I'm looking for a basic starter paint set with about a dozen colors in the range of scenery tones for painting the scenery on my HO RR layout. I'm looking for acrylics suitable for airbrush application.
I've found two sets that seem to be about right colorwise:
Question: Does Testors offer similar paint sets in any of their following brands?
Are there any other manufacturers/brands that I should consider?
Your help will be appreciated.
Best Regards,
Dave Krause
Not sure what kind of scenery painting you have in mind, Dave, but for my layout, the scenery paint was from Walmart.
The scenery base is Durabond-90 patching plaster over aluminum window screen. I bought a gallon of Walmart's cheapest flat interior latex paint, had it tinted a suitable dirt colour (the colour chart had some suitably-flavourful name for it, but it looked like dirt to me ) and originally tried to simply paint the plaster using a 2" or 3" brush. It quickly became apparent that the plaster would suck-up paint like a sponge and that attempting to spread the paint with a brush was not pleasant work. I dumped some of the paint (about half-a-pint) into a plastic container, filled it with tap water (quart-and-a-half-or-so) and quickly and easily stained all of the plaster in an hour or so, with plenty of paint left-over.
This is what it looked like once it had dried:
While the area shown in the first photo still hasn't been finished, adding ballast, ground cover, trees, and structures pretty-well covered the "dirt" paint job, as seen here:
Even areas where there's little or no plaster, with track, ground cover, and structures all placed directly on plywood stained with the thinned paint, none of it shows through, or where it does, it's not noticeable, either as paint or as plywood:
For my water scenes, I applied the plaster directly atop plywood riverbeds, then painted it using the dirt colour (and another similar paint, grey/green in colour) full-strength. After it had dried, a couple of coats of high-gloss water-based urethane gave it a "wet" look.
Except for the "water", more layout directly atop plywood:
If you're painting backdrop scenes, craft paints may be more useful and economical, but for painting areas representing ground, whether comprised of plaster, plywood, or extruded foam, interior latex house paint is a viable option. If you're colouring rock formations, well-thinned paint, applied as washes, yields good results.My "sky" backdrop, painted directly on the walls of the room, is also latex paint, applied with a roller.
Wayne
bustedthumb Are there any other manufacturers/brands that I should consider?
I use acrylic craft paint for rocks, and flat latex house paint for everything else. I can't imagine using an airbrush for everything, but maybe that's due to the size of my layout. I use a 1/2" brush for rocks, and a 2" brush for other areas. I choose paint based on color, and don't pay attention to the brand.
This scene received color from the acrylic and latex paints I normally use.
Rob Spangler
I use craft acrylic paints for scenery. Latex house paint can also be used. Both do a good job for scenery and are cheap compared to model paints.
You will get the best results spraying craft acrylics by:
1- Using the largest tip / needle combination available for your Air Brush;
2- Dilute the craft paint using Wagoner Paint Easy by 50/50. You can thin it more if you need to. (I get mine from Lowes.);
3- Use 30 to 35 psi.
I just painted some plaster rock castings on our club layout today with my VL and craft paints, all as described in the three points above. It worked great.
The Wagoner Paint Easy will thin the paint without diluting the pigment and binder. Using water, alcohol, or window cleaner thins the pigment and binder properties too much for good coverage.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
What I want to do is landscape painting not backdrop painting. I like your suggestion to use "dirt" colored latex from WalMart. My base is newspaper wet with spackling compound and put down in layers...normally about 3-layers will make a hard enough shell for my landscaping.
Your layout looks fantastic.
Thanks for responding.
Dave K.
Thanks for the suggestion to use flat latex house paint of suitable color for the bulk of the scenery. Stemming from hyur suggestion, I'll use the acrylics for just certain key features (rock cliffs and selected landscape features).
I like your scene. I can visualize a similar stream on my small layout.
Thanks for the tip to use craft acrylics (or latex house paint) vs. model paints. My layout is quite small so I expect the volume of paint required to will be minimal. Thanks for the tips on using the Air Brush. An air brush is something I expect to acquire shortly. Thanks for mentioning the VL air brush as that is one I'm considering. Also, I'll keep my eyes open for the Wagoner Paint Easy for thinning.
Thanks for respionding.
Best regards,