What's So Special About Vallejo Paints?

i asked the same thing monster Zero over in the figures thread but didnt get much of a response. ive done a google search as im interested in trying some myself to do my cockpits and small detail that has to be hand painted. the review i read stated it is specially formulated to have more open time. this ofcourse reduces brush strokes. another atvantage it is supposed to have is it adheres to plastic and resins better. its not anymore expensive than what i use now so im seriously thinking of purchasing the starter kit. here is a link if you dont already have one: http://www.fantization.com/cgi-bin/cart/mSHOP4.pl/page=Vallejo_Splash.htm

oh, and another thing that i thought was interesting is that the container that they come in actually has a dropper in the cap. somehow, the review boasted that you could use every drop of paint from within the container with no waste! how thats done i dont know. so there you go from saltydog who has just read about it and not used ..........yet. later.

I only started using them because the LHS owners are too stubborn to give up their
enamels and stock acrylics!

QUOTE: Originally posted by MonsterZero Why's everybody using this obscure brand all of a sudden?

MonsterZero if you think there obscure where you are, try here in Australia, I was lucky to find a local hobby that supplies them when I move here.

The reason why I have been experimenting with then was due to one of the members of the club I was in Canberra imported a set of Adrea Colors (which is the same as the Vallejo). I was very impressed with the finish they provided.

I think the main attraction for me is that they are acrylic, cover well when hand brushing and have a large range of colors. At this stage I am planning to use only Vallejo for fiqure modelling.

Like saltydog I do like the way the paint is packaged, it for very small quanty of paint to be removed from bottle and in theory allows the paint to be stored for long periods.

I use Vallejo acrylics for painting AC cockpit details and smaller scale ( 25-54mm ) figures. They are the most opaque acrylics I have used, especially their whites and yellows. They cover extremely well and level out very nicely when dry, eliminating most brush mark problems. They are water soluble so thinning and cleanup is easy. They are available from Squadron under the Andrea brand name, same paint and packaging, just relabeled. They also sell direct from their webstore, just do a search on "vallejo".

I have really good results from them. The packaging is really nice for figure painting where you have to mix different colors to do the shading and hilights. The paint goes on smooth and dries fast without brush marks. It has the broad range of colors that other acrylics don't have. Just look at all the flesh tones they have.

I haven't tried them yet, but from what I've seen, they give very good coverage when hand painting. I use Citadel colours (from Warhammer) for handpainting, as they're very opaque and level very well, but they're impossible to airbrush. I've heard nothing but good things about vallejo, even that their paints are pre-thinned for airbrushing.

There is a third brand : Prince August; as far as I know, colours were the same but it is not the case today though I believe they are all produced by Vallejo. Prince August has an Air range for airbrushing ( diluted and retarded )and a classic range; I don' t know for the other brands.