Acrylic vs Enamel

[Paul B]

I have returned to railway modelling after more years than I care to make public.
Given my age, I am a fan of the good old Humbrol enamel paints for plastic kits. However, since I last painted a model, acrylic paints have come on the scene. I can see the advantages of both forms of paint but can experienced modellers give any advice as to which of these is preferable or indeed is a mix of the two the ideal solution?
Thanks

[seasprite]

Only advantage to acrylics i can find are easier to clean up and less odours, but I find them either too thick or too watery and wont always adhere to what i'm painting resulting in a messed up project. Enamels are my prefered paint of choice regardless of material thats being painted.

[Zunnan]

Given the right preparation and undercoat, both can give good results. My preference is with enamels in general as they give a more hardy finish, but I tend to prefer acrylics where softer colours are required. The Citadel range of acrylics is absolutely fantastic.

[Gotorm]

I observed that it always depends on what you are painting.

I use acrylic for buildings and scenery because it takes less time to dry and I can finish it in less time but it always gets a coat of enamel varnish anyway(PP or Humbrol spray or brushed).
Enamel for rest and not because of the specific finish when it dries but because it is seriously sturdy when applied correctly. Also I observed that enamel paints are superior when brush painting and are much easier to thin correctly.

Also what I observed (mostly with Humbrol) that over thinned enamels tend to give much better finish when using brush.

Regards

[son of triangman]

I prefer enamels, acrylics are ok, but I come across a lot of secondhand locos that are traded in that have been ruined by their owners by using acrylic, it's terrible stuff to remove when you need to remove it.

Revell enamels when thinned are superb and give a lovely finish when airbrushed. I find modern Humbrol paint since hornby took over a bit hit and miss it either dries well or leaves a gooey residue so I now avoid Humbrol enamels.

[Karhedron]

I prefer acrylics but it is important to prime the surface before painting as they will not adhere to bare metal or plastic.

Citadel paints are indeed excellent (do not be put off by the peculiar sci-fi names). Tamiya are also very good (Flat Brown is a near perfect match for WR brown for example).

One good source of paints is actually Halfords car paints. These come in a mind boggling array of colours including matches for many railway shades. If you need a smooth coat on a loco, these are worth considering and better than specialist aerosols such as Phoenix or Railmatch in my experience. Here is a list of railway colour matches.

BR loco green Rover Brooklands Green, Ford Laurel Green
BR diesel light green band Ford Highland Green
BR coach carmine Ford Rosso Red, Vauxhall Carmine Red
BR coach cream Vauxhall Gazelle Beige, Talbot Jonquil
BR coach cream (well worn) Peugeot Antelope Beige
BR loco / coach maroon Rover Damask Red, Vauxhall Burgundy Red, Ford Burgundy Red, Triumph Damson
BR diesel blue VW Pargas Blue, slightly more blue & less green Ford Fjord Blue
BR steam loco blue Peugeot Royal Blue
BR loco yellow warning panel Vauxhall Mustard Yellow
BR EMU Green Jaguar British Racing Green
BR wagon grey VW EISGRAUEN KJ94
BR wagon bauxite ALFA ROMEO BRUNO DE37

CR steam loco Peugeot Royal Blue
CR dark blue Rover Midnight Blue

LBSCR Stroudley ochre BMC Tan
LBSCR umber Vauxhall Brazil Brown

LNWR coach plum lower panels Daewoo Dark Red
LNWR coach bluey-white upper panels Daewoo Casablanca White

LYR coach upper panels Plastikote Nut Brown
LYR coach plum lower panels Daewoo Dark Red

MR red Rover Damask Red, Vauxhall Burgundy Red, Ford Burgundy Red, Triumph Damson

NSR maroon Vauxhall Gambia Red

NER coach red Vauxhall Gambia Red

SDJR blue Rover Midnight Blue

Pullman coach brown Rover Russet Brown, Triumph Maple

GWR loco green Rover Brooklands Green, Ford Laurel Green
GWR coach brown Rover Russet Brown, Triumph Maple
GWR coach cream Rover Primula Yellow, Ford Sierra Beige

LMS red Rover Damask Red, Vauxhall Burgundy Red, Ford Burgundy Red, Triumph Damson
LMS Coronation Blue Rover Pageant Mid-Blue, Peugeot Royal Blue

LNER garter blue VW Pargas Blue, slightly more blue & less green Ford Fjord Blue

SR dark olive green Land Rover Coniston Green
SR EMU Green Jaguar British Racing Green

GT3 Chocolate Rover Maple
GT3 Chassis Green Land Rover Coniston Green

Roof grey Halford's Plastic Bumper