Discontinued colors?

Hi Rich,

You may have gathered that from the names of the Vallejo paint ranges, there's a differnce between the "Model Color" and Model Air" ranges. The difference is that the Model Color  paints are formulated for brush painting and the Model Air paints are intended for airbrushing.

Out of the bottle, the Model Color paints are quite thick compared to other brands of paint. The pigments are quite dense and give great coverage for brush painting, However they can be thinned for airbrushing and can give great results. The Model Air paints are considderably thinner out of the bottle and are more suited to airbrushing, but still require some thinning for best results. Both ranges can be thinned using the same medium, either Vallejo's own proprietary thinner or plain old distilled water.

The two "X-" colours you listed, X-10 and X-11 are, respectively, (X-10) Gunmetal and (X-11) Chrome Silver. These are rather generic colours and every manufacturer has these colours.  

The "TS-" colours recommended for your (Jagdtiger?) kit are pretty much the basic three German camouflage colours, except that they have quoted the paint codes from their spray can (TS=Tamiya Spray) range rather than their bottled paint range (XF)

TS-1 Red Brown = XF-64 Red Brown
TS-2 Dark Green = XF-61 Dark Green
TS-3 Dark Yellow = XF-60 Dark Yellow

Note that Tamiya "Dark Yellow" is generally considered to be too dark and too "green" and is often lightened before application by mixing with a lighter colour such as XF-55 Deck Tan (for a slightly warmer effect) or white (cooler, and somewhat stark).

The Dark Yellow in Vallejo's Model Air range, 71081 is darker still (close to a khaki colour) and will definitely need some lightening (perhaps with 71075 "Sand")

Disclaimer: I have a bottle of 71081 but I haven't yet used it so I am suggesting this as what I would try, rather than what I've actually done,

Sorry, I am in Australia and Vallejo paints are thin on the ground here, I buy mine from LuckyModel in Hong Kong... However, it looks like Sprue Brothers stocks Vallejo paints, so you should be good to go with them. Sprue Brothers seems to be highly regarded for both price and customer service by many in these forums.

Wow!

   Once again Phil, you have come through for me in a hurry! This information is exactly what I was looking for. I'm sure after a while I will become familiar with all the in's and out's as far as these things are concerned. As for now though...I'm too impatient, and want to get this stuff ordered asap so I can get started!

   I'm working on a little homemade spray booth, and should have everything ready to go in a couple days. It's funny to me when I realize the types of things it takes to get me excited anymore at this point in my life? Anyways, thanks again Phil for your help. Try and stay hydrated if you can down there, from what I hear...it's turning into a dust bowl?

Take care...Rich

Phil,

   What is better to use for thinning...distilled H2o, or the Vallejo brand thinner(s)? I'm not made of money, yet I don't want to waste the cash I've already spent...or the work I've done for the sake of a few bucks?

Rich

Hi Rich,

I'll start by saying that I've really only recently started to use Vallejo paints and I am much more familiar with Tamiya and Gunze acrylics. 

I must admit that I haven't tried Vallejo's thinner. I use demineralised water without any issues. Just don't over-thin or else the paint will bead up, not cover and not adhere. (Of course that happens with any water-based paint.) 

Unlike Tamiya and Gunze acrylics, Vallejo doesn't play nicely with alcohol and often results in clumping/separation of the paint (known as "flocculation").

Distilled water is fine, and in fact is the suggested thinner used in the painting tutorial on Vallejo's own site. http://www.ttfxmedia.com/vallejo/cgi-bin/_modelis_princip.asp?p1=ing&p2=modelcolor&p3=  (scroll down to the "Painting figures with Model Color" tutorial at the bottom of the page)

Sounds good to me Phil, so I think I'll try the water first. Thanks again for the advice, you're a good guy, and you're now on my Christmas list!

Rich

Cheers Rich,

We're all here to share and help each other, and I'm just doing my bit..

I know I've picked up my share of tips and techniques from the members here. Any modelling question or problem you can think of, someone here will have the answer, so don't be shy in asking.

Ditch wrote:

Sounds good to me Phil, so I think I'll try the water first. Thanks again for the advice, you're a good guy, and you're now on my Christmas list! Rich

hi,

i've found the best thinner to use with vallejo is their own one and remember to use a primer coat,i use tamiya fine surface primer in a spray can.

i'm using vallejo model air and model colour regularly so if you have any questions fire away.

paul

Hi Paul,

   I've been busy, and just got back to this forum, but thanks for the advice. Do you prime everything you paint first, regardless of it being Vallejo's model air, or model color (regular brushing), line of paints? I've been reading that some people don't use primer with certain brands of acrylics, such as Tamiya, as they adhere better than other brands. They say to just clean the parts first.

Rich

Hi Rich,

Sorry - I forgot to mention above that Vallejo paints do benefit from having a nice primed surface to stick to.

In most cases, just ordinary Tamiya acrylic will be sufficient as a primer, assuming you have cleaned the surface first. Let it dry overnight and then go with your top colours.

Ditch wrote:

Hi Paul,    I've been busy, and just got back to this forum, but thanks for the advice. Do you prime everything you paint first, regardless of it being Vallejo's model air, or model color (regular brushing), line of paints? I've been reading that some people don't use primer with certain brands of acrylics, such as Tamiya, as they adhere better than other brands. They say to just clean the parts first. Rich

hi,

i've been shooting a fair amount of acrylic recently and i would say no matter what the brand,use primer first,thats airbrushing or hand brushing.

acrylics tend to be more fragile until really dry but they need something to cling to and a primer coat does this.

with enamels you can get away without a primer coat.

but from past experiance i now primer anything to be painted,it also shows up surface problems as well and its easier to sort a surface problem in primer than in your colour coat.

paul

Thanks Paul,

   Sounds like good advice. I appreciate you taking the time.

Rich