First Look: MicroLux Paint - 3
issues with change in consistency or drying out with Vallejo's
plastic bottles. After my successful tests, I bought more.
Most Vallejo paint comes in ½-ounce (17ml) bottles. I did my
color matching by taking PollyScale boxcar red and grimy black
to my local military/RC shop and holding up my bottles to the
Vallejo rack until I found a match.
Micro-Mark’s MicroLux line takes the guesswork out of this
process.
I found the pigments used in the Vallejo line (and MicroLux,
since they’re made by Vallejo) seem to be a much finer grind
than what has been used in other model train paints.
The paint flows on very smooth and it “settles down” over
details very well. This, combined with a modern water based
acrylic resin, gives these paints a hardness and covering power
that is superior to other acrylic paints I’ve used.
MicroLux paint can be airbrushed without thinning. Vallejo
states in their literature that their paint dries in seconds, and
the next coat of paint can be applied right away. Non-porous
surfaces, such as plastic or metal, may take longer to dry. This
can be a real time-saver for us modelers.
Micro-Mark MicroLux paint adheres well to a variety of sur-
faces. I have used it on resin, plastic, wood, and metal. There
were no issues will the paint not sticking well, obscuring
details, or not covering properly.
I did not use primer when painting the lighter colors, even
though MicroLux suggests using a white or light grey primer if
the surface to be painted is very dark.
Colors can be mixed with one another and diluted with water –
distilled water is always best to avoid getting any other particu-
lates into the paint.
2: The barrels
are an O Scale
resin casting
from Rusty Rail
Part Number
RRJP-O-13
I started by
airbrushing
MicroLux Rust
29005 as a
primer. It stuck very well and gave some “tooth” for the
rest of the colors. I then brushed the barrels with Roof
Red 29010, Dark Green 29017, Boxcar Red 29015, and
Rail Brown 29001. The gas can was painted with Signal
Red 29020. The sledge hammer handle was painted
with Dirt 29025, with the handle done in Flat Aluminum
29026. The barrel openings were painted with Rust
29005. I varied the coverage of paint on the barrels.
Some was brushed very lightly to allow the rust under-
coat to show through. It was easy to vary the amount of
paint applied. When I needed the paint a little thinner,
I dipped the tip of the brush in water and wiped most
of it off on a paper towel. This left the brush tip slightly
moist. I then dipped the tip of the brush in the paint. The
paint was just thin enough to allow for light coverage.
It was a little thicker than a wash. This feature makes
MicroLux paint very versatile.
I would usually continue finishing the barrels with a
combination of washes, pigments, and pastel pencils.
For this article on the basic coatings, I stopped at the
painting step.
4
MRH-Mar 2014
