Coming from 1/35 AFV modelling (mainly Tamiya acrylics) into figure painting, which I did many many years ago. Those days in enamels.

I'm looking at 90mm (Andreas and Pegaso etc), and looking to build a good quality paint set/system.

Looked at Andreas and also Pro Acryl, Jo Sonja and Scale75. Other suggestions welcome. Windsor and Newton acrylics?

I know there artists on this forum using Jo Sonja, but I have heard they aren't great for skin, being too matte. A matte or satin very thin varnish might fix that.

I'd rather pay extra for good paints.

Opinions and recommendations?

Anyone know who would stock Pro Acryl in Oz??

What would be a good choice on brushes, just good quality artists brushes from Artists supply store?

I have most of rest of the tools...

Hi Peter
Welcome to the Planet!
There will be as many opinions on acrylics as there are options.
I’ve used many types & do prefer Jo Sonja, reliable & readily available DownUnder. I add a little Satin Varnish with a blending medium on faces & flesh to vary the lustre. Not too difficult.
Alternatively you can use Vallejo which does the d to dry with a slight sheen. I’ve also been experimenting with ScaleColour which I picked up from BNA a while back, been pleased with results so far.
Do browse through archive here - chock full of more conversations in this very topic.

Trust this helps & am sure others will offer thoughts.
MikeTheKiwi

Thanks Mike!

Can you tell me what blending medium you use? Windsor & Newton? Do you need to use a blending medium to incorporate an acrylic varnish into acrylic colours?

From what I've read (which is limited but growing..), with acrylics, blending is done through layering, e.g. a very diluted base colour between a highlight and a shade.

I’ve used both W&N as well as Vallejo’s Peter.
W&N I use for larger projects. It is very good & important if using Tamiya Flat Base XF20 to Matt paint.
Vallejo is main medium used to thin paint for smaller projects.
Blending medium allows for mixing of colours as it delays drying time slightly.

Layering is common for building depth & some blending techniques. Recommend having a look at Jaume Ortiz’s videos.
MikeTheKiwi

Thanks Mike.

Another starter question that's been asked before, but doesn't hurt to get more opinions:

With Jo Sonja range, what would be a good selection in 75mm tubes?

https://discountartncraftwarehouse.com.au/products/jo-sonjas-artists-acrylic-paints-75ml

Depends on subjects you’re painting Peter.
A palette combining primaries & some premixes should work.
I’ve offered lots of combinations in my WIP post in PlanetFigire here - just hit My Profile to check out all the VBench posts.
Do check other painters threads as these also list other options.
MikeTheKiwi


For my WW1 palette I shared detail here too:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/76204681?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

I'm still quite new to the bust/figure scene as I've done plastics since the early '70's but, and here's the bit where I hear the sucking of teeth; Citadels are a fixture in my box as well as a host of Revell Aqua acrylics. Both of which I've had for ages. I recently started using Vallejo and Scalecolour (I only have a skin tone set for the former and a few of the latter's colours) but I did get a half decent (for me anyway) face done a while ago using a mix of Citadel colours probably more by luck than judgement. I am interested in how Lifecolour paints behave if anybody has used those at all.