Testors Kills Floquill and Poly S

[Jcarlton]

I don't know how many people here use Floquil, Polly s and Pactra, but Testors is killing those brands of paint. If you need a paint from one of those brands, stock up now while you can:

http://mrr.trains.com/news-and-reviews/mr-express/2013/05/end-of-the-line-for-testors-floquil-and-polly-scale-paint?confirm=1confirmation

It's a shame. Floquil and Poly s have been my general modeling paints since I was a kid.

[Jcarlton]

Straight from the horse's mouth:

There are many changes taking place at The Testor Corporation. For over 80 years, we have provided premium paints and finishing systems to the craft and hobby industry. Recently 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 , PollyScale 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 orders and ship product for a limited time based on available quantities.
 
Going forward, the following brands will be critical to our success and development - Testor, Model Master, and Aztek . These brands will be infused with marketing support, innovation and operational efficiencies.
 
In support of this, we have announced a consolidation of operations at our Rockford facilities. Our commitment to the Testor brand has never been stronger. By implementing these changes, and the ability to leverage all of Rust-Oleum s world class services, we are more strongly poised to take our business to the next level through product and merchandising innovations, and increased customer understanding.
 
If you have further questions, please feel free to let us know.
 
We appreciate your business!!
 

Best Regards,
 Beth
 
The Testor Corporation
 Consumer Affairs Department
 1-800-837-8677 (1-800-testors)
 M-F 8:00 A.M - 4:00 PM CST

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Does Testors have a prototype railroad colors lineup in their other paint lines that they will keep? I know Floquil's strength was there. As for Pactra, for me as a young model builder, that along with Testors were to the two paint brands I used- often bought at the local non-chain drug store (remember when those places actually carried plastic kits?), Pactra seemed to have more specific prototype based colors than Testors.

[westfalen]

What really hurts is that I bought a new compressor and airbrush a couple of weeks ago to get back into painting again. now it looks like my last bottle of Santa Fe Mineral Brown will be my last.

 

There is an excellent line of model railroad paint known as Tru-Color based on the old Accu Paint formula, which IMHO should have replaced Floquil years ago if it weren't for the Floquil name being so ingrained in model railroading. I only went back to using Floquil after dangerous goods regulations made it impossible to ship solvent based paints to Australia in hobby shop quantities and we were stuck with whatever the big brands like Testors chose to bring in, unfortunately Tru-Color falls into the same boat and is unavailable outside North America.

 

At least it shouldn't affect Japanese modelling much.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, curious to know the reaction from the No. American model RR community.

[Martijn Meerts]

I've been using Gunze Sangyo paints for quite a while myself, which is (as far as I know) also the most popular brand in Japan. Many of the kits (especially the Gundam ones) list Gunze Sangyo numbers on their painting instructions.

 

They do have a couple of sets of 6 colours with various themes, including some for railroads, but I believe those are mainly weathering colours rather than specific colours used on trains ..

 

The stuff isn't the easiest to get, but it's well worth it.

[marknewton]

Leaving aside the loss of the paint brands, you have to marvel - or cringe, your choice - at the way this press release mangles the English language. Poor old Beth sounds like she is simply the mouthpiece for a bafflegab generator.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

you have to marvel - or cringe, your choice - at the way this press release mangles the English language

 

Also known as corporatespeak, what we know as bulls*it garnered with daisies anywhere else outside the PR dept. or boardroom.

[westfalen]

Leaving aside the loss of the paint brands, you have to marvel - or cringe, your choice - at the way this press release mangles the English language. Poor old Beth sounds like she is simply the mouthpiece for a bafflegab generator.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

On the Trainboard forum someone posted the exact same email from her then a few posts further on a hobby shop proprietor posted the exact same email word for word but from a different department with a different signature. Just a form letter from the PR department. I've alway said marketing isn't about finding out what your customers want so you can make it for them, it's all about convincing your customers that they want what you want to make.

Edited May 24, 2013 by westfalen

[KenS]

Fewer modelers are scratch-building or kit building these days, which likely means less demand for paint.  Testors essentially bought up their competitors over the last fifteen years or so, at least in the U.S. And despite that probably hasn't been seeing enough demand to keep the other lines in production, particularly without any significant competitors to fend off.  If we're lucky, we'll see railroad colors under the remaining brands, but probably not as rich a selection.

 

This is actually a worse problem for the casual modeler. A really experienced model-maker can always mix the colors they need. But that requires skill, or at least experience, that I don't have. I've always counted on being able to buy from a large selection of colors.

[Mr Frosty]

With Humbrol quality dropping over recent years, I have purchased a few jars of Floquil. Although quite expensive in the UK, I rather like it. Looks like I might need to start stockpiling some jars for the future.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Mr Frosty

[POMU]

New Player in Town for model RR paint

http://trucolorpaint.com/

[cteno4]

Interesting! Any feed back yet?

 

Jeff

[POMU]

Only whats on the web site - haven't tried it yet, but looks like a good alternative.

[westfalen]

Tru Color is said by the manufacturer to be based on the old Accu Paint formula and on that basis I'd use it sight unseen over Floquil any day, the only thing stopping me are the magic words "cannot ship petroleum based paint products overseas".

Edited June 2, 2013 by westfalen