All these new fangled products

[gcn]

There has been an explosion of weathering aids over the last few years with lots of manufacturers getting in on the act.

We have washes, pigments, streaking grimes and other effects coming out all over the place. Up till now I have avoided them but I'm curious to try a fuel stains concoction for my Eindecker but i'm of a mind that most of these effects can be replicated by a few choice tubs of oil paint and some good quality artists pastel chalks.

So am I mssing something and these products are a useful aid to modelling or are they the equivalent of buying pre-grated cheese from the supermarket.

[pepperman42]

.....I luuuuv pre grated cheese....it tastes so.....pre grated......I agree that most of what is offered is strictly convenience. Other than the material itself the colour accuracy and consistency are the main advantages....and that habanero grated cheeses is awesome............

Steve

[WarrenD]

gcn, I think it's a matter of convenience for those who are short on time. Many people have been weathering and doing great finishes for decades without these. A friend of mine who is on a limited budget has come back to scale modeling and remarked that he simply couldn't afford the expense of these things, and I told him that his time, effort, and experimentation with the materials you mentioned would result in the same thing.
I see it kind of like this: some people LOVE to scratch-build models or parts of them. Some hate it. For those that hate that aspect, there are a lot of aftermarket resin and p/e parts. Some people LOVE to paint and mess with finishes. For those, these weathering products are a waste of time. For those builders that don't like to mess with painting and weathering much, these items are just the ticket.
Same kind of thing with some of the "pre-finished" models we've seen come down the pike from the likes of Tamiya and Dragon in recent years. These are for people that would like a finished kit on the shelf, but have neither the space, time, nor inclination to build a kit.

Just my two Pfennings/kopeks/centimes/etc.,

Warren

[WarrenD]

Red Baron, I don't mean to hijack a thread, but how do you see acrylics as a genuine improvement over enamels? In my limited experience with them since coming back to scale modeling, I've found them to be anything but in my experience. Maybe it's my lack of talent, etc., but I seem to recall getting much better results out of enamels back in the 70's than I'm able to get our of acrylics now.

For me:

- They're much more difficult to brush. I remember enamels being much easier to brush paint with and get a decent finish. Not saying it can't be done, 'cause I've seen some folks get wonderful results, but overall they seem a pain to me. Tamiya paints are the worst offenders in this department. 

- They're difficult to mask over in terms of lifting, etc. Some require an undercoat in order to "bite" the surface, etc., and many are just plain fragile. Misterkit has been the worst at this in my experience. 

- Differing brands require differing solutions to thin for airbrushing, brush-painting, etc. Enamels can use mineral spirits or lacquer thinner. That's it, one or two containers and you're done. Either of those will thin the paint for airbrushing, brush painting, or cleaning your brush or airbrush. Acrylics, dependent upon brand, require retarders, alcohol, windshield washer fluid, Future, etc. (the list goes on and on) in order to get them to work, adhere, or clean them up. I have a whole array of fluids under the work bench in order to deal with these. Years ago, using enamels, I had one can of mineral spirits. 

I'm not being argumentative, but you have obviously found some advantage to these paints which, so far, I have only found to be a royal pain in the rear. Please, please help me appreciate these things! 

Warren

[pepperman42]

Im thinking you should stick to enamels Warren. Use what you have success with. I too cant paint large surfaces with acryls - so I dont. I airbrush them - and use laquer thinner to thin them. Citadel paints brush quite well but I think theyre more a latex than acylic - thin with water. So theres my three thinners - laq, turps,isoprop99%, water, FOUR thinners......nobody expects the...etc etc.....

Steve

[uncletony]

I'm with RB on on this one-- modern acrylics imo are a huge improvement over enamels. Especially Tamiya. They dry super fast and they lay down super thin. They are quite forgiving when sprayed, and are easier to clean up. Brushing them out does require a paradigm shift.. You simply cannot brush back over them. Dry brushing requires adding retarder.

[drdave]

The main advantage of acrylics for me is the quick dry. My modelling gets done in the odd hour between work/Kids/Garden etc and I couldnt wait for enamels. I dont find acrylics are all that bad at gripping. I do not use undercoat, just mist on a light coat first and future at the end adds resilience.

I brush paint small parts with acrylics thinned with cellulose thinners, which makes for smooth flow yet rapid drying.

[WarrenD]

Thanks Red Baron, you answered my questions. So for you it's mostly the quick drying time and water clean up. In your circumstances I can see how that is an advantage.

Warren

[ALBATROS1234]

i think its all whats best for the techniques that each individual modeller uses. above bo says acrylics are great esp tamiya. i find tamiya acrylics the worst available. they work o.k. out of an airbrush for me but try and brush em and youre in for trouble. i like pollyscale and model master acrylics. and humbrol enamels, which i get the best overall result from. so its all what you are used to and what works for you.that being said i havent tryed every brand of paint. i hear alot about citadel but i havent come across anywhere to buy them. i gather they are a british paint designed for fantasy figure painting. back to the original topic. all the new stuff are is pre-grated cheese. you can mix pigments and pastel powders to match needed colors but its quicker to grab a bottle of mig pigment. much more expensive its $9 for a small bottle. at the fine art supply store you can get pigment powders for 1/10 the price but they arent in colors like europe dust. its more like burnt umber,raw sienna etc. i find alot of the washes and streaking products to not be very good. i like to experiment with my own mixes. i just came up with a solution that metallic paints and rusts exhausts in one step. its great fun to experiment.