Paint Quantity Calculator — Paint Needed for Model Kits

Not much. A typical 1:48 aircraft works out to roughly 1–1.5ml of paint per colour when airbrushed at 2 coats, because each colour only covers part of the surface. Across 5–6 colours that is about 6–8ml of paint in total, plus thinner. A single 17ml pot of each colour is more than enough to finish the model with paint to spare.

Airbrushing uses less paint per coat than brushing because it applies thinner, more even layers. However, you also add thinner (typically 1:1 to 2:1 thinner to paint for acrylics), which increases the total liquid volume going through the airbrush. Overall, airbrushing is more economical with the paint itself.

Primer covers the entire model surface, so it uses a little more than a single colour coat. For a 1:48 aircraft, expect to use roughly 2–3ml-equivalent of primer. A single 180ml Tamiya Fine Surface Primer L rattle can will prime many models before it runs out.

Yes, slightly thinned paint flows better and avoids visible brush strokes. Add about 10–30% thinner for brush painting. Thin enough that the paint flows smoothly but still covers in 2–3 coats. This calculator estimates a fixed ~30% extra thinner for brush mode; use the Thinning Ratio slider to fine-tune airbrush thinning.