Testors Enamel Paint Set, 9115X, Gloss

I decided to try painting miniatures for the first time and I didn't want to buy a dozen different pre-mixed colors, because that would get expensive in a hurry, so I got this set instead. It has worked well for me so far. Here are a few things to think about. Enamel paints require a solvent like acetone for cleanup. They do not clean up with water like acrylic paints. The set comes with the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), plus white and black. You can mix those to make every other color you need. For example, if you need green, you can mix yellow and blue. If you need light green, you can mix in some white. If you want a green that's more muted, you can mix black and white to make gray, and then mix the gray into your green. I suggest making small adjustments. Instead of mixing white directly into your green, try mixing a small amount of green into a small amount of white off to the side of your palette. Then mix that lighter green into your main green. The set also comes with thinner. You will want to mix some into every color you use on your palette. This makes the paint flow better and gives you more time to work. Otherwise, the paint dries on the palette within a few minutes and starts to get clumpy. If you want to get fancy, you can put a small amount of paint into a lot of thinner to make thin washes. Then build it up in layers on your model to do subtle blending. The set comes with metallic silver. It looks great by itself. I haven't tried mixing it with other colors yet. The paint set comes with one brush, but you should probably just throw that away. The bristles are long and very soft. It wasn't what I needed. I haven't even tried it. Buy good brushes separately and take good care of them. I am still getting used to the paints and developing my skills. If you mix your own colors, you will have to work quickly and mix enough paint to cover your whole area. Otherwise you'll run out of paint or it will dry on the palette while you're working. Then it's hard to mix exactly the same color again. Of course, it's safer and easier to use someone else's pre-mixed colors, but I think mixing the colors myself is pretty easy. Now I never have to buy a new color of paint unless I really want to. When one of these colors runs out, I will simply replace it and keep going.

Great seller. Very quick.

I've been trying different airbrush paints and mediums recently and saw someone on YouTube showing how to airbrush with enamel paints. I airbrush 3D printed objects I print off to use up old filament, and I'd wondered if I could find a paint that would give a more durable finish than acrylics. So, I ordered this, along with a separate, larger bottle of Testors enamel thinner and gave it shot (pun intended). The gent in the video I mentioned said that he uses "higher pressure" with the airbrush but didn't specify a measured pressure. I've found that when it comes to varnishes and topcoats, using an airbrush pressure of 40-55 PSI works best. So, I started with a pressure of 45 PSI. For basecoats, that worked fine, until I tried the silver paint in this set... I wound up ruining some freehand airbrushing I'd been doing on a 3D printed turtle's shell because I could only get my airbrush to basically "spit" the paint at the turtle. Setting that aside, I grabbed an unpainted 3D print, a cartoonish looking cattle print, turned up the pressure to 53 PSI, and tried again. The paint flowed nicely and gave the cattle print a very nice polished, metallic appearance! Cleanup was fairly easy though I did take the needle out of my airbrush and thoroughly cleaned the inside and nozzle with a cleaner-soaked paintbrush. I've used that same airbrush for several other projects since then with no issues. I'm told that if you leave enamel paint in an airbrush, the hardened paint is nigh impossible to get out and you'll trash the airbrush. I haven't tried that and don't intend to, so I will say that as long as you thin the paint with Testors enamel thinner, then flush the cup and nozzle with said thinner after painting, then follow up with thorough cleaning with airbrush cleaner, you won't have any issues. Winter is nearly here so I'll be packing up my airbrush gear for the winter as I use a booth whose exhaust duct needs to be pointed out of an open window. But once it warms back up, I'm definitely going to get back to using this set! One more note: I recommend getting the larger bottle of Testors enamel thinner with this set if you plan to thin the paints. For one or two colors, the included small bottle of thinner is sufficient, but for several colors or heavy thinning to use in an airbrush, you'll need more than what's included in this set.

Great product but way too expensive.

These seemed to be good quality paints, easy to apply to the toys being painted, and seems durable (no reported issues). The bottles are on the small size really was the only inconvenience but if you're doing touch ups or 1 painting of a small-ish object, the size should be fine. Good selection/variety of colors included.

Best paint for models!

The original Testor enamel paints.

This paint works great. I have always used Testors paint since I was a kid.