TheRailwire
General Discussion => N and Z Scales => Topic started by: kalbert on May 20, 2013, 11:28:21 PM
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Anyone have experience with ModelFlex? I've got a ton of questions about it. I see their catalog lists a wide array of colors, most importantly the railroad colors I am most likely to use. I have always used PolyScale and ModelMaster Acryl paints, but only because the local craft chain store carries some MM and I've been to stubborn to try anything besides PolyScale.
I see it claims to be ready to spray, is it? Is it too thin to brush for detail and touch up?
How about cleanup, do I need any special cleaner or can I still use Windex and water?
Cost for a 1oz bottle is a buck or two less than PollyScale, does 1oz of ModelFlex go as far?
Are they fairly consistent one bottle to the next?
Any special considerations for primer?
Any special considerations for decal application or clear coating?
Any special considerations?
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Model Flex is thin. It is airbrush ready right out of the bottle, and already has a gloss finish. I personally like the paint. Only if my local hobby shop would stock it on a normal basis, I would use it more. I've used Poly Scale prime when I use light colors just to give the paint something to bite onto.
Regards,
Nick
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Although I've used it a bunch, I'm not a fan. It is indeed thin, except when it pools up and dries thick, so it requires multiple thin coats (like 4-5) if painting details by brush. I've sprayed it a few times and the results vary, but I've found it to bead up easily out of the bottle. Also the bottles tend to not seal well and dry out.
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I've used it for years. It sprays right from the bottle.
You do need to use multiple thin coats.
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I like it. I use the Light Tuscan as freight car colour, sometimes adding some caboose red for variety...
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I have used it for years and I like this paint for both spraying and brushing. Some colors may be better than others. I have not needed to do more than one coat except for yellow. It is particularly good for N scale in that it dries to a very thin layer, preserving details. One other think is the unique plastic bottles seal very well and the bottles seem to last forever. I have many bottles in good condition that are over 10 years old.
Doug.
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I like Model Flex only problem is there is only one shop here that carries the stuff anymore.
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I have used it before several times and I have always been happy with the results every time. My main issue with any paint from a hobby shop is they never seem to have all the colors I need in one brand and I don't like to mix colors/brands.
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Not that it will matter soon, but I have freely mixed Modelflex and Pollyscale.
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I've also had good experiences using ModelFlex, but since my LHS has stopped carrying it, I can only find it online these days. I asked my LHS owner why he stopped carrying ModelFlex and his reply was that they didn't have room. :? Made no sense as he just remodeled and doubled the size of the store.
I both spray and brush the stuff with good results and I decal directly onto the paint. Cleans up with just water.
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I've also had good experiences using ModelFlex, but since my LHS has stopped carrying it, I can only find it online these days. I asked my LHS owner why he stopped carrying ModelFlex and his reply was that they didn't have room. :? Made no sense as he just remodeled and doubled the size of the store.
I both spray and brush the stuff with good results and I decal directly onto the paint. Cleans up with just water.
He'll have plenty of room for it now that he won't have all that PollyScale, Pactra, and Floquil hogging up shelf space :ashat:
Sounds like this paint is just like any other, an you mileage may vary :). Thanks for everybody's your input so far, I appreciate all of it!
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Loved it for a while, especially freight cars, but it is just seems to sit on the shelf at the LHS forever and I've had some problems with some batches.
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I use it a lot. Their Conrail Blue is right on the money for the lighter still stripe units. (I'm not crazy, I sware they started using lighter blue in 1989 when they added the still stripe.)
Most colors go on well, do not run and are opaque. The main exception is yellow, which seems to be translucent. It needs a very light gray primer. The paint drys to a nice satin finish almost the same sheen as Microscale decal film.
You can mix Modelflex, Tamiya and Model Master Acryl paints easilly. Tamiya paint thinner is the best for any thinning you may need.
The paints do dry over time. They can also gum up more than PolyScale.
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The few bottles I've used didn't seem to reseal well, but I solved that by covering them with a piece of clear plastic and a rubber band. Nothing fancy, just drape the plastic over the lid and wrap the band around the neck, under the lid. There's no need to use fancy plastic wrap, either, the bags magazines come in work fine, and are both free and quite tough.
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This paint is gloss or semi-gloss which means that all buildings you use it for need to be dull coated. However, dull coated buildings never in my opinion look correct. ModelFlex is great for engines/freight cars but not for buildings. We need flat for buildings. Vallejo might be the only way to go for buildings. Now instead of one paint, you will need one for engines/cars and another for buildings. 2 inventories of paint instead of just one.
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...Now instead of one paint, you will need one for engines/cars and another for buildings. 2 inventories of paint instead of just one.
When I was airbrushing a lot, I had Scalecoat II for cars/engines, and Floquil solvent paints for buildings/weathering. Nothing has changed for me.
Hmm... except add about
40 pounds...
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Most of my buildings are painted with craft paints. For brick, I start with Krylon's "Ruddy Brown Primer", as a little surface crazing doesn't matter on bricks, then color that with whatever color I want. Most plastics it works fine on, if applied fairly dry, and I've used it for Freight Car Red on my narrow gauge without problems. If you prefer solvent paints, you might try artists paints, although the oils I tried years ago took a LONG time to dry. On the plus side, the ones I used thinned with turpentine, which didn't seem to harm plastic.
For concrete, any flat-finish gray works fine, then color that with an appropriate color.
For plastic "wood" buildings, I use a spray can of similar flat color, then the craft paint. For real wood, I usually use a weathering solution, as the grain looks to coarse (to me) for a well maintained N scale structure.
For well maintained metal buildings, a little gloss doesn't hurt, so almost any spray paint works fine, followed by Dullcote if needed.
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Using an airbrush, the paint is bulletproof - I love it. It dries quickly to a semi-gloss finish that is ready to decal.
Forget about brushing it, however. Stick with a flat primer and use thinned craft paint for brushing/weathering.
Frank
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I decided to resurrect this thread and ask if Modelflex paint has changed for the worst in the past 3 years since this topic appeared.
I want to paint 5 or 6 engines in the L&N gray (some with yellow too). Is there anything I should look out for?
Hmm... meteors... always
look out for meteors...
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I've had pretty good results with it. I've airbrushed it and brush-painted it both.
It behaves very strangely when brush-painting. The first coat always looks like a disaster, it goes on like kids waterpaints. You have to brush, and rebrush, to break the surface tension as it evaporates, and suddenly 'bang' it adheres properly. Don't expect much out of the first coat. It will look terrible. Calm down, let it dry, and apply another coat.
Any subsequent coats go on much better, but again, expect to work to get it to spread properly. But I've never seen it leave brushmarks. I brush-painted my entire GHQ L1 with Brunswick Green, and it looked fantastic. And I think it's a much 'harder' surface when it dries than anything else, much less subject to rub-offs on rivets and seams from handling.
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It behaves very strangely when brush-painting. The first coat always looks like a disaster, it goes on like kids waterpaints. You have to brush, and rebrush, to break the surface tension as it evaporates, and suddenly 'bang' it adheres properly. Don't expect much out of the first coat. It will look terrible. Calm down, let it dry, and apply another coat.
Any subsequent coats go on much better, but again, expect to work to get it to spread properly. But I've never seen it leave brushmarks. I brush-painted my entire GHQ L1 with Brunswick Green, and it looked fantastic. And I think it's a much 'harder' surface when it dries than anything else, much less subject to rub-offs on rivets and seams from handling.
I concur with this advice and info. I've done five or six coats on some types of parts, such as etched air conditioners. It is a bit tedious and you have to be patient, but the results are fine, and usually better (as long as you're patient) than with fewer coats of a thicker paint. Ironically I think this paint may be better as brush paint for details than as an airbrush paint, although I have to say I've done less airbrushing than many.
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I also use it and like it.
My question is, does anyone have an online supplier for Modelflex these days? Getting low on a couple colors...
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My question is, does anyone have an online supplier for Modelflex these days? Getting low on a couple colors...
I found it on Walthers.com
You have to look under "Badger" not Modelflex. Once I saw Walthers had it in stock, I ordered it through my former local hobby shop (yeah, "local", when I lived in New Orleans). Now it's 200 miles away and I only get there once a month when we visit relatives.
Hmm... does Walthers
sell precious metals...?
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Thanks, Kiz.
Guess If I have to pay list, I have to pay list...
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Guess If I have to pay list, I have to pay list...
I did find several online stores that discounted the paint, but the shipping was ridiculous. The lowest I found was $11 shipping for 2 jars of paint and a 16 oz bottle of paint cleaner.
Hmm... I think I'll start my
own shipping company...
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I've used a company called Wyn-Wyn, which, while it doesn't sound like it, is in Illinois, and online is webairbrushes.com
http://webairbrushes.com/
I have no idea what the shipping cost is for 2 jars of paint, because I stock up when I order from them. Last order I have a record of was a couple years ago, I paid $8 shipping and handling on 20 bottles.
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Just wondering... what airbrush pressure do I spray Modelflex? 25 psi or thereabouts? I used it about 15 years ago, but I forgot what I sprayed it at.
Hmm... last time I airbrushed,
I set the pressure too high.
Blew the car I was painting
completely away...
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