Acrylics....


Milwaukee Road 113

Milwaukee Road 113

Milwaukee Road addict...
Right, my first question here....

Having bought a HO Atlas RSD-4/5, which I intend to do up for my own freelance railroad (name still to be decided), was wondering....as I also build scale aircraft etc, I use Vallejo Air for that, does anyone do the same for modelrailroading offering ready thinned acrylics?

Main colour for equipment is grey, with a green stripe with yellow edges and black trucks and fuel tank...

Now....which grey to choose...hmmmm.. lol
 
Welcome to the forum. I use mostly cheap dollar store acrylics for doing my painting. I mix my own colors and thin with auto windshield washer antifreeze. I find this works much better than water does for thinning. For premixed specialty paint the selection is getting smaller all the time, but brands I know of that are still available are Badger, Testors Model Master, Tru color and Vallejo. Tru color has the largest selection of colors. The Vallejo paint you are using is a good choice, but you will have to mix the colors as I do. For myself, at a dollar a bottle, I will stick with the craft acrylics.
 
Cheers!
Well, I just go for the colours that I like then....my company, my rules! :p;)
Thin with that anti freeze, is a new one to me....:eek:
 
not antifreeze. washer fluid i believe is what he meant. railroad and model aircraft are pretty similar painting wise, plastic is pretty much the same, just thicker. technique is the same.
 
Aaah....ok! lol
Well, I'll just scan through Vallejo's selection again, see what suitable grey/green they have and take it from there...

Thanks! :D
 
This is the stuff I was talking about. Regular stuff for cleaning bugs of the windows doesn't work the same. It is a different formulation. This has a large alcohol content to stop it from freezing in our -40C weather here in Canada.
PM-35[1].jpg
 
Yeah it gets pretty cold here. Last winter was the coldest in 100 years with windchills in the -50s. I was out on the deck with my grandkids, playing with water pistols. When they shot them, the water turned to steam, instantly. It looked pretty neat and the grandkids loved it. We couldn't stay outside for more than a few minutes at a time, though.
 
So....let me get this straight. Alcohol laced washer fluid for the paint to stop it freezing. What was grandad using to keep from freezing?
 
A quick swig from the hip flask while the grandkids were busy squirting each other with icicles.
 
I too use Vallejo Model Air for airbrushing my models....although they don't make railroad specific colours I would say that the colours of your choosing wont be an issue. I also use Humbrol enamels, Modelmaster enamels and some WarGames acrylics....but I'm tending to use the enamels less and less, and the Model Air more and more....mainly due to cleaning issues. I love that the Model Air in particular can be thinned and cleaned from the airbrush , and off of the model, if required,with simple household ammonia based glass-cleaner. Makes clean-up so easy!!
 
The Badger paint is sold as "Badger Model Flex Acrylic Paint" and they have traditional railroad colors, if you decide you need them. It seems as if the suppliers on eBay are about the same on price and considerably less for shipping. If you talk to the seller before bidding, you can usually work out a deal where they combine shipping at close to actual cost. I'm bothered by the hobby suppliers who charge $7.00 minimum shipping even for things like decals that could go in a first-class envelope.
 
Eddystone said:
I'm bothered by the hobby suppliers who charge $7.00 minimum shipping even for things like decals that could go in a first-class envelope.
Click to expand...

Shipping is expensive and gets more so all the time. I would not want decals in a first class envelope, unless it is properly reinforced. There is a cost for boxes/envelopes, packing material, the employee who actually packs it up, and if you're a small business owner, then you may have to take it to a post office. I've been shipping stuff to customers for several years and I can promise you I've never made a dime on shipping. It's typically a loser, which is yet another reason why some outfits charge a flat minimum. I don't like it either but I understand it.
 
Milwaukee,

I use Tru Color and it is good, very good. I also use Model Master Acrylics.

Tru Color has a wide range of colors BUT also, if needed, mixes well to create your own colors. You will need to thin it with Acetone (at least that is what I use) though. The thing I like about Tru Color is how well it covers, generally with only one application over a primed surface, regardless of the color being used.

If you are concerned about cost then it becomes a "Value for Money" thing. Because of how well it seems to cover, and I am a novice when it comes to air brushing, you do not seem use as much paint. My assessment of coverage is pretty basic; however, I would say that you would use about 33% less Tru Color paint to paint a specific thing than you would using any other paint.

If you want a very good paint then I don't think you can go past Tru Color, especially if you are an experienced air brusher who could do a better job with it than I.

I should add that if you are having trouble finding Tru Color paint from a LHS or a particular color, you can buy direct from Tru Color. The person you want to talk with is Rick Galazzo, his email is:

tru.colorpaint1@yahoo.com

Rick seems to be a nice guy and will give you all the help you want.
 
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