Tamiya Acrylic Paints are one of the most widely used paint lines in scale modeling, and for good reason. The X Series gives you gloss finishes while the XF Series gives you flat/matte finishes, and between the two you get a solid range of colors that covers most of what you'll need for armor, aircraft, cars, gunpla, and figures. They come in 10ml mini bottles and 23ml standard bottles, so you can pick the size that makes sense for your project.

Here's the thing that catches a lot of people off guard though: despite being labeled as acrylics, these are not your typical water-based paints like Vallejo or Citadel. Tamiya acrylics are what many modelers call hybrid acrylics or alcohol-based acrylics. They use water-soluble acrylic resins, but the solvent carrier is closer to a lacquer than a true water-based acrylic. That's why they have a mild solvent smell and why they dry so fast. It also means they produce a tougher, harder finish than standard water-based acrylics, which is a real advantage when it comes to masking and weathering later on.

Where these paints really shine is airbrushing. They flow beautifully through an airbrush, level out smooth, and dry fast enough that you can build up thin coats without long wait times between passes. Coverage is excellent and the pigment is fine enough to preserve surface detail at any scale. For thinning, the go-to is Tamiya X-20A Acrylic Thinner at roughly a 1:1 ratio (paint to thinner), though you can adjust depending on the color and the finish you're after. You can also thin them with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, which dries faster and gives you an even harder, glossier surface. Fair warning though: do not mix X-20A and Lacquer Thinner together, they are not compatible with each other. Also make sure you never accidentally grab X-20 Enamel Thinner (blue cap), that's a completely different product and will ruin your mix.

Brush painting is possible, but this is where Tamiya acrylics are a bit more demanding. Because they dry quickly, you can get brush strokes or lifted previous coats if you're not careful. Adding a few drops of Tamiya Paint Retarder (87114) to your mix slows the drying time and helps the paint level out for a smoother brushed finish. Work in thin coats, don't overwork the surface, and let each coat dry before going back over it.

You can easily adjust the sheen on X Series gloss colors by mixing in X-21 Flat Base at a 1:1 ratio to knock them down to a flat finish. For clear coating, X-22 Clear gives you a gloss coat, X-35 Semi Gloss Clear a satin look, and XF-86 Flat Clear a matte finish.

Before the paint cures, cleanup is simple with water. Once cured, you'll need X-20A thinner, isopropyl alcohol, or lacquer thinner to strip it. One more practical note: Tamiya acrylics cure from the outside in, so even if the surface feels dry, give it a good 24 hours before masking over it to avoid pulling up paint.

Quick Reference

These are a staple in the hobby for good reason. They're widely available, the color range is versatile, and the results through an airbrush are hard to beat. If you're primarily an airbrush user, Tamiya acrylics are one of the safest bets out there. For brush painters, they take a little more technique, but with retarder and thin coats, you can absolutely get good results.