Tamiya acrylics can go down grainy in the right conditions (dry atmosphere, high pressure, big distance) & this retarder helps prevent this, it can also help with airbrush dry tip issues.

You mix it in with the paint or you can mix it with the thinner before thinning the paint. It can be used up to a 1:10 ratio with Tamiya Acrylic Paints.

You must remember that like most other retarders, adding too much retarder causes the paint to not dry.

Also, it is ideal for painting glossy finish surfaces and what I found very useful is using it when brushing Tamiya acrylics. As when brushing the paint starts to cure between brush strokes and using a good mix of paint, Tamiya X-20A thinner and Tamiya's Paint this can help prevent the quick drying that normally occurs.

Summary

This is a fantastic product to add with the use of Tamiya paints and I have found it a great addition to my tool box!

Following Hannibal's crushing victory at the battle of the Trebbia, the reeling Roman Republic sent a new army under the over-confident consul Caius Flaminius to destroy the Carthaginian invaders. Hannibal, however, was ready and waiting for Flaminius, having set a masterful ambush in the early morning mist. The tumultuous clash at Lake Trasimene firmly established Hannibal as one of the Ancient World's greatest commanders thanks to his use of innovative tactics, including the first recorded use of a turning movement. The Romans would not send another major army to confront him until the battle of Cannae in 216 BC. This new study, based on recent archaeological work on the battlefield itself, tells the full story of one of Hannibal's greatest victories with the help of maps, illustrations, and stunning colour artwork.

Tamiya has made available a group of 4 texture paints and this review highlights one of those products, namely Tamiya’s “Soil Effect” texture paint.These paints are water-based and come in powder snow, snow, and “soil effect-dark earth”. Several other colors have been discontinued.

An appropriate description of this paint, describing the texture would be, “ gritty toothpaste”, or “damp salt”. Straight from the bottle, the paint does not look like paint at all, but rather a paste consisting of fine grit.

I chose to apply some of this paint to a diorama base for a dinosaur. The base was already covered with “ground”, “rocks” and “vegetation” but there were areas in which the material had worn off a bit, creating a perfect test bed.

MiniArt has released a nice set that would look great in your WWII dioramas. MiniArt provides twelve trees representing the crates composed of five parts per tree. The crates appear to be molded in tan soft styrene as the parts are somewhat flexible and are easily cut. The twelve trees for the milk bottles contain ten clear milk bottles out of a clear styrene. The clear plastic seems to be a bit harder than the styrene for the crates. The waterslide decals provided offer markings for English US/Britain), French, and German milk companies for both the crates and the bottles. Packaging is quite nice with the finished product depicted on the top of the box and the contents / instructions / paint guide on the back of the box. The total parts count is 180 parts. I would recommend that you wash all the parts while they are still on the sprues to remove any remaining mold release.

Pathan Rising tells the story of the large scale tribal unrest that erupted along the North West Frontier of India in the late 1890s; a short but sharp period of violence that was initiated by the Pathan tribesmen against the British. Although the exact causes of the unrest remain unclear, it was likely the result of tribal resentment towards the establishment of the Durand Line and British ‘forward policy', during the last echoes of the ‘Great Game', that led the proud tribesmen to take up arms on an unprecedented scale. This resentment was brought to boiling point by a number of fanatical religious leaders, such as the Mad Fakir and the Hadda Mullah, who visited the various Pathan tribes calling for jihad. By the time the risings ended, eleven Victoria Crosses would be awarded to British troops, which hints at the ferocity and level of bitterness of the fighting.