Seeking information about the status of the status of several of Testors long-standing paint lines, we have received the following from Vince Pierri, Senior Manager, PR & Corporate Communications for Rust-Oleum:
“With a long history of producing quality hobby kits and supplies, we are evolving our strategy to focus more keenly on Testors, our flagship brand. To that end, we are discontinuing our PACTRA, AZTEK, and Model Master brands as demand for these products continues to decline. We will continue to support the hobby market with a robust line of aerosols, brush paints, tools and accessories – always looking for opportunities to innovate in these categories.”
Vallejo has a large line of paints, and they sell artists’ paints, too, so they know what they’re doing. Many like AK; I’ve started to use Mission Models–their primers are very good.
Please keep Dullcote and Lusterless flat – these are very useful.
Maybe they’ll up the quality of the brand they have left. Make it a tad less thick.
To bad, I guess we will be going off shore for are paint needs, more than we already are! It does not head in the direction of “Made in the USA” does it.
I too miss Floquil so much. I was able to paint models with a superb finish, that is lacking with the water based acrylics and such. I think that many modelers just want to purchase a model and take it out of the box and run it. As a longtime modeler, I immensely enjoy building, detailing and painting models, but alas, the manufacturers rarely produce undecorated models, and the detail makers are also falling by the wayside.
There aren’t enough new people entering the hobby world to replace the ones dying off. Not only do companies discontinue lines or fold completely, the lines that are left have to charge more for their products because the production runs are so small. I don’t know how we reverse the trend, or if it’s even possible in the age of electronics.
Their decision has nothing to do with a so called decline in demand, but has everything to do with a paint company (Rustoleum) not wanting to be in the hobby market and not understanding the marketing of a modeler’s line of paint. The market is there. Just look at companies like AK Interactive, Mig, Tamiya, Tru-Color, etc. If there was no market they would not have grown as they have in the last 5 years or so. Testor’s owned Polly S which was once the pre-eminent acrylic line of paint and is still sought after today some 10 years after being discontinued. Acrylic is the paint of choice in today’s world; why didn’t they bring it back to capture today’s market? This is a sad day for the world of modeling.
Are there any other model paint manufacturers? What will the model manufacturers do? Do they have their own paint production?
Many have recommended Rust Oleum for their flat clear, so there is still hope? But don’t forget about Scalecoat II, 1, 2 oz bottles and 6 oz spray cans. These are now handled by Minute Man Scale Models. They seem to be extremely busy during this pandemic but were are still working. http://www.MinuteManScaleModels.com
If you do the math at how much one gallon of the model paints costs, at $5 for a one ounce bottle, that comes to roughly $640 a gallon.
Those little square bottles were the best thing for supporting a figure while the glue dried. I still have one with “19c” on the lid. Forget luxuries like toilet paper and meat – clean out those hobby shop shelves today! This is a warning to Gulf Coast Model Railroad – get an empty box ready!
I agree with David Nelson. Rust Oleum is only interested in mega paint business and is not committed to the effort needed to maintain a small line of paints. Testors does not generate the large profits they thought they would get so they are slowly strangling the market so that they can get out. Another case of big business destroying small business.
I really miss my Floquil the best paint for model railroad painting
One of the reasons I have been inactive in the hobby is that Floquil has been discontinued. It was an excellent paint for styrene and resin models, since the painted bonded chemically with the surface. It was also very good on brass, if you cleaned the model thoroughly before paint application. As for the deleterious effects associated with organic aromatic paints, they can be mitigated with appropriate paint masks and gloves. Unfortunately, the tort lawyers dominant TV ads, in search of anyone who has cancer and came remotely in touch with organic based paints.
At this rate we will eventually be reduced to one manufacturer of paints and at the mercy of whichever colors/finishes they decide are marketable. Yes, there are still lots of choices IF you want to fire up your airbrush and mix your colors, but for larger areas you’d still prefer to have a rattle-can option. Somebody trying to tell us something?
The thing I keep wondering over and over, not just in model railroading, but other recreational pursuits, is the demand not there anymore, OR, is the lack of demand related to the lack of access to products and hobbies in the first place? Even as a kid in a rural area there were model cars and paints on local store shelves. Now days not only are many local hobby shops gone, but the big box stores don’t carry models and craft supplies anymore. People may be able to order product on line, but they can’t order if they aren’t in the hobby. And they won’t get in the hobby if they don’t get exposed by seeing product on store shelves. It’s becoming a self fulfilling prophecy by manufacturers not creating the market by not being out there.
It seems to me that companies need to learn how to deal with niche markets–and the hobby business is a niche market. I’m sure more people buy the typical Rustoleum spray cans than buy Model Master paints. But the demand is there. They just have to adjust the production to fit the demand. They could still make profits from selling craft paints like Model Master.
Fortunately we have Tamiya as well as Testors. If Testors keep the same colors only under their one name that won’t be a problem. If they drop colors then Tamiya paints are a quality paint. I buy both now but mostly Testors. This could change.
The baby-boomer generation is getting on in age so it is more difficult to maintain a steady hand and it’s more difficult to see and add the tiny details to a model. So model building can be more frustrating than fun. Speaking from experience!
Or just maybe Rust Oleum, having acquired Testors, found itself in lines of business and in markets that it did not and does not really understand? I saw that happen an awful lot during my working years (not hobby or craft related I hasten to say).
I miss Floquil so badly I hate to think about it.
I wonder if they will expand the line to include the colors only found in Model Master paints now? They got rid of Floquil and Polly Scale years ago and absorbed them into the Model Master line. This unfortunately shows a lot of people are not model building as they did years ago and the lack of creativity and production is being felt by various companies.