Model car painting help!

[STiMikey]

Hi. I am relatively new to the model car world. I have a Year 2000 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1/24th size model car and am in the process of building/painting it (and am loving the challenge!!!).
However, I am confused as to what the instruction manual means when it tells me to paint portions of the car "XF-1:1 + XF-63:2" (for example). These are Tamiya paint colors (XF-1 and XF-63). Does this mean I have to mix the two colors but put in double the amount of XF-63 paint (due to the ":2")?
Would appreciate any help thanks!
Mike

[proosen]

Sure got that right, those are mixing ratios.

If I'm about to mix small amounts of paint I usually count drops falling from a stick.
For bigger amounts I measure paint with lines drawn on the side of the beeker (at least as long it has straight side walls). For example with your suggested paint above, 3 mm of XF-1 and then 6 mm of XF-63. Then it's just a matter of pouring in the two colours up to the marking line, stir thoroughly and if nedeed thin with appropriate paint thinner.


Niclas

[STiMikey]

Thanks for the confirmation and help, Niclas!
Because I have a 1/24th size model car, the areas requiring "paint mixing" are relatively small (interiors).
I'll try and measure the paints out appropriately.
Cheers!

[Didymus]

Hobby shops sell cheap plastic bulb syringes that are useful for dribbling out small quantities. But I only use them for thinner, since if you put paint in them, they're a pain to clean. I guess they're intended to be disposable.

I don't completely ignore kit instructions, but precise ratios are not critical. Close is good enough. Just use Niclas' beaker (bottle) marking method and mix more than you think you'll actually need, just in case.

Instructions are merely guides. You can also mix by eye. Stir as you dribble in the tinting color and stop when you get the color you want. If the bottle is small, I drop in a ball bearing to make it easy to mix. (Don't do this with a large glass bottle. If you shake it, the ball will break it.)

Speaking of colors, it's very odd that Tamiya does not make a TS- or AS- series pure light blue. They do have a color that's called "Light Blue," but it isn't light and it isn't blue. I'd call it medium turquoise. They also have Coral Blue, which isn't blue either, but pale aqua, like a swimming pool seen from the air. I'm talking about true sky blue, not greenish, not purplish. To get sky blue paint for a car I'm building, I've had to mix left-over blue and white 1K urethanes. Luckily, they were still viscous; that stuff hardens up over time even if it's sealed.

If I didn't have those left-overs, I would have had to pay $14 for a 2 oz. bottle of urethane. Pretty steep, considering the shelf life. Because it's thinned a lot, 2 oz. produces about 5 oz. of sprayable paint, but how much sky blue does a modeler really need?

[klutz_100]

Apart from the superior quality of Vallejo acrylics, another of their winning points is the design of their bottles - with built in dropper. Awesome.

Originally Posted by Didymus

Hobby shops sell cheap plastic bulb syringes that are useful for dribbling out small quantities. But I only use them for thinner, since if you put paint in them, they're a pain to clean. I guess they're intended to be disposable.

I use glass eye droppers similar to these. I but them at my local chemist for about a 1$ or less a pop and they last as long as I don't drop them on the floor Easy to clean - pull the bulb off and flush/soak in your preferred cleanin medium.

They are great not only for mixing small amounts but also for putting small amounts of paint straight into the bottom of your airbrush cup - really reduces wastage when painting small parts.