Paint source?

Discussion in 'General' started by Iantha_Branch, Dec 25, 2021.

  1. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    Hi all

    I received kind of a "smarter set" of an air brush for Christmas this morning. I got some basic Testors paint from Hobby Lobby to get me started, but once I figure out how to use this thing, I would like some more RR specific colors to use. Doing some reading online, it looks like Testors Model Master is the way to go these days. The problem is, I can't find where to buy it. I looked through most of the sites that Testors lists as dealers, but none of them seemed to offer the model master acrylic line. Anyone have a good source for acrylic model paint these days?
     
  2. mark

    mark Staff Member Staff Member

    Ethan,

    One local vendor is Midwest Model Railroad in Independence, Missouri.

    This is a large shop specializing in model railroad items. Most items are discounted off of suggested retail prices. They do a huge amount of mail order business also.

    Please see their web site. This link is searched by the term "acrylic" - https://midwestmodelrr.com/?product_cat=&s=acrylic&post_type=product

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks!

    Mark
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2021
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  3. gstout

    gstout Member Frisco.org Supporter

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  4. dwoomer

    dwoomer Member

    Ethan, I also highly recommend Midwest Model Railroad. If you go there, the inventory is fantastic. By mail order, I get my stuff here in Springfield on the 3rd day.
     
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  5. Model Master is/ has been discontinued since Rustoleum bought Testors a couple years back. They announced last year it was being eliminated. If you ever want it but what you find now. I really like it but there are plenty of others.
    Tru- color is great, Badger Model flex is good too. Vallejo is not my favorite to use but they have a huge variety and is good paint for sure and easy to find.
    If you need more info I’ll help any way I can. I paint a lot and not just trains.
     
  6. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Steve - What are your recommended sources for the paints you list? There is a hobby shop here in Naples, but he has a very limited selection. I think Walthers has some of what you mention.

    K
     
  7. Hey Ken, around here at least Hobby Lobby sells a decent Vallejo line. We also have a train hobby shop still that has some of the Badger and Tru-color. What they don’t offer or have in stock I buy online. Either eBay, Amazon etc…. Micro Mark has a large selection of Vallejo.
    No hobby shop I ever go to seems to be very well stocked on paint. We have a small private hobby shop not too far from my house. It is mainly war gamer and magic cards but he stocks paint for those guys. Brands I don’t know at all, more military type colors but sometimes I need those too.
     
  8. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    Dang, I wish they would have mentioned that on their site.

    At this point, I'm not committed to any one brand. I just need to find a good source that I can reliably find RR colors to pick up when I need them. So any brand at all, if anyone has a reliable online source for paint, let me know.
     
  9. rjthomas909

    rjthomas909 Member Frisco.org Supporter

  10. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

  11. dwoomer

    dwoomer Member

    You will love your airbrush, just practice on a few junkers first.
     
  12. Gabriel G.

    Gabriel G. Member

    Ethan,

    If you want to custom paint your own Frisco diesels, Zero Paints manufactures a Chevy engine red paint that is color-matched to Testors Model Master. You can purchase it online through one of their dealers.

    Gabriel G.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2021
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  13. Have you tried that Gabriel? What do you use for thinner/cleaner with it?
     
  14. Gabriel G.

    Gabriel G. Member

    Steve,

    Unfortunately, I have not. I sold off my airbrush and my model trains before I moved to Ohio and have yet to replace them. :(

    Gabriel G.
     
  15. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    I will post pictures (possibly in a new thread) once I have some test subjects painted up. I bought some of the badger "Frisco orange", so it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. I also bought some SP daylight red and BNSF orange incase I need to adjust it to be more red or more orange.
     
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  16. I have some of the Badger but have not used it. When I heard about the model master being discontinued I bought quite a bit of it, I always thought it is a pretty close to the prototype. Most of what I paint I fade anyway so it doesn’t matter a whole lot.
     

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