Per Testors announcement… I grew up using Floquil and Pactra paint (also discontinued) . Not a bunch of options left other than the fine paint from Scalecoat…
Randy
Randy,
There is no mention of this on the Testors or RPM(owner of Testors) web sites. There is a post on Train Orders about this:
Friday, May 17th, 2013
Dear Valued Partner,
I am writing to inform you about changes that are taking place at the Testor Corporation. For over 80
years, we have provided premium paints and finishing systems to the craft and hobby industry. Today,
we announced that we are transforming our business in order to more effectively address the changing
needs of our consumers and their interests.
We’ve made the decision to exit the following businesses within the Testor® Brand family - Pactra®,
Floquil®, Polyscale®, and ColorArtz®. This will enable the Testor Corporation to return to our foundation
of success – providing premium, innovative product that inspires creativity. We will continue to accept
Not a big deal really, just use model masters and testors colors that match railroad colors. I’m working on a database for exactly this that will be updated as new color matches are found
I would probably,never have looked,until this thread came up. All the paints mentioned,say on their containers and spray cans,a RPM,company…T he testers bottles say,Rockford IL,Rust-Oleum,Vernon Hills,IL. newer bottles of Floquil,Rockford,IL.,Older Floquil bottles,Amsterdam,NY…
So you got me!!??
Cheers,
Frank
I sure hope this is a prank. Testor’s standard paints suck the giant lemon, their Modelmaster level is only just acceptable at best, the Floquil brand is by far the best for model RRing, I cannot (yet oh I so can) believe they would drop their best lines just so they can force their other brands on everyone from model RRers to gamers to scale model wonks. Oh well, thank God they dont own Tamiya.
BTW at my local store the little Testor bottles dont even bother labeling the colors on their bottles anymore, just 3 labels of warnings. I am told the color IS labeled but its text is so small you need a electron microscope to read what the color is.
Way to go Testors.
I am willing to bet that the folks at Badger (Modelflex) are smiling! What I “read” from their statement is that they have decided that the model paint brands they have made for the smaller craft and art communities, of which-I guess- we model railroaders are one of, do not merit further continuance, as the profit margins are not sufficient for them. Given the state of the economy in general, and the reduction in the number of hobby store point of sale locations which used to carry these brands, this may well be not the last announcement of this type we see from our old familiar suppliers. Cedarwoodron
Also a big bump for TruColor Paints which is producing updated version of the Accupaint line of products
Wouldn’t be a big surprise…NOW THAT THERE ARE NO UNDECORATED TRAINS TO PAINT!
Why does this seem to happen so often in business? Or is it my imagination?
Big company buys out smaller company. Closes smaller company, lays everyone off and moves production elsewhere to “save money.”
Big company drops many of the smaller company’s products and only keeps the better selling items. But nobody at big company knows what to do with products they purchased, so sales drop.
After a few years, some bean counter wants to know why the products aren’t MORE profitable. Big company decides to drop all of the remaining products after ruining product line.
Jim
All that I can say is that the only good weathering paints that I’ve found are made by Floquil. And it just so happens that only Floquil and Polly Scale paints stick well to metal. Testor’s regular line of paints stink - the wood and yellow colors are bad, not opaque, hard to mix, not very long shelf life… etc. Model Master is much better, but it is a paint to clean up (especially hard to get out of an airbrush), and it doesn’t stick to metal for…
It seems to me that Testor’s is dropping their best lines of paint, and going beck to their poorer quality (cheaper) paints. The Floquil and Polly Scale paints are excellent for airbrushing. I’ve tried using the Badger paints and Aztec airbrush paints in a friend’s airbrush and I think that they stink. Floquil is the onlt good airbrush paint that I’ve found. It helps that it is water-based and so is very easy to clean out of an airbrush.
Practically everybody in Model Railroading uses Floquil and Polly Scale paints. I use Model Master on occasion or to paint figures, but all of my main painting is done with Floquil.
By the way - I do a lot of repainting and decaling to convert non-PRR equipment to PRR equipment. There are a lot of undecorated resin kits available, and with the brass handrails and white metal castings that require Floquil paints.
I hope that community pressure will cause Testors to reverse their decision in a year or two. Untill then, I guess that we’ll all have to stock up on paints.
S&S
P.S. From looking at old adds, Floquil’s main competitor was “High Ball” paints, and they went out of business years ago. There is no current competition to Floquil, and no one to take their place after Testor’s stops production.
S&S
SAY IT AINT SO! That is about all i use. I have tried Humbrol recently to paint an HO scale Sylvan model & it was the most glossy of any paint I ever used. It took a few days to dry even using lacquer thinner to cut it for airbrushing. Haven’t tried the flat…should take less time to dry They don’t seem to have RR colors, but have a wide variety so there should be some matches.
I noticed that the craft stores are dumping the good paints in favor of the store brand that are cheaper & inferior. In my opinion the best craft paint is Ceramcoat by delta. I do a lot of posters on board & it’s the only one that doesn’t need 2 coats. AC Moore doesn’t carry it anymore & they have their own line of brushes which leave much to be desired.
Another sigh that the profits in the hobby industry are dying. jerry
Hand me the box please…[soapbox]
[:(!] What the heck is that?? Oh I get it, it’s that intimate feeling that something was just broken off! [;)] IMHO Badger and other water based paints are junk. Not that I can’t spray them. But they wear faster, flake more, and are inconsistent in color at best. [^o)] Tomorrow I’m going to my LHS and getting enough Floquil paint to finish the projects I have. I won’t be taking in any more project engines for my friends, or doing any for myself. I won’t be wasting any more funds on Microscale decals, thinners or, oooops,[:O] DULLCOAT!![:O] Then I can ebay my airbrush and buy more RTR stuff that won’t need painting. While we are at it we can then take all the undec plastic stuff and melt it down to build more Prius’s and we can mulch all the wood kits to plant flowers and we can all sit around the garden and sing kumbaya. [sigh] Getting down now.
OK, So my initial response may be over the top. [banghead] But it just burns my buns when a staple of the hobby gets run out. (Remember BB Kits?) Solvent paints, when applied in the proper manner, are not a health risk. Use a booth that ventilates outside, gloves and a mask, you are fine. It boils down to the Testor’s Corp wants to make it’s money elsewhere. Fine. Sell the line to someone else, don’t just kill it. Or are they afraid someone else will have success with it?[^o)]
http://weavermodels.com/page7.html The best paint.
Gosh darnit. This is not good at all. I have like 90% Floquil solvent based paint, and 10% Polyscale water based paint.
I guess I should stock up on Floquil.
When will all this happen?
Just my humble opinion, but I’m still wondering if this is some kind of a hoax. It doesn’t make much sense at all.
I have never liked Testor’s brand hobby paints. Worst paints on the market in my opinion. I’ve been in & out of model making, in one form or another, since the early 1960’s. In all that time I cannot ever recall meeting anyone who really DID like Testor’s paints! Most model builders, be they MRR or kit builders use other brands including Floquil or Pollyscale simply because they are better paints.
The closing of so many LHS would likely not have a bearing in the sales volume of Floquil or Pollyscale. Just because the hobby shops closed doesn’t mean all the MRR’s scrapped their layouts & quit the hobby…which means they are still buying the products, just like they always were. We’re just buying them online or mail order. So, the products must still be selling just as well, just from different venues.
Testors brand paints are available in a far more limited range of colors than most other brands. Model Railroaders form a sizeable chunk of the hobby business. I have no doubt in my mind that far more Floquil & Pollyscale paint is sold than Testors brand is sold. So, does it make any sense whatsoever to discontinue your most popular, largest selling, largest variety brands (the biggest piece of your revenue) in favor of continueing production of an unpopular, highly limited product, ( a much smaller piece of your revenue) that most hobbyists don’t even want???
That’s what makes me wonder if this is some kind of a hoax.
Carl
A little digging turned this up - this is the RPM International - the Testors holding company.
For more information, contact Barry M. Slifstein, vice president – investor relations and planning, at 330-273-5090 or bslifstein@rpminc.com.
If you feel like venting, vent appropriately.
Wearing a corporate hat, the question I have is how they can justify shutting down a product and brand name that has value, rather than attempting to sell the brand elsewhere. Even the most thick-skulled corporate type understands that question even if they think Pollyscale is has something to do with either parrots or fish.
I’ve used Floquil and Poly S for years…I hate to see it go…Don’t care that much about Model Master.
Now,I do want to look into TruColor Paints since they have the same colors as Floquil and Poly S.
Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. With the rise of RTR and the decline of kitbuilding and scratchbuilding of rolling stock there is less need for RR colors. As time passes, I think we’ll see the decline of parts as well, already some are gone from the minority scales.
Paul
I love the stuff and am very disappointed that it is being dropped! I have had a difficult time finding it as of late. The last place I found any, the Floquil paint rack was almost empty.
I think that kit and scratch building IS declining and am just as sad about that as I am about paints going away. If it wasn’t for my interest in building models, I would not be in this hobby.