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Paints sets?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:27 am
by DoubleDigit12
Hey guys
Just now I only use Mr hobby and Tamiya paints for airbrushing but as I was looking online some paint sets caught my eye. I had a look at AK air series, Mig Ammo and Hataka paints. I would buy them because it is good value and easy to get all colours at once. Are these sets worth getting over Mr hobby/Tamiya and if so which of the before mentioned are the best?
Thanks,
James :cheers2:

Re: Paints sets?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:05 am
by digger303

Re: Paints sets?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:19 am
by Jens
If you like Tamiya paints I'd stay away from the likes of Ammo by Mig simply because it's such a different paint to use.
Whereas Tamiya is an IPA based acrylic, Ammo by Mig is a "pure" acrylic, which means that you have to spray it on in many many thin layers and it has to dry between each layer! Where I live it's humid and cold climate so sometimes even 24 hours isn't enough for a layer to dry (unless you use a hairdryer) and for me it totally killed my creativity since I like to do a lot in each session!
All my Ammo by Mig paint is now just chucked into a big box somewhere in a corner and will probably never see the light of day again.

I've recently gone down the MRP route instead with ultra fast drying lacquers and I'm super happy - and feeling creative again! It basically (almost) dries as fast as you can spray. Only downside is that it doesn't fill so if you've got a scratch or a tiny seamline - it's going to be there after you've painted over them. More thorough prep work i.e.

Tamiya paint can almost be poured on with a spoon and leave a near perfect result whereas "pure" acrylics are a lot more demanding. Lacquers are somewhere in between but as long as you stick to a first mist coat and then give it a full spray it's generally no worries.

The only time I'm using "pure" acrylics are for figure painting with a hairy stick and here I prefer Vallejo model colour. They still take time to dry but I can live with it. Dries a lot faster than Ammo by Mig for sure!

TL;DR - if you like working with Tamiya and similar IPA based paints don't stray off the path unless you live in a warm climate. (perhaps there's a reason why so many Spanish modellers are using "pure" acrylics? I don't know but I do know it's a lot warmer in Spain than in the cold and murky south of Sweden!)

p.s. Others swear by these "pure" acrylics and don't mind the drying time. This is just my honest review.

Re: Paints sets?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:14 pm
by DoubleDigit12
I think I will give them a miss,
At the time It slipped my mind to even think they would be different than tamiyas "alcohol type" paints :ooops:
The only real reason I was going to buy them was to get accurate matches for colours and for ease of access.
I live in Scotland so it is a similiar to sweden in that it is cold and humid, given a lot warmer tho :lol:
All that added up brings me to the conclusion of sticking to my guns with the tamiya and Mr hobby.

Thanks guys :th:

Re: Paints sets?

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:24 pm
by AlexBB
If you have never used Vallejo Model Air then it may be worth you buying just 1 bottle of a colour you use regular and trying it out. Make sure you have some Flow Improver though and add a few drops. You need to adjust how much you add depending on temp, humidity etc... as all vary..

When I first used it I was surprised how good it is.

I have moved over to Model Air almost exclusively now as I can airbrush with no smell and the other half is happy :th: :th: