Vallejo Paints

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I recently got back into building models. I wanted to keep my son busy so I was giving him the old monogram 1/48 a/c kits to build, he built about 27 (no kidding) in a couple months .

So now he wants to paint them

I have a whole bunch of compucolour and Humbrol paints BUT no exhaust system yet set up. Then one night he was surfing u-tube and we came across modelers using “VALLEJO” . I was real impressed!!

Was wondering how are they to work with? Do you use them straight out of the bottle? How do you thin them? Where can you purchase them at a good price?

Thanks!!

2

I have found that the Vallejo paints are very easy to work with. If you get the Model Air line(they are for airbrushing), you just roll them between your hands to mix them, open the cap, put as many drops as you need in the paint cup and spray away. When finished, run some Windex through the brush followed by a few drops of distilled water and your ready to either change color or close up shop for the night. If you use the other lines for regular brushing, you just thin with a few drops of distilled water. Clean the brush with Windex. That’s all that there is to it. They work great and give a great finish. They are a little pricey but well worth it. You could also use regular craft paints like the ones at A.C.Moore or Jo-Ann fabrics. They get thinned with water and cleaned up with Windex also. They are a lot cheaper. Usually $1 to $1.50 ea. and sometimes a sale of 3 for $1.

Hope that this helps.

Jim [cptn]

3

In my experience, Vallejo ModelColor will benefit from a nice flat primer coat, particularly if brush-painting.

4

Thanks everyone didn’t know about the distinction of Vallejo. I will look for the Model Air line

5

BlackTulip,

I use vallejo’s paints exclusively, short of their primer. Their paints are very ‘rubbery’, and so is their primer. While this is easy to work with in the paint, not so much with a primer. For this reason, I use AK Interactive’s primer, and Vallejo paint. This all behaves very nicely together, and is harder to knock the paint off with a finger nail.

I order all my supplies for painting through the Sprue Brothers website. Do yourself a favor when you are there, and look up their thinner and their airbrush cleaner. While their paints are advertised as ready to spray, I find the consistency varies when comparing light and dark colours, some are very thin, some very thick.

Windex contains ammonia, which is the cleaning agent used for most acrylic paints. Vallejo reacts very badly with ammonia or alcohol. It turns to a jelly, clogging your airbrush. Their own thinner reacts nicely with their paint, and their cleaner cleans the brush nicely. I have two bottles of cleaner on the go all the time, one straight and one mixed fifty fifty with tap water. I use the mix in between colours in a single paint session, saves on the cost of cleaner and is effective, and use the straight one at the end of a paint session.

Vallejo’s colours are usually very accurate, spray nicely and dry quickly for me. If you’re using masking tape over top, do so carefully, their model air line is ‘delicate’. There are tricks to working with it.

6

WOW Thank you very much for the information!!

7

Hi, BlackTulip - I think it’s great that you’re sharing your modeling hobby with your son, good for you. 27 in 60 days, wow, if I’m really turning them out I might do that many in 2 or 3 years.

Vallejo Model Air does spray nicely, clean up is easy and the finish does appear good. But there are some individual characteristics that really are not stellar. As was said, never mix or clean with alcohol, the reaction will definitely not go well. I only thin with their own thinner, I clean with lacquer thinner, very effective and far less costly.

Speaking only for myself and from personal experience, I find Model Air to be somewhat touchy as to the use of their thinner. My first go at it was a quick test on scrap material. I just put a few drops of thinner in a cup load, mixed it well and sprayed at my customary 12-18psi. It looked great, but it stayed slightly tacky to the touch for about a week, then it set up like any other acrylic would, but was a bit easier to lift with tape and mar with a finger nail.

Sprayed straight from the bottle it still looked fine, went on well and seemed to dry about as quickly as I am accustomed to with Tamiya, but it still wasn’t quite as durable in handling.

Vallejo says for preparing to pour Model Air, just “roll it between your hands.” Again from my experience, that is just not sufficient. At one point I removed the cap, (just push sideways on the cap and it will lift an edge, then with finger nail lift it the rest of the way off.) Using a small metal dentists spatula I stirred well around the entire bottom of the bottle, then saw the usual glob of unmixed paint solids on the spatula. Then I poured all of the contents into a small cup and stirred with the Badger electric mixer, until a consistent blend was reached. At that point the paint was a bit thicker than I like to spray, so a couple of drops of thinner was added and it sprayed OK, but still seemed to take a few days to set up well.

So, I found that I had a more durable finish by waiting a couple of days, then spraying a clear finish over it and it wasn’t so easily damaged by handling for masking or decaling. I have used Tamiya for a few years now, and have since returned to it. For as nicely as Model Air sprays and looks, it just seems too touchy for my use and also I have to order it, my local shop only carries Tamiya for acrylic.

I read great things from others on FSM about different acrylics, next I’ll try some of them, just to see. When you do spray your Model Air, remember to use light coats if you do add thinner. Hope it does well for you.

Patrick

8

Thanks Patrick for the kind words about Joey and for the help on the Vallejo Paints.

Joey will work on model airplanes whenever he can slip in the time. My wife uses it as a means to get him to get his homework done and do well in school.

Most of the kits as I mentioned are the monogram 1/48 kits and those SMER 1/50 scale and a bunch of Supermodel Italian 1/72 and some testors I had up on a shelf., as well as some off brand Russian 1/72 WW2 a/c kits. He has really improved and getting better. He’s workingon a 1/32 Hellcat (an old kit I paid $10 for years ago- not my better kit) and he’s doing O.K.

But as I mentioned he wants to paint them and I didn’t want him using solvent chemicals until we can go outside.

I will go ahead and give Vallejo a try. I learned long ago to clean my air brush with “acrylic lacquer thinner” you get it at automotive shops and it does a phenominal job!! I have also used it to thin Humbrol and those British paints( Acuscale and Precision) it “bites” the plastic and dries really fast!! But NO way I’ll use it in the house!!

Thanks again for the help I’ll stay in touch and everyone know how things are coming along

9

What Andrew said. I prime with ACE Hardwre NOW for a primer. the regular (white cap) is thick and needs to be thinned. i also thin the air (black cap) a bit. nboth brush paint nicely for touchup work. i like the dropper in the bottle. i suggest spending the extra bucks for Vallejo air brush thinner and air brush cleaner. AS STARTED DON’T USE WINDEX. it will gum up the works. i have masked with silly putty with no problems. for references look up 1/72 JAGDTIGER and 1/35 LOW SIDE GONDOLA. both were done with Vallejo.

10

Like Wayne, I have used silly putty for masking without issue. When I am using masking tape, which is fairly often, I use mostly Tamiya tape and sometimes Frog Tape. In either case, I stick it to my hands, pants, forehead several times to knock down the ‘stickiness’ a lot. In this way, I rarely peel up paint. With Tamiya tape, I stick and lift 12 to 20 times before I use a strip. It might help the young fellow when painting, save him some frustration.

11

Check your local Hobby Lobby stores. They carry Vallejo Model Color paints. Get them while they’re still have them. HL are clearing them out $1.79 ea.

12

Model Color is meant for hand brushing, while Model Air for airbrushing. I’ve heard of folks airbrushing Color, but with a LOT of thinner.

13

Hobby Lobby is dumping them you are saying?

John

14

Seems to me they are pilotjohn. Gonna head back there Monday to see if any more are marked down to $1.79 each. The last time I was there a handful of Vallejo paints were on clearance and other Vallejo colors weren’t. I did grab the last 2 bottles of their thinner medium.

15

WOW

I better get over there soon!!

Thanks for the heads up!!

16

Thanks for the update. I have a local shop that carries them also, but he is a much further drive.

John

17

I’m not a fan of acrylics but Vallejo does brush well on top of a primer. I called my local Hobby Lobby and the gentleman that handles the hobby section said they are discontinuing certain colors but not the entire line. He even checked for me what discontinued colors were available.

As far as thinning the Model Color line, I use Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner and works just fine.

18

plastic junkie - what colors is Vallejo discontinuing?

19

black Sheep-Recalling from memory

Cavalry red, reflective green, German uniform green, British uniform tan, buff, sandstone(?) either red or brown leather, a light yellow, gloss white. I’m certain there are a couple more but can’t remember which.

20

Even though it’s snowing like Siberia here in northern Indiana I am heading to Hobby Lobby to see if they have Vallejo paints

Thanks again everyone.

In addition I have discovered at Menard’s the Rust-o-leum spray paints that canbe applied to plastic!!!

I bought some as many of the colors are very close to the British, German and Italian World War 2 colors.

I painted a 1/72 Cr-25 we have been working on and it was a Wow’er !!!