Category · Paints & Primers
Acrylics, lacquers, primers, and speed paints matched to the job.
A spec-based review of Mr. Color Leveling Thinner: how the added retarder cuts orange peel and tip-dry, which lacquers and acrylics it thins, starting ratios for airbrushing, and the ventilation and respirator rules that come with any hot lacquer solvent.
Sprue Cut EditorialAug 25, 2026
Citadel Contrast and Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 are the two biggest one-coat systems, and after the 2.0 reformulation they behave alike. So the real decision is range versus price, and pots versus droppers. We compare both to help you choose your speed-painting road.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 fixed the reactivation flaw that made 1.0 a gamble, delivering one-coat, table-ready armies over white primer. Our review of what changed, how to use it, and the display work where one-coat paint is the wrong tool.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Reformulated Mr. Hobby Aqueous cures nearly as hard as a lacquer while staying water-based. Our review covers the new formula's durability, the honest smell question, how to thin it for brush and airbrush, and whether it's worth importing over Vallejo.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
The right Gunpla paint depends less on brand than on where you are: brushing your first kit, learning an airbrush, or chasing a durable, flawless finish. We rank the best paints for Gunpla by skill level, from one-coat brush paints to bench-standard lacquers.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Lacquer, acrylic, enamel — three model paint chemistries that confuse every new builder. We break down how each one thins, cures, smells, and layers, which to start with, and how veteran benches use all three together on a single build.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Speedpaint 2.0 and Vallejo Xpress Color both promise a table-ready army in an evening, but they have opposite temperaments: one runs vibrant and fast, the other muted and controllable. We compare color, control, and finish to match the right one-coat paint to your bench.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Speed paints turned a weekend of painting a squad into an evening, and they make Gunpla inner frames and details look painted with almost no effort. We rank the best speed and contrast paints for armies and hero models, and show where each one wins.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Tamiya Acrylic and Mr. Hobby Aqueous dominate scale-model benches, and neither behaves like a normal water-based acrylic. We compare how each thins, brushes, airbrushes, and finishes so you know which sprays glass-smooth and which brushes cleaner.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Vallejo's two flagship acrylic lines confuse every new painter: Model Color is brush-first and thick, Model Air is pre-thinned for the airbrush. We compare how each thins, brushes, and sprays to answer whether one line can really do both jobs.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Vallejo Model Air is pre-thinned to spray from the bottle — so why do experienced airbrushers still reach for the thinner? Our review of the range, the tip-dry fix, when a drop of thinner actually helps, and why handled models still need a topcoat.
Sprue Cut EditorialJul 19, 2026
Whole palette in a box [paint]
Fixes airbrush finish [paint]
Pre-thinned colors to start [paint]
Every color; lifetime gift [paint]
One-coat color day one [paint]
One-coat, huge library [nominative][paint]
63 field guides published
47 products vetted
3,227 reader price checks
Sheet 09 · Bench Goods
