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Welcome back to the hobby, Tye, and welcome to the Herd!

As far as paints go, first, pay close attention to Momo's explanation of "acrylic". Many people think "acrylic" and "water-soluable" or "water-based" are synonymous, but as he describes, they're not.

Having said that, water-based acrylics can be easy to work with, because they can be thinned and cleaned up with water or isopropyl. They tend to dry quickly, too. I use some water-based acrylics, especially for painting by hand: Andrea, Vallejo Model Color, LifeColor, and "craft store" brands like Americana, Folk Art, and Apple Barrel ("craft store", because they're generally sold at arts & crafts stores like Michael's or HobbyLobby, or in department stores like WalMart). I use them with a wet palette, which consists of an air-tight container, a sponge, and a permeable paper as the actual palette. The wet palette ensures that my paints are thinned consistently, and it lets me use a batch of colors over several sessions. I have a commercially available wet palette, from RedGrass Games, but I started out with a homemade one, made from a takeout container, a kitchen sponge, and brown packaging paper.

I also use Tamiya acrylics, which are lacquer-based, as Momo noted, and I use Tamiya's proprietary thinner with them. Properly thinned, they can be applied by hand as easily as water-based acrylics. And they airbrush well; I've read that they are formulated to be airbrushed, in any case. Again, I use Tamiya's proprietary thinner for airbrushing, though you can use lacquer thinner, too. Lacquer thinner has the effect of making a flat finish absolutely dead-flat matte.

Besides those types of acrylics, I have enamels, lacquers, and oils, of various brands. My enamels are all thinned with mineral spirits for best use, as are my oils (Schminke-Mussini). The lacquers thinned with lacquer thinner. I use generic lacquer thinner from an automotive supply store. Same goes for mineral spirits-I just buy cans of it at the hardware store.

As far as which type and brand of paint is best is concerned, there will be as many answers as there are modelers and painters. For someone starting back into the hobby, such as yourself, you might find an advantage in using products like AK, or other brands which offer colors in sets-"US Army ETO 1944", "Red Army 1945", or the fantasy wargame brands, because the products are organized to give consistent results, especially for beginners. Personally, though, I don't use them, because I've learned over the years how to make my own washes, weather powders, mix colors, etc, and I enjoy doing that myself.

Anyway, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing your work!

Best regards,
Brad

<blockquote data-quote="the Baron" data-source="post: 212244" data-attributes="member: 75">Welcome back to the hobby, Tye, and welcome to the Herd!As far as paints go, first, pay close attention to Momo&#039;s explanation of &quot;acrylic&quot;.&nbsp; Many people think &quot;acrylic&quot; and &quot;water-soluable&quot; or &quot;water-based&quot; are synonymous, but as he describes, they&#039;re not.Having said that, water-based acrylics can be easy to work with, because they can be thinned and cleaned up with water or isopropyl.&nbsp; They tend to dry quickly, too.&nbsp; I use some water-based acrylics, especially for painting by hand:&nbsp; Andrea, Vallejo Model Color, LifeColor, and &quot;craft store&quot; brands like Americana, Folk Art, and Apple Barrel (&quot;craft store&quot;, because they&#039;re generally sold at arts &amp; crafts stores like Michael&#039;s or HobbyLobby, or in department stores like WalMart).&nbsp; I use them with a wet palette, which consists of an air-tight container, a sponge, and a permeable paper as the actual palette.&nbsp; The wet palette ensures that my paints are thinned consistently, and it lets me use a batch of colors over several sessions.&nbsp; I have a commercially available wet palette, from RedGrass Games, but I started out with a homemade one, made from a takeout container, a kitchen sponge, and brown packaging paper.I also use Tamiya acrylics, which are lacquer-based, as Momo noted, and I use Tamiya&#039;s proprietary thinner with them.&nbsp; Properly thinned, they can be applied by hand as easily as water-based acrylics.&nbsp; And they airbrush well; I&#039;ve read that they are formulated to be airbrushed, in any case.&nbsp; Again, I use Tamiya&#039;s proprietary thinner for airbrushing, though you can use lacquer thinner, too.&nbsp; Lacquer thinner has the effect of making a flat finish absolutely dead-flat matte.Besides those types of acrylics, I have enamels, lacquers, and oils, of various brands.&nbsp; My enamels are all thinned with mineral spirits for best use, as are my oils (Schminke-Mussini).&nbsp; The lacquers thinned with lacquer thinner.&nbsp; I use generic lacquer thinner from an automotive supply store.&nbsp; Same goes for mineral spirits-I just buy cans of it at the hardware store.As far as which type and brand of paint is best is concerned, there will be as many answers as there are modelers and painters.&nbsp; For someone starting back into the hobby, such as yourself, you might find an advantage in using products like AK, or other brands which offer colors in sets-&quot;US Army ETO 1944&quot;, &quot;Red Army 1945&quot;, or the fantasy wargame brands, because the products are organized to give consistent results, especially for beginners.&nbsp; Personally, though, I don&#039;t use them, because I&#039;ve learned over the years how to make my own washes, weather powders, mix colors, etc, and I enjoy doing that myself.Anyway, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing your work!Best regards,Brad</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Baron, post: 212244, member: 75"] Welcome back to the hobby, Tye, and welcome to the Herd! As far as paints go, first, pay close attention to Momo's explanation of "acrylic". Many people think "acrylic" and "water-soluable" or "water-based" are synonymous, but as he describes, they're not. Having said that, water-based acrylics can be easy to work with, because they can be thinned and cleaned up with water or isopropyl. They tend to dry quickly, too. I use some water-based acrylics, especially for painting by hand: Andrea, Vallejo Model Color, LifeColor, and "craft store" brands like Americana, Folk Art, and Apple Barrel ("craft store", because they're generally sold at arts & crafts stores like Michael's or HobbyLobby, or in department stores like WalMart). I use them with a wet palette, which consists of an air-tight container, a sponge, and a permeable paper as the actual palette. The wet palette ensures that my paints are thinned consistently, and it lets me use a batch of colors over several sessions. I have a commercially available wet palette, from RedGrass Games, but I started out with a homemade one, made from a takeout container, a kitchen sponge, and brown packaging paper. I also use Tamiya acrylics, which are lacquer-based, as Momo noted, and I use Tamiya's proprietary thinner with them. Properly thinned, they can be applied by hand as easily as water-based acrylics. And they airbrush well; I've read that they are formulated to be airbrushed, in any case. Again, I use Tamiya's proprietary thinner for airbrushing, though you can use lacquer thinner, too. Lacquer thinner has the effect of making a flat finish absolutely dead-flat matte. Besides those types of acrylics, I have enamels, lacquers, and oils, of various brands. My enamels are all thinned with mineral spirits for best use, as are my oils (Schminke-Mussini). The lacquers thinned with lacquer thinner. I use generic lacquer thinner from an automotive supply store. Same goes for mineral spirits-I just buy cans of it at the hardware store. As far as which type and brand of paint is best is concerned, there will be as many answers as there are modelers and painters. For someone starting back into the hobby, such as yourself, you might find an advantage in using products like AK, or other brands which offer colors in sets-"US Army ETO 1944", "Red Army 1945", or the fantasy wargame brands, because the products are organized to give consistent results, especially for beginners. Personally, though, I don't use them, because I've learned over the years how to make my own washes, weather powders, mix colors, etc, and I enjoy doing that myself. Anyway, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing your work! Best regards, Brad [/QUOTE]

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