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While there are slight differences depending on the country you live in, there are generally three types of paint available for modeling: Acrylic, Enamel and Lacquer. Their characteristics are described below.
| PAINT TYPE | ADVANTAGES | DISADVANTAGES | RECOMMENDED USES | TYPICAL BRANDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACRYLIC | Cleans up with water. Minimal odor. Very safe. | Does not adhere well to plastic, particularly when brush applied. Cannot be used together with lacquers. Dries very slowly when brush applied, especially glossy colors. | Base colors if airbrushing. Young modelers or modelers concerned with safety and/or ease of clean-up. | Tamiya Color Acrylic, Gunze-Sangyo Aqueous Hobby Color |
| ENAMEL | Adheres well to plastic. Will not dissolve other paints. Thin applications can be removed after drying with thinner. | Some odor. Dries slowly, especially in humid climates. | Washes, dry-brushing, figure painting and other techniques where fast drying is not desired. | Tamiya Color Enamel, Testors, Humbrol |
| LACQUER | Adheres very well to plastic making it easy to brush paint. Dries very, very quickly (1-3 minutes when airbrushed). | Strong odor. Fumes dangerous if inhaled for long periods. Cannot be applied over other paint types. | Base color painting, detail painting. | Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color |
Because of their fumes, lacquer-based hobby paints are not available in some markets. If that is the case in your area, we recommend the use of acrylic paints for base colors if airbrushing, and enamels if you are hand painting (we strongly recommend Humbrol). Enamels are also an absolute must if you are using advanced finishing techniques such as washes or dry-brushing, or blending colors for subtle effects such as on figures.
Every modeler has their own opinions about paints, and many will certainly want to disagree with the chart above, which is based on the recommendations of Japanese hobby magazines, and the personal experience of most of the staff of HLJ. If you are just starting out in the hobby, we suggest that you try a few paints of each type so you can identify their strengths and weaknesses firsthand before you invest in a large collection of colors of one particular type.
