franz bolo
Sr Member
What were some of the common paint brands that prop makers used back in the 60's and 70's?
Thanks
FB
Thanks
FB
70's paints
- Thread starter franz bolo
- Start date
jedimaster
Sr Member
Floquil, Humbrol, pretty sure testors too.
franz bolo
Sr Member
I haven't heard of Pactra.
I'm helping a friend match some paint from part of the Valley Forge.
FB
I'm helping a friend match some paint from part of the Valley Forge.
FB
JMChladek
Sr Member
Pactra bottles were glass actually (I think I still have a couple of them in storage). The Pactra stuff tended to be the main brand used that we don't see today, although Floquil colors were more likely used on the bigger projects since that stuff would dry so quick thanks to the DioSol thinners (don't light a cigarette around that stuff). Pactra was doing a lot of different military shades long before Testors started their FS Model Master color line in the mid 1980s. I believe it has been documented that at least one of the colors used by ILM on TIE Fighter models was a Pactra shade.
Over in England, Humbrol and Airfix colors I believe were more the norm in the 1960s and 70s and you tended to see them used more on things like the Gerry Anderson models. Not all the colors available back then are around today though. Revell paints from the 1970s I've never really seen, but model markets tended to be a bit more regional back then compared to today. So one part of the country would be more likely to have Pactra paints while another would more likely carry Testors. Given that California was Revell's home state though, it wouldn't surprise me if Revell colors were common there.
Over in England, Humbrol and Airfix colors I believe were more the norm in the 1960s and 70s and you tended to see them used more on things like the Gerry Anderson models. Not all the colors available back then are around today though. Revell paints from the 1970s I've never really seen, but model markets tended to be a bit more regional back then compared to today. So one part of the country would be more likely to have Pactra paints while another would more likely carry Testors. Given that California was Revell's home state though, it wouldn't surprise me if Revell colors were common there.
franz bolo
Sr Member
Thanks for all the info!
FB
FB
When we were cleaning out my grandma's house to prep for the estate sale i found an old barely started model kit my grandpa had that i can't even remember the year. It was almost like brand new and inside were several bottles of Pactra paints. I remember when he did his model railroad buildings he'd use it because he bought it before it stopped being produced and would forget about it. The stuff was still good when I opened it back in 2005.
Humbrol was the Cadillac of paints back then, especially if you were working on anything that would have a flatter finish to it (military equipment, well-used farm equipment, weapons, etc.)
Floquil was more of the choice for airbrushers as it was one of the best paints in the 70s for using with an airbrush.
Floquil was more of the choice for airbrushers as it was one of the best paints in the 70s for using with an airbrush.
JMChladek
Sr Member
Ain't that the truth. I am curious how many combined brain cells modelers killed back then spraying Floquil thinned with Diosol? :eek
One thing I will give a hand to Floquil on is they have maintained the railroad color racks for quite a while with many great colors that one typically doesn't see these days and they haven't messed with the formulas. Plus I also like the fact that you can still get them in bigger bottles, which comes in VERY handy for big projects.
There are some cool old Pactra colors that I wish still existed, but several of those fell by the wayside when Testors bought them out. Pactra paints still exist today as a Testors division (Floquil is owned by Testors as well), but they are just a rack of RC bottle and spray paints for painting Lexan bodies and they don't have any of the old colors from the good ole days of model building.
DMC 12
Active Member
Exactly this. Ok I wasn't alive back in the 70s but I remember Humbrol being good, now they're awful since corgi bought them out. You used to be able to get a flat and even finish using a brush with gloss paints, now you get brush strokes everywhere and bits and bubbles. That is if your paint has even had any solids put into the tin. Massively inconsistent too these days :/
johnfields
Member
3d-builder
Sr Member
Damn I read 70's pants when seing the title
LOL!:lol
