Humbrol paints are rubbish!

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:49 pm

Is it just me or are Humbrol enamel tinlet paints poor these days.

I have done all the usual with trying to sort them out i.e. airing them out for a day, building a mixing attachment for my drill to mix them up, storing them upside down and yet they are still poor quality.

Most of my matt paints do not dry matt and the other paints I have poor adhesive qualities despite undercoating properly.

Has anyone used Revell paints before?

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 6:20 pm

If they are old stock then these are probably the chinese Humbrol enamels. Hornby (Humbrol's owner) became aware of quality control problems (a recurring problem with some of Hornby's chinese products) and have transferred 60% of the Humbrol production back to the UK.

You do need to use the correct Humbrol enamel thinners (I used to use white spirits but that did not work long term, I've rejuvenated most of my Humbrol tins now using Humbrol thinners), clean all the excess paint off the lid and lid opening on the paint tin before resealing and try not to keep the lid off the tin too long whilst painting (transfer your paint to a mixing tray if possible).

The only Humbrol paint I still have problems with is Matt Black so I use a Revell Matt Black enamel instead which so far has not had the same problems of going off like the Humbrol version.

Chris Cairns.

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:30 pm

Thanks Chris.

I do have some Humbrol thinners so how much do I need to add to their small tinlets?

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:59 pm

Hi Tom,

I use one of those bulb droppers that come with eye or ear drops. Just measured it so I normally use between 0.5 & 1 mls of thinner (matt black seems to go thicker sooner and may need more thinners).

Just had a clear look at the instructions on the tinlets. The graphics on the Revell tinlet shows shaking then stirring the tin for 30 secs (which is what I do). The Humbrol one shows stirring then shaking for 30 secs - surely it should be shaking first to stop you shaking the contents out after removing the lid to stir the tinlet!

I do find using these enamel paints on resin kits can cause problems with the paint sticking to the resin. I'm told acrylic paint works well on resin products.

Chris Cairns.

Si · Post by Si » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:17 am

I, too, have found them to be rubbish. So I prefer the Games Workshop acrylics now - stoopid names but good paint. Have also found the Revells to be OK.

LnBmad · Post by **LnBmad** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:27 am

Si:84338 wrote:I, too, have found them to be rubbish. So I prefer the Games Workshop acrylics now - stoopid names but good paint. Have also found the Revells to be OK.

I use the Gw citadel paints aswell. Best paint range I've used. The names make sense if your building Gw products

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:53 am

I prefer enamels as I use to be a GWer back in the day and did not get on with acrylics (2nd generation player before they ruined it!)

I will give the thinners a go as suggested by Chris but will buy Revell in future I think.

Hornby have really lost their way. My Bachmann OO trains completely outclass the current Hornby offerings in both appearence and performance.

GTB · Post by **GTB** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:15 am

I've also had problems with Humbrol in recent years. The colours I use changed noticeably when Hornby took over and they don't spray as well as they did in the past

I've found Revell enamel to be better for spraying, but it's harder to find out here and there isn't the same colour range. It is surviving OK on the Hunslet smokebox, so seems to have reasonable heat resistance.

Graeme

LnBmad · Post by **LnBmad** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:16 am

tom_tom_go:84343 wrote:I prefer enamels as I use to be a GWer back in the day and did not get on with acrylics (2nd generation player before they ruined it!)

I will give the thinners a go as suggested by Chris but will buy Revell in future I think.

Hornby have really lost their way. My Bachmann OO trains completely outclass the current Hornby offerings in both appearence and performance.

I'd suggest giving the Gw paints a try. They rereleased them all last year and they are truly superb! Great flow (feels like the old enamels), great coverage, large colour range.

JMORG · Post by **JMORG** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:25 am

As a former user of GW Warhammer 40K models, the Citadel colours are amazing quality. The only downside is that, due to price (2-3 squid for a SMALL pot!) We've relied almost exclusively on Hobbycraft acrylic paints.

Superbiker_uk · Post by **Superbiker_uk** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:29 am

I use the Humbrol tinlets and now am in the habit of adding a small ball bearing to the new tin - this helps mix the paint next time round through shaking - much the same principal as the aerosol spray "rattle cans".

tom_tom_go · Post by **tom_tom_go** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:30 am

Do the new GW paints work well on wood/white metal though as I don't build resin or plastic kits for 16mm?

Cheers,

Tom

LnBmad · Post by **LnBmad** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:52 am

My loco and carriages are painted using the gw paints

invicta280 · Post by **invicta280** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:32 pm

Hornby have just announced that they are bringing most Humbrol production back to the UK. Increasing labour costs etc in China mean that with the shipping costs added there is no great saving by using far eastern sources.
Humbrol paints are now, I believe going to be produced by Rustins for Hornby in a small factory in West London.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:00 am

Chris Cairns wrote:Hornby (Humbrol's owner) became aware of quality control problems (a recurring problem with some of Hornby's chinese products) and have transferred 60% of the Humbrol production back to the UK.

The announcement was made by Hornby on 28/11/2012 and included this - Humbrol’s well-established and most popular range of enamel paint as well as their new acrylic sprays are now produced in London and Manchester. http://www.hornby.com/news/hornby-retur ... to-the-uk/ & http://www.humbrol.com/manufacturing/

invicta280 wrote:Hornby have just announced that they are bringing most Humbrol production back to the UK. Increasing labour costs etc in China mean that with the shipping costs added there is no great saving by using far eastern sources.
Humbrol paints are now, I believe going to be produced by Rustins for Hornby in a small factory in West London.

Where is this Hornby announcement mentioning costs (it is not on the Hornby or Humbrol websites)? As I understand it from elsewhere on-line the move back to the UK was due to quality control problems which is confirmed by - "Our entire colour range has been reformulated and colour matched back to original Humbrol standards"

Chris Cairns.

JMORG · Post by **JMORG** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:26 am

As quite alot of the "more advanced" GW miniatures are white metal/Pewter mix, the paint covers them easilly.
As for wood, I'm not to sure.

invicta280 · Post by **invicta280** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:55 am

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... -soar.html

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:14 am

Thanks for the link invicta. It is interesting that the Telegraph article was released the same day as the official Hornby & Humbrol news releases yet says something different.

Bit like when Simon Kohler was telling us that the Live Steam was not dead, yet 2 of his colleagues on the Hornby Uncut YouTube video contradict him, including Frank Martin who has stepped down as CEO.

At least it proves that information released from Hornby is consistent - not!

Chris Cairns.

invicta280 · Post by **invicta280** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:15 pm

Yes Chris, a bit of corporate spin involved here and there.

Hornby can say what they like but we know live steam is not dead!

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:51 pm

Just to be more clear I was referring to the Hornby OO Live Steam range which was liquidated by Hornby in 2010, but at least it is still being supported by their Customer Service for now.

Chris Cairns.

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