True, metallic base color is no good if use handbrush.

oldman and Tkting is both KL ppl. The webpage is there. You can always go see what they have for sale. If you are not located in KL then you can always go for postage. (Since you are asking about time machine i would assume you are oso kl ppl). Go see thier website first ... thier contact is there, that's why ppl provide you the link  Again I would like to say what has been always said in this thread ... "Do your research first before asking"    is this case, the contact is just right in front of your eyes 

And no, i haven seen TM bring in any detailing parts. But that said, I haven actually been there for awhile. Dun take my word for it.

once u paint of modify your kit, u should treat it more like display kit rather than toys. please do not play with it. If your intention is to "play" i would recommend u do not paint your kit.

The original paint by the manufacturer is somehow a little stronger n durable. However, as u can see from TF toys, u will notice most of them are the original plastic instead of painting. This is because it's meant for "playing. Even it does have some paint on it, u will notice somehow the paint still chips n scratched when u play.

The main difference is the "standard" we have for display kit n toy. a little scratches here n there for toys is ok n acceptable. For display kit, eg model kit, or collectable limited edition kit, i bet u will not "play" with it, cause scratches means a big deal.
Again, look at your toys, basically the paint still fade n cracked n scratched, but normally u dont care so much of its appearance. Hence have an impression its paint never fade or scratched.

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Added on March 21, 2010, 9:12 pm

Haha, yes. do it like during school, when u paint a poster color homework.

paint too thick? add more water (thinner in this case). paint too thin? add more paint, or wait awhile it will because thick again.

 
Primer is layer of chemical to help the paint grab stronger to the surface. scratch the wall in your house or your car, after the main paint chipped off, u will able to see one layer of grey thing. that's primer (For car n your house, in this example)

For hand painting i think would be easier to have wattery mixture than thick as you end up with deep brush marks. Just make sure the mixture is not too wattery that you brush off the paint immediately after a stroke.

Erm, more wattery means ration 10:1 or 15(or more):1 water/thinner:paint. tamiya colors 'X' series is mostly water based. the rest are lacquer and will need thinner instead of water.

10:1 ratio or more is watery, what Xzens1110 meant is it's actually easier. If your mixture is thick, we know it's easy to see how the color sticks to the paint when you did the first 5 swipes. When it's watery, you need more than 30 swipes or we called it layer. On the first layer of swipes, you will just notice it's like 'wiping water' over the kit. You wont see the effect until you try til the 10th or more. Best wait till dry then swipe next layer. I some times blow to dry or use hair dryer.

Handpaint, you have 2 techniques. wet-brush or dry-brush. Then as Rayloke says you can't touch it (if nto to "play"), what this meant is, you have to decide, when you color the kit, do you want it as a 'fixed posed' or 'posable unit', literally do you want to move it a lot or not move it at all after painting. We all know it get's scratches over time. Wet brush needs practice which is worth it, and then you will see why airbrushing using lacquer paints is somewhat what all advance or intermediate modelers prefer to use.

After 'priming', you do not want to touch it. Oil or whatever on your hands may stick on it and may beats the objective on why u primed it. - TO MAKE THE PAINT STICK. touch it and the paint will be hard to stick. Try painting on a disposable microwave transparent case (usually used for food package) using 15:1 water:paint ratio: Thats what you DONT want. the paint won't stick (easily). You may end up having brush strokes marks too ~