As I mentioned over here, I've started to test all of my paints on cheap plastic spoons to get the feel for a colour before applying it to a kit. Instead of just hogging them for myself, I've decided to share them here. Granted, there's no better experience then testing out the colours yourself. The true colour of the paints will vary from the photos due to fluctuating camera settings and even the setup of your own monitor.
Note - The shade of these colors may change based on usage, especially the underlying base coat. All of these paint samples done straight on top of white plastic spoons. Unless otherwise stated there no primer or topcoat has been used. You can read more on how primer effects paint colours here.
Tamiya - Acrylics Jars
Tamiya acrylics come in 10 and 23ml jars. They can be found at most hobby shops in North America and Asia. Technically, as they are some sort of acrylic/lacquer hybrid, they shouldn't be thinned with water. I've had great results with Tamiya's X-20A acrylic and you can use Tamiya's lacquer thinner in part as well. They spray really well and clean up easily. Here's their full list of colour options.
Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red |
Tamiya X-8 Lemon Yellow |
Tamiya XF-55 Desert Yellow |
Tamiya X-15 Light Green |
Tamiya X-28 Park Green |
Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green |
Tamiya XF-26 Deep Green |
Tamiya X-5 Green |
Tamiya XF-65 Dark Green |
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Tamiya XF-37 Black Green |
Tamiya X-13 Metallic Blue |
Tamiya XF-18 Medium Blue |
Tamiya XF-50 Field Blue |
Tamiya X-4 Blue |
Tamiya XF-17 Sea Blue |
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Tamiya X-16 Purple |
Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver |
Tamiya X-21 Titanium Gold |
Tamiya X-12 Gold Leaf |
Tamiya XF-6 Copper |
Tamiya XF-12 JN Gray |
Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey |
Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey |
Tamiya XF-20 Medium Grey |
Tamiya XF-65 Field Grey |
Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey |
Tamiya XF-66 Light Grey |
Tamiya XF-63 German Grey |
Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black |
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Tamiya - Spray Cans
Tamiya spray cans are a synthetic lacquer, great for folks who don't have an air brush though folks with an airbrush will get better results and more mileage after decanting. Tamiya Spray Cans can be found at most hobby shops in North America and Asia. You can view the full list of colours here. Warning - Do not use Tamiya PS sprays on your Gunpla. They're for poly-carbonate plastic and can eat through the plastic Gundam kits are made from.
Tamiya TS-85 Bright Mica Red |
![]() Tamiya TS-39 Mica Red |
Tamiya TS-18 Metallic Red |
Tamiya TS-37 Lavender |
Tamiya TS-56 Brilliant Orange |
Tamiya TS-12 Orange |
Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow
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Tamiya TS-34 Camel Yellow |
![]() Tamiya TS-22 Light Green |
Tamiya TS-20 Metallic Green |
Tamiya TS-19 Metallic Blue |
![]() Tamiya AS-19 Intermediate Blue |
Tamiya TS-15 Blue |
![]() Tamiya AS-8 Navy Blue |
Tamiya TS-53 Deep Metalic Blue |
Tamiya TS-64 Dark Mica Blue |
Tamiya TS-57 Blue Violet |
Tamiya TS-24 Purple |
Tamiya TS-76 Mica Silver |
Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver |
Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum |
Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf |
Tamiya TS-42 Light Gunmetal |
Tamiya TS-38 Gunmetal |
Tamiya TS-21 Gold |
Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White |
Tamiya AS-2 Light Grey |
Tamiya AS-11 Medium Sea Grey |
Tamiya AS-32 Medium Sea Gray 2 (RAF) |
Tamiya TS-48 Gunship Grey |
Tamiya TS-40 Metallic Black |
Tamiya TS-6 Matt Black |
Tamiya TS-29 Semi-Gloss Black |
Tamiya TS-14 Black |
Tamiya - Clear Spray Cans
![]() Tamiya TS-74 Clear Red |
Tamiya TS-73 Clear Orange |
Tamiya TX-72 Clear Blue |
Tamiya TS-71 Clear Smoke |
Model Master - Acryl Jars
My experience with Model Master's Acryl lineup is pretty limited. They seem to have great colour options but I haven't worked with them long enough to figure out the proper thinning ratio. Should be available in your average North American hobby shop. You can view all of their colour options here.
Model Master 4852 Green Zinc Chromate |
Model Master 4643 Purple Pearl |
Model Master 4650 Gape Pearl |
Model Master - Spray Cans
Model Master's spray cans come in lacquer and enamel forms depending on the line. I believe most colours either fall into one category or another. I'm not a fan because they spray really thick.. You can find them in most North American hobby shops and large chains like Michaels.
Model Master 2918 Guards Red |
Model Master 3659 Grabber Orange |
Model Master 1930 Flat Gull Gray |
Model Master 1246 Silver |
Model Master 1290 Chrome |
Model Master 2921 Classic Black |
Testor - Spray Cans
Testors' spray cans, like their cousin Model Master sprays, come in lacquer and enamel forms depending on the line. I believe most colours either fall into one category or another. They spray really thick, I'm not a fan. You can find them in most North American hobby shops and large chains like Michaels.
There's also "One Coat Lacquer " line that's full of sparkles and geared toward model cars. Looks great but a thick coating can cause bubbles and issues that otherwise ruin the paint.
Testors One Coat Lacquer Revving Red |
Testors 2967 Sublime Green |
Testors One Coat Lacquer Lime Ice |
Testors One Coat Lacquer Icy Blue |
Testors Saphire Blue Metallic |
Testors One Coat Lacquer Purple-licious |
Testors One Coat Lacquer Diamond Dust |
Krylon - Spray Can Primers
Krylon primers are fanastic and highly recommended. You can find them at most Michaels craft stores. More on priming here.
Krylon White Primer |
Krylon Gray Primer |
Krylon Black Primer |
Krylon - Spray Cans
These are some other Krylong sprays I picked up from Michaels to mess around with. The Glitter Sprays are just glitter suspending in a clear gloss, many coats of this clear can result in a bit of yellowing. Glitter Blasts are pretty much the same thing, just with 100000x more glitter.
Krylon Glitter Blash Orange Burst |
Krylon Gitter Spray Golden Glow |
Krylon Sun Yellow |
Krylon Glitter Spray Glam Green |
Krylon Glitter Blast Lucky Green |
The Army Painter - Spray Primers
The Army Painter company markets toward folks building game miniatures like 40k. Their paints are available in the US and UK. You can view all of their US primer options here.
Army Painter Primer Pure Red |
Army Painter Primer Army Green |
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Rustoleum - Spray Cans
Rustoleum spray cans can be found in your local hardware store. I don't have much experience with them.
Rustoleum Metallic Silver |
Valspar - Spray Cans
Valspar spray cans can be found in your local hardware store. Lots of great colour options but they go on too thick for most Gunpla applications. Most colours don't have any names so ones I provided for personal reference are in quotes below.
Valspar "Light Green" Satin |
Valspar "Moss Green" Satin |
Valspar "Dark Green" Satin |
Valspar "Off Blue" |
Valspar "Dark Blue" |
Valspar "Dark Purple" Satin |
Valspar Stainless Steel |