Good paint substitutions?

[MilitaryModeler1991]

Hey fellow Addicts! I just wanted to pick some of your experienced brains and hopefully get a answer to this quesfion thats been racking my brain for the last week or so. So there are no hobby shops in the town I live in, only craft stores and a “Lens Mill” which is just another craft store. It is very hard for me to get the Tamiya X & XF paints I want to get to do my models with I basically have to drive 40 mins to one of the bigger cities either east or west of me. My question is, Is there a substitute acrylic paint that maybe someone here has tried and had decent results with? Comparable results to Tamiya, Testors, AMMO, Vallejo, AK etc. i don’t want to be ordering paints from amazon as they jack the price up alot (7.99/10ml compared to 3.75/10ml bought at hobby shop) so I was wondering if there is a cheaper paint anyone has tried? Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing from you all!

MilitaryModeler1991
Current Project- Tamiya De Havilland Mosquito B Mk.IV 1/48th scale

 

[wjbrandel]

I generally use craft paints from hobby lobby (americana and folk art) with some army painter paints. The only other paints I use are tamiya clear colors and vallejo chrome, steel and burnt iron. The last 3 were a birthday gift about 2 years ago and the tamiya I order through amazon. Nobody carries it where I'm at.

 

[MilitaryModeler1991]

I generally use craft paints from hobby lobby (americana and folk art) with some army painter paints. The only other paints I use are tamiya clear colors and vallejo chrome, steel and burnt iron. The last 3 were a birthday gift about 2 years ago and the tamiya I order through amazon. Nobody carries it where I'm at.

Yea amazon is looking like my only option to order in the paints I want. But they are more then double the price I normally paid for the 10ml

 

[urumomo]

Yea amazon is looking like my only option to order in the paints I want. But they are more then double the price I normally paid for the 10ml

Which paints are wanting ?

 

[the Baron]

I use craft store brands of water-based acrylics, too, along with modeling paints.
I tend to go by colors, looking for ready-mixed colors, rather than brands. Though my paintbox does have some brands more than others.

As for the craft-store brands, I have Americana, Apple Barrel, and Folk Art. They can be airbrushed as well as applied by hand. For hand-brushing, I use the craft store brands on my wet palette, along with modeling paints Andrea, Vallejo Model Color, Lifecolor. For airbrushing, I have thinned the craft store paints with water and also with isopropyl-in different passes, not both liquids together. The only downside I found to airbrushing craft paints was with airplanes. They left a bit of a coarser surface than modeling paints; I credited that to pigments that are not ground quite as fine as modeling paints. But otherwise, for me, they are just as good as the Tamiya, Model Master, and Testor paints I also have in the box. Or the couple of jars of Gunze brands that I also have.

I don't know where you're located, MilitaryModeler1991, but if you're in the US, you should be able to find the craft store brands at Michael's, HobbyLobby, and WalMart. If there is a dedicated hobby shop near you, chances are it will carry one or more of the brands. I'm in Bethlehem PA, and the hobby shops around here carry them. I also visit AAA Hobbies in Magnolia NJ (close to Cherry Hill), and they carry craft store paints, too.

Yeah, for the price per volume, craft store paints are worth adding to your paint box. Even if you get model paints-and there are a lot of brands vying for our money-the craft store paints are good just for weathering purposes.

Hope that helps!
Best regards,
Brad

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

Yea amazon is looking like my only option to order in the paints I want. But they are more then double the price I normally paid for the 10ml

Yes, you do have other options to buy your paints. No, you DO NOT need to order anything hobby related stuff from “Rip-off” Amazon.

I order all my model kits, hobby tools, paints exclusively thru www.scalehobbyist.com.

There are quite a few online hobby store that is waaaay better than ordering thru Amazon. Here are a few…

Sprue Brothers… www.spruebrothers.com

Squadron…. www.squadron.com

Hobbylinc…. www.hobbylinc.com

Michigan Toy Soldier Company…. www.michtoy.com

I never order anything hobby related from Amazon or anything from Amazon for that matter. I have my reasons why I hate Amazon - Amazon Prime or not….

Remember… you DO have other options besides Amazon. (Did I mention I hate Amazon?) Don’t ever feel like you have no other options to buy your hobby paints, kits, & tools.