Guide to types of paints for airbrush & brush work

One of the earliest frustration I first encountered in modelling are the types of paints to use, and next which brand?! If you have this problem, read on...

I have selected a few common variants from a few major brands for the purpose of this guide & hopefully new modelers will find this helpful to their modeling experience. Over 10,000 people have read this before and find that it actually helps! So here goes...


Tamiya Acrylic
A brand favoured by most beginners because of its accessible palette range & the convenience of its out-of-the-bottle usage without having to mix the paint with other colours while still being able to achieve a relatively 'accurate' colour. Comes in a mini 10ml as well as the standard 23ml bottle. Its pleasant smell (no I'm not addicted to it in case you are wondering!) is also a plus for some modelers.

Airbrushing: ***
Brush work: *

Gunze Sangyo "Mr Color"
This is a paint widely used by Japanese modelers it is also a personal favorite of mine. Most of its color requires further mixing with other color to achieve the desired shade. Mr Color is picky of who he mixes with & hence it only works well with the well-named Mr Color Thinner! If you can find bootleg home brewed version Mr Color Thinner it might work, though cheaper it sometimes can cause powdering on the surface of the model.
A 10ml bottle will get you a long way as this lacquer based paint requires a fair bit of thinner (3:7) ratio or more for it to work well in an airbrush. When the paint-thinner ratio is not ideal the spray job will turn out in a cobweb like mess on your model. Its strong smell can be a put off to some. But I highly recommend this paint. Good Stuff!

Airbrushing: *****
Brush work: *

Humbrol Enamel
A good enamel paint that works fine with most enamel thinner like mineral spirits. This paints need to be given a very good stir because of the nature of its pigments. (Do not stir with your hairy part of your brush, that's why your brush end is for!). Can be a little tricky with extended airbrush usage as they tend to clog up the nozzle. Works well with brushes. The downside are those little 14ml metal tubs they come in that have the habit of trapping excess paint on its rim & makes reopening the lid a real chore. Special mention must be given to its "Metal Cote" range of metallic paint. This paint can be polished & buffed after application to give a brillant shine & realistic metallic finish. A good all rounded paint.

Airbrushing: ***
Brush work: ***

Vallejo Acrylic
A wonderful odourless water soluble paint that is formulated for painting with a brush. It is also a very forgiving paint when it comes to leaving the dreaded brush marks on your models. Its huge palette selection makes it very convenient for those who want to save time on replicating the blend of the various shades of a single colour. So you can just buy 3 different shade of the same colour, and you will have the base, shadow, and highlight. Simple! Its 17ml squeeze bottle design with a dropper tip is a huge plus when it comes to exactness in paint ratio mixing and prolonging the lifespan of your bottle from drying up.

Airbrushing: **
Brush work: *****