Testors Model Master paint

[crazyjim]

I saw a post on Facebook stating Testors was going to eliminate the Model Master line of paints.  I went to the Testors website but can't get through to customer service. Anybody know what's going on?

[Xingu]

They responded on Facebook saying it was discontinued because of lack of support from the marketplace.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Well that sucks. Far as I know, there's nothing else on the market that works exactly like their buffing Metalizers.

[Xingu]

The post I saw did specifically mention the enamel paints, so maybe the Metalizers will survive.

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

They had better not get rid of the metalizers!!! I'll have to stock up... -RRR

[crazyjim]

Oh man.  What am I going to use for interiors?  I need those flat MM paints.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Oh man.  What am I going to use for interiors?  I need those flat MM paints.

Depending on the colors you need, SEM may have alternative for you...these are non-gloss interior colors:

https://www.cardetailsupplies.com/shop-all/paint-touch-up/

 

[Mike999]

Earlier this year, Testor's announced it was dumping the Model Master II (TWO) paint line - that was the International & Military colors.  They used exactly the language above: "discontinued because of lack of support from the marketplace."  At that time they were keeping the regular Model Master paints.

So I'm wondering if they really are killing all Model Master paints, or if we're still seeing news about the earlier shake-up (bad pun intended).

Here's a thread about it from Fine Scale Modeler in June 2017, where several people contacted Testors directly:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/18/t/175408.aspx
 

[crazyjim]

Thanks Bill.  All I saw was rattle cans.  I hand brush all my interiors so those won't help.

[crazyjim]

Thanks Mike.  I was finally able to send an email message to Testors customer support.  Rustoleum sent an auto reply that they received the message.  I hope to hear back from the source in a couple of days and will post the results here.

 

[shoopdog]

I would sure hate to see the MM Laquer paints go.

[Joe Handley]

I would sure hate to see the MM Laquer paints go.

Same here, I've used them on lexan R/C bodies for years, especially after Testors stupidly pulled the Pactra paint line for a while.  When I was still with HobbyTown, we sold a decent amount of those paints for the Pinwood Derby kids too.

[peteski]

Few years back RPM (the parent company of all of those model paints) killed off the entire line of Floquil and Polly-Scale model railroad colors. Looks like they keep on cutting their hobby paints lines. Maybe this hobby is dying after all. If it is true what they said then the hobby shops are simply not ordering enough paints to make it profitable for RPM?

Sure, other brands of hobby paints keep appearing, but it is too bad that the old standbys are disappearing. New paints mean we have to learn new techniques and figure out compatibilities between the new lines of paints.  I don't like what I'm seeing.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Few years back RPM (the parent company of all of those model paints) killed off the entire line of Floquil and Polly-Scale model railroad colors. Looks like they keep on cutting their hobby paints lines. Maybe this hobby is dying after all. If it is true what they said then the hobby shops are simply not ordering enough paints to make it profitable for RPM?

Sure, other brands of hobby paints keep appearing, but it is too bad that the old standbys are disappearing. New paints mean we have to learn new techniques and figure out compatibilities between the new lines of paints.  I don't like what I'm seeing.

Yeah, I'm getting back into trains and there's a pretty huge gap where Floquil and Polly-S used to be.

I'm also wondering how much of the problem is attributable to the hazardous-material-panic crowd. Non-solvent-based materials simply lack the performance of their smelly, scary predecessors, and not a few self-stripping real cars on the road today can testify to the veracity of that statement.

It's a pity that what were once cottage-industry model paint manufacturers got swallowed up by corporations that can't afford (or just don't want to be bothered) to produce products for a small market.

Edited October 30, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[peteski]

Yeah, I'm getting back into trains and there's a pretty huge gap where Floquil and Polly-S used to be.

I'm also wondering how much of the problem is attributable to the hazardous-material-panic crowd. Non-solvent-based materials simply lack the performance of their smelly, scary predecessors, and not a few self-stripping real cars on the road today can testify to the veracity of that statement.

It's a pity that what were once cottage-industry model paint manufacturers got swallowed up by corporations that can't afford (or just don't want to be bothered) to produce products for a small market.

I am also into model train hobby (N scale). Yes, RPM International is a giant chemical manufacturer (they don't just own all the hobby paints). DAP and Rustoleum are just some of their brands (along with Testors).  Here is a round-up of just their consumer brands. But Floquil has been owned by RPM for decades before they killed it off. I have some old Floquil bottles with the Amsterdam, NY address where the label states that it is "an RPM company", so it is not like the giant swallowed all the paint companies and killed them off quickly.

I think that the hazardous-material-panic as you called it (and all the government regulations) are big part of them discontinuing those hobby paints.  But Polly-Scale was a water-based acrylic paint, not like the smelly Floquil. So I don't know if its demise can be contributed to the above mentioned panic.

It is a pity  to see this happening. Others are trying to fill the niche, but it is not quite the same.  For example True-Color paints has a wast line of model railroad colors and they are even getting into automotive model colors. And more and more modelers are now using the inexpensive water-based acrylic craft paints.  I have not adjusted to that yet.

[Ace-Garageguy]

 ...But Floquil has been owned by RPM for decades before they killed it off. I have some old Floquil bottles with the Amsterdam, NY address where the label states that it is "an RPM company", so it is not like the giant swallowed all the paint companies and killed them off quickly...

OK. Not unlike GM cutting loose their Electro-Motive Division. Even though it was still operating in the black, apparently the numbers weren't considered big enough by management to continue with a business entity that made some of the best and most widely recognized locomotives in history.

When I got out of trains, you could buy a partially pre-painted kit from somebody like Ambroid, and the instructions would call out the Floquil paint to match it, for finishing edges and touchups. I've recently been buying vintage wood car kits, and it should be interesting to see what kinds of hoops will need to be jumped to build them.

Polly-S may have died because the last versions were so thin that brushing it just didn't work anymore. Maybe bean-counters saving pennies killed demand for the product? Who knows.

Edited October 30, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[peteski]

OK. Not unlike GM cutting loose their Electro-Motive Division. Even though it was still operating in the black, apparently the numbers weren't considered big enough by management to continue with a business entity that made some of the best and most widely recognized locomotives in history.

When I got out of trains, you could buy a partially pre-painted kit from somebody like Ambroid, and the instructions would call out the Floquil paint to match it, for finishing edges and touchups. I've recently been buying vintage wood car kits, and it should be interesting to see what kinds of hoops will need to be jumped to build them.

Polly-S may have died because the last versions were so thin that brushing it just didn't work anymore. Maybe bean-counters saving pennies killed demand for the product? Who knows.

Yup, the world around us is changing fast (and not always for the better).  You are right about Polly-Scale - it was very thin and wasn't' very opaque. The original Polly-S was a much thicker paint.  They "improved" good paint to make it cr@ppier and then killed the line.

[Art Anderson]

Yup, the world around us is changing fast (and not always for the better).  You are right about Polly-Scale - it was very thin and wasn't' very opaque. The original Polly-S was a much thicker paint.  They "improved" good paint to make it cr@ppier and then killed the line.

For what it's worth, from my having spent upwards of 25 yrs in retail hobbies (full time employee then store owner), Floquil and Polly S both were very much at the bottom of sales where hobby paint was concerned--as both appealed ONLY to a portion of both the model railroad and military modeling hobbies.  With model railroading any more, "ready-to-run" appears to have taken over from the days of those really neat but "craftsman-only" kits made from basswood, with cast metal ends and details, and with Floquil one had to use an airbrush to get any satisfactory finishes on plastic rolling stock or buildings.  Polly S hit in the very late 1960's with tremendous fanfare--but again, it took different techniques (even airbrushing) for the military guys to get their desired results.

FWIW, RPM is the acronym for "Rockford Paper Mills", who bought or merged with Testors a good 50 years ago or so, and remained a fairly small, if conglomerated firm until the late 1980's when they began expanding into other lines of paint.  It doesn't surprise me at all that their hobby paint lines are at unsustainable levels, sales-wise.

Art

[TarheelRick]

Sounds very similar to WalMart's reason for no longer selling models: the shelf space was not turning enough profit.  I sure miss the days when maximum profit was not the only reason for being in business, customer service was just as important.

[peekay]

Try Humbrol enamels if you can get them.

Their flats and semi-gloss paints flow and cover nicely. You will need their thinner as well as most of them are too thick straight from the tin.

I've always preferred them to MM or Revell and really hope they don't also disappear.  

[PARTSMARTY]

This is terrible news since i'm a big fan of model masters paints.Since i'm still in auto parts and very soon to retire I've been ordering and stocking up on a few cans of Plastikote paint i'll need.

[crazyjim]

Testors replied and following is the OFFICIAL word from them.

Happy to clear things up, Jim! Unfortunately, the International Military & Figure Enamels were discontinued due to the lack of support for them in the marketplace. The rest of our Model Master line, however, is still available.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Testors replied and following is the OFFICIAL word from them.

Happy to clear things up, Jim! Unfortunately, the International Military & Figure Enamels were discontinued due to the lack of support for them in the marketplace. The rest of our Model Master line, however, is still available.

THANK YOU SIR !!

[Mark]

OK. Not unlike GM cutting loose their Electro-Motive Division. Even though it was still operating in the black, apparently the numbers weren't considered big enough by management to continue with a business entity that made some of the best and most widely recognized locomotives in history.

While flushing money down the toilet for 25 years with Saturn (it never turned a profit), also with buying Saab (which likewise never made a dime under their ownership)...

[modelercarl]

The reason General Motors got out of the business is General Electric.  If GM was making any money with their locomotives, it wasn't enough, and when GE started expanding their offerings, with better product, GM realized they were not going to be competitive in the market and dropped out.