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As someone who has worked with paints on a daily and professional basis, I occasionally come across a product that is genuinely exciting and full of potential. I say occasionally, these paints are the fourth such discovery, in 43 years! I bought a few tubes of this paint on the back of a couple of reviews from modellers in a magazine, and in Michael Rinaldi's book "TankArt 2", where he describes his "oil paint rendering" techniques in detail. I had tried this technique using Winsor & Newton's "Winton" oil paints, with some success, but it was counter-intuitive and became streaky very easily unless I applied an unreasonably light touch. When I read the reviews, they all stressed that the combination of these paints and their matching odourless thinner, really made a difference, so I took the plunge and sent off my postal order to John!
Firstly, the cost - John sells them for £3.50 odd for 20ml, which is around the same price as a Winton tube, but for that you get 35ml. So they are more expensive, but it has to be borne in mind that you tend to use a tiny amount each time, so they really will last for a lot of paint jobs.
Now the quality - the paints are really creamy and smooth, uncannily so! They have almost no smell at all, unless you put your nose close up to the nozzle, same goes for the thinner too. And here's why I love them so much already, they blend with the thinner really, really easily, so filters can be mixed in seconds, and separation is so much less of an issue, so, in laying a filter on my Tiger this afternoon, I only had to give the mix a little tickle with the brush once. this was an hour ago, and the tank is dry as a bone now, and the mixture is still pretty well mixed, so I can give it another coat when I've finished this.
I have also played around on an abandoned T62 kit, using Rinaldi's method for fading and weathering, mostly using a single Umber type brown, to break up the overall surface colour, and add wear and tear, plus faded areas, and this is a doddle compared with using Artists paints. I'm not claiming or saying that you can't do this with artists paints, you can, and many modellers do - very successfully - but I do claim that they are SO much more forgiving, and much more likely to encourage other modellers to experiment with this (IMHO) awesome technique. It is a slow and multi layered approach, but I love doing it, and the results thus far have completely convinced me that I want to master the technique.
View attachment 244262
Here's my first effort, which was really enjoyable to do, safe in the knowledge that when I look at it in the cold light of day the next day, I can adjust any glaring errors with a brush and a drop of thinner. I'm not putting this up as a "Great Build" Tank, by ant means, just a quick example of how effective the technique is to create a realistic worn surface.
All of this is, of course, work in progress, but I'll keep you posted as to how it pans out.
I'm hooked!
Firstly, the cost - John sells them for £3.50 odd for 20ml, which is around the same price as a Winton tube, but for that you get 35ml. So they are more expensive, but it has to be borne in mind that you tend to use a tiny amount each time, so they really will last for a lot of paint jobs.
Now the quality - the paints are really creamy and smooth, uncannily so! They have almost no smell at all, unless you put your nose close up to the nozzle, same goes for the thinner too. And here's why I love them so much already, they blend with the thinner really, really easily, so filters can be mixed in seconds, and separation is so much less of an issue, so, in laying a filter on my Tiger this afternoon, I only had to give the mix a little tickle with the brush once. this was an hour ago, and the tank is dry as a bone now, and the mixture is still pretty well mixed, so I can give it another coat when I've finished this.
I have also played around on an abandoned T62 kit, using Rinaldi's method for fading and weathering, mostly using a single Umber type brown, to break up the overall surface colour, and add wear and tear, plus faded areas, and this is a doddle compared with using Artists paints. I'm not claiming or saying that you can't do this with artists paints, you can, and many modellers do - very successfully - but I do claim that they are SO much more forgiving, and much more likely to encourage other modellers to experiment with this (IMHO) awesome technique. It is a slow and multi layered approach, but I love doing it, and the results thus far have completely convinced me that I want to master the technique.
View attachment 244262
Here's my first effort, which was really enjoyable to do, safe in the knowledge that when I look at it in the cold light of day the next day, I can adjust any glaring errors with a brush and a drop of thinner. I'm not putting this up as a "Great Build" Tank, by ant means, just a quick example of how effective the technique is to create a realistic worn surface.
All of this is, of course, work in progress, but I'll keep you posted as to how it pans out.
I'm hooked!
