Method in my madness?

[FW190A-8]

I am considering switching completely to Vallejo for my paint. I am thinking that I want to use just the Model Air Range for the top coats and the Vallejo primers;Grey for priming & Black for pre-shading. Here is my thinking.
1. I mostly model WWII airplanes and it seems Model Air has most of the colors i need/use
2. Model Air can be sprayed without the need for thinners so no more ratios to consider
3. The bottles are convenient for getting paint into the airbrush
4. Vallejo airbrush cleaner comes highly recommended
5. I am growing tired of having multiple brands of paint
6. Bunch of other reasons that I wont bore you all with

My question is, Am I thinking straight or can you guys see that I am heading down the wrong path? All comments welcome but please be gentle...
cheers,
FW190

 

[sunsanvil]

For those same reasons you mention, and many additional, I "standardized" on ModelAir several years ago. I only wish I had done so before buying so much ModelColor (nothing wrong with ModelColor, I just prefer the ease of use of ModelAir, which also work great for fine/detail brush work by the way).

 

[spud]

i just upgraded or changed over to vallejo my self but i got the normal ones i got the set of military paints cost me £144 on emodels. only prob is i need to thin them as i go and im still getting used to that, as for the pre thined ones i do see the convience of them and i see no draw backs with it except you dont get 72 in a set.

you could get few before getting a full set just to make sure you like the paint.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

You're thinking straight, all your points are valid.

What I always find most interesting when it comes to these discussions is how the reasoning often changes depending on the topic. When disussing pigments, cost seems to trump convenience. "Id rather buy cheap pastels, a mortar and pestal and grind my own, versus paying for that brand name" (even though it would be more convenient) with the Vallejo topic convenience seems to trump cost, "I'd rather buy a bottle of pre-thinned paint and paint four models with it, than thin my own and paint ten."

There is no right or wrong, only personal preference. I personally have never had to 'deal with ratios', I just put thinner in the cup, add a little paint and pull the trigger. If it seems too thick add a little more thinner... etc.

I always went through my Air paints twice, if not three times as fast as my Color bottles. At around what, $3.00 a pop, it gets costly. Considering that, I know what Vallejo and your local hobby store would prefer you do.

Why not simply buy one of each, experiment and see what works for you?

 

[f2k]

I use a mix of Games Workshop paints (almost exclusively washes and some Foundation paints) and Vallejo Game and Model colours.

Why Vallejo? Because of the convenience of having dropper bottles. Honestly, if Games Workshop adopted dropper bottles I’d be just as happy to use those as well.

I’m not sold on the Air colours as they are, in my opinion, too thin to be used as regular paints.

The fact that I have to thin my paints is no problem as I usually mix various colours. So adding a bit of water is no problem. And if I need to use it straight out of the bottle... Well... Dropping a few drops of paint into the airbrush together with the paint is no real problem.

As ScaleModelMadman said, it’s down to personal preference. Whatever works for you is the best solution, right?

 

[Eastrock]

Just my 2 cents

for me not all brand had the same color... Vallejo has color range that other brands have not, Tamiya has its rattle cans AS colors, Gunze has Mettalic lines as well as Alcad II.


Scalemodelmadman it actually depends on the modeler.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Yes, comes down to personal preference, and I understand from a price perspective, it is cheaper to buy the Model Color, thin it out and you get 3-4 times the amount of paint for airbrushing for the same price as buying one bottle of the Model Air, and this is the stance I have taken here at the shop, however the Model Air is getting more popular, and I would like to pull the trigger on getting the whole Model Air line in at the shop here....it is just that initial sticker shock of buying the set up that is hard to get past.

The kicker to it all....is probably half if not more of the Model Air colors, aren't replicated in the Model Color line. So alot of the Model Air colors aren't just pre-thinned versions of their Model Color brethren, but are actually different colors. Does that mean you can't find a "close" color in Model Color? Heck no, but when you just have to paint your newest Spitfire or Me-109 build, the convenience of having the "right" color already pre-thinner, just drop and go in your airbrush is a good motivator to finish the kit, as opposed to not finishing it wondering if you will ruin it with possibly a bad paint job trying to figure out thinning the Model Color paint properly.

Personally, I use both Model Air and Model Color, whichever color I need at the time I use.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Scalemodelmadman it actually depends on the modeler.

Umm, isnt that what I said? Isnt that what personal prefernce means?

:-\

 

[sunsanvil]

...from a price perspective, it is cheaper to buy the Model Color, thin it out and you get 3-4 times the amount of paint for airbrushing for the same price as buying one bottle of the Model Air

Fair enough, but unless one is thinning with water, the thinner itself isn't "free". In the case of the Vallejo thinner most of us use the cost per ml of paint and thinner is the same (at least it was up until they came out with the big bottle recently). In other words a bottle of ModelColor and 1-2 bottles of thinner gave me....about the same total airbrushable fluid as 2-3 bottles of ModelAir and cost exactly the same. I grant you the big thinner bottle changes the equation but for the most part I'm still preferring ModelAir, though I will say that ModelColor still has a place on my shelf: For figures for example there isn't an array of flesh tones available in ModelAir, so its not like I'm dumping them (though I may have a fire sale on a couple dozen unused ones if you bring in the ModelAir line ).

 

[FW190A-8]

Hi again. Thanks for the responses. From what you are all saying, it seems that I might be able to go ahead with my plan. I hear what you are saying about model color.
I think that I will go ahead and make the switch to Vallejo and I will try the Model Color range as well as the Model Air.
On that point, I already have a little bottle of Vallejo thinner. It has a white lid, a black-grey label and the No.061 written on it. Is that the correct thinner for both the Model Air and Model Color paints?
If so, then I will start collecting both those ranges of paints as I need them. This will be great. I love the idea of dripping the paint/thinner straight into the color cup without the need to use a pipette anymore.
cheers,
FW190

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Yes, that is the 32ml bottle. All of the Vallejo thinner is the same, no matter what line it comes from or the size.

Thinner should be available in 17ml, 32ml, and 200ml (and maybe 60ml, but I haven't seen it yet).

If you every have trouble finding it...I always have some in stock.

 

[FW190A-8]

Thank you Elm for that info on the Vallejo thinner. Wish I lived closer to where your business is. I reckon I would get all my supplies from you if I was not all the way Down Under. Those nice people who run the mail services would love me if I had model supplies sent from the Northern Hemisphere. (More money for them=bigger Xmas party)
Well...its Vallejo time for me....and hopefully I can find some 200ml bottles of thinner here in Aus.
This forum never ceases to amaze me with the knowledge you all have and the willingness to share.
cheers to you all.
FW190

 

[spud]

You can get the 200ml bottles on eBay if your stuck

 

[the Baron]

In my mind's eye, I see Quint at the town hall meeting, dragging his fingernails across the chalkboard..."You all know me, you know how I earn a livin'..."

That is, my contribution is what I've said before, in similar threads: If cost is a concern, buy craft store acrylics, which can be brushed or airbrushed, and can be thinned with water if necessary, or isopropyl. You can get the alcohol at the drugstore or even grocery store. Cleanup also completes with water or isopropyl.

The Vallejo or even Andrea acrylics are very nice, of course. But I can't see spending that much on colors, when I can get the same results for a better price with generics. And if you learn to mix your own colors, you can cut down even further on the number of individual colors that you need to buy.

Now, to disclose fully, I have a regular Farbkastl, a large collection of colors by various makers, in matte and gloss, enamel and acrylic. But as I've been getting into using more acrylics, I tried Vallejo and Andrea, and found, as mentioned before, that I can get the same results with the Americana, Apple Barrel or whatever brand Michael's or AC Moore happen to have on sale.

But as has been noted, "Suum quique", or "To each, his own".

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Tube glue, craft paints and quotes from Jaws.

You and Hans could be brothers.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Yes for sure, to each their own.....but there is no way you can compare generic acrylic paint like Apple Barrel or other brands to Vallejo.....the generic acrylics aren't even in the same league.

Vallejo and Andrea (which used to be made by Vallejo....not so sure anymore) have much finer and more pigments in one little bottle of Vallejo then you will get in a much larger bottle of a generic craft brand paint.

The old adage of you get what you pay for holds very true with this....craft paint is just that...craft paint, and the reason you can get them for $1 or so is because there isn't much in them for pigment, mostly being a carrier. This is what costs when you buy a bottle of paint is the cost of the pigment.

I too have used craft paints, and other than maybe painting an under layer on a diorama so the color of the wood or styrofoam doesn't show through....they won't give the same smooth finish that a hobby paint, especially one such as Vallejo will.

No matter how you slice it....they just don't compare.

 

[RocketSilo]

Tube glue, craft paints and quotes from Jaws.

You and Hans could be brothers.

scalemodelmadman ,,, please reply to the pm sent last week concerning your winning of a free decal set ....
I would like to get them started and out to you.. and again congrats on the well deserved win .!
p.s. your email is hidden .
Thanks Andy

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Tube glue, craft paints and quotes from Jaws.

You and Hans could be brothers.

scalemodelmadman ,,, please reply to the pm sent last week concerning your winning of a free decal set ....
I would like to get them started and out to you.. and again congrats on the well deserved win .!
p.s. your email is hidden .
Thanks Andy

Not much I can do right now Andy, Irene has knocked out power/cable/phone and I can only post here via my phone. I really cant do anything from here.

Yes, my personal email is hidden. If anyone from the site needs to reach me via email, I have a scalemodeladdict account, ken@-

 

[RocketSilo]

Ken got it thanks ,, I'm very sorry to hear about your situation.. Take all the time you need to take care of yourself and family.. No problem.

got your PM l,and replied there as well.
I hope the situation gets better for your area soon

Andy

 

[the Baron]

Tube glue, craft paints and quotes from Jaws.

You and Hans could be brothers.

"...Anyway, we delivered the bahmb."