I put in my two pennies worth on this topic.
It was rather interesting as to why RPM Corporation dropped the Floquil Line of model railroad paints, then remarketed under the Testors Model Masters Line, in 1/2 ounce bottles of I think 16 railroad flat colors.
Had contacted Testors, a while back and one question as to why 1/2 bottles, when the Floquil was in 1 ounce, a few 2 ounce and a few aerosals.
As the old saying goes, raise the price and get less volume of product!
Anyhow, as another question as to why they do not offer a few additional base colors of railroad flats, in particular reefer orange as a example.
Like the paint and I don't think it is any different than the Floquil Polly Scale, just re-branded.
Thanks for that link, MikeFF. I'm coming back into the hobby after a 20+ yr hiatus, so between the loss of my namesake's steam loco line, Floquil's disappearance and the advent of DCC, I've got a lot of catching up to do.
Had the same question, poked around online and found this. Lots of good info, not sure how old. It took a long time to download and has a Testors URL.
https://www.testors.com/~/media/DigitalEncyclopedia/Documents/Testors/ebook/MRH-Acrylic-painting-guide-post-Floquil-Portrait.ashx
Mike
Jim, I use Badger Model Flex and have had great luck with it for air brushing..not so much with brush painting. I shoot it at around 28-30 PSI. I use a Badger, single action 200 detail brush. I get an extreamly fine mist for coverage. I have a number of bottles of PolyScale that I'm hoarding for brush painting. I combined a couple of small bottles of dirty white into an empty large pollyscale bottle, then added several drops of reefer yellow. Got a nice cream city brick color. Don't think one could do that with Model Flex. I alos prefer the Modelflex because it's non solvent.
Nice to see someone else interested in the C&O late steam early diesle transion period.
I'm not sure of the source, Nor can I remember where I read this, but the brief article said it had something to do with "royalties" that paint manufactureres have to pay to the railroads for the privlege of using the railroads colors and names. I guess they're all copyrighted. Please don't hold me to the accuracy as I cannot remember if it was an article I read, or if it was information heard at my local hobby store.
doctorwayne DigitalGriffin ATLANTIC CENTRAL The problem here is big brother protecting you from yourself......... Sheldon Huh? I'd guess Sheldon to be referring to the alarmist attitude of those in power towards products they deem harmful to the user or to the environment. In light of the quantities involved, this is too much of a "the sky is falling" attitude.
DigitalGriffin ATLANTIC CENTRAL The problem here is big brother protecting you from yourself......... Sheldon Huh?
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
The problem here is big brother protecting you from yourself.........
Sheldon
Huh?
I'd guess Sheldon to be referring to the alarmist attitude of those in power towards products they deem harmful to the user or to the environment. In light of the quantities involved, this is too much of a "the sky is falling" attitude.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
When Polly-Scale discontinued their FANTASY COLORS line, I bought the entire paint rack from Omniverse Hobbies.
.
That was about fifteen years ago, and some of the bottles are still perfectly usable.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190I do not agree with the alarmist oppinions.
Nor I.
OvermodLearn more about this critical issue here.
Again — Huh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax
ATLANTIC CENTRAL The problem here is big brother protecting you from yourself......... Sheldon
Danger! Will Robinson. Danger!
I adopted Scalecoat I and II as my paint-of-choice. Excellent results.
I have scores of Polly Scale bottles and I'm using many of them for less-critical jobs. Some are reaching twenty years of age. I "reconstitute" it and add adjuncts, such as Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver and remix it, strain it and use it for vehicles, structures and figures.
Thank You, Ed
I do not agree with the alarmist oppinions.
We can still buy liquid styrene cement, super glue, razor blades, scissors, etc, and so on.
I believe all the paints being discontinued were business decisions, nothing more.
There are ALL KINDS of exceptions in regulatory codes for small quantities intended for consumers. The classic example was always White-Out correction fluid. Consumers can even buy some items that industries might have a harder time with, like chlorinated cleaning fluids and MEK.
When you can no longer buy a 10" radial arm saw at Home Depot, then I will listen to you concerns on regulatory over-reach.
doctorwaynepossibly water to use as paint. That last one, is I think, doubtful, as apparently people have drowned in water, so it's use should be curtailed...
Learn more about this critical issue here.
I'd guess Sheldon to be referring to the alarmist attitude of those in power towards products they deem harmful to the user or to the environment. In light of the quantities involved, this is too much of a "the sky is falling" attitude.It also speaks to the obtuse thinking that the general populace is supposedly unable to grasp the concept of safe handling of useful, but possibly dangerous, materials, such as some solvents, lead, pointy things, etc.Therefore, you will soon be allowed to have only all-sponge paint brushes, X-Acto knives, pliers, scissors, etc., etc., and possibly water to use as paint. That last one is, I think, doubtful, as apparently people have drowned in water, so it's use should be curtailed.
Thinning of the herd will not be left to natural selection, but believe me, the selection has begun, and we are not in charge.
I am in full agreement with Sheldon's opinion.
Wayne
Slight correction:
Scalecoat was never "discontunued". It may be sematics, but Weaver, who owned Scalecoat closed up for retirement. Weaver sold Scalecoat to Minuteman Scale Models......the move and ownership transfer took time.
Unlike Testors, Weaver/Scalecoat was not part of some bigger hobby industry/paint industry company. It was a small family run manufacturer.
Much of model railroading remains small "cottage" industries, even with "overseas" production of many items......
DigitalGriffinWhat was the reason for polyscale getting out of the business any way?
This has been a crazy problem with paints for more than a decade now.
Citadel changed all their colors and paint formulas about ten years ago and left us all swinging in the breeze with half-painted armies.
Ral Partha dropped their VERY BEST EVER paints and left the market completely.
Army Painter products are getting harder and harder to find.
Floquil Paints are gone, and that left countless Model Railroaders with no practical recourse for keeping their color schemes consistant.
Polly Scale went away (both model railroad colors and fantasy figure painting colors) and left even more problems.
Delta Ceramcoat seems to have changed there formula, their line of used-to-be-top-quality paints have become runny and do not cover well.
Vallejo "Model Color" paints seem to have been reformulated to more closely match the properties of their "Game Color" line, but at least the colors seem to be consistent.
Reaper has dropped one of their lines of paint and are only producing "Pro-Paint" now, which has eliminated a lot of the colored metallics they had, most importantly the metallic red that everyone loved. This was the only close match for Ral-Partha's metallic red.
Scalecoat was discontinued briefly, but then brought back to life, but for how long?
And so on and so on...
Honestly, if I was producing a new paint scheme I would only consider Tamiya paints at this point. I think they have the best chance at staying power.
What was the reason for polyscale getting out of the business any way?I have like 40 bottles I refuse to part with but they are running out and slowly drying up.
Since I still have not been able to master using acrylic paint in an airbrush, I will just stick with Scalecoat......It works great, it is ready to decal, their clear flat and clear gloss can be mixed for any sheen.......
Getting ready to order some more this week.
snjroyI tried Vallejo myself but I was not super happy with their grimy black, and with the paint in general. It does not seem to stick on surfaces as well as the old Polly-scale paints did.
Both Citadel and Vallejo are intended for miniature figure painters and wargamers as the primary target consumer.
Both of these groups tend to use flat black as a primer base, and Citadel and Vallejo go on over flat black quite well.
Also, the pgment loads in these paints is very high, so they must be thinned before usage. Water is not a good thinner for these. You can find volumes of oppinions online for the best ways to thin these paints.
The choice of brush is also very important. I use Windsor & Newton Series 7 pure Russian Sable (Weasel Tail) brushes.
Yup, old thread but an ongoing challenge.
I tried Vallejo myself but I was not super happy with their grimy black, and with the paint in general. It does not seem to stick on surfaces as well as the old Polly-scale paints did. I'm sure a good undercoat would make a difference.
I tried Rapido's paint:
https://rapidotrains.com/proto-paint/
... And loved it. It is airbrush ready, which I know is a turn-off for many folks. I did try it with a brush and found that it still works OK for touch-ups.
Simon
SeeYou190 Vallejo and Citadel are readily available and are ten times better than Polly Scale ever was. They are also three times as expensive. . You can get any color you want, but the names are a bit wonky sounding. . -Kevin .
Vallejo and Citadel are readily available and are ten times better than Polly Scale ever was. They are also three times as expensive.
You can get any color you want, but the names are a bit wonky sounding.
I have no quaroms with Polyscale. But it's mostly all I ever used. It just worked.
modelmaker51 Scalecoat II is an enamel type paint, which means it is plastic compatable, it can be painted on plastics with out crazing as opposed to Scalcoat I which is laquer based and can craze plastics.
Scalecoat II is an enamel type paint, which means it is plastic compatable, it can be painted on plastics with out crazing as opposed to Scalcoat I which is laquer based and can craze plastics.
Both Scalecoat I and Scalecoat II use the same solvent ingredients, but in different proportions. None of them are lacquer thinner, and according to the MSDS, the main ingredients are naptha and xylene (the latter a component of lacquer thinner).Since the discontinuation of Pollyscale, I've switched to Scalecoat I, and have never had an issue using it on plastic, either airbrushed or brush-painted.
Of all the paints I've used over the last 60-plus years, I found Pollyscale to be the one I liked best: good coverage, fast-drying, durable on all materials, a wide range of available colours, easily thinned with water for airbrushing, and good coverage and self-levelling when brush painting. Also, very good shelf-life.
In my opinion, Testors would have been wiser to re-formulate their Model Master brand to the materials and standards used by RPM for Pollyscale. The only paint I buy from Testors nowadays is Dullcote and Glosscote.
A very good paint for airbrushing was SMP's Accupaint, but for brush-painting, it was less useful.
The makers of the current crop of "airbrush-ready" paint assume that everybody uses an airbrush to paint everything, but I think that masking HO or N scale figures would become tiresome rather quickly. They also assume that we'd gladly pay the already over-inflated prices for bottles which contain less paint and more thinner, the latter often water or other cheap solvents. No thanks.
Wow,
Old thread from the dead for sure.
Any way, here's a good cross reference substitution chart: https://www.microscale.com/Floquil%20Color%20Chart.pdf
Testors has replaced many of the colors like the blacks and aged concrete, but not any real railroad specific ones. I use model flex when I'm looking for a specific RR color.https://www.testors.com/product-catalog/testors-brands/model-master/acrylic-paint/bottles
No. Scalecoat is not acrylic, it solvent based paint. Right now I believe that the only water based acrylics that have a wide variety of RR colors is ModelFlex by Badger. I use them and they're great out of the bottle, but I've not had a lot of luck with brush painting them. However, I've tride brush painting them directly on plastic without a primer coat....maybe that will make a difference.
Scalecoat does make RR specific colors, but they are solvent based and not a direct substitute for water based acrylics. Personally, I don't use solvent based paints. I don't have to have a vented spray booth to vent the toxic fumes.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Excellent, thanks for clarifying. Sometimes when you think you might be helping someone find a product to replace one that is being phased-out, it might pay to not make snap statements that you know nothing about! For some reason I tend to do this on occasions, sorry for that.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
NP2626 I don't know what type of paint it is and I can find nothing on Weavers website explaining the type of paints either of the two Scalecoat products are. Maxman, if you positively know that it is not acrylic, can you tell all of us what type of paint Scalecoat II is, than?
Well, my can of Scalecoat II thinner says "contains Petroleum Distillate". Bottle of Scalecoat II that I have in front of me says "contains Xylene, Benzene, Butatone Oxime, and Petroleum Distillates". None of this sounds like acrylic to me.
maxman NP2626 Scalecoat by Weaver Models has a line of railroad specific Acrylic paints called Scalecoat II. Google Scalecoat and you'll get there. Scalecoat II is not acrylic.
NP2626 Scalecoat by Weaver Models has a line of railroad specific Acrylic paints called Scalecoat II. Google Scalecoat and you'll get there.
Scalecoat by Weaver Models has a line of railroad specific Acrylic paints called Scalecoat II. Google Scalecoat and you'll get there.