"Cheaper alternatives to high cost modeling supplies" Topic

I've been on a painting binge, and I want to take some stuff to the next level. After looking at prices, things like Army Painter quick shade, specialty thinners/airbrush cleaners, Vallejo, and AK Interactive products quickly add up in price.

Is there any place that I could find as a reference for cheaper alternatives? Like AK Interactive white spirit, they want like $9 USD for a 100ml bottle when I could get a 32 oz bottle of Mona Lisa brand from Michael's for like $6 USD with their 50% off a single item coupon.

I've also heard good things about Liquitex airbrush medium for thinning paints for airbrushing.

I'm also looking for something good for gloss coating figures in preparation for thinned washes and decaling that can be bought cheaper than testor's cans.

Swing by your local Hobby Lobby or Michaels and ask for help. Most of my supplies comes from their craft department and I always use the 40% off coupon on my phone app.

Check Polyshades varnish as an alternative to Army Painter
Quick Shade. Some of their varnishes are available at Lowes
or Home Depot. One that is recommended a lot is The Tudor
Satin varnish. That one I've only found at Ace hardware
stores. There are also several Walnut shades that have been
recommended on modeling sites. Those I have seen at Lowes
and Home Depot.

Walmart sells industrial sized quantities for paintbrush cleaning supplies.

Frequently, for not much more than those tiny bottles you're getting at the hobby stores.

Mako11, is there a specific brand I should look out for? I have a Michael's crafts and Walmart both within 10 mins of me.

Apart from the actual paints (acrylics or enamel) I tend to use the same brands thinners. I've had a big range of experiences using alternative ab paint thinners for my vallejo, mig and AK paints that for peace of mind reasons I stick to their products.

I use satin and gloss varnishes through a cheapy ab for the same purpose you mention, usually buying whichever of the known hobby brands are cheapest at the time. I've found theres no qualatative difference between them. Using your ab instead of a rattle can really improves efficiency, getting more from your dollar.

I use Liquitex Airbrush Medium, but I also use Liquitex paints (Soft Body version). The combination works great. Generally I can just mix 50:50 and it sprays fine.

Note in Liquitex's The Acrylic Book they describe how to make Airbrush Medium if you prefer not to use the premixed version. It's something like Flow Aid water (= wet water created by using Liquitex Flow Aid) mixed 1:1 with Liquitex Matte Medium.

The Acrylic Book: liquitex.com/acrylicbook

For gloss coating, many people use Future acrylic floor varnish. Also Liquitex gloss varnish works quite well. You can airbrush either.

For Quick Shade replacement, google Future Magic Wash. You can airbrush that too.

The Complete Future: link

I can't speak to the white spirit as nowadays I use acrylics. I am working down a big can of Odorless Mineral Spirits I got at a hardware store years ago.

Lots of people use windshield wiper fliud in airbrushes.

Try craft paints instead of name brands. Especiialy for terrain and basing.

MinWax Polyshade will cure 2 of your problems. One it dries gloss and two, it will shade the figures pretty close to AP results. They have every color imaginable, so you should be able to match it to AP. Same size can, 1/4 of the price.

Krylon Paints sells all sorts of matte, satin and gloss coatings for your figures. Comes in a much larger can than Dulcote and can be bought with a 40% or 50 % off coupon from Michaels & Hobby Lobby.

Wander around a Hobby Lobby or Michaels and get ideas for yourself. Plenty of things to substitute if you bother to look.

Another +1 for Minwax Polyshades. I've gotten a ton of mileage out of Tudor satin and Antique Walnut over the years.

I would avoid using window cleaners that have ammonia in them as it will start to eat at the seals in your airbrush. Best to stick to airbrush thinners, water, or if you are well ventilated you can use a combination of water and Isopropyl Alcohol. Just remember that vaporized alcohol can do some nasty things to your lungs so wear a mask, a real mask with filters not that little sawdust mask.

Heisler, yes, I had been warned to stay away from anything ammonia on the airbrush.

That said, I haven't had much luck using water to thin my paints for airbrushing, even when really thinning them down. Possibly because of the tap water in my area, I haven't tried distilled water.

Nevinsrip, I followed your advice and went to Michael's for craft paints. $2.49 USD for an 8 oz bottle of acrylic brown paint, and the 2 oz bottles of colors I won't use as much on sale for 49 cents apiece. This will definitely cut down on basing costs, as I use beach sand to base figs and then paint it a flat brown followed by 2 drybrushes of a lighter color.

Now I have to order one of those electric fly swatters and build that static grass machine I've seen people raving about.

Does anyone have any experience thinning Tamiya paints? I have a 10ml pot of XF-63 German Grey for doing some early war panzers and am wondering if I can get it to go through the airbrush with the right mixture.

For bases, I went to the Dollar Store for colored sand. I mix two shades of green sand, with some model RR ballast, or brown sand with larger granules, which emulate small boulders. I mix the three together, in a bowl, paint the base with Wood Glue (yellow, stronger than PVA/White Glue), dunk/swirl it in the bowl of the three sands, tap it to remove the loose stuff, then let it dry. I paint the dried base (often requires two coats of Wood Glue, and sand) with a watered down coat of 50%-PVA (White glue) and 50% water, to seal the sand in place.

For bases, I use peel-n-stick vinyl floor tile squares, $0.39 USD per 12"-square. I peel two pieces of tiles' paper off, glue them together (glue-side to glue-side), then cut to size, using a utility scissors. Most of my bases are 1"-square, so I can typically get 144 bases from two pieces of floor tile, stuck together, for $0.78 USD, or 0.0054 US Dollar/1"-square base. Yes, the decimal point is in the correct spot: each base costs me 1/2 of one Cent! Since I cut them from a 12"-square, I can make custom base sizes, as well as movement trays, from these tiles. The cost is, as stated, 1/2 of one Cent, per square inch!

My bases are covered with colored sand, so no need to paint, or even prime them. This technique is simple, and fast, and amazingly inexpensive. If you desire static grass, just add it to the colored sand-ballast mixture of your choice. Cheers!

@TSD 101: If you use the alcohol based Tamiya paints then you can just use Isopropyl alcohol. Sprays beautifully.

Another idea is to mix your own acrylic paints. Get some artist pigment in a big tub (150g cost only 4 Euros or so) and mix those with acrylic matte medium and a bit of water. You could even fill them in a dropper bottle. I estimate you could produce litres of paint this way for cheap with the ability to influence the properties of your blend. I tried my first batch on a miniature and it worked very well.