What is the main advantage to acrylic over enamel?

What is the main advantage to acrylic over enamel?

For me it's the water vs spirits issue but I do use enamels from time to time. Here's something to read: http://www.model-space.com/gb/blog/2015/05/scale-model-basics-acrylic-vs-enamel-paint/

What Dras said about mini paints vs "hobby acrylics" is absolutely true. My product increased significantly when I started model specific paints. I've been steadily acquiring one or two bottles a month. Reapers minis has an online deal where you can build your pallet with the colors you want. Buying in bulk is probably cheaper if you can fork out the initial bulk cost … I cant right now.

What is the main advantage to acrylic over enamel?

For me it's the water vs spirits issue.

This.

Acrylic medium is Water Soluable. This means that, while the medium exists (ie, when its wet) - you can wash it off with water... If it spills, if it splatters, if it coats, if it goes somewhere that its not supposed to.

Enamel paints are spirit soluable, and oil based... Is there a right or wrong? Again, no... There are things that you can do with two Steps for Enamels that take ten or twenty steps with Acrylics to get the same effect... They're apples and oranges in application.

Well, to me, its more like... Apples and Watermelons.

One you can just grab and go... The other has a lot of stuff that goes along with it, needing extra tools and prep time to get anything out of it... (Ever just sat down and ate a Watermelon? As if it were an apple? Didn't think so...)

Additionally, in comparison between Water and Spirits, Water is relatively non-toxic, non-smelling, and non-staining...

And most hobby places are at least attempting to cater to the younger crowd, where "Non-Toxic" is a very powerful word.

Bleh @ the Non-toxic.....No comment. I'd hate to trigger someone.

Bleh @ the Non-toxic.....No comment. I'd hate to trigger someone.

I will fully admit:

I am a brush-licker.

I'm not a compulsive, all-on, bristle sucker like some people... But I have a tendency to, occasionally, flick the bristles through so I can repin a point to the end of the brush...

Non-Toxic is important for me ... Brushes accumulate paint not only in the visible bristles, but eventually, up into the ferrule - and having toxic lead-based or oil based paint, would reduce my already reduced lifespan.

Also, tastes terrible.

Furthermore: Surface Preparation.

We've already covered squadrons - in how the plastic needs to be washed and prepared before painting... But what about Ships? What if you feel like Repainting some of the Ships...

There are two schools of thought there... The quick and easy way is to know that the paint FFG uses is generally very thin, and you can prime over the top with little loss of detail and then get into the repaint work. Again, the surface needs to be washed - soap, water, get rid of oils and releases and finishes and you're good.

Or, you can be crazy like me. I'm not happy until I know a surface is clean. In particular, I had some serious issues with my AFMK-II models - they seemed to be no different than the others, but they seemed to have some textured surfacing which made it soak up a wash instead of letting it flow... So I needed to take them back as far as possible.

There are some products that you can use, in varying levels of toxicity and accessibility...

The normal model stripping standout of Fairy Power / Simple Green / Cleanser-Degreaser won't work here. Acrylic and Enamel paints can be raised and lifted, but the paint that FFG is using on the Armada models is essentially a Latex-Based Bake-on Paint... Running them through simple green will remove the final blackwash that most of the models have, and may begin to lift bits and parts of the paint that wasn't quite set and cured and baked... But latex is designed to resist that.

So what do we need?

The best thing we need to remove Latex based paints is Isopropyl Alcohol. Also known as Rubbing Alcohol... Even a 10 minute soak, before a scrub with an old toothbrush, will start taking the paint laters off... The best part is that it can then be rinsed and washed and air dried, as it all evaporates when its done.

The bad part?

Be careful. Glove up, because 95% Iso (available at a Chemist, if not a Hardware store) will dessicate you. It'll leech the water from your skin until you need a moisturiser so bad that it can crack and bleed... This applies to most non-hand chemicals, and should be something you consider anyway whenever you're dealing with anything that is not rated for Food or Skin.

It is also entirely possible to utilise some other chemicals - such as Brake Fluid - to soak and clean these models in, without disintegrating them... But I don't use it. Mostly because, Iso, when its evap'd, I can scrap the paint residue and flakes out of the container (or use a disposable container) and toss it in the trash... But here, "heavy" Chemicals such as Raw Paint or Brake Fluid needs to disposed of in a Hazardous Material settlement, and its hard for me to walk there - even though its a block away - doing so with a big pile of hazardous liquid in the snow is difficult.

So it keeps it easy, it keeps it clean.

NEVER USE ACETONE!

It will remove the paint … along with all the details as it melts the plastic haha.

I did that once to experiment … once.

I grew up on military models and testors. I learned how to retip my brushes on a slightly damp paper towel

I grew up on military models and testors. I learned how to retip my brushes on a slightly damp paper towel

I did too.

But then I got old. and Subsequently, lazy .

I grew up on military models and testors. I learned how to retip my brushes on a slightly damp paper towel

I did too.

But then I got old. and Subsequently, lazy .

Fair point. I mostly jest anyway. Two kids under two in the house now so it's non-toxic here, as well. Weird colored poop beats a trip to the ER any day.

That, and I do state that a lot of my hobby has been influenced by my time working for Games Workshop. You can say alot about the company (hell, I do too)... But in essence, they do one thing well... And that one thing is take the Hobby from the way it was - The loner in their Garage painting Toy Soldiers - to a mainstream hobby...

The Hobby isn't what it used to be. I started and built my first train layout with my old man when I was 6, and moved on from there... - But definitely, now, the Hobby isn't what it used to be... We;ve lost a little bit of our elite status, because now, its accessable to anyone...

And I don't think that's a change for the negative at all ...

I loved it when young kids came in, and I could sit them down and teach them how to paint a Space Marine... Watching parents stare in amazement while their child sat down quietly for 10, 20, sometimes 60 minutes...

Accessability, is a good thing...

Be happy that you grew up with Enamels and Testors... Like learning how to Drive a Stick-Shift before everything became Automatic, you've done your hard knocks - and I'd like to welcome you to the land of lazy ease .......

Come slack with me, Brother

Keep the old skills - your Kids'll need 'em... Oil washes and Weathering are still some of my favourite things to do... hell, I blew people away with salt weathering a few weeks ago, like it was this arcane ability.....

But for the meantime, enjoy the ease

Hah, you seem like you started much the way I did....now for the age old question... HO scale or O gauge? Man, my dad hated HO train guys lol

Please

My first layout was Z-Gauge, and I drifted straight into Micro-Armour at that point...

BattleTech and its 1/300 was my first actual miniature game.

Gotcha. O gauge led me straight into WH40K because the models were near to scale. An old set was my first conversion.