Artists acrylic paint for modelling

[JeffreyCooper1963]

My first post other than my "Hello" so be gentle please !!

Painting my 1:72 spitfire pilot, I discovered that my limited paint pallette didn't include any yellow for his/her lifejacket - and coincidentally, my wife was looking at "The Works" website. They do 200ml of acrylic paint in a tube for £3 - in various colours, and with the limited googling I've done, I can't see why that paint wouldn't be suitable for model plastic - especially if varnished on the exterior. Am I missing something ? have I discovered a money saving ruse or is there a fatal flaw in my plan !?

[Mark1]

My be a bit thick if its in a tube but being acrylic you might be able to thin it with water.

[Jim R]

Hi Jeffrey
Cheap acrylic paint, like that which you mentioned, has its uses but also it has limitations for modelling. It's useful for painting ground work etc and can be used when you only need a small amount like for a life jacket or maybe a bright red dot on a aircraft instrument panel. Remember though cheap paint will have coarse pigment and cheaper carrier so it won't airbrush nicely. Like so much in the hobby it's a case of have a go - it might work for you.

[Dave Ward]

Should be OK for brush painting, for detail work, but I'd not be inclined to use it for large areas until I'd done a bit of experimenting. I don't think I'd attempt airbrush work - the potential for gumming up the a/b is too high!
Dave

[JeffreyCooper1963]

Thanks for the input gentlemen - I'll buy some, and let you all know !!

[wasdale32]

Biggest issue I've found with cheap acrylic paint is the consistency (between individual tubes/pots rather than how thick it is). Also they tend to be very glossy when dry. They are good for mixing into plaster to pre-colour for ground work.

[wotan]

Jeffrey

The acrylics you are looking at are not really "artist's" colours. Here in Canada a typical artist's acrylic tube, (75 ml) costs about 4-10 pounds depending on the colour. These paints work very well for brush painting and are, in my opinion better than the typical modelling paints like AK or Vallejo etc. They are not for airbrushing. For figure painters Jo Sonja paints are very popular but I imagine Windsor and Newton are very similar in the UK. The acrylics sold in plastic bottles do work as others have mentioned, but they are not very consistent and are much thinner in pigment than the true artist's colours.

This is painted in Jo Sonja acrylics and protected with a final spray of artist's matte varnish.



John

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Jeffrey. There are quite a few game figure painters that use that sort of craft paint, but they seem to be mostly in the US. The results Ive seen on line seem to be as good as “hobby” paints.
Do be aware though that the issues with cheap paint will always be coarse pigment and less pigment per unit volume because pigment and it’s preparation is the dear bit!

[Tim Marlow]

Jeffrey

The acrylics you are looking at are not really "artist's" colours. Here in Canada a typical artist's acrylic tube, (75 ml) costs about 4-10 pounds depending on the colour. These paints work very well for brush painting and are, in my opinion better than the typical modelling paints like AK or Vallejo etc. They are not for airbrushing. For figure painters Jo Sonja paints are very popular but I imagine Windsor and Newton are very similar in the UK. The acrylics sold in plastic bottles do work as others have mentioned, but they are not very consistent and are much thinner in pigment than the true artist's colours.

This is painted in Jo Sonja acrylics and protected with a final spray of artist's matte varnish.

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John

Very nice John. Something of Roald Dall’s BFG about the face I think!

[JeffreyCooper1963]

For £3, I'll try the yellow version - as I said, it's only for a lifejacket about 6mm in length (!) and then if it isn't very good, I can use it for sand maybe !!

[spanner570]

Jeffrey, get yer'self to Home Bargains. A 130mm tube for £1.00. Works for dioramas and models - At least for me.

I guess it depends on what your aims are....

Cheers.
Ron

[JR]

I use a lot of cheaper acrylics, from those box sets of numerous colours , through to larger tubes, mainly for use on bases.Tim has it right when he mentions the quality of the pigments.
Horses for courses .

[JeffreyCooper1963]

As a quick follow up - I can't get them to work as actual model colours - the paint just seems to move around, rather than colour things !! (I've also made a post about humbrol acrylics, which are sort of giving me the same problems?)

[Bugatti Fan]

Jeffrey. Did you prime the model first? I use Halfords Acrylic White Aerosol Primer. But before priming ensure that the model parts have been washed with some water and washing up liquid to get rid of any lubricant from the moulds and allowed to dry before priming. Once primed the paint should take ok.
You mentioned that the paint you used 'moves about', so are you using it directly out of the tube? It may need to be diluted slightly to enable it to flow.
It must be remembered that artists paints whether they be oils or acrylics are designed to be used on art board or canvas straight from the tube primarily, and will need thinning to be used on models. HTH.