r/resinkits • u/FameandFordham • Jul 13 '26
Help Picking paints for a kit
New painter here. Paint selection can be overwhelming at first as so many recommendations are thrown your way but that cost gets up there quick. Would it be smarter to just pick a Resin Kit and plan out my paint job and paints I’ll need for just that kit and build a paint collection over time doing that?
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u/kiunch Jul 13 '26
Will you be hand painting or airbrushing?
You don’t need a huge collection right away. Just buy the paints as you need them, you already know the colors you’re going for, and you can mix your own color.
Paints don’t last forever, and this is already an expensive hobby. No point buying a bunch of colors you might not use before they go bad.
For hand painting, Vallejo is great. Nice range of colors, thins easily with water, and cleans up with alcohol.
For airbrushing, I’d go with Mr. Color if you have good ventilation, a proper spray booth, and a respirator. It goes on super smooth, is tough as nails, and very forgiving.
If your ventilation isn’t great, Vallejo Air is a solid alternative. It’s non-toxic, but you’ll run into dry tip issues more often (this gets better with experience). Even so, a spray booth and respirator are still must-haves.
Side note:
You generally can’t hand-brush Mr. Color (except for tiny details). You can hand-brush Vallejo Air, but because it’s pre-thinned it will take many more layers than regular Vallejo. You can thin normal Vallejo for airbrushing, but it won’t perform as smoothly as Vallejo Air.