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View Full Version : The Wonderful World of Vallejo Acrylics



EaSTERNVolKs
26th Aug 08, 10:50 PM
Vallejo Website: http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/
Experience: I’ve been using these paints for about 3 months now. I’ve been painting for a total of 1.5 years with LONG hiatuses in between but by damned I shall find more motivation somehow.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z204/praetorian565/001-5.jpg

This tutorial will cover the basic aspects of Vallejo Model and Game colours.
Vallejo is a model acrylic brand located in Spain. The average bottle of Vallejo is about 3 bucks, slightly more expensive than citadel paints but is well worth it due to its longevity and high pigment quality.

Let’s discuss some positives and negatives of the two Vallejo brands.

Model Colour
Positives:
1.) The majority of paints have EXCELLENT coverage and the paints are able to cover over a black undercoat in 1-2 coats when thinned decently.
2.) Since the paints are stored in bottle droppers they’ll stay fresh for years to come. I bought my first bottles of Vallejo a few months ago and they’re still as fresh as the day I purchased them.
3.) Variety! Vallejo paints come in all shades, pigments, tones, etc.
4.) Ratios! Since you can use droppers to distribute both paint and thinner you can make different ratios for different purposes (I.e.. 1:1 paint/thinner for basecoats)
5.) Long drying times make blending easier than before.
6.) Light greens, yellows, and bright reds cover amazingly well.
7.) All colors have fairly similiar coverage which makes thinning easy

Negatives
1.) Not as forgiving as citadel paint. For example, be sure to wipe off the majority of the paint and water on a paper towel. If you accidentally overload the brush the pigment will dry on the model funky and give off a nasty whitish glare.
2.) The bottles can get clogged. Nothing a good paper clip can’t fix!
3.) Need to be shaken vigorously. Be sure to shake it 10 seconds right side up and upside down. Due to the pigments fineness the paint tends to separate and will not dry properly unless shaken.
4.) I’m not a fan of the flesh colors. Far too yellowish. I’d stick to citadel for flesh paints.
5.) Some colors dry pretty shiny, especially burnt cadmium red.

Game Colour
Positives:
1.) Nearly identical to GW equivalent.
2.) Great coverage, not as good as model colour.
3.) Easy to blend due to long drying times.
4.) Ratios thanks to dropper bottle.
5.) Stay fresh due to dropper bottle.

Negatives:
1.) Some colours are far too thin. I’d stay away from light greens and yellows from this line.
2.) Light greens, yellows, and bright reds cover horribly.
3.) Flesh tones far too yellowish. Once again stick to GW for these.
4.) Needs to be shaken vigorously.
5.) Not as forgiving as citadel paint. For example, be sure to wipe off the majority of the paint and water on a paper towel. If you accidentally overload the brush the pigment will dry on the model funky and give off a nasty whitish glare.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z204/praetorian565/003-5.jpg

Most hobby shops that sell Vallejo, also sell a dropper bottle that distributes drops even in size to the paint drops. If your local hobby shop doesn’t have one either buy an empty Vallejo dropper online or get an eye dropper which distributes an equal amount of water as the paint bottle distributes paint.

Here are some ratios.


Model Colour
1:2 Paint/thinner for basecoats
1:3 Paint/thinner for opaque layering
1:4 Paint/thinner for more translucent layering
1:6 Paint/thinner for blending
1:10 Paint/thinner for glazing
1:12 Paint/thinner for inking

Game Colour
2:1 – 1:1 Paint/thinner for basecoats (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:1 - 1:2 for opaque layering (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:2 - 1:3 for translucent layering (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:4-1:5 for blending (lighter colors will need less thinning)
Have not attempted glazing or inking yet. I’ll be sure to add the ratios when I do.

Some important tips:
1.) When used with a wet palette, Vallejos will stay fresh for hours.
2.) Once again be sure to wipe off water and paint on a paper towel. If you accidentally overload the brush and apply it to the miniature it will dry horribly.
3.) Try using additives to your water. A 1:5 mix of future floor wax and water will give your inking and glazing smoother results. Plain water will still work fine.
4.) I suggest putting Vallejo paints on a cardboard surface when you want to use them to drybrush. This absorbs some of the excess moisture.

I truly hope this helps. I wish you much luck with your painting endeavors!

Oh, and feel free to add any more info on vallejos and I'll accumulate them into the tutorial.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE PAINTS!
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z204/praetorian565/004-4.jpg

Master222
29th Aug 08, 3:55 AM
Aha Vallejo fan yay! I've been using Vallejo paints for about 1,5 years now. I first bought a bottle of ultramarines blue when the paint from the starter set run out.

In my impression VGC is a great range of paints. I can't say wich colours I use becouse nearly all of the text worned off the bottles. Id say that when strongly shaken, and in good 1:1 mixture with water all the colours I use (ultra blue, orange, yellow, and green wich I think you pointed out as a "no no") cover very nicely in 2-3 coats of paint. Of course yellow doesn't cover very good over black just renember to use a white undercoat ;)

I still use P3 paints for basecoats (that is Thamar Black, and Menoth White Highlight) and the most improtant thing - the Vallejo metalics suck! I use only one VGC mettalic that is gold (again no idea what's it's name) and it's a very naste paint to work with. However I learned that a very thin layer or two of this paint looks ok over a mixture of GW boltgun metal (a small jar from the starter box), and P3 Quick Silver. I'm also pretty satisfied with VGC inks, but I'll be probably focusing on the new GW washes soon (I use Ogryn Flesh so far).

Still the most wonderfull thing about those paints is that you will use the for a VERY long time. I painted about 33 marines and a drednought with VGC ultramarine blue, also using the paint in mixtures for highlight, and I think I still have about half a bottle left. The paint just doens;t dry inside the botle like it sometimes happens in GW jar (after neerly the same amount of time VGC blue is still ready to use after shaking it for few minutes, as for the GW Dwarf Flesh is pretty close to rock consistency).

The paints have a drawback however. If you are a gamer renember to seal your minis with varnish, since the Vallejo paint can sometimes come off very easly when holding a mini with a sweety finger :p

One more thing about the negative paints pointed out in the end of your post. I'm not so sure but I think that ATM I'm using the Gobling Green for my Emerald Knights, and I like it very much! If you don't belive me check out my sig! :p You could explain why people should stay away from those paints.

Svartmetall
29th Aug 08, 4:22 AM
Do Vallejo do one that corresponds to GW's Bleached Bone? I love the colour of BB, but the consistency is horrible...

Hammerguard
29th Aug 08, 4:34 AM
...Model Colour
1:2 Paint/thinner for basecoats
1:3 Paint/thinner for opaque layering
1:4 Paint/thinner for more translucent layering
1:6 Paint/thinner for blending
1:10 Paint/thinner for glazing
1:12 Paint/thinner for inking

Game Colour
2:1 – 1:1 Paint/thinner for basecoats (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:1 - 1:2 for opaque layering (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:2 - 1:3 for translucent layering (lighter colors will need less thinning)
1:4-1:5 for blending (lighter colors will need less thinning)
Have not attempted glazing or inking yet. I’ll be sure to add the ratios when I do...
Thanks for that, very useful, I've ran into some problems trying to get a decent thinning ratio for Vallejo and I'll give these ones a go.

Regards

EaSTERNVolKs
29th Aug 08, 2:05 PM
@ Svart
Yep, the equivalent is VGC bone white. I can't comment on its quality since I haven't tried it yet.

@ Hammerguard
Np. Hope they work well.

@ Master222
Pointed out why I disliked these paints in the tutorial. The greens have a wonderful color but I've bought them both twice and each time the paint is the consistency of water and covered very poorly. I think I may need to leave the paint bottles open for a bit to let it thicken out. As for the elf skin and dwarf skin, both of these colors have a very nasty yellow hue to them. While some may argue that citadel flesh colors are too pink I find them much more realistic and aesthetically appealing than the vallejo game colour equivalents. Vallejo model flesh colors also share the same (imo) flaw. Once again the reasons I dislike these paints were in the positive and negative section of vallejo game colour.

Also, I pointed out that only VGC light greens, bright reds, and yellows cover poorly. I've acknowledged that the other colors (especially blue and grey) cover well.

Tinweasel
1st Sep 08, 11:06 AM
@ Svartmetall - Vallejo Game Color Bonewhite has reasonably good coverage for a lighter color (still requires 2-3 coats for complete coverage when using thinned paints) and dries to a nice smooth finish. It's a bit more durable in terms of resilience/damage resistance compared to GW's Bleached Bone. I generally use it for basecoat mixtures and use Bleached Bone for highlights and color mixtures, but personal mileage may vary. (Another color I would highly recommend if you like a realistic aged bone color is VMC Buff.)

Svartmetall
1st Sep 08, 3:37 PM
posting from work

Cheers, I'll hunt around for some UK stockists and give 'em a go.

isquish
2nd Sep 08, 3:06 AM
I have to say I've been using both of those greens for some time and not found any issues with them.

'Squish

Redpiano
26th Sep 08, 7:49 AM
Very nice guide, I think I'm going to switch to citadel paints though, I'm getting sick and tired of redoing every model because the paint looks like a clumped mess if you don't do it in very thin increments. but I do like the dropper bottles :)

tyrion
4th Oct 08, 2:45 PM
To be honest Red, by all means try citadel but I'd say it's a step in the wrong direction. Regardless of the range you use it's always advisable to apply paint thinly and like for like Vallejo have a much higher pigment content meaning you often need fewer coats to get an equally decent coverage. Never tried foundations though so can't comment there.

Redpiano
7th Oct 08, 12:39 AM
I know that you're supposed to apply them in thin coats but then that creates a problem with my dammed prime job I do, with black spray paint it always seems to 'dust' on the model so there's a bajillion tiny specks I can't get rid of, so if I apply thin layers what happens is the paint dips in between those specks and then you see black zits all over. I've been getting the hang of it though so I'm not having as much trouble so far. These paints dry out so fast though, I have to make a wet pallet tomorrow or I'll have to buy more paint in a week.

Sethero
17th Oct 08, 2:27 PM
Red, it's all about the primer coat. If you're getting a dusty texture, adjust the distance between the model and the can, isolate your spraying area from wind and work from there. A good base/primer coat is very important to having good looking models.

I wanted to note here that my favorite VGC product is Smokey Ink. Straight out of the bottle it has a very thick consistency and has to be thinned before use. Mix with water a little at a time until you get a consistency you want, and it makes a great reddish brown wash, good for dirtying up a model. Mixes with other paints well, but I've found it most handy for a basic rust look over metallics like boltgun metal. Mixing with a brass color adds a nice metallic flaking look, while using some orange with it makes a nice slightly greasy looking rust, good for old oil drums and the like.

jwr38
6th Aug 09, 4:17 AM
I am looking at getting some Vallejo paints but I am unsure the different between Game and Model paint lines.

What should I use?

Tinweasel
6th Aug 09, 11:06 AM
@ jwr38 - As a Moderator, I'm not going to delete your post, since it's apparently your first one on the boards (Welcome aboard!) - but this is a question probably best asked in the Painting & Modeling Forum proper (http://forums.relicnews.com/forumdisplay.php?f=110), as opposed to a completed tutorial in the offshoot Tutorials sub-Forum.

Just so you're not hanging without an answer entirely, though (and EaSTERNVolKs did do some comparison between the two paint lines), I'd personally say the biggest difference is that the Vallejo Game Color line is geared more towards tabletop miniature painting (a range of brighter colors, thinner paints as compared to the VMC line, a more durable finish compared to some brands due to ingredients in the binder) whereas the Model Color line is geared more towards historical figure painting and models (a broader range of more natural colors, extremely pigment-rich paints with strong coverage, color-matching to specific military shades and equipment/material coloration). That being said, I'd say it depends on personal preference as they're both good lines - but in different ways. If you're looking for something more comparable to Citadel or Reaper paints, however, VGC would be the one to go with.


Again, if you're looking for more input and outright discussion - the Tutorials sub-Forum really isn't the best place and you should ask in the main Painting & Modeling Forum.