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Post by azrailfan on Dec 2, 2022 14:38:54 GMT -8
Anyone have current information about Minuteman Scale Models / Scalecoat Paint? His online presence and Facebook page are gone.
Dave in Az
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Post by wmrdgfan on Dec 4, 2022 19:26:10 GMT -8
Over on the O scale forum guys have been asking this question for months now. You would think that the person running the business would at least have the common courtesy to answer emails or post a statement, but I guess that's too much to ask nowadays.
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Post by cr9617 on Dec 5, 2022 1:43:25 GMT -8
I made the mistake of ordering two bottles of paint a little over a year ago and got jerked around for a couple of months. Had to get paypal involved to get my money back. Believe the negative reviews.
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Post by stevef45 on Dec 5, 2022 5:20:00 GMT -8
He was very active and then stopped. Makes you wonder if something happened to him.
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cp9002
Junior Member
Posts: 85 
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Post by cp9002 on Dec 5, 2022 8:25:12 GMT -8
His phone is disconnected too. I placed and order for almost $350 in Mach and haven’t received anything.
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Post by azrailfan on Dec 5, 2022 9:39:13 GMT -8
Agreed with the statements. Shawn was very active. During the height of covid, he stated he had a glass bottle shortage, but that was remedied and our paint was shipped. No email reply yet.
You gotta wonder if something indeed happened....
Dave
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Post by lvrr325 on Dec 5, 2022 9:51:45 GMT -8
They were not at Springfield last year, but given the weather it was no shock, I wanted to buy some PC green in a spray can and not have to pay $16 or something for ground shipping because it's paint. Was hoping to see them this year and that appears unlikely now.
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Post by antoniofp45 on Dec 5, 2022 15:25:29 GMT -8
Wow,
I hope that Shawn is Ok and that we hear/read something from him or his associate(s) soon. IMHO, Scale Coat II paint is an EXCELLENT product to use as a basecoat color foundation underneath Alclad II Metalizers. A while back I thought I was going "over-board" when I ordered and received 6 one-ounce bottles of Scale Coat II NYC Dk Gray from Minuteman . Now I'm glad that I did.
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Post by fmilhaupt on Dec 5, 2022 18:01:53 GMT -8
When I placed an order back in mid-October, the order confirmation started with the following note:
We’re Open During this Health Crisis However, due to an unprecedented high volume of orders, you may experience extended shipping delays. Due to supply shortages. We will notify you of your expected shipping date after we process your order. Thank you for your understanding.
My card was charged that day and I've heard nothing since. My guess is that the health crisis that was mentioned likely resulted in closing up shop.
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Post by Mr. Trainiac on Dec 5, 2022 18:28:13 GMT -8
Looks like we can write Scalecoat below Model Master in the Book Of Defunct Model Railroad Paint Brands. Scalecoat joins the pantheon along with Floquil and Polly Scale.
What's left, Tru-Color and Badger? Pretty meager choices now.
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Post by Christian on Dec 6, 2022 2:31:07 GMT -8
Looks like we can write Scalecoat below Model Master in the Book Of Defunct Model Railroad Paint Brands. Scalecoat joins the pantheon along with Floquil and Polly Scale. What's left, Tru-Color and Badger? Pretty meager choices now. Only if you have to have railroad names on the bottles. Otherwise there are thousands of bottles of hobby paint out there from dozens of makers. Paint of all sorts. Acrylic, lacquer and enamel. |
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Post by Gino Damen on Dec 7, 2022 12:01:57 GMT -8
Yup, living in Europa means that I have access to a lot of generic paint colours (Tamiya, Vallejo, MIG, Ammo, Revell and a lot more) but not the US-specific colours.
Luckily a lot of those colours can be mixed and sometimes they are amazingly close to what you need (hull red ~ boxcar red).
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Dec 7, 2022 14:58:58 GMT -8
Well that sucks, I hated switching from Floquil. I tried all of them but liked Scalecoat II the best so I stuck with them.
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Post by antoniofp45 on Dec 7, 2022 18:47:38 GMT -8
Agreed ChessieFan1978, I'm surprised and disappointed by the news. I'm still hoping that Shawn eventually emerges and provides an update. If he owns the rights to Scale Coat Paint's trademark, formulas, and related products perhaps he can sell them to a reputable vendor (I wonder if Jason from Rapido would be a potential vendor?). IMHO, the quality and durability of the paint is excellent. Properly thinned, it flows and lays very SMOOTHLY and I appreciate not having to apply a separate glpss clear as a foundation for decals. I've been helping several modelers, on line, with metalizing passenger cars and Scale Coat has also been their "go to" base color foundation source.  Well that sucks, I hated switching from Floquil. I tried all of them but liked Scalecoat II the best so I stuck with them. |
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Post by valenciajim on Dec 8, 2022 16:51:57 GMT -8
I placed an order for Scalecoat paint from Minuteman on November 26th. I received a message saying the following:
"We’re Open During this Health Crisis However, due to an unprecedented high volume of orders, you may experience extended shipping delays. Due to supply shortages. We will notify you of your expected shipping date after we process your order. Thank you for your understanding."
My credit card has not yet been charged.
Separately, I was talking to the folks at Smith Brothers Hobby Shop in Northridge, CA. They are a general purpose hobby shop and they tell mee that getting paint is a real challenge these days. They now carry a number of new brands that I never heard of for models and model airplanes. Some are acrylic while others are lacquer or enamel based. If I cannot get what I want, I may experiment with some of the new paints. No railroad colors tough.
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Post by grahamline on Dec 8, 2022 17:51:20 GMT -8
Searching for color charts from the expired brands can bring up examples to use for matching non-RR-labeled paints, but you are subject to the swings and shading of computer screens.
My nearby Hobby House outlet carries many brands but they tell the same story -- restocking the original paint racks can be a slow and difficult process.
Model Railroad Hobbyist (mrhmag.com) did a cross-matching chart for Floquil, some other expired brands, and 21st century acrylics but that project is 10 years old and I'm not sure when it was last updated. The MRH project seems to lean heavily on Vallejo colors. It does not cover modern lacquers and enamels at all.
Back in the dark ages, Rapido expressed interest in acquiring a paint line but eventually said it wasn't practical for them. Sort of like their venture into flex track.
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Post by lvrr325 on Dec 8, 2022 18:01:15 GMT -8
Rapido did get the paint line and sold it and then discontinued it. I picked up some of it stupid cheap, then finally lucked on a paint rack with a nice compact size the bottles would fit in.
So far have sold exactly one bottle.
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Jan 6, 2023 15:48:34 GMT -8
Any word from the owner or someone that knows the owner?
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Post by slowfreight on Jan 8, 2023 6:04:55 GMT -8
Rapido did get the paint line and sold it and then discontinued it. I picked up some of it stupid cheap, then finally lucked on a paint rack with a nice compact size the bottles would fit in. So far have sold exactly one bottle. I bought some and used it. Dang near impossible to spray. One bottle apparently went through a color shifting chemical change before I ever opened the bottle, and I had to strip a kitbash right at the paint booth. Clearly, making paint isn't easy. |
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Jan 8, 2023 11:23:25 GMT -8
Surely someone here or on one of the Social Media Apps knows the owner and could find out what happened.
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 21, 2023 15:53:25 GMT -8
Surely someone here or on one of the Social Media Apps knows the owner and could find out what happened. I just read on one of the FB modeling groups that apparently he’s out of business and both the web and FB page have been taken down as mentioned above. That’s all I’ve seen so far and that’s sad because SC is my favorite brand (and for using their rattle cans which are very good). Hopefully this isn’t true but it seems it is. I hate when things are too quiet like this, especially over something this big of a deal. Most of us can understand if something happened but to keep us all in the dark this long is also inexcusable. |
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 21, 2023 15:57:34 GMT -8
It was also mentioned last years orders have not been fulfilled and no refunds have been issued either like others have mentioned.
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 21, 2023 16:04:02 GMT -8
Looks like we can write Scalecoat below Model Master in the Book Of Defunct Model Railroad Paint Brands. Scalecoat joins the pantheon along with Floquil and Polly Scale. What's left, Tru-Color and Badger? Pretty meager choices now. Only if you have to have railroad names on the bottles. Otherwise there are thousands of bottles of hobby paint out there from dozens of makers. Paint of all sorts. Acrylic, lacquer and enamel. No one else makes the rattle cans now. Scalecoat ones were as good as an airbrush. A shame for all of us folks who still paint their own models, which there are still plenty of out there. It’s getting to the point that we’ll one day be at the mercy of the manufacturers when they release what we need (if it’s done right) and will be expensive as hell then too- which it about is now. And I don’t need a Genesis model either. Even the RTR type of stuff is getting very pricey. |
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 22, 2023 16:34:00 GMT -8
Looks like we can write Scalecoat below Model Master in the Book Of Defunct Model Railroad Paint Brands. Scalecoat joins the pantheon along with Floquil and Polly Scale. What's left, Tru-Color and Badger? Pretty meager choices now. Only if you have to have railroad names on the bottles. Otherwise there are thousands of bottles of hobby paint out there from dozens of makers. Paint of all sorts. Acrylic, lacquer and enamel. But how many are at least mostly accurate without having to mix? |
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Post by Christian on Jan 23, 2023 2:57:08 GMT -8
Only if you have to have railroad names on the bottles. Otherwise there are thousands of bottles of hobby paint out there from dozens of makers. Paint of all sorts. Acrylic, lacquer and enamel. But how many are at least mostly accurate without having to mix? Probably all railroad colors can be found. It's just a case of what matches? I've had good luck asking on the various modeling groups I frequent. I often end up with several bottles of close, but not right paint. For my Northern Pacific boxcar on this forum a few years back I bought three close greens before a regular posted the correct color. That color was available in more than one brand and I chose my favorite. Your question about rattle cans - Tru-Color makes rattle can spray that has railroad names on the cans. Tamiya has made rattle cans since forever. Vallejo, AKI, Citadel, and possibly others make rattle cans. I have no experience with any since I use an airbrush. Note that these rattle cans are pricy. You will likely have to do online purchases. Tamiya is often available in hobby shops that cater to military modelers. The Tamiya cans are small. |
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 23, 2023 7:34:16 GMT -8
But how many are at least mostly accurate without having to mix? Probably all railroad colors can be found. It's just a case of what matches? I've had good luck asking on the various modeling groups I frequent. I often end up with several bottles of close, but not right paint. For my Northern Pacific boxcar on this forum a few years back I bought three close greens before a regular posted the correct color. That color was available in more than one brand and I chose my favorite. Your question about rattle cans - Tru-Color makes rattle can spray that has railroad names on the cans. Tamiya has made rattle cans since forever. Vallejo, AKI, Citadel, and possibly others make rattle cans. I have no experience with any since I use an airbrush. Note that these rattle cans are pricy. You will likely have to do online purchases. Tamiya is often available in hobby shops that cater to military modelers. The Tamiya cans are small. Thanks I’ll check Tru-Color out with the cans. |
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Post by cemr5396 on Jan 23, 2023 7:37:08 GMT -8
Only if you have to have railroad names on the bottles. Otherwise there are thousands of bottles of hobby paint out there from dozens of makers. Paint of all sorts. Acrylic, lacquer and enamel. But how many are at least mostly accurate without having to mix? Tamiya has a couple shades of red that are near perfect matches for both CP Action Red and CP's current red, which is darker and red-er. Can't remember the specific names of the colors right now. I'm sure there must be other RR colors that would just happen to be very close as well. |
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Post by sd40dash2 on Jan 23, 2023 8:47:11 GMT -8
Please excuse the perception of any tone here as that is not my intention.
Those tiny hobby cans are a ripoff, hard to find and get shipped at reasonable prices.
I don't understand the general insistence railroaders have to only use hobby venue paint. I have posted several examples of successful applications using fullsize Krylon spray paint cans here through the years. Purchased from your local hardware store at far more sane unit costs, no shipping hassles/expense and works very well right out of the can. I've nearly given up on all hobby brand paint and dullcote as it had all gotten too difficult/expensive. Just not worth it anymore.
Yes, I know Krylon et al do not make all the unique railway colours, so my comments only apply to the more common close enough/red/white/black/dullcote. Various box stores have extensive colour lines, so in many cases it's easiest to accept something close enough.
I would rather not retype everything I've learned on this but I did post it all here before. Best bet if interested would be to take the time to pull up my threads from 2019 and 2020 for details.
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Post by stevef45 on Jan 25, 2023 4:28:03 GMT -8
Anyone ever find out what happened to this company?
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Post by 12bridge on Jan 25, 2023 11:59:48 GMT -8
Your mileage will obviously vary, but I have used and tried hardware store paint for years on modeling projects, and outside of track, I have always been disappointed. I have never gotten a good coat to lay down right because the tips suck and spit paint, not to mention its not as nearly fine of a pigment.
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