Replacing Model Master paint......need advice

[keyda81]

That is another thing, adhesion, and durability. I've never had any issues with the MM paints. To me they were the perfect all around paint. I could brush them on, use primer if I wanted, but usually didn't need it. I usually do prime all my parts regardless. Just one of those steps if you decide to skip it you might regret it. I'm leaning a bit towards the Revell enamels. They seem to be well liked, and pretty cheap. The tins is a bit of set back, but if I keep my MM bottles and clean them out maybe I can reuse them. Too bad I already tossed my Insignia Red one.

[TheMongoose]

Check out MCW’s enamel line. I’ve only used the gloss colors so far as I did an air show bird with them. Brush or airbrush your choice. If you airbrush they have a hardener to add that has it dry to touch in 4 hrs instead of 8. He’s been adding aircraft and armor colors slowly. That started once MM went away.

https://mcwfinishes.com/shop/ols/categories/enamels

[BlackSheep214]

MCW paints are good but very expensive ($7.50 a bottle). Why not look into Mission Models, Gunze/Mr. Color or even AK Interactive Real Color?

[Tojo72]

I miss the enamels too,but I airbrush Tamiya with lacquer thinner and AK-Real with lacquer thinner they act the same as Tamiya and have an extensive line with many armor and a/c options old and modern international and generic.

[Stikpusher]

MCW Enamels? Thanks for the heads up on those! Nice to see that there is another option for enamels available. I love that they have multiple shades of Olive Drab!

[TheMongoose]

The guy who runs it, Mike, is a connoisseur of olive drab paint! He seems to know all the different changes he made over the decades and talks about World War II Korea Vietnam and modern olive drab and their shades

[BlackSheep214]

I've learned over the years that different paint brands have formulas of their shades of certain Federal Standard colors.

Example....
An FS34079 Olive Drab could be correct in one shade from one paint company while another may be either a tad darker or lighter from another paint company. But are they wrong?

No. There's really no right or wrong Olive Drab FS34079 (or any color). It all comes down to a matter of opinion and what it looks "close enough" in one's eyes.

Then again, you have folks like Keyda (even myself) who are struggling to find replacement colors of discontinued Master paints because we all grown used to their color ranges.

I've adjusted by buying and using lacquers, acrylics and enamels of other brands like Tamiya, Mission Models, AK Interactive Real Colors, Humbrol, and others.

Don't get me wrong. MCW is a fantastic company especially for their auto color ranges by make and years.
Would I spend $8 plus s&h for their military colors investment wise? No. Would I buy any of their military line colors? I will if there's a color I'm specifically looking for to match/replace a hard to find discontinued color.

[keyda81]

I'm still struggling with this. I picked up a couple Revell enamel paints, and holy heck those tinlets are tiny, and very easy to fumble. I can see myself somersaulting one through the air very easily. I also picked up a few Mr. Color to try.

There is no way I'm paying 8 bucks for a bottle of paint, unless it's a metal one like AK, or Alclad. Model Master was what $4 a jar? I don't remember.

I decided to go through my paint inventory to see what I was running low on. Then went on scale hobbyist to browse through the paint lines they offer. I usually use Hobbylinc, but they don't offer all that many paint lines. So I was looking for specific ones, and neither one of the paint lines I was looking at offered all the colors I needed, or I couldn't figure out the comparable color. So I'm no further along than I was when I posted this. Having the FS number is a plus, but not needed. But avoiding the hassle of having to convert colors to figure out which yellow they offer is closest to insignia yellow for example would be nice. All I've done at this point is given myself a headache. Why do companies always discontinue stuff I like?!

[BlackSheep214]

Yeah, those Revell tins are tiny. So are the Humbrol tins. I’ve used Mr.Color (which is a Gunze line of paint) and do like them a lot.

That’s why I have a wide variety of paint brands in my stash.

[keyda81]

That might land up happening. At this point I'd say 90% of my paint is MM. 95% of it is enamel, with a few acrylics I use with a paint brush. I have under 10 Tamiya acrylics. I mostly only use their white. I was using MM metalizer paints as well, but have switched over to Alclad for the most part. Just frustrating to say the least, and I realize I'm being picky. I'll just have to spend some more time looking around and try to settle on a couple different brands I guess.