Mistah Testors. He dead.

THIS GUY is reporting that Testors is quitting the “Model Master” business after years of being abused by fat old men on Hyperscale.

So… in a future where gangs of roving scavengers assault women with impunity and don’t keep their impunities clean or anything, I will have to make-do with some other paint.

Now, I have a large collection of “ammonia paint.” Revell is bringing their excellent paint to the USA but it’s not exactly the same kind of paint as ammonia paint. If you recall, ammonia paints are MM Acryl (soon to be assaulted with Testor’s filthy impunity) Badger Modelflex and Xtracrylix.

I don’t really “do” Xtracrylix because, being glossy, it’s well, glossy. So that leaves Badger Modelflex as my drug of choice for the time being, if worst comes to worst. You see, I need paint that can be mixed with the ammonia paint I already have–that’s simple logic. It also feels very nostalgic because I remember when we used to have to translate Floquil’s Railroad language into airplane talk. “Pullman Green” was RAF Dark Green– and any other dark green. Groovy!

Or…

I could just switch on over to Tamiya acrylic. I already know and love this paint and even though it is difficult to use that’s not a problem for me as I am hightly effin’ skilled, y’all. Deal with it.

(Hey! Whaddaya know! Hip hop culture came in handy!)?

Brushed-on Tamiya paint.
TAMIYA Acrylic Paint!
Exterior Painted with Tamiya Paints.
100% Tamiya Paint. The Alcohol Kind.

Or…

I could switch over to Revell. They only thing I dislike about Revell’s paint is EVERYTHING except the paint itself. The marketing, the color selection, the packaging all suck.

Or, for even worse packaging, I could switch on over to something really esoteric like Hataka Blue.

My man Owen does a fine job demonstrating how to brush this paint.

This kid is going places.

So, that’s the latest casualty of the fatal combination of worldwide pandemic and paint spraying. I’m a bit sad about this, but since I was already cutting my moorings and heading out to sea, it’s not really such a bad thing. The simple fact is that where I live, the rack of Model Master Acrylic will be on display for as long as I’m likely to live, and then some.

Still selling Pactra Scale Model Flats.

5 Replies to “Mistah Testors. He dead.”

  1. Deservedly Ded.
    I’m the proud owner of an Aztec airbrush……. Riiiight.
    I have taken it completely apart, don’t doit! Originally a Kodak product, it features Rube Goldberg engineering, made worse by Testors cheapening of components.
    I have identified the part that has been the source of implacable evil, the hard plastic bushing that the little rod which actuates nozzle needles (which are also little horrors) rides in. It’s hard nylon and cannot provide a seal against paint blow back. Testors used this because Aztecs cannot be opened up to replace true seals that do wear out.
    I have unwisely/stubbornly removed that and replaced with a homemade rubber seal, to find out if improves performance. I’m too cheap to but real mini O-rings. If anyone wants to try this an O-ring of 5mm OD and 1mm ID should work.
    Other wise the “air valve” which is a rubber tube that is pinched shut or open is the other cheap ass trouble maker.
    Anyhow never have anything to do with this cheap little package of horrors. I’m now re- learning how to use a paint brush.

    1. It sounds like how I feel about “cars” after working on F-16’s. Don’t ask me about the “engineering” that went into the 2005 Mercury Sable that I briefly owned. It boggles the mind. It’s a wonder people aren’t butchered every day on the highways…oh wait.

  2. Before I fergit, really enjoyed Owen’s video, I’ll look for more of his work. Thanks.

  3. Wow.

    Apart from a major pita, as I had good sources for MM Acrylic locally, found it worked great, and also have worked out great colour mixes for all of my favourite subjects, this is a big blow.

    Not only that, but it is Model Master. This crap has been around for a long time, along with the overlord Testors. There was Humbrol and Testors. Humbrol/Testors. Sure there were little guys that tried to enter the paint market (Airfix, Compucolor, etc) and others that strode in and grasped big hunks of market share (Tamiya, Vallejo, Revell etc) but these two seemed invulnerable. Unbeatable. Part of the furniture.

    Now they are blaming it on a pandemic? haha, if anyone here remembers, I emailed them about MM Acrylic colours and how they should expand the line, and was told by a nice fellow there that he was basically waiting for the doctors to pronounce it dead. This has been in the works for a while. They have just found the perfect excuse and way to get the fat guys off their backs.

    Humbrol, Testors, death and income taxes.

    Farewell Testors….

  4. Oh yeah, Quick Kits (Owen) has had a great channel for years. One of the only real model brush painting youtube channels there is. After he went to University and started in with his career, naturally his amount of content has gone down the drain. But he always pops up eventually with a new video.

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