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Talys wrote:@sock - oh, I wasn't deriding Vallejo at all. It's a great range. I just mean that there are a lot of duplicate and almost-identical colors -- as in, if you bought every single Vallejo paint, you'd have some paints that were *exactly* the same (like the Game Color extra thick being the same as model color, just with a different label), and a few that were so close that no human could tell them apart. But they have some wonderful colors that no other company has. Also, I'm very fond of their new metallic airbrush paints, and Vallejo Game and Model air in general.
It's only a problem if you don't realise that the different Vallejo ranges are exactly that, different ranges. While some stores carry all of them, there are many stores that will only carry VMC, or only carry VCG, or only carry VMA. Where as if you carry P3 or Citadel, you tend to carry the entire P3 or Citadel line up. Because of that, each Vallejo range needs to be self sufficient.
Talys wrote: @sock - oh, I wasn't deriding Vallejo at all. It's a great range. I just mean that there are a lot of duplicate and almost-identical colors -- as in, if you bought every single Vallejo paint, you'd have some paints that were *exactly* the same (like the Game Color extra thick being the same as model color, just with a different label), and a few that were so close that no human could tell them apart
As noted, these are for the serious military modeler (aka, the "rivet counter"). For example, I paint my British Shermans a 50/50 mix of VMC Russian Uniform and VMC Russian Green to get that proper shade based on reccomendations from a gentleman named Mike Starmer (who has written well-researched books on the subject) on the Flames of War forums. For the rivet counter, using the wrong shade of green is akin to a painter painting Marneus Calgar green and entering him in the Golden Daemon competition. The model may look good, but its just not "right" in their eyes.
I've mostly given up on Vallejo for my rivet counting needs because they more often than not are the furthest from being accurate. There's usually a range over which each colour can be (accounting for slight variations in the mix from the factory, different application methods, fading in the field, etc) but for most things I've painted Vallejo tends to be outside the window of all the other paint manufacturers and for things we have colour swatches for they're often furthest from the mark.
It may not sound like a big deal to fantasy/sci fi gamers, but when you paint an aircraft and it doesn't look like any real world examples of the same aircraft because the colours were off it fails to capture the spirit of vehicle for me.
There's a lot of argument over which paint ranges are the most accurate and for specific colours there'll different manufacturers recommended.... but for the most part I've found I can pull a Testors off the shelf and just use it and it won't look bad. Vallejo I can't, I have to research it first to make sure it's not miles off, which it usually is.
For a historical modeler, that is a really good point, but I don't think too many use Citadel. I am a big fan of Vallejo lines, but see their GC line as a way to build a palette, not rely on their names (though it would be nice if they did a little more research and got them closer). Generally, I stick to the non nation/uniform affiliated colors anyway- IE Grey Blue, Black Red, etc. Matching real paint is a very difficult task, regardless, though because of all the variables. Not to mention we may not even perceive the same colors in the same way (http://www.livescience.com/21275-color-red-blue-scientists.html). Federal Standard, Ral and RLM charts can help, though.
I haven't used Citadel in years, largely because of price, limited palette, and preference for droppers. Bizarre naming conventions didn't help, and the flip tops had some real cleaning and sealing issues. I used to really like Tentacle Pink with a magenta wash (Warlock Purple?) for painting Slaanesh stuff. Graveyard Earth, Kommando Khaki, and Bleached Bone also got a lot of use for bones, teeth, etc. So some good paints, but way too pricey.
