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I've not used these before and wondered which brands you guys advise on using from the following

Forge World
Vallejo
MIG
Secret Weapon

Cheers

I use the stuff from AK-Interactive (MIG) and it's good. It's not easy to use, takes finesse and practice for sure. But I think any of those brands would be great, and I also think they're all effectively going to be about the same and produce very similar results.

I'd probably avoid the Forge World pigments due to the price/shipping, but I live in the US so they could be better in your case.

When it comes to pigments, you want a brand that uses PURE pigment, no additives, seeing how you are in the UK I would recommend MIG.

Ashton

I use the forgeworld ones (but that is mainly as they were the first ones i has easy access to after deciding i needed some) and get great results from them.

but the mig and AK stuff are also good

I use Forge World ones, I based my decision simply to easy acces and convenience while making a FW order.

I heard that FW pigments are repacked MIG, I have no first hand knowledge though but they seem to be working fine.
EDIT: Im new to pigments and have not compared different brands.

I'd argue that pigments are more about the user than the product. Military modelers managed just fine with home-ground pastel artist's chalk (and graphite sticks/soft pencils, for metallic wear) for decades before dedicated weathering powders were made available. Yes, there will be some binder in the powder with the pigment, but I doubt you'd be able to tell without a microscope.

Well thats easy to argue but dosent really contribute to the discussion 0o
MacGyver can build a bomb from an acorn but the rest of us should most likely use explosives in the process.

What I am saying is that asking for tips on tools has a certain merit in it.

I have 3 sets of Mig pigments and they are pretty good.

I use the Tamiya Weathering sets, useful, and can be used straight out of the box. Just remember to use some rubbing alcohol to adjust how you would like your pigments to be, just be mindful of how tolerant your paint surfaces are with alcohol.

oadie wrote:I'd argue that pigments are more about the user than the product. Military modelers managed just fine with home-ground pastel artist's chalk (and graphite sticks/soft pencils, for metallic wear) for decades before dedicated weathering powders were made available. Yes, there will be some binder in the powder with the pigment, but I doubt you'd be able to tell without a microscope.

This is true to a paint, yes skill has a lot to do with the result, however when you have carnuba wax(the typical binder added to pigments and chalks) mixed with water based paints you run into so mixing issues. When you try to create washes and other specific effects with a pigment that has the wax in it, you have mixing and splotching issues, but in the end when you remove that factor, you get a more predictable product capable of duplicating the same effect over and over.

Ashton

I finally found the little box with my artists' pastels in it yesterday. Of course, since moving and losing the box I've also purchased a bunch of Vallejo and MIG pigments, which I've also not gotten around to using. It's going to be an interesting time experimenting with all three on my models..

What method do modellers traditionally use to grind their artists' pastels?

I use Mig pigments and am quite happy with them.

One problem with grinding down pastel chalks is that they have binders in them that may cause issues with application.

things like Mig pigments are pure pigment with no binder at all, and so are preferable.

Thanks everyone whos posted so far, this has all been very useful

I'm going to be looking into getting some at the end of the month. I think I might go for MIG although Vallejo is easier to get hold of for me.

I only tried Vallejo Pigments so far, but I really am quite happy with them - give their pigment glaze a try, it makes applying them wet so much easier.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

scipio.au wrote:I finally found the little box with my artists' pastels in it yesterday. Of course, since moving and losing the box I've also purchased a bunch of Vallejo and MIG pigments, which I've also not gotten around to using. It's going to be an interesting time experimenting with all three on my models..

What method do modellers traditionally use to grind their artists' pastels?

A cheap spice or coffee grinder.

We have three of them, for example. One for coffee, one for chilli and one for art materials.

We tried to make do with one ...

The Chilli coffee was not good.

^The Blue Chilli Coffee?!

Tek wrote:^The Blue Chilli Coffee?!

sounds like an album title.

scipio.au wrote:What method do modellers traditionally use to grind their artists' pastels?

My sources recommend two methods - either rubbing back and forth across medium-fine grit sandpaper then dumping the dust or grinding gently on the walls of a fine metal mesh tea strainer held over a container. I'd opt for either one over using a grinder, but getting a chalk-only unit makes sense if you need a lot of the stuff and quickly.

Interesting about the carnuba wax, Redfinger (or Ashton? I've always wondered which you prefer to be called, since your signature at the end of posts is different than your username, but I think this is the first time I've addressed you, directly. Anyway, back to business.) - I wasn't sure what was actually used as the binder. Absolutely no issues were ever mentioned in those sources (some were admittedly dated, but no less trustworthy for it) regarding the binder reacting to mediums, though. Do you have personal experience with this? Could it be an issue of using a water-based wash over acrylics vs. an alcohol-/white spirit-based wash over enamels and/or varnish? My only personal experience with pastels was applying dry, then lightly fixing with isopropyl alcohol applied via capillary action (no issues, obviously, or I wouldn't have suggested it as a viable alternative) - all of my washes have been alcohol-based, using APJ pigments and applied gently (so as not to strip the top paint layers) over unvarnished acrylic.

oadie wrote:
Interesting about the carnuba wax, Redfinger (or Ashton? I've always wondered which you prefer to be called, since your signature at the end of posts is different than your username, but I think this is the first time I've addressed you, directly. Anyway, back to business.)

Ashton is my first name, Redfinger is just a username/nickname that I have used for years, long story, I respond to either.

oadie wrote:
- I wasn't sure what was actually used as the binder. Absolutely no issues were ever mentioned in those sources (some were admittedly dated, but no less trustworthy for it) regarding the binder reacting to mediums, though. Do you have personal experience with this? Could it be an issue of using a water-based wash over acrylics vs. an alcohol-/white spirit-based wash over enamels and/or varnish? My only personal experience with pastels was applying dry, then lightly fixing with isopropyl alcohol applied via capillary action (no issues, obviously, or I wouldn't have suggested it as a viable alternative) - all of my washes have been alcohol-based, using APJ pigments and applied gently (so as not to strip the top paint layers) over unvarnished acrylic.

Wax is just one type of binder, I have heard of some using other methods, but most are wax based. Using alcohol based solutions for creating washes and such with pigments may correct some of the problem, typically I use mineral spirits for doing such things, that fluid wont seep into the acrylic paint, rather it sits on top of it, preserving the color of the acrylic layer. What issues I have had with these carrier based pigments and other brands that are not based on pure pigment recipes is control and color. That wax element of the chalks and certain brands make achieving certain effects rather difficult, you have much more control over the intensity of the color pigment when there is no binder present, that binder acts as a glue and really causes that pigment to stick to the surface, so making subtle effects becomes harder. When you are dealing with pure pigment you are also dealing with pure color, no additives or fillers, so the color is more natural looking and it takes less product to achieve a more natural result. IAfter using pastel chalks and other brands for years in the AFV modeling world, and now using some of the pure pigment brands here in the gaming world, I much rather prefer the stuff I use now, over what I used then.

Ashton

Thanks for the info. I'll keep it in mind when it comes time to expand my somewhat meager collection.

IK-Painter wrote:I only tried Vallejo Pigments so far, but I really am quite happy with them - give their pigment glaze a try, it makes applying them wet so much easier.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

Cheers IK after I posted this I saw another thread which had a link into to your blog, the glaze route looks the easiest to apply to me which is a big bonus