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What paint brand do you recommend for a nice (not necessarily Golden Deamon but above tabletop quality) paint job?

When you mention your paint brand please explain if you water the paint down (and water to paint ration) and other techniques that you use when using that specific paint.

One reason I ask is because my FLGS sells Vallejo paints and keeps it stocked but no other paints and I want to know if that is a good brand (and how to use it best if it is) or if I should get another brand.

I was using GW paints for a long time which worked okay once I watered them down some (they're SUPER thick to me now).

Lately, I've been switching to Reaper Master Series paint. The dropper bottles are okay, but what I like best about them is the sheer number of shades available, and that they're arranged in trios for shading/highlighting. I have sets for orange, green, and purple, and I absolutely love them. They're thinner and I haven't needed to water them down at all unless I'm doing super-fine detailing. (The dropper can be popped off in case it gets clogged, to make it easier to clean up.)

I have zero knowledge of Vallejo paint, so I can't help you there.

Vallejo is excellent. The colors are new so its a blast to figure out what works and what looks cool. It's like exploring. I bought a 72 paint paint kit and it came with a thinner so I guess I do about 1 drop per 4-8 drops of paint. Whatever seems right.

Isn't this forum just for tuts, not for questions? Maybe chuck it up in modelling, might get more help there dude.

^^^ Ya I noticed I posted in the wrong spot right after I posted. Kinda felt dumb at that point. ^^^ Thanks for the replies thus far though.

I have asked a Mod to move this thread to the appropriate forum.

No harm done.

I use GW Foundations and washes, though I do most of my painting in VGC and I look forward to moving up to the big league with VMC.

P3 paints are also very nice, but I do not have the budget to buy them yet.

Honestly, all of them are good in their own ways and it's always going to come down to personal preference. I have a fairly large collection of paints, a mix of GW, Vallejo Model Colour, Vallejo Game Colour, Vallejo Model Air, Tamiya and P3 and I find that all suit their purpose well enough that I wouldn't advise anyone to switch for purely painting reasons because it's always going to be different depending on your painting style.

The same goes for how much watering down you need to do, each paint is different and you just need to practice. By this I don't mean each paint range is different, I mean that any individual paint from any range can have slightly different properties that mean you need to work each one out individually.

Rather than buying into a whole range too quickly it might be worth buying say five paints from each range and using them to see what you feel most comfortable with. I would say that if Vallejo is your best bet for a decent supply I find them to be good paints so I'd have no hesitation using them.

For spray paint I use Valspar semi-gloss it comes out the exact same as army painter and its only 4 dollars a can. Its a godsend for low budget gamers like me. lol

Vallejo poaints are pretty much an exact match for GW if you get the right bottle. here's a link to a conversion chart to help:

http://www.evicerator.com/vallejotogwconversiontable.htm



I am switching to Vallejo now for a few reasons:

1) the dropper bottle reduces waste
2) the screw top stops the paint dryign up or leaking out if it tips over in your paint box
3) they are cheaper (i got mine on ebay for £1.54 a bottle)
4) you get about 40% more paint in a pot than GW (gw = 12ml, Valleho = 17ml)


The vallejo paints need a proper shake as the pigments settle more than GW apparently, andf they do need to be watered down. the amount of water depends on what you are doing, paintign or glazing. But i usually put 2 drops of paint on my pallete and, dip my brush in water adn then get to mixing. That usually makes the paint spreada lot smoother and avoids losing detail on the model.

Natorum wrote:Honestly, all of them are good in their own ways and it's always going to come down to personal preference. I have a fairly large collection of paints, a mix of GW, Vallejo Model Colour, Vallejo Game Colour, Vallejo Model Air, Tamiya and P3 and I find that all suit their purpose well enough that I wouldn't advise anyone to switch for purely painting reasons because it's always going to be different depending on your painting style.

The same goes for how much watering down you need to do, each paint is different and you just need to practice. By this I don't mean each paint range is different, I mean that any individual paint from any range can have slightly different properties that mean you need to work each one out individually.

Rather than buying into a whole range too quickly it might be worth buying say five paints from each range and using them to see what you feel most comfortable with. I would say that if Vallejo is your best bet for a decent supply I find them to be good paints so I'd have no hesitation using them.

This.

And, Vallejo Game Colour is the old GW pigments, in larger eye dropper bottles. 17ml vs 12ml. Consistency is the same, though the pigment density seems higher, meaning less coats of annoying colours like Yellow or Red. You can also remove the dropper top to access paint directly, though I would only resort to this if it became clogged.

Also, Vallejo Model Colour is preferred by military modellers due to its more "real" pigments.

the Model Colour range seems to be more based around military modellers in part due to the colours as well. The range in general offers more drab/camo kind of colours than the game colour range.

So if you were doing an army with lots of tanks and Camo (IG/Tau i suppose) then the Model Colour raneg could be your best bet. With a couple of brighter choices form the Game Colour range to pick out details/logos etc

I use the liquitex acrylics, they have a large range of colors and it works with the minis really well

I've mainly used GW paints, and they work fine if used correctly (water down, small amounts). For bases and small details I use acrylics (craft store) as they are cheaper and still do the job well. I am starting to try out Vallejo Game Color, and they work pretty well (dropper bottle is annoying at times). But that's just my experience. Try out a few, and use what works best.

I would recommend Vallejo, for the reasons already listed. I use a mix of VGC and GW, but generally prefer the VGC's behavior, as well as the container.

I too highly recommend the Vallejo lines. If you local store carries them in stock, you are very lucky indeed. If I want some, I have to drive minimum an hour or order off the internet. Regardless, their paints are worth, IMO.

There are two other Vallejo paints that if you can find them are worth the time. The Model Air line, which is intended for Airbrushes can also be used with a brush and goes on fantastic. The other is Vallejo's line of alcohol based metallic. I just picked up some last week after hearing about them on here and I am in love. They are by far the best metallics I have used so far. The Old Gold when I painted it on a mini ended up looking like the wedding ring on my finger. I was shocked. It goes on super smooth too. You just have to make sure you stir it REALLY well. Not just shake it, but stir it. I made this mistake when first using it last week. I shook it real well and went to us it and was VERY disappointed. Then I saw something about stirring it and voila, I was hooked.

Vallejo.

I used to use GW paints. Now, I use both VGC and VMC. The bottle is just smarter. No accidents, no waste, more paint from the outset. I think the quality of the paint is better too. More colors and more specialty products (like smoke with tiny gritty particles, or patina). I'm curious about reaper but have never seen it in any shop in Tokyo.

Im hoping once I get abck to school that I can pick up some VGC and VMC paints since I have found the perfect primer for my liking (army painter color primer). And I have noticed that the gw paints well they are not bad but some colors I would like to use the Vallejo hones since they are just so nice

Would say go with Vallejo just awesome. Gw washes are pretty great tho.

Vallejo Game Color, Citadel Washes

Praxiss wrote:
http://www.evicerator.com/vallejotogwconversiontable.htm

Dakka actually has the same in its list of articles...

Help the Article Mod by converting other brand's pigments...

I use various colours from the following makers; Tamiya(no paint is as matt as tamiya).GW, Gamecraft and am getting some Vallejo.
I tend to use Gamecraft for Gold as I don't like GW's stuff. I recommend their bronze, amazing for drybrushing. You'll probably find your paint box will become a mix of different manufacturer's paints as you'll find some are better than others for specific jobs.

Wow, I'm excited to get some vallejo paints this week. When you water it down do you use water or a mixing medium of some sort?

Army painter has pretty good paints, same goes for privater press. But I mainly use GW paints since they are cheaper

Synchro wrote: The other is Vallejo's line of alcohol based metallic. I just picked up some last week after hearing about them on here and I am in love. They are by far the best metallics I have used so far. The Old Gold when I painted it on a mini ended up looking like the wedding ring on my finger. I was shocked. It goes on super smooth too. You just have to make sure you stir it REALLY well. Not just shake it, but stir it. I made this mistake when first using it last week. I shook it real well and went to us it and was VERY disappointed. Then I saw something about stirring it and voila, I was hooked.

Mate I love the Liquid Gold line! I too checked it out recently as I saw them being used on buypainted's youtube channel and was really impressed. So glad I found them as my metallic work was never really as good as my standard painting!

Hytanthas wrote:Wow, I'm excited to get some vallejo paints this week. When you water it down do you use water or a mixing medium of some sort?

From what I have read and tried myself, people use a couple of different things. Straight Windex, yes the glass cleaner. Another is Future Floor Polish, it is an acrylic coating and works exceedingly well, water also works. So far the best one I have used, but I am way a noob as compared to some here, is the future floor polish. It works well as a gloss varnish before using a washes. I say try a few and see what you like.

Oh and for most paints, but not all, I usually use one drop of whatever thinner you use to paint, but it depends on the color I am using. Regardless of brand, some colors thin differently than others.

I would recommend GW paints.

One small issue with VMC is that it is less durable than GW. Not a big deal if you seal properly of course, but you need to be careful while painting.
I personally use multiple brands. They all seem to coexist just fine.

tenbears wrote:One small issue with VMC is that it is less durable than GW. Not a big deal if you seal properly of course, but you need to be careful while painting.

Really? Good to know. Will have invest in some matt varnish or purity seal then.

I also can recommend the Vallejo paints. I mostly use the Game Color and Model Color ranges, and have bought a starter set of the Model Airs for my airbrush. Especially the metals in the Model Air line will blow your mind - they are the best metallic paints I ever used. The only thing better out there supposedly is the Vallejo Liquid Gold range. I never tried them because of the hassle (alcohol for cleaning your brushes, because even the slightest bit of water rusts the paint), but maybe someday.

I would also suggest using additives to get the best out of your paints. I thin down all my paints 1:1 with "Magic Water" - a 10:1 mix of distilled water and Liquitex Flow-Aid. This gives the paint just the right consistency for a nice, smooth coat.

For sealing your work I recommend the new brand of Vallejo Acrylic-Polyurethane Varnish. You can get them in gloss, satin and matte and can either apply them with a brush or shoot them with your airbrush. One coat of gloss, followed by one coat of matte varnish should protect your minis from just about anything.