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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Mick_in_Switzerland on November 23, 2017, 01:24:13 PM
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Following on from my question about when sand and static grass basing started, Hammers asked an interesting question.
"Makes one wonder about other rather important trends in the Hobby. Who initiated the larger trend to move from oil based paints to matt acrylics? I know I did my first ones, Mithril Miniature, with Humbrol Enamels."
In my case, I used enamels from about 1975 to about 1982. I then left the Hobby for abour 20 years.
When I came back, circa 2002, acrylics were well established and I soon changed to Citadel Acrylic Paints to go on my new GW Lord of the Rings figures.
I stopped with Citadel after they changed from the classic range with easy to remember names like - Bestial Brown, Chaos Black etc. The newer range is vast and confusing.
I now use mostly Vallejo Model Colour and Vallejo Game Colour.
I still use a few Citadel paints, particularly their washes and metallics.
Mick
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For me, it was the release of the first Citadel Paint Set in 1984. I think that may have marked a tipping point for many others.
(http://www.solegends.com/citads1984b/198408/wd056p056198408-01.jpg)
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I have only ever painted 5 models with enamel paints. It was when I was a wee lad and Heroquest was released. I got it for christmas and Painted 5 orcs with enamel paints and I hated every minute of it. The long drying time the smell and the shinyness. Then I saw a citadel paint kit in the local hobbystore and I have never looked back since.
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gosh i remember that advert - thank you
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Some time around 1980'ish, in the early 70s I was still using enamels, but by about 82/83 I was using acrylics. Earlier this year I finally had to throw out an old pot of TSR paint I'd had since about 1986! It was a pastel pinkish colour, great for a faded, washed out red dye on Dark Age costume. I bet none of the paints I've bought this year will still be going strong after 30-odd years.
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When I switched from making model aeroplanes and such in about 1989. It was about the time I got Heroquest. I got the Citadel colour paint set and the Creature (or Monster?) paint set at about the same time.
My parents were probably relieved as I guess my Bedroom no longer stank of Enamels and I probably stopped pouring used white spirit down the outside drain...
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1979/80ish. Pelican Plaka.
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1989
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I was a late developer. I used my trusty Humbrol enamels right up until the mid 1990s.
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The latest figures I painted with enamels were some Citadel C12 goblins and F4 Normans and men at arms released in about 1987. These were actually painted with citadel acrylics, enamels and inks. So late eighties for me was the transition period.
You can see one of them here. The blue hood on the middle goblin was enamel.
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8754/17013703027_1cf1aa3759_z.jpg)
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Probably about the mid 80s but still used Humbrol for aircraft and tanks. I am actually allergic to them now and can't use them at all.
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I switched end 90ies I think. Less stink, less hassle, less drying time, better pigments.
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I was a late developer. I used my trusty Humbrol enamels right up until the mid 1990s.
lol Nothing wrong with Humbrol, ind. Nice, matt colors. Less practical and more unhealty, that's all.
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I'm still using both :-)
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
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@ swiftnick
Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth?
Yep :D
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Only started using acrylics three and a bit years ago when I started wargaming. All my models as a youngster where enamels.
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
Of course. No better way to shape it.
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I was a late developer. I used my trusty Humbrol enamels right up until the mid 1990s.
I didn't switch until the 2000s. Bloody glad I did, though. I'd never go back as long as you can buy acrylic paints.
My gaming pal and nephew, terminal hipster that he is, a couple of years ago made the switch the other way. After growing up on Citadel paints in the 2000s, he recently decided he prefers the old-school charms of Humbrol.
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I've never been a brush-licker. I dip it in water and roll it on the back of my left hand (which is also often my mixing palette - my left hand is usually a multi-coloured mess at the end of a painting session).
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I didn't switch until the 2000s. Bloody glad I did, though. I'd never go back as long as you can buy acrylic paints.
My gaming pal and nephew, terminal hipster that he is, a couple of years ago made the switch the other way. After growing up on Citadel paints in the 2000s, he recently decided he prefers the old-school charms of Humbrol.
Ha! Is he in the market for hand crafted, small batch, single cask, limited edition enamels (12 months aged in burbon barrels)? I could slap some stickers on my old paint pots...
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I was an incredibly impatient and volatile kid when I was a wee lad. So for my 10th birthday, back in 83', instead of the usual Lego, I received a pile of plastic kits, a tube of polystyrene cement, a selection of Revell enamel paints and some cheap brushes. My father cleared a bit of desk space in the attic, under the small skylight, and got me an old mustard jar filled with terpentine to clean my brushes.
And that entire summer vacation, I spent in the attic, glueing and painting those Revell and Airfix kits. Some actually went flying through the attic because of my frustration, but come winter, I had been transformed into a very, and later even incredibly, patient boy.
Over the years, I became very adept at using enamel paints, eventually getting used to all of their characteristics. So much even, that I remember painting Tactical Air Command patches on the sleeves of 1/72 pilots, using the tackyness of the paint to create very thin lines (the sword on the shield, if anyone knows what it looks like ;) )
So I was very confident in my abilities with enamels when I came into contact with GW products. When visiting a hobby shop in '88/ '89 looking for model kits, a box of RTB01 Beakies cought my eye and on a whim I bought it. Eventually, I painted it with my trusty enamels (black Dark Angels with red markings), but I didn't know what to do with them other than that (didn't know about the game).
Then I saw a commercial on TV for MB's Hero Quest game, and I thought; that looks like those guys I painted, and I knew I had to have it. So I bought the box and painted the entire contents (plus all expansions) with enamels again.
And I remember seeing the painted minis on the side of the box and thinking; 'that's not possible; those pictures must have been manipulated'.
A couple of years later, I went to a gaming convention with some friends (must have been in '92; I bought my first WD there; issue 145), and saw my first Roge Trader gaming table. Besides being completely gobsmacked by the coolness of it all, I now finally saw with my own eyes just how detailed the minis were painted; with acrylics.
So it was possible after all.
The guy who made the table and painted the army gave me two of the greatest pieces of advise I ever got in my hobby life:
1) Switch over to acrylics; you'll never look back
2) Any piece of packaging can be a cool Scifi building, just add some huge numbers and a couple of hazard stripes
The second advise certainly was true, but the first one was a complete game changer!
I bought my first set of Acrylics (GW starter paint set; hex pots with white flip tops, some of which I still have and occasionally use!) not long after and it was as foretold; I've never looked back once...
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
Yes on all counts.
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I was late changing from enamels to acrylics, although there were a number of years where I used both. I probably only fully committed to acrylics about 10 or 12 years ago.
I had to use enamels fairly recently for something and I'd forgotten how bad the brush cleaner smelled (I used polyclens blue stuff rather than straight turps). Didn't bother me when I was younger, but I was glad when the project finished and I could get rid of the brush cleaner.
I still have dozens/scores of the humbrol pots in the loft, along with a couple of the old airfix paints in glass jars with screw lids (anybody remember them). I should probably throw them out at some point ;D
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Very early on.
My Wife suffers from migraines and the smell of thinners and enamel paints was a no-no from very early on.
I first painted a miniature with Liquitex tube paints when I was back in school over 35 years ago.
Tony
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Very early on.
My Wife suffers from migraines and the smell of thinners and enamel paints was a no-no from very early on.
I first painted a miniature with Liquitex tube paints when I was back in school over 35 years ago.
Tony
Ha! I suffer from migraines, but switched to acrylics before it really set in, when I moved from enamels and kits to acrylics and wargame models - although I am getting back to kits, I'll still stick to acrylics now.
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My painting story is very like Mick's. Enamals back in the 80s, a long time out of the hobby, and back in 2005 ish when acrylics were what was readily available.
The only think I kind of miss from enamals was creating washes with lots of thinner. These seemed to be a better heavier wash than acrylic ones, which often turn into more of a stain. But that might just be rose tinted hindsight.
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Built up a large collection of Humbrol while still on school pocket money, 2 shillings bought a series one Airfix kit & one pot of humbrol.
Many years latter a friend introduced me to 'tube' acrylics, brushes lasted longer &
my bedroom/paint area didn't stink of thinners.
I got (from the same friend) a collection of Tamiya jar acrylics as (after buying them)he found he couldn't stand the smell!
I then moved on to GW, but now use poundland tubes.
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
Hey, I do that too! Doing it for I don't know how many years.
But I never dumped my brush in coffee or some other beverage. At least not when I still wanted to drink it....
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I then moved on to GW, but now use poundland tubes.
At first I thought you were joking but then I realised you would never joke about paint ... :o
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I started switching to acrylics around '83 or '84, just before I went to the army and stopped wargaming and painting for 15 years. When I started again, it was all acrylics, now using mostly Vallejo, but I have others too.
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Enamels? How common. I've always used oils. I painted some figures in 1984 and they'll be dry enough for highlighting any year now.
;)
I remember Plaka and artist acrylics in the Mid 80s and then a drift to Citadel acrylics about then too. I still used Humbrol enamels for metals for a while though.
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I still mostly use enamels. Apart from anything else, there's a large inventory in the shed which would cost thousands to replace.
And there are still one or two glass bottles amongst them!
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I used enamels through the 70's and 80's - Humbrol & Airfix tins and those Testors glass bottles. In the early 90's I was doing a fine art course and had some tube acrylics, I started to use them to paint miniature figurines. Over the years I gradually migrated to brands like Vallejo etc., but still enjoy using the tube acrylics for painting horses and terrain.
Glad to not be using those thinners any more :)
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I used enamels when my dad bought me and my brothers our first minis. Probably about 1988/9? First used them on tin soldier minis 15mm fantasy range. then after I was introduced to GW it was acrylics 94ish I guess.
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I was a bit of a wee artist and model maker before discovering 'miniatures' (rather than models) so always used a mix of enamels, particularly from my brother's huge collection, and artist's acrylics. At times oil and guache paint too.
The full switch came around the time the Citadel sets were released in the 80s, and being fussy I'd use those and Windsor & Newton artists acrylics for most things. I still maintained a 'right tool for the job' policy though so would use enamels on and off for undercoating, metalics and weathering etc. Pretty much something I'm still doing today. Can't beat a good solid enamel base if you are really going to town on a surface - good for vehicles and things that'll get a lot of weathering. Oil paints are still perfect for pin washes too (good old Vandyke Brown).
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I started using acrylics for layering, blending, and weathering way back when I was first introduced to gaming minis in the late 80's. Before then I'd mostly built airplanes, and enamels were all I could get locally. I was taught the basics of mini painting by an older boy, and with the exception of the primer, his method used only acrylics. I had to search around a bit for the paints he'd shown me (Poly-S acrylics) and was eventually able to find some in a comic shop. Wasn't until maybe 5 years later that acrylic model paint lines started showing up in the local hobby/toy shops, and even then it was only the Testors stuff. I didn't have the chance to try Citadel, Tamiya, Vallejo, or any of the other ones until the late 90's. Before then it was only Testors locally, Poly-S or Pactra if I could swing an expedition to another city.
Though Poly-S and Pactra were both good stuff, IIRC.
Up until the last 5 years or so I still used enamels for under colors, as I believed them to be more durable. Only for solid base colors though: everything more complex on top of that was always acrylic territory. When I started to get more into airbrushing a few years ago, I finally shelved the enamels even for base colors, as I wanted to minimize aerosolized toxins.
I still prefer lacquer for priming polystyrene and ABS, as it bonds best with those, and as far as I've experienced enamel and lacquer metallics are still best metallics, but otherwise I've gone completely aqueous with my paints.
I'm very interested in artist's oils for skin tones, but the impractical drying times have kept me from actually investing thus far.
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I started with normal models like many folks - but my dad was a modeler, so I just inherited some old pots of Testors paint. I assembled some plastic models and likely painted them very poorly with said paints.
When I was maybe 12-14 and started into GW miniatures I'm quite sure I just purchased the GW paints because I wanted the colours I'd seen in White Dwarf. I'm quite sure I was oblivious to the differences at the time (other than my brushes came clean with water -woohoo!). So, I'd say purely by accident.
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Gunge Sangyo acrylics circa 1988/ 89 onwards. Housemate put me on to them. Never looked back though I switched to Vallejo ten years back. Never got into the paiting with oils thang.
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
YES! All the time. I also generally paint on the sofa in poor light lol given these constraints I don’t think some of my results are all that bad.
I’ve tried enamels occasionally but find them so difficult to work with that I really don’t see any benefits. When I painted some Dark Eldar (old versions) I used a nice Humbrol metallic green for certain elements... apart from that, they were all binned!
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I started with Airfix and enamels in the late 1960s, and it was enamels through the 70s and into the 80s. I had a break from figure gaming until the late 90s and when I started again, everyone was using acrylic. I still used Humbrol enamel sprays for base coating for while.
I like acrylics, although I miss the ability to forever revive a pot of enamel with just a touch more white spirit.
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
I still do this! Have done for over 50 years.
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I started using Testors glass bottled paints in the early 1970s. I think they were called campaign colours. Also some artists acrylics mainly for horses as they gave a nice "alive" effect.
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I switched in the early 80s. Initially using Plaka and various Artist's acrylics.
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One day ...... I keep saying to myself , once I have run down my stock of enamels. 😳
(http://i.imgur.com/VM7PIOi.jpg) (http://imgur.com/VM7PIOi)
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Does anybody still straighten their bush by popping it in their mouth? I can't kick the habit. That and cleaning the brush in whatever liquid is handy. Could be water, tea or wine.
My dad taught me to do this so I've always done it.
I made this just the other day to send to someone who told me not too....
(https://i.imgur.com/dMoQpSm.jpg)
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About 50 years ago. When I found out that my Poly-S acrylics would bend with my old Air-Fix plastics. I have also found over the years that acrylics are easier to touch up over an old paint job than over painting enamels.
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I first painted a lead miniatiure was in summer of 1976. I used the Testors paint in the glass jars. Used those until 1980, when I descovered Polly s water acrylic's.
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1982
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I began using acrylics in late 1990's and quickly settled on Vallejo, having tried out a few brands. I would never go back to enamels for figure painting.