have a swipe of the actual paint on the bottle, so you can see actual color as well as opacity.
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Apr 11, 2023 23:10
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Warmachine posted:I don't think I appreciated just how weird those cube bottles are until I looked at EBMA's website and saw their paint rack for them. The wrongest thing about those paints is the fact that after you've opened them there's a pair of little nubs inside which are ostensibly supposed to help lock it closed (I think?) but actually just bend and prevent it from sealing closed properly again. Unless you want the entire pot of paint to dry up you need to snip them off with nippers. Bloody Hedgehog posted:I do love paint bottles that actually include a color swatch somewhere on them. Not enough manufacturers do that. One thing I like about Colourcoats enamels is that they airbrush the metal lids with the actual paint that's inside the tin. 
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Apr 11, 2023 23:28
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:I do love paint bottles that actually include a color swatch somewhere on them. Not enough manufacturers do that. I'm feeling an itch to sample the AK line of acrylics and that was the first thing I noticed about those weird caps.
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Apr 11, 2023 23:31
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Warmachine posted:I'm feeling an itch to sample the AK line of acrylics and that was the first thing I noticed about those weird caps. I have the AK 3rd Gen acryls, and they're quite nice. The do have a large well in the top of the cap so you can put a big drop of paint in it as a reference. I don't love that solution though, because if they designed it that way, then put the drop of paint in there at the factory. Plus the tip well just ends up gummed up with dust or whatever, and that distorts the color as a reference. Mold the entire cap in the color of the paint, I say. It'd cost them more, but they're already making bank off modelers to begin with. Go the extra mile.
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Apr 12, 2023 00:18
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Yeah, we don’t really live in a “go the extra mile” society any more.
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Apr 12, 2023 00:53
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tidal wave emulator posted:One thing I like about Colourcoats enamels is that they airbrush the metal lids with the actual paint that's inside the tin. That makes more sense. When I saw the original picture, I thought you were storing all your paint bottles upside-down and wondered why on earth anybody would do that.
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Apr 12, 2023 01:04
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tidal wave emulator posted:One thing I like about Colourcoats enamels is that they airbrush the metal lids with the actual paint that's inside the tin. Those little cans are the same as Humbrol paints. Wonder if the two companies are related in some way.
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Apr 12, 2023 01:49
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Speaking of enamels I never asked: what’s the difference between acrylic and enamels for model paints? Is one better than the other? Or does the type of model dictate when to use one or the other?
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Apr 12, 2023 02:01
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Dr. VooDoo posted:Speaking of enamels I never asked: what’s the difference between acrylic and enamels for model paints? Is one better than the other? Or does the type of model dictate when to use one or the other? As I understand, enamels have the highest gloss, so are best suited for cars and motorcycles. They do have some niche uses in military modeling with the most common being enamel washes. If you use a lacquer basecoat or clear coat, you can slather the whole model in enamel or oil washes and wipe off the excess with turpentine/turpenoid/white spirits/mineral spirits without any damage to the base coat. I'm pretty sure the Tamiya panel line accent washes are enamel based. One other very niche use for them is detailing things like instrument clusters of aircraft. You would first paint the cluster white with lacquer, then paint a black top coat with enamel. Once it has dried, you go in with a toothpick dipped in one of the solvents mentioned above and slowly remove the black enamel from the high spots of the indicators to reveal the white lacquer underneath. Other than that, I can't think of any reason to use enamels on military models, but other people may have some good ideas. I've never tried an enamel wash over an acrylic basecoat, so I don't know how that would go. There is no "right" way to do things in modeling - especially when it comes to painting. For me, I use lacquers for almost everything because they are impervious to enamel solvents and cleaning the airbrush is a breeze. The only time I use acrylics is for brush painting small details and the only time I use enamels is for weathering washes and if I need a little knob or something to be a high gloss black. Skunkduster fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Apr 12, 2023 |
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Apr 12, 2023 02:10
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Dr. VooDoo posted:Speaking of enamels I never asked: what’s the difference between acrylic and enamels for model paints? Is one better than the other? Or does the type of model dictate when to use one or the other? I would imagine the biggest and most important distinction is that acrylic paint can be thinned with water and cleaned with water and enamel paints require mineral spirits or other cleaning solvents. Acrylics also tend to have a matte finish and enamel can be gloss. Acrylic paint has more flex to it so it can be less likely to crack than enamel, but that might not be a concern for static models. Acrylics are easier to work with and are the majority of paint type used in small scale models and figures, wargaming and other tabletop games. Enamels would be good for a model car or boat.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:12
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They all have pros and cons. The main types of model paints are acrylics, enamels, and lacquers. Acrylics are nominally water-based paints, although stuff like Tamiya Acrylics are solvent-based acrylics. Enamels are typically an oil-based paint. Lacquers are a solvent-based paint, typically acetone. Enamels are the oldest of the 3, and used to be all you could get back in the day. Lacquers followed, and now acrylics are the most modern hobby paint. Enamels are slow-drying, thicker than a lacquer, and can be reactivated for the longest time after being applied. This is while they are very commonly used as the base of effects paints, such as dust and grime coats. You can put them down, and blend them indefinitely. They'll take the longest to cure. Lacquers dry quickly, go on thinly, and form a tough outer coat. Sound like the perfect paint, but of course some people don't like dealing with the fumes from dealing with them. That's where acrylics come in. They're the best for brush-painting, dry relatively quicky, and can go down fairly thinly if treated properly. Slightly harder to spray perfectly than a Lacquer, but no fumes. Any of the three will work as a primary model paint, it's mostly a matter of preference, and what you want your workflow to look like. I would personally say acrylics win out overall, because of their ease of use, decent quality both on the brush and in an airbrush, and no/little fumes. Lacquers would be a close second, and are great for spraying down perfectly smooth basecoats, but make sure you have proper ventilation to capture and expel the fumes. Enamels can be tricky, but I have loads of AK and Ammo's effects paints, which are all enamels, so they have their uses. Oils are a fourth type, but for hobby use they are mostly used for painting figures, or doing the same sorts of effects work like panel-lining, dust, grime coats that enamels get used for. They really are their own unique beast though, so if you want them for figure painting, best to watch some video tutorials so you'd know how they are used and blended correctly.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:18
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Enamels are the oldest of the 3, and used to be all you could get back in the day. Remember those Testor's enamel paint sets from the 80s that were like 7 tiny bottles of mostly primary colors and came with one or two of those lovely white handled brushes and a tiny bottle of thinner? I was around 11 years old at the time and used that bottle of thinner to clean my brush and it didn't take long for that bottle of thinner to become a filthy mess and my brush bristles to get all crusty. I remember getting a pint of Model Master paint thinner and thought is was great because I could actually clean my brushes again. Looking back, I was so ignorant and had no idea that you could get a gallon of mineral spirits from the hardware store for probably half of what I paid for that pint of Model Master thinner. Also, I never actually used thinner for thinning my paints. The models I built in that time period are long gone. At the time, I thought they were awesome, but I bet I would get queasy if I saw them again today.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:31
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The "use hardware store thinner for cleaning and save the expensive stuff for actual work" is a big deal. I keep a can of acetone sitting around for cleanup, and save the expensive Mr. Hobby Leveling for actually thinning my solvent-based paints. The cheap cans of acetone I don't really need to think about conserving, and it means my 400mL bottle of Mr Hobby lasts forever. Honestly I could probably be more judicious about how I use acetone and get way more mileage out of a can if I took advantage of how the paint separates from the thinner.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:41
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Unkempt posted:Lol That was my workspace for a good couple of years.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:52
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Ensign Expendable posted:That was my workspace for a good couple of years. Me too. Working off a lovely old computer desk, in my childhood bedroom. Everyone starts off small. After that I upgraded to a bigger room, that had a tiny nook that I could use. Then gave up modeling for years. Then at my current place, started with one desk, then two, now three, with all sort of home-built addon shelves and risers, and separate section for benchtop heavy tools. Kind of at my limit space-wise now, but always scheming to figure out how to increase the space or maximize what I have now.
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Apr 12, 2023 02:57
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Warmachine posted:The "use hardware store thinner for cleaning and save the expensive stuff for actual work" is a big deal. I keep a can of acetone sitting around for cleanup, and save the expensive Mr. Hobby Leveling for actually thinning my solvent-based paints. The cheap cans of acetone I don't really need to think about conserving, and it means my 400mL bottle of Mr Hobby lasts forever. I'm of the exact same mindset. I have used hardware store "hot" lacquer thinner for thinning paints when I want it to dry very fast and laying down thin coats that don't need leveling. The first thing that comes to mind is with masked areas where I don't want any paint to seep under the mask. I use a lot of acetone for cleaning resin 3D prints, but have never tried it for thinning or cleaning paints.
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Apr 12, 2023 03:20
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Skunkduster posted:I'm of the exact same mindset. I have used hardware store "hot" lacquer thinner for thinning paints when I want it to dry very fast and laying down thin coats that don't need leveling. The first thing that comes to mind is with masked areas where I don't want any paint to seep under the mask. I use a lot of acetone for cleaning resin 3D prints, but have never tried it for thinning or cleaning paints. I definitely don't do it for thinning, only cleaning. But I've also not noticed extensive masking bleed that wasn't just my own lovely masking skills (this also speaks to some inexperience I think). And I'm not opposed to a bit of hand-brushed touch up. I'm getting better at judging my thinning of lacquer for that and applying it in a way that blends well enough with the airbrushed paint, but one of the reasons I'm looking at those AK acrylics is simplifying this a bit.
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Apr 12, 2023 03:51
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Lavinia Spenlow posted:
Wow, you're really bad at Connect-4, OP.
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Apr 12, 2023 11:57
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The Locator posted:Those little cans are the same as Humbrol paints. Wonder if the two companies are related in some way. They're similar but not identical - a lot of enamel paints tend to come in metal tinlets (Revell do them too). Colourcoats is made by a small husband-and-wife company, Sovereign Hobbies, they mix up the paints and fill the tins in their garage. The paint line used to belong to White Ensign until the owner retired and the various parts of the business were sold off to other ship model enthusiasts about ten years ago.
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Apr 12, 2023 13:48
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One of the bottles of Createx paint I ordered showed up busted so I’m getting it replaced for free but I decided to use the busted bottle for an excitement as I also got the Createx 4012 reducer and their 4030 balancing clear, which is recommended to spray on hard surfaces, included for free.  The left cup is just 10 drops of paint, the middle is 10:1 paint to the balancing clear agent, and the right cup it 10:1:1 paint to balancing clear to reducer This is after letting the cups sit for a few minutes. I’ve never mixed up paint for airbrushing so what kind of consistency looks best?
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Apr 12, 2023 17:04
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Sorry if I sound somewhat obtuse, but paint consistency is something that depends considerably upon a number of variables. Run each one of them through your airbrush at your desired PSI and see how they behave on a test piece or scrap. If I want to spray at a really low PSI for a tighter pattern, I'll use a thinner consistency. Conversely, some paints don't spray well when running at lower PSIs no matter how well you thin them. I've never used Createx, so I'm not the best reference here, but the best way to tackle this question is to test them yourself. 
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Apr 12, 2023 17:57
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I've also never used Creatix, but they all look kind of thick to me. I mix mine in portion cups similar to yours then use my stir stick to smear some paint on the side of the cup to see how opaque it is. I aim to get it as thin as I can but still leave an opaque film when I smear it. This should leave an opaque finish on your model when you spray it. As Gewehr mentioned, there are a lot of variables. If you are painting a WW2 aircraft and painting the smoke stains from the exhaust, you may want to go a lot thinner and build it up in many semi-transparent layers to get the desired effect. Also, I don't put any faith in ratios. Different colors from the same brand will have different thicknesses and opacities (particularly yellows and fluorescent colors). The age of the paint will also change the thickness (older generally means thicker as the solvents evaporate away). I just put some paint in a portion cup and add squirts of Mr. Color Leveling Thinner (or your thinner of choice) until it looks good when I smear it on the side of the cup. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it and you'll quickly learn that it is not necessary to get a "perfect" consistency to be able to spray it through an airbrush. Close enough is generally good enough.
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Apr 12, 2023 18:25
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Skunkduster posted:I've also never used Creatix, but they all look kind of thick to me. I mix mine in portion cups similar to yours then use my stir stick to smear some paint on the side of the cup to see how opaque it is. I aim to get it as thin as I can but still leave an opaque film when I smear it. This should leave an opaque finish on your model when you spray it. As Gewehr mentioned, there are a lot of variables. If you are painting a WW2 aircraft and painting the smoke stains from the exhaust, you may want to go a lot thinner and build it up in many semi-transparent layers to get the desired effect. Also, I don't put any faith in ratios. Different colors from the same brand will have different thicknesses and opacities (particularly yellows and fluorescent colors). The age of the paint will also change the thickness (older generally means thicker as the solvents evaporate away). I just put some paint in a portion cup and add squirts of Mr. Color Leveling Thinner (or your thinner of choice) until it looks good when I smear it on the side of the cup. Really valid points, especially regarding the idea of ratios and how they will vary from color to color. My general starting ratio for any paint that requires thinning for airbrush use (so, not things like MRP or Alclad) is 1.5:1, thinner to paint. So, 1.5ml of thinner to 1ml of paint, etc. This can vary wildly between colors and manufacturers, so it's all a matter of experimenting and playing till you get the hang of it. Call me lazy, but I mix my paints right in the cup of the airbrush - just add the thinner first.
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Apr 12, 2023 18:36
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Ok, thanks all!
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Apr 12, 2023 20:15
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Something slightly different. Found a youtube channel a while back of a dude who builds dinosaurs and such. He uploaded a new video making a super-sized caterpillar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypnY3rWs78Q
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Apr 12, 2023 23:31
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I love it. I love monsters, dinosaurs, slashers, kaijus, and giant bugs. Seems like that makes me limited in the model sphere but I don't care feed me more giant bugs, youtube man
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Apr 13, 2023 01:23
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Dr. VooDoo posted:I love it. I love monsters, dinosaurs, slashers, kaijus, and giant bugs. Seems like that makes me limited in the model sphere but I don't care feed me more giant bugs, youtube man If you want a cheap entry into dino modeling, X-Plus is putting out a Jurassic Park diorama kit this summer. https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/236248?o=4 
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Apr 13, 2023 02:21
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If you want to go even cheaper Ral Partha Europe does 28mm scale JP-style Velociraptors.
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Apr 13, 2023 02:32
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Bandai is releasing dinosaur models that also have removeable flesh so you can peep their bones if that's your thing https://www.gundamplanet.com/nature-and-explorer.html
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Apr 13, 2023 03:15
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If there's any Scotgoons itt and you're free at the end of the month, why not come along to the Scottish National Scale Model Show? There's going to be 20+ traders and 50+ exhibitors, including Airfix and Kinetic (who will also be trading). I've been volunteered/roped into the organising committee for the show this year so I feel beholden to try and get the word out a bit! I'm going to be putting some of my ship models into the competition this year I reckon, I got a third place last year so let's see how I get on with my HMS Glamorgan and SMS Konig this time. 
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Apr 13, 2023 10:33
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quote:Awesome dino models  If I didn’t know any better I would say you guys are enablers 
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Apr 13, 2023 12:45
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Dr. VooDoo posted:
ONE OF US
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Apr 13, 2023 12:46
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Welcome to the fold.
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Apr 13, 2023 12:57
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Cthulu Carl posted:ONE OF US
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Apr 13, 2023 13:43
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This reminds me I need to get (and probably dust off) the Jurassic Park T-Rex model I built with my dad when I was a kid from my mom's house. Assuming she didn't throw it out like the clay caveman head I made in art class 
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Apr 13, 2023 13:59
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https://twitter.com/creoshobby_info/status/1646425709068574720?t=qHyw_vI7ALGod4aqSaSDkg&s=19 Mark Softer and Mark Setter are getting an updated formula with a new bottle and new price. Unsurprisingly Japanese hobby Twitter is furious.
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Apr 14, 2023 04:58
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Finished my version of the classic Tamiya Panzer 2! I've been wanting to make a ratty looking Africa tank and I had so much fun trying all kinds of things on this build. Great learning experience for the bigger more complex kits I have waiting. I'm really hooked now.     
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Apr 14, 2023 06:36
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Trumpeter has been mostly good but their 15-inch gun turrets unfortunately have droopy barrels.
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