Hey TLD, Haven't spoke in a while, have you used Vallejo acrylics before? Wanting to try some but difficult to make color choices online as RGB never really tells the truth about actual color... I remember you said you liked Model Masters Acrylics... ?
I like the fact that the colors are already right, I found two military greens that looked great for the "original 13" shades of green uniform, like the original Grunt or Clutch. However, after drying, the finish seems to sometimes dry with a chauky white precipitate and also seems to "buff to a shine" which messes up the nice flat finish that most of us would want.
No, the area for the work is not too warm, only a couple of incandescent bulbs for light, and I do have a fan nearby but it is not pointed at or near the work.
I have been told (here and on another message board) to use the Tamiya thinner for acrylics and thin proportionately (1 drop paint to 1 drop thinner) for brush work. This thinner is described as a "drying retarder".
I might have contaminated the bottle of paint that I've been using by accidently allowing too much tap water to mix into the bottle. With water, I've often just dabbed a bit of paint and then touched the brush as needed to it, just enough to thin it, but that tap water probably should not ever get into the paint bottle itself, as this would disturb that delicate mixture.
Funny how you mentioned the white/flesh because I ended up using another brand (folkArt acrylic) for those colors. Some of the guys here will curse this brand, but it is cheap and opaque, and dries absolutely flat. The only problem is that it can be scraped/removed easily even after drying. Gonna try some Dullcote on top to see if that will help the permanency.
Man! I've got to get an avatar for my posts, they look boring without it!
It seems strange that it would dry that quickly,are you sitting in a warm environment? Or do you have a fan next to you?
I use tap water to thin the same paints and never have any problems with it drying quickly,accept when im using white or flesh-they seem to go stupidly quick :/
Can't remember if I asked you this before, but what type of paint do you use for the 25th figures?
Here is a problem I have been having for a while. Bought some Tamiya Acrylic Flats, and I have basically had the same problem all along. I use tap water for thinning the paint, as I have used for all acrylics I have ever used, but the problem is that the paint is trying to dry on the surface of the plastic before I get through brushing. This causes lumps of dried paint, and if it gets too bad, I have to strip the area of all paint with the Tamiya Acrylic Thinner. I have also used Isopropyl Alcohol for this with some similar results.
I only use the Tamiya paints really because of the color palette being more military.
I have used the FolkArt brand of acrylics that can be bought in hobby shops here in the states for years (not sure if you have those in the UK) and thin with water, and these are the most forgiving paint in that it does not dry too quickly and provides a good opague cover. Only problem here is the color range is not as militarily accurate, so mixing is required to get those colors.
Well, that's a lot of information! But I thought you might have some suggestions here. Ever had the drying/gumming up thing happen on your customs?