When did you change from Enamel to Acrylic Paints?

[WimVdB]

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.

[Arlequín]

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.

[Etranger]

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!

[Jacksarge]

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 

[beefcake]

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.

[Keith]

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).

[Connectamabob]

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.

[Elbows]

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.

[carlos marighela]

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.

[Sbloom141]

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  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!

[MartinR]

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.

[dadlamassu]

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. 

[dadlamassu]

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. 

[SteveBurt]

I switched in the early 80s. Initially using Plaka and various Artist's acrylics.

[SABOT]

One day ...... I keep saying to myself , once I have run down my stock of enamels. 😳