Well I have been watching you tube and reading threads here on doing details and weathering and I am ready to try some. I did a search for paint sets and stuff like washes and was just over welled with the amount of stuff out there. So looking for info to put together kind of a starter set that I can expand as my skills improve. I have small HLVP touch up guns an Iwata air brush and lots of pinstriping and other brushes from doing sign work so not limited on methods. Brands, colors or sets and suppliers in the US will all help. This may also help others just getting started.
Thanks
Jimmy

This is my "basic set of paints", and I still could use more. You never have enough.


rex

The question is too broad.

Some more detail would help you get what your looking for.

Are you primarily interested in WWII armor? Allied? German?

In terms of paints, acrylic or enamel?

I've been using acrylic exclusively for about 15 years now and consider it better than enamel in almost all aspects, but mainly cleanup from airbrushing. I've been using Iwatas for 30 years now and if I was starting, I'd first ask where and how are you painting. If you're spraying without a booth, enamels are not a good choice and even ether based acrylics like Tamiya aren't the best idea.

Vallejo offers an amazing paint with great colors for armor and there are similar companies from Spain that nice color lines too. Vallejo should be readily available in most hobby shops and certainly online everywhere. Vallejo offers Panzer Aces sets, which include highlight and shadowing shades, but those are generally geared towards uniforms. They also have tinted primers for all the major armies' armor. You can get nuts with matching RLM and Federal colors.

Again, no there is no basic set, even which theatre in Europe and time of the war will have a different color scheme.

Like Ausf, I started out using enamel based paint, Humbrol and Testors. I then moved to Polly S acrylics and Tamiya acrylics. Polly S had more RLM colors. I do German armor mostly. I then discovered the polyurethane acrylic primers from Vallejo and their RLM colors. I also use some AK acrylics, but have moved primarily to Vallejo acrylics. Vallejo also have some nice acrylic metal colors that are buffable. In use an Iwata CH Dual action airbrush. Easy to use and clean and will last. I think you will create your own basic paint set based on what you like to build. Maybe Axis vs Allied? For me it has been an evolving set of paints.

Ebay have lots of small too large sets of the Tamiya paints in flat and semi gloss. You can look around there. Now I buy most of my Tamiya acrylics that way. You can pick which ever colors you like and as many of each as you need.

Thanks for the input. So I will start simple and work my way up. Did some more looking and Vallego make some sets that will get me started and I can see adding as I go. Been painting big stuff for more than 40 years so we will have to see how the small stuff goes.
Jimmy

I'm not sure it's worth even keeping a "basic set of paints".

I still have lots of paints from years and years ago, but most of the time when I break out an old bottle of paint it's gummed up. *Maybe* suitable for brush use but it will never shoot through an airbrush again.

I'm coming around to the idea that it may be a better idea to just buy paints as needed.

Steve

Buy a quality paint in a good sealed jar and you don't have to worry.
I've finally gotten back around to looking at my paints after almost 17 years of neglect.
Old Ral Partha = Rubber balls.
Tamiya (30ml) acrylics that were partials were STILL GOOD! That stupid cap of theirs works great for keeping air out, just don't let it get caked with paint... (Otherwise bring out the boiling water to un-sieze the cap).
Now also have the Vallejo which everyone says is decent. I'll know soon!

Since the tanks I have came painted I'm going to start with some weathering sets. Just so they don't look so clean. The other stuff will get added as a project needs some color and will get what it needs and ad it to the collection.
Jimmy