Weavers closing, along with Scalecoat

[ljudice]

ljudice:  The only reason I use Scalecoat paint is for the spray cans - and unlike the old Floquil cans, Scalecoat's work very well.  I have four bottles of the paint, from the 70s, which still look good, but it doesn't brush well.

Same here!  It was nice to have a range of boxcar reds and browns to use for patch-type jobs.

[Rich_S]

On the other hand...

The dearth of decals recently has dramatically reduced the amount of painting I even do anymore.

I don't understand your comment? Are you referring to the loss of Champ Decals? Microscale is still in business, along with a host of smaller decal manufactures. There maybe a good chance someone else is making the decals you are looking for?

[Rich_S]

There're still paints -- tons and tons of paints!! Made for the military and D&D and fantasy figures and plastic models crowds, for the crafts workers with their castings, modpodge, whatever (think Micheal's), art stores for the thousands of students in art classes .... what's the problem?  Because the bottle of paint they buy says "Modern Blue" instead of "D&H Blue" people are going to get cranky and pouty-- even tho it's the same freakin' shade and hue?
Wake up ... open your eyes ... there is a huge market for small bottles of "hobby paint" in this country and overseas. Sorry your favorite-smelling version of "ATSF Red" won't be around anymore but you'll ALWAYS have some red paint that fits the bill.

OldEastRR, my problem is I custom mix several paints to create the yellow used by my favorite railroad.  So my problem is I need Reefer Yellow, Reefer White and Armour Yellow. I have a formula of how many parts of each color create P&WV yellow. Now to really throw fuel on the fire, two of the above cross reference to Model Master Paints and one of the above cross reference to Testors Enamel paint. To the best of my knowledge, Model Master Acrylic is not compatible with Enamel. 

There is a bright spot in this whole debate coming from a new company called "Tru Color Paint"

http://trucolorpaint.com/

And just the FAQ's
http://trucolorpaint.com/about-us/faq/

For those who enjoy working with water based paints, Badger Modelflex paints are still listed in the Walthers catalog and online at

http://www.badgerairbrush.com/modelflex_3.asp

     

[Ike the BN Freak]

I don't understand your comment? Are you referring to the loss of Champ Decals? Microscale is still in business, along with a host of smaller decal manufactures. There maybe a good chance someone else is making the decals you are looking for?

My issue with Microscale is they have been discontinuing a lot of sets I need.  And looking of older sets, well not always the easiest thing.

[ljudice]

I have a slew of unopened Scalecoat which I just my have to offer for sale, at significant mark up, when I get my trains out of storage.

Like fine wine, you could put a 2005 Vintage Reefer Orange on Ebay! 

[OldEastRR]

Unless I'm mistaken, there are still enamel paints (and oil paints) made for hobbyists/modelers/artists. Right in front of me on my desk are two new bottles of Model Master enamel silver paint. As for using formulas of various paints blended together, I'm sure some completely compatible mixes can be made all of the same brand of paint. You'll have to experiment a little and eyeball the actual mixes you come up with, but that should result in a new formula mix to do the job. Sorry your old formula is obsolete but nobody said model railroading would be easy, right?
Nobody sees the exact shade or color somebody else sees of what they're both looking at. When I paint UP passenger equipment for somebody I always ask what is the most common version of factory-painted UP cars they have now: Kato new? Kato old? ConCor? Bachmann? or whoever. Then I adjust whatever brand of "UP Armor Yellow" I am using to match the shade and "orangeness" of most of the cars he owns. It's just part of the job.

[peteski]

There is a bright spot in this whole debate coming from a new company called "Tru Color Paint"

http://trucolorpaint.com/

Yes, they have been around for few years now and they are a bright spot.  I use them. They are very similar to AccuPaint which I have successful used and liked for decades. I still have a good selection of AccuPaint colors. However I want more!  I dabble in several hobbies and each line of paints has its use in various applications.  Like I mentioned earlier, Scalecoat II Engine Black gave me a perfect satin black. Not too glossy, not too flat.  Floquil Steam Loco Black gave me a nice dead flat finish.   I found each brand of paint useful for different purposes.  Now 2 of those brands are gone.  BTW, I also use the old Testors PLA enamels and Model Master enamels.  I just like variety. 

[amato1969]

The dearth of decals recently has dramatically reduced the amount of painting I even do anymore.

On the contrary, there is a plethora of decals available in addition to Microscale; just need to browse a little bit for the N:

http://www.greatdecals.com/Decals.html

  Frank

[towl1996]

Anyhow, I just ordered $125 worth of Scalecoat II paint today. Hope I get it.

Good move, I just put in an order for some PRR colors in the rattle can.

After this source is gone, will there be any rattle cans left?

[Ike the BN Freak]

Good move, I just put in an order for some PRR colors in the rattle can.

After this source is gone, will there be any rattle cans left?

Testors and Model Masters, won't be "railroad" colors, but still out there

[peteski]

Don't forged Tamiya rattle-can solvent-based lacquers. Just like everything else from Tamyya, the paint and the spray nozzles are excellent quality, but pricey.  They offer a wide range of gloss and flat paints (but designed for automotive and military modelers).

[nkalanaga]

Tamiya's TS-33 "Dull Red" makes a nice Boxcar Red, and seems to work well for the Northern Pacific's modern boxcar red.  It is a flat paint, though, and needs a gloss coat for decaling.   TS-35 "Park Green" and Model Master 28118 "Green Go" work for BN Green, being off in different directions, but a little weathering takes car of that, and both are gloss paints.  The biggest problem with both lines is that the bottle and spray lines don't have the same colors, making it hard to do touchup and detail painting.

I've been finding a few spray cans that more-or-less match the BN and its predecessors, but some simply can't be matched.  Empire Builder "Pullman Green" and the NP's passenger greens are among them and I've never found any spray paint that truly matches the GNRHS's BSB paint chip.  For that matter, bottle paints haven't either, but fortunately it fades badly, so there are a lot of blues that will work for freight cars.   

[peteski]

Tamiya's TS-33 "Dull Red" makes a nice Boxcar Red, and seems to work well for the Northern Pacific's modern boxcar red.  It is a flat paint, though, and needs a gloss coat for decaling.   TS-35 "Park Green" and Model Master 28118 "Green Go" work for BN Green, being off in different directions, but a little weathering takes car of that, and both are gloss paints.  The biggest problem with both lines is that the bottle and spray lines don't have the same colors, making it hard to do touchup and detail painting.

Probably because sprays are organic solvent based lacquers where the bottles are water (um, alcohol) based acrylic enamels.  So they are totally different (incompatible) lines of paint.  In Japan Tamiya also sells other lines of paints, not distributed in U.S.  When  I was there I picked some of their other organic solvent based paints which were sold in little square bottles (which looked like the old fashioned 1/4 oz. Testors PLA enamel bottles).

For touch-ups you can always decant spray paints then let some of the solvent evaporate to thicken the paint for brush painting.  I sometimes do that.  I also often decant paint from spray cans and shoot it through an airbrush for better control.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  I see what you mean about types of paint, but in this case, they don't have the same colors, whether the types match or not.  For instance, they make the "Park Green" I'm using for BN Green in both, as TS-35 and X-28, and they match, in spite of the different paint types.   But many of their colors are only available in one or the other, including the TS-33 "Dull Red". 

I'm not criticizing Tamiya, it just seems odd that, with such a variety of colors, they wouldn't make bottle versions of all of the spray colors.  I can see not making all of the bottle colors in spray cans, as some probably wouldn't attract enough customers to be worth it.

I've done the touch-up using sprayed paint before, but in many cases it's easier for me to use a "close enough" paint and consider a repair by the railroad, especially on older cars.  It saves matching the paint, and adds to the weathering.

[mmagliaro]

I happened to stock up on Scalecoat about 6 months ago, so between that and the old stash of a little
Floquil I still have, I should be good for about 5 years if I keep the bottles tight and clean.

I, too, am in the camp that has tried some non-solvent paints and think they are just not nearly as good
or as easy to use as solvent paints.  Eventually, I will probably be forced into them (but not for the next
5 years).

I really think people are reading way too much into this with the Gov't regulation.  Weaver has been around
for 45 years.  The owner probably just wants to retire.  After all, he's not just ditching the paints.  He's closing
the whole business.

Be aware, that if you are really determined, you can get solvent paints custom-made.  I had a whole quart
of NP Dark Loewy Green mixed using the NPRHA's color drift card in solvent-based enamel.
It's a pain.  The quantities are large, and it ain't cheap.  But it can be done.