MRP paints, they're great yes, but not really worth it in my opinion

[Maketar Productions]

I know this has been discussed countless times already, and I’m not trying to open a can of worms or start a paint war, but this is something I’ve genuinely been thinking about.

 

As I already mentioned, I got back into the hobby about a year ago after roughly a 15-year break. I never really stopped buying kits, tools, or paints, so my paint collection has now grown

to around 1,500 bottles, mainly Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, Lifecolor, and MRP.

 

After building a few models over the last 12 months or so, I’ve mostly been using Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, and some MRP. Tamiya and Mr. Hobby are always thinned with Mr. Hobby Levelling

 

Thinner, so at this point they are basically all being used as lacquers. I have never had a single issue with either brand. They all spray beautifully and cover very well, apart from the usual difficult colors like red or yellow.

 

MRP paints do have one big advantage: they come pre-thinned. But for me, that’s also where the advantage ends. The pigment settles very quickly, even inside the airbrush during slightly longer painting sessions.

 

Then there is the price: €5.5 to €6.5 for a 30 ml bottle.

 

That is where the math starts to look questionable to me. Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, AK Real Colors, and similar paints all need thinning, but even at 1:1 you already get a lot more usable paint, and in my case it is usually closer to 1:3 paint to thinner because I always spray very thin coats. I am not even counting shading work here, because in those cases I would thin MRP as well.

 

So with a €2.8 bottle of 17 ml AK Real Color, after thinning I get at least 34 ml of airbrush-ready paint, and in reality more like 40+ ml. With Tamiya and Mr. Hobby, it works out similarly, if not even better.

 

So, with absolutely no intention of dismissing or bashing MRP, my question is: where exactly is the value in it? Am I missing something?

 

To be clear, this is not a rant. MRP paints are very good. I just do not see them as being better than pretty much any other quality paint I have used over the years, apart from the convenience of already being pre-thinned.

 

Cheers,

Alek

Edited March 26 by Maketar Productions

[BarryWilliams]

Personally I like the convenience and only put MRP through my airbrush.  I have full sets of WW2 colours for all the main combatants plus metallics, basic colours and a few more, over 200 on my shelves.  These plus MRP’s primers and varnishes provide all my painting needs.  Absolutely love spraying them and their consistency.  I have never had a problem with MRP at all and I am not changing. 
 

As for cost, I am not price sensitive at all and the small amount extra is well worth it. 

 

 

[Maketar Productions]

9 minutes ago, BarryWilliams said:

Personally I like the convenience and only put MRP through my airbrush.  I have full sets of WW2 colours for all the main combatants plus metallics, basic colours and a few more, over 200 on my shelves.  These plus MRP’s primers and varnishes provide all my painting needs.  Absolutely love spraying them and their consistency.  I have never had a problem with MRP at all and I am not changing. 
 

As for cost, I am not price sensitive at all and the small amount extra is well worth it. 

 

 

 

I completely agree, they do spray beautifully but absolutely not better than any other, thats the whole point. Not cost sensitive either but i feel that "just pour it into airbrush" is somewhat not worth more than double the price.  

[red Dog]

I like the fact that they have some references noone else has, like the mirage 2000. Celomer are a nightmare to get right with tamiya or gunze - MRP has them

Navy White is so much better than other brands (I use) as well. 

I also feel their matt varnish is one of the best. (not so their gloss varnish) 

I love the plethora of metal colours they have for exhaust hue, before it was alclad which were great but long gone. 
I like the fact they work great in combination tamiya or gunze which I also use extensively

 

I'm not exclusive to MRP, but when the H308 is in shortage, it's great to have MRP filling the gap.

I basically have 3 main brands: Gunze/Tamiya and MRP. and from time to time Real colours and hardly vallejo. Lately I started using AToms to replace humbrol for brush painting. These are so much better than the old Humbrols (I still use - but don't buy new)

 

And on top of all, I like their ease of use not having to dilute them. 
I understand the cost issue though but when I mix, I always lose product as well. I thin Gunze/Tamiya with cheap 70% alcohol, the cost argument could be returned if you use Mr levelling thinner which is way more expensive than alcohol

And let's be honest when I spend a lot on aftermarket, I don't really care about a few cent difference on paint. What I want is to have the right colour in my drawer so I can spend my Sunday enjoying the hobby

Edited March 26 by red Dog

[Maketar Productions]

Alright, I see what I’ve done :-)

The price point itself is not really what I’m questioning here. What I’m actually getting at is that I, as a self-proclaimed experienced modeler, simply do not see a noticeable difference either in the final finish or in the way the paints airbrush. Yes, they could cost €100 per bottle if someone is happy to pay it, that is entirely their choice. But the real question for me is whether they are in any way twice as good as the price might suggest.

I have no problem buying 3D decals only to bury them inside a closed cockpit, and I have no problem paying €10 for a good paint either.

And yes, MRP is excellent for the sheer breadth of its color palette. It is genuinely nice to have things like “Russian MiG-29 Green Grey” or “Greek AF Grey” available straight from the bottle without having to spend time searching for the closest match.

So when I asked about the value of MRP, I did not necessarily mean monetary value alone :-)

Cheers

[BiggTim]

Interesting discussion, and glad to see you Alek! I have not used these paints yet, partly due to the cost. I actually have a problem paying a lot for a paint that is already thinned. I paint real cars from time to time, and in my experience, pre-thinned paints are super convenient, but not good value depending on price. I'm lookng forward to the discussion on this.

 

Tim

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that ALL of these paints are too expensive, IMO, but maybe that's just because I'm old, and I can remember when they weren't!!

Edited March 26 by BiggTim

[Juggernut]

I like MRP for all of what’s been mentioned but I also use Mr. Color, Tamiya, Gunze aqueous, and even the odd Model Master or two (I have a bunch of them in my possession).  My primary for external paint is MRP but not exclusively.  Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Edited March 26 by Juggernut

[Out2gtcha]

I too use a lot of different brands, but mainly MRP.

I have to be honest that I don't see a very noticeable difference between MRP and other paints as far as longevity on the shelf.

I keep paints for years and a lot of Tamiya, Gunze and Model Air type non

thinned paints seem to go prematurely on the shelf (ask me how I know as I just got done throwing a lot out).

Im not sure if it's the thinned nature of MRP that seems to keep them or the bottles but that is the way if feels.

 

Although that is not really why I use MRP.

I generally use MRP because the finish is superior just about every time.

Why? Because Im not terrific at mixing and thinning in the exact same ratio every time I spray, but the people who make MRP are apparently very good at ratios and mixing.

Is it probably not as good a value as far as pigment goes vs non thinned paints?

Likely not.

Is it a better value because I don't have to buy a ton of thinner, I get the exact same consistency each and every time I spray, and they seem to last as long or longer on the shelf?

To me definitely. YMMV

 

[denders]

Well, I've gotten to like the MRP. I'm not always that great in mixing up just the right amount of paint, so the fact that I can pour the left-over paint in the airbrush cup back in the bottle is one of the "likes". I'm not throwing away paint. And the bottle always has room for the pour back.

 

I used AK Real Color a while back for a project. I pre-thinned the whole RC in another bottle and labeled it. Actually, four bottles. In the OP's dollars and cents analysis above, I didn't see an allowance for the cost of the thinner or the cost of that bottle.

[RCPlym]

On 3/26/2026 at 10:55 AM, Maketar Productions said:

The pigment settles very quickly, even inside the airbrush during slightly longer painting sessions.

 

I too have noticed this. Yes, the paint has a huge colour range, produces a superb starting finish, but the pigment separating and settling is like nothing I have seen before.

 

I just took out a new, unopened bottle of MRP-255  Black, Night Camouflage and there is a lot of white pigment seriously stuck to the bottom of the bottle. Image is after a good 5 mins vigorous shaking. It was a lot worse prior to shaking. (ball bearings needed methinks!)

 

 

When airbrushing the green (image below) onto the fuel bowser I am building, I had to stop painting to deal with something for only about 15 mins or so.

On returning, I gave the airbrush a quick squirt on card and continued on the model - and lo and behold a spurt of a creamy yellow patch arrived on its surface. 

Now, to me that means the remaining colour in the cup is no longer it's original intended colour.

 

For me that's no great issue, but for those that are OCD on colours, that could be a serious issue.

 

Every bottle of MRP I have (well over £150 worth) behave the same - the image is of MRP-110 Dark Green that I last used at 11:30 yesterday evening.

 

No other paint brands I have used has the issue.

 

 

[denders]

Well, every paint type has its quirks to deal with. I've used MRP (most), Hataka, SMS, Tamiya, and RC. I'm not sure I've used any Mr. Hobby. I still like using lacquer based paint over water/alcohol based paints.

 

I find that most/all lacquer paints have the settlement issue and require extra shaking if they've been sitting for weeks or months. I've also found that once they have been mixed up well after sitting for long periods, if I'm using that particular color several days in a row, it mixes up rather quickly.

 

MRP are thinned more than the other brands, there is in reality less pigment in the mix, so I believe that the settling is more easily noticed. And the paint lines with more pigment in them, if they aren't then thinned like MRP, take more of an effort to clean out the airbrush too.

 

Everyone has their preference.

 

[RCPlym]

Same bottle of black just over 3hrs later.

I shook the living daylights out of the bottle until all the white had gone and then let it stand. That is normal for this stuff?

 

[denders]

Yup! It won’t take as much effort next time. If next time is not a month from now. 
 

Remember, there’s more thinner in the bottle than you’re used to in other paints. 

Edited March 27 by denders

[RCPlym]

57 minutes ago, denders said:

Yup! It won’t take as much effort next time. If next time is not a month from now. 
 

Remember, there’s more thinner in the bottle than you’re used to in other paints. 

 

The paint separates in minutes - read my post above where the creamy yellow came out of the airbrush after it sat for about 15 minutes. That will have caused colour change from the paint remaining.

 

As an aside, I have used Real Colors Lacquers and thinned them with levelling thinner and that didn't separate overnight. Never has it with Tamiya Lacquer I have used either.

 

I have stainless steel bearings (which I believe were included when MRP was first on the market?) on order to cure the separation in the bottles and lesson learned about leaving the paint in the brush unattended for any length of time...

 

Shame it misbehaves like this as the general usability and finish is great and reading elsewhere it seems the issue is normal behaviour of the paint, plus once I get building properly a bottle won't last a day anyway!!! (Border and HK Lancs will take a few bottles! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 )

 

 

[Out2gtcha]

Definitely seems like you need to find a new brand of paint.