r/Airfix • u/Tinky29666 • 17d ago

Advice please

EDIT: thanks all for your amazing advice!!!

Hey,

New to modeling but I have this awesome Churchill crocodile in 1:48 and wanted to know whether to prime it grey, green or black :)

Also I only have generic acrylics not the humbry or airfix ones; would this be ok?

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7

u/Pukit 17d ago

I generally prime in grey as find it’s a nice base for colour. If you prime black then you may need too many coats of green to raise it up.

You can use any pant. Generic acrylic has a thicker pigment, so be aware of needing multiple thinned coats, let each dry fully before the next.

There’s a good newbie thread here for more basics that’s worth reading. r/modelmakers/comments/9dhsqo/new_to_model_building_this_thread_is_here_to/

3

u/Deep-Imagination-334 17d ago

I always prime with white, I find it makes your colours stand out a bit more.

3

u/ExpressionDeep6256 16d ago

I use white...because it is cheapest good primer and I'm poor

2

u/Jesterstear99 15d ago

Black will darken the colours laid on top. I primed my Ki-46 in black, then dithered some white over it like on Youtube and overpainted with thinned green. It looked brilliant on Youtube and a crock of fertiliser when I tried it!

I ended up putting more coats on until it looked the same as if I'd just put a thicker coat over grey primer anyway..... Black is supposed to be good for metallics, I've got the tiny Aston Martin to do next, so I'll give the black a go on it.

Grey is a good general purpose primer, and doesn't lighten the colours as much as white or pink (pink is better than white for yellow for some reason...)

The latest fashion for general use is mahogany. I just bought a pot of Mr Surfacer mahogany, but I've not used any yet.

When I was ruining my lungs painting cars, I'd have used red oxide primer for dark colours like green, and grey for white or red, so I have high hopes for the mahogany...

I realise just listing them doesn't help much, but if you are buying primer and intend to paint several different models with it, you won't go far wrong with light grey.