Tamiya TS spray question

hi everybody:) . i am wondering where all the tamiya TS sprays have gone:banghead: . i heard a few months ago that they needed to be re-labeled or something like that because of new EU regs and that they would be on sale in europe in the new year - feb, ish. however i haven't seen any on sale for a long time now, and i'm wondering if tamiya's pulled the line. is this true? are they ever coming back?:confused:

i was also wondering about a replacement - i would airbrush but i don't have one (i should get one if my builds are to look like anything on here!), and what about automotive paints? wouldn't they eat into the plastic? i was also thinking about tamiya's polycarbonate sprays, of which there's alot about. but i'm not sure if they would eat into the plastic aswell.

thanks for your time and in advance of any replies.

I asked about the TS sprays at my local model shop and was told that there was a labeling issue with them and they should be back on sale end of Feb/early March 2008.
The Zero range of paints available at www.hiroboy.com are an excellent alternative to the TS sprays and there is a never ending range of colours available,plus you can have most colours custom mixed at your request.You will however need an airbrush to apply them.But as you say your builds will improve with the purchase of an airbrush so maybe the time is right to buy one? As long as the plastic is properly primed you won't have any problems with the automotive style paints eating into the plastic surface.I think the opposite is true of the polycarbonate sprays (PS range) as these are designed for the lexan RC bodies and will eat into the plastic of regular model kits.

Hmm, must just be something in Europe, b/c here in the states, Ive had no problems at all getting them at my LHS, just bought something like 8 cans just a couple weeks ago.

Hmm, must just be something in Europe, b/c here in the states, Ive had no problems at all getting them at my LHS, just bought something like 8 cans just a couple weeks ago.
Last I heard they were taken off the shelves in the UK. Shame. My LHS guys told me it's because they weren't labeled in English. Could be that the EU followed suit.

As for automotive paints, I don't think urethane would be incompatible with plastic. But it requires only a very thin coat for coverage, and it's not easy to sand. Best to prime first. Be sure that the primer is okay with plastic; the urethane should be compatible with just about any ol' primer.

Automotive paints, including Hiro's I believe, have a matte/satin finish. I use single-part touch up paint thinned 1:1 with lacquer thinner, and it goes on beautifully, but it cannot be polished, a clear top coat is necessary - either lacquer or urethane will work great. I prefer clear lacquer over clear automotive urethane because the two-part clear urethane is so unforgiving. It dries to a mirror-like finish without any need to polish, but it's very difficult to patch or strip if you make a mistake. (That makes it ideal for low-energy, high-risk personalities!)

Ddms

Do you know how likely it is that they'll be back on sale towards end of feb/early march? I've been waiting since summer 2007 and really, REALLY need to stock up. I'm so glad someone else got to asking this before me. I only need to cover like 3 sqaure cm to finish off my Yamaha M1 :banghead: :banghead: !! Tried to find a matching colour in Halfords but they didn't have anything, which makes me wonder what happens if you scratch your real bike in that colour...? :uhoh:

Do you know how likely it is that they'll be back on sale towards end of feb/early march?

I was told this by one of the guys in my local model shop.Not sure how accurate it is,but I suppose he probably knows better than me as he is in contact with Tamiya.I've switched over to Zero paints in the meantime and must say I actually prefer them over the Tamiya TS sprays.I find they cover better and go a lot further pound for pound and there's such a vast choice of colours as well.I seriously doubt that even when or if the TS sprays are available again I will go back to using them and will just continue with the Zero ones instead.But of course they are useless unless you have an airbrush with which to spray them?

No Problem to get the TS-Spray in Germany. But Tamiya Germany adds an additional (Warning-) Sticker in german language on every Spray-Can.

what would be a good airbush alternative? is the tamiya airbrush with compressor any good? http://cgi.ebay.de/Tamiya-SPRAY-WORK-Compressor-w-Airbrush-Set-NEW_W0QQitemZ180214348715QQihZ008QQcategoryZ1200QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638. m122

i only worked with TS cans so far but i want to step up now (even with a basic airbrush.)

Hi

The Tamiya airbrusset is a nice starter set. I've used it to paint cars and even a 1:72 Lancaster bomber with camo pattern. And it all went perfectly.

But (it's a small but) this is a single-action airbrush. Good for painting big areas but not so good for detail-painting.
And apart from that, the compressor is a membrane-compressor, which in effect means that you cannot regulate the air-pressure...

But don't let that deter you, because for painting cars, this airbrushset will do fine to start learning and building up experience in airbrushing.
And on top of that, the price isn't bad either (I paid more that 66 Euro's for my Evolution 2-in-1 airbrush gun alone - never mind what I paid for my current compressor...)

thanks for the info. :) yeah it would be mainly for car body purposes (atm at least), i just need to take the next step now, it's just sometimes too much of trial and error with the spray cans. gonna order this one then. :licka:

If you don't mind paying for ground shipping, try hobbylinc.com or ehobbies.com. They have all the TS sprays in stock.

thanks everyone for your help - it's really helped me. i'm gonna take stevenobel's advice - but could you recomend a good starter airbrush compressor, (i've already got a starter airbrush) so that i could paint detail parts? i'm not sure which one to go for.

thank for your help.

I would definitely get one that has a regulator, or that can be used with a regulator. Precise control of pressure is not a big deal, so long as the pressure is within an acceptable range for a given thickness of paint. But pressure outside that range can really cause problems.

Ddms

On the issue of a compressor I would always give the same advice.Buy the best one that fits within your budget and that you can afford.I made that mistake when I bought my first one.I went for a really inexpensive one.It had no pressure gauge and the pressure couldn't be controlled either.It just ran all the time,but could never keep up the airflow and I always found myself waiting for it because the pressure would drop so low that the airbrush would not spray properly anymore.I used it for about a year before I upgraded to a better one.It has a built in air tank which keeps the air supply smooth and constant (no more waiting for the compressor to catch up) It also has a pressure gauge,regulator and a built in water trap and can make pressure between 0-80 psi (although I only use between 15-30 psi) It's also virtually silent in operation,handy for late night spraying sessions without disturbing my next door neighbors.The picture below is virtually identical to mine in all but colour,mine is blue.I've had it since 1993 and all I do with it is change the oil once a year.I can vouch for it's reliability and it's usefulness.I build mainly cars and bikes and it is an excellent all round compressor.It easily powers my Tamiya HG trigger airbrush with the wide sprayhead and needle fitted.To be honest for the price this one is not too expensive and not too cheap,it sort of sits in the middle and I noticed you live in the UK as well so you should be able to pick it up from the local Machine Mart shop so you can save on postage.It's actually got cheaper because when I bought mine in 1993 it was £249 and now is only £170.

This is basically the same as mine,just newer model.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/stevenoble/000117091.jpg

Here is a link to the website

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/categories/search/ultra-quiet-air-compressors

i won a used spray work on ebay for 40€. not much to do wrong i guess, for checking it out. if it is utter crap i can still dump it and go for the expensive stuff. :runaround:

Congrats !

Let us know how you get along with the compressor. And if you have any problems (which I doubt), just ask !

thanks, i'll get some pictures uploaded as soon as it arrives:sunglasse

arrived yesterday. it's a pre 2002 model (at least hlj lists the current with different looking compressor to be released by that time) but in a very very good condition.

sadly the pre-owner had some sort of customized idea of using the power source :uhoh:and cut away the tamiya battery connector and replaced it with some cable i do not know. :loser:

http://s2.directupload.net/images/080310/5uxx6ofz.jpg

so i looked into my spare parts stash and luckily i still had some old parts from my r/c racing time.

http://s2.directupload.net/images/080310/ghvpvia5.jpg

=

http://s3.directupload.net/images/080310/6zx7mocu.jpg

i would power it with the regular a/c adapter but i can't seem to get ahold of one. i hope this solution works. if not i need to get a new compressor allready.

Did the eBay listing say that the power supply had been futzed with?

If it didn't, the item is considered "not as described," and the seller is obligated to refund your money or in some way give you equivalent value - like the factory fittings or a partial refund. Personally, I don't like being cheated, and wouldn't encourage deceptive practices by allowing that to go by.

If the seller refuses to give you fair value, and you don't want to file a formal complaint, negative feedback is definitely in order.

Ddms

seeing as this was originally a thread about the TS spray paint problem, I'll add this here.

I came across this bit of news from my local model shop after i got back from Hong Kong.

Apparently, Tamiya paints were due to be shipped and make delivery before easter but as early as in January, they were already told that it won't be happening until at least June.