Having Some Trouble with Vallejo Game Color, wonding if I should switch to GW or Model Color

[Eärendil]

Having Some Trouble with Vallejo Game Color, wonding if I should switch to GW or Model Color

Hello everyone, I have joined the community because I am trying to take my painting to the next level and I think I need some helping hands.

I have painted 2 warhammer armies in the past using citadel paints. The first (chaos space marines) was tabletop quality. The second (skaven) was a step up. I have just started a new High Elves army which I want to paint to an even higher standard. I haven’t painted for about 2 years and not surprisingly all of my GW paints dried up. I decided to give Vallejo a try since I have heard that they are “better” (since reading threads on this site it has become clear that it isn’t that simple!). I assumed that Game Color and Model Color were the same thing and just labeled differently. I bought game colors since I was already familiar with the GW colors and it is hard to tell colors from color chips online. I have since found out the most people find the game colors harder to work with then model colors, yet more durable.

I am having doubts that the game colors were the right choice. I have had some difficulty with them (have been using them for a month). I remember having an easier time with the GW paints. This could be because I wasn’t trying to paint to as high of a standard though. I find that many of the colors (some more than others) are really watery (bone white and cobra leather are especially bad). If I am using the term correctly, I remember GW paints being more buttery. And yes, I have been shaking the crap out of the bottles! Because I am painting a whole army I would rather not do many thin translucent layers on the rank and file models. I have especially had difficulty with white and the flesh tones—I have to do 3-4 layers until it is finally fully covered. If I use it a little thicker it gets clumpy.

My questions are these:

Do GW paints, especially white, need fewer layers for good coverage than game color?

Are GW paints less watery/more buttery like I remember?

Is it possible to use model color for minis that I will be gaming with, or will the paint rub off? Would a coat of varnish remedy the problem? (I have never used varnish before)

Should I stick with the game colors I have, or switch to GW or model color?

 

[Dragonsreach]

Somewhat of a complex question.
Firstly Vallejo Game Colours were intended to replace Citadels existing range at the request of GW.
But, If my information is correct, GW found a manufacturer in China that could match the colours exactly and therefore the Vallejo option was never taken up, hence the fact that there are now two ranges that seem to match colours.

Now Vallejo are a totally differing type of material being a \"Vinyl Acrylic\" and are somewhat thinner in base pigmant than GW. That does make a difference in the way that coverage of primer (I\'m assuming black here) will occur.
I\'ve found that several coats of Vallejo will give a much smoother finish than one single coat, but white regardless of make will always be a swine to get an even coat.
You may want to consider investing in a pot of GW Foundation Astronomican Grey to use as Basecoat for white as it covers Black (or any other primer for that matter) easily and will give you you shadow tones easily.

Oh and welcome to the forums.

 

[DaRat]

No matter what brand of paint that you use, you should varnish the finished minis with one or more coats of gloss varnish followed by one (or more if needed) coats of matte varnish. The gloss varnish protects the paint job while the matte varnish removes the \"shiny plastic\" look of the gloss varnish.

Remember to shake the Vallejo paints until your arm feels like it is going to fall off: Vallejo paints can take considerable shaking before they are mixed again. Dropping a piece of metal mini sprue or a glass bead into the bottle can help the mixing process.

 

[Legacy Account]

Game Colour is excellent quality paint - just different to GW. Some colours are better than GW, some not quite as good. They are equally hardwearing in my experience (Model Colour is less so).

They certainly need a good shake, but I prefer the finish of GC over GW - they seem to have a much flatter finish to them. Then again I don\'t varnish my figures, so that\'s important.

 

[farseer oliver]

Well, its all depend on which brand you are comfortable with. Personally I use both VMC and GW. VMC has more color tone while GW has more solid color. For blending purposes, most of the time I use VMC coz its smoother. I don\'t recommend you use VMC to do undercoat bcoz its very thin type. If you are going for HE white clothing, use VMC Sky Grey as base and mix GW Skull White for hightlight.

 

[Eärendil]

Dragonsreach--I have been covering the black primer with a coat of stone wall grey from game color which covers very well. Also, you said \"Now Vallejo are a totally differing type of material being a \"Vinyl Acrylic\" and are somewhat thinner in base pigmant than GW. \" How does this affect the way the paint behaves on the brush? I remember not needing to refill my brush as often with GW. Thanks for the welcome.

Darat--so matte varnish will not protect the miniature on its own?

Spacemunkie--which colors are best from each set?

farseer oliver--the difference between color tone and solid color is not clear to me. Could you elaborate?

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

[DaRat]

Matte varnish provides some protection, but not as much as a coat of gloss varnish.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Eärendil
Dragonsreach--I have been covering the black primer with a coat of stone wall grey from game color which covers very well. Also, you said \"Now Vallejo are a totally differing type of material being a \"Vinyl Acrylic\" and are somewhat thinner in base pigmant than GW. \" How does this affect the way the paint behaves on the brush? I remember not needing to refill my brush as often with GW. Thanks for the welcome.

Ok I\'ll try to explain this as closely as how it was explained to me.
\"GW paints are aimed at a specific market \'Teenagers painting toy soldiers\' so there are a number of factors that were taken into consideration; ease of use, durability compatability and marketability.\"
Now the fact that there is a large market of serious model painters out in the real world is suplimentary. That some of us can take GW paints and make really good use of them is secondary to their original intent.

So the paints themselves are different to Artists paints in that they are ready made liquids and relatively easy to use in terms or application. Drybrushing over a basecoat for example. But in comparison to other paints Vallejo, Reaper, there are only minor differences. Vallejo Model Colour (and to and extent Reaper) are intended to be aimed at Collectors and Painters and as such the paints are designed to be used slightly differently. (ie in thinner smoother coats) Where, for example, you may have expected to cover a surface in one or two coats of GW paints you will find that the VMC paints will probably take a \"larger\" number of coats.

How paint behaves on the brush, well a difficult question. I\'ve found that there are some Vallejo Ochre and \"Earthy\" colours that tend to \'granulate\' easier than others. Clean brushes, good paint aggitation and palette surfaces help to prevent it but it still happens.
I also find that Vallejo tend to suite consistant directional brushstrokes, don\'t object to a quick blast from the hairdryer to speed up drying and seem to have a tendancy not to Spread as easily so finer detail becomes (for me at least )easier to manage.

One of the problems with trying to explain the differences between paints and there usage is that we are using the written word where experience and demonstration would be far superior. It becomes a situation where once you practise with one type of paint you will find your own techniques to how to use it. And you will find (as I have) that you will be able to use the techniques with all paints on a semiautomatic basis, (you do it without thinking about it).

 

[farseer oliver]

farseer oliver--the difference between color tone and solid color is not clear to me. Could you elaborate?

For example GW has 3 tone for Red color such as Red Gore, Scab Red, & Blood Red; VMC has 6 tone for Red color.

If you try to find a very solid Red color like GW Blood Red, its very hard to find in VMC.

Another example:

Let say we put GW Red Gore (1) Scab Red (2), Blood Red (3); and for VMC just use A B C D E F

Dark tone
(1) (A) (B)

Mid Tone
(2) (c) (3)

Light Tone
(E) (F)

 

[Eärendil]

Thanks for the tourough replies. I have ordered some GW paints. I am going to experiment with both sets. I expect to find that I will prefer the gw for my rank and file but I will continue to use the vallejo for characters and finer details and shading.

 

[pez5767]

So, who makes a gloss varnish that doesn\'t yellow your models. I\'ve been using krylon crystal clear for some time, but just recently realized how much it yellows the paint.

 

[farseer oliver]

Originally posted by Eärendil
Thanks for the tourough replies. I have ordered some GW paints. I am going to experiment with both sets. I expect to find that I will prefer the gw for my rank and file but I will continue to use the vallejo for characters and finer details and shading.

Yup, just play around with both brands. I mixed both all the time e.g. GW Regal Blue mix VMC Andrea Blue. The result will be very beautiful. GW has many nice unbeatable color such as bleached bone. Just keep trying it out and you get use to it.