Vallejo Model Air and dry tip - this might help......

[David Lovell]

As you all know a long time ago I re homed anything Vallejo in the best place for it , stop and think Vallejo is a massive brand they must be world leaders within the hobby surely it can't be that bad that you need a degree in chemistry to use the stuff(in my case at the age of fourteen school asked mum if she wouldn't mind not sending me back after the summer holidays) perhaps my education short fall was the reason I couldn't use them , humor aside chaps surely ninety nine percent of Vallejo users must have problem free usage else the company would have disappeared up their own ages ago. Why carry on with something that obviously doesn't work for you or your methods l can think of two brands of paint that come in acrylic and lacquer that are far superior to Vallejo that are problem free and easy to use or is it because they come in the dead easy to mix jars ,you don't need paint shakers or ball-bearings like you do with the nice little dropper bottles. Sorry chaps you have a great and peaceful experience building your model only to become hateful and stressed at the next stage knowing that the products you use are going to seriously taint your whole experience. Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Dave. The reason they haven’t disappeared is easy. Vallejo are unsurpassed in brush painting. They are absolutely reliable and have probably the biggest range out there. They mix and glaze superbly and are useable for every technique there is. They are not good through an airbrush though, in my experience, so despite having over a hundred different VJ paints, I use Tamiya and Mr colour for that! There is no “one paint to rule them all” it’s horses for courses.....besides, trying out lots of different things to get the effects you want is one of the fun bits in modelling isn’t it?

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Agree with Tim. Horses for courses. Vallejo is great for certain things. Hand painting. Also for effects at low pressure plus not as wanted wipe it off immedaitly especially if it is over Tamiya you will not budge the Tamiya.

Tamiya is great for the others. But Mr Tamiya more colours please

Laurie

PS Help lost spelling thing & mine is not good

 

[David Lovell]

Hi Dave. The reason they haven’t disappeared is easy. Vallejo are unsurpassed in brush painting. They are absolutely reliable and have probably the biggest range out there. They mix and glaze superbly and are useable for every technique there is. They are not good through an airbrush though, in my experience, so despite having over a hundred different VJ paints, I use Tamiya and Mr colour for that! There is no “one paint to rule them all” it’s horses for courses.....besides, trying out lots of different things to get the effects you want is one of the fun bits in modelling isn’t it?

As I said Tim there a massive brand and surely 99% of users don't have problems , its just the model air users continue to be frustrated by the splatter and tip drying problem ,as I said when you've chilled out with the build why continue to spoil the fun with something that isn't working for you . I'm all for trying different thing for diffrent effects ive no problem with that , its their frustration at not being able to enjoy using there airbrush time ,I love using mine its one of the fun bits in modeling isn't it ? It would be nice if some of the guys on here who spray it with no problems stood up and pointed them in the right direction. Dave.
Thanks Tim for making this a healthy discussion if some of the lads can surmount their problems then job done.

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Actually I stopped Vallejo (airbrushing) & went to Tamiya as I was frustrated with the stuff peeling in strips when removing masking.

Shame as once they produced the Flow Improver no problem airbrushing.

 

[adt70hk]

As I said Tim there a massive brand and surely 99% of users don't have problems , its just the model air users continue to be frustrated by the splatter and tip drying problem ,as I said when you've chilled out with the build why continue to spoil the fun with something that isn't working for you . I'm all for trying different thing for diffrent effects ive no problem with that , its their frustration at not being able to enjoy using there airbrush time ,I love using mine its one of the fun bits in modeling isn't it ? It would be nice if some of the guys on here who spray it with no problems stood up and pointed them in the right direction. Dave.
Thanks Tim for making this a healthy discussion if some of the lads can surmount their problems then job done.

Agree with Tim. Horses for courses. Vallejo is great for certain things. Hand painting. Also for effects at low pressure plus not as wanted wipe it off immedaitly especially if it is over Tamiya you will not budge the Tamiya.

Tamiya is great for the others. But Mr Tamiya more colours please

Laurie

PS Help lost spelling thing & mine is not good

Hi Dave. The reason they haven’t disappeared is easy. Vallejo are unsurpassed in brush painting. They are absolutely reliable and have probably the biggest range out there. They mix and glaze superbly and are useable for every technique there is. They are not good through an airbrush though, in my experience, so despite having over a hundred different VJ paints, I use Tamiya and Mr colour for that! There is no “one paint to rule them all” it’s horses for courses.....besides, trying out lots of different things to get the effects you want is one of the fun bits in modelling isn’t it?

Gentleman

Thanks for always as your thoughts, most enlightening.

I've just realised I didn't fully explain myself in the intro - in short I'd asked Comrade Race how he was getting on following his move to AK 3rd Gen acrylics - which I hear very good things about and the discussion moved onto this medium.

For both of us lacquer based paints are off the table due to the smell - I model in my kitchen. When I first got an AB circa 4 years ago, Vallejo generally seemed to have the best reputation of the water based acrylics and so I am where I am. I don't have the cash to make a wholesale change and so figured if there were any people in the same situation as me, this might be a cheap way to make life a bit easier.


Tim - I'm off work today and managed to have a quick AB session . The extender medium is similar to Vallejo's flow aid in consistency and so is thicker than their thinner. I was using my 0.2mm AB, rather than the larger one general purpose one and again it worked really well at the ratio I stated earlier - no dry tip.


All the best

Andrew

 

[Del640]

I like Vallejo air, it's all I use, I am quite confident with it as well, but everyone's different!

 

[Deleted member 7181]

I like Vallejo air, it's all I use, I am quite confident with it as well, but everyone's different!

I have to say, I tried every trick in the book to get it to spray out of my H&S Infinity, and it just wouldn't play ball. I even stopped up until the stroke of midnight once to see if that helped, but still no joy.

However, after getting a new blow pipe (Gunze / Mr Hobby PS-275), I threw it in straight from the bottle and it just worked

I always believed it was something I was doing wrong, but a change of tool and it was like night & day! A touch more tip dry than the AK acrylics I swapped to, but that's inevitable with most paints and a very easy fix.

 

[adt70hk]

I have to say, I tried every trick in the book to get it to spray out of my H&S Infinity, and it just wouldn't play ball. I even stopped up until the stroke of midnight once to see if that helped, but still no joy.

However, after getting a new blow pipe (Gunze / Mr Hobby PS-275), I threw it in straight from the bottle and it just worked

I always believed it was something I was doing wrong, but a change of tool and it was like night & day! A touch more tip dry than the AK acrylics I swapped to, but that's inevitable with most paints and a very easy fix.

That's odd Andy. I've tried it from five different ABs, two of which were cheap Chinese jobs and it's never been that bad.

How are you finding the pistol grip to be use. Never tried one did it take much getting used to? I know you use bigger versions at work.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[Deleted member 7181]

That's odd Andy. I've tried it from five different ABs, two of which were cheap Chinese jobs and it's never been that bad.

Similar for me. The freebies that came with my first compressor sprayed it ok, as did my Bartsharp 116B

How are you finding the pistol grip to be use. Never tried one did it take much getting used to? I know you use bigger versions at work.

Ideal for me, much more natural and comfortable than a conventional one. Plus I can use my regular (middle) trigger finger, with my index pointing where I'm aiming.

 

[adt70hk]

I like Vallejo air, it's all I use, I am quite confident with it as well, but everyone's different!

Thanks Del. Now I've got the hang out it, in really getting to grips with it. Truth be told my biggest problem was simply getting bench time with it.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[JR]

I can understand how Andy felt in trying to get his H&S infinity to spray Vallejo, it drives me to the point of having the thought of spraying at all. Doing the Bunker was nearly all brush work, except for spraying some trees. There I used the extender the Andrew had mentioned, what a difference? Now as I use up the Vallejo I shall replace with the AK 3rd Gen. Pleased that I don't have to ditch them and start again.
I agree with David about someone who doesn't have any problems saying,it was bad enough when I returned to modelling and stocked up on Amig, they were a nightmare as well, thought temperature in the then unheated cave was the problem.
I wrote to them and was told we will send you some ball bearings, well they never came but I bought some. Slight difference, then shaking, various diy methods, at last a vortex shaker, has made a big difference.
I told Andrew the other day I'd drained a bottle of white primer into a container to dip the trees in only to find a great string of thick paint, now that would cause a blockage on its own. Can only assume that this came from thickening paint on the side of the bottle falling back in when been shaken, now is this occurring in every bottle of paint ? When the bottle is full it's high up into the narrow neck, as It's used the level drops into the wider part of the bottle. So a larger surface area, which must thicken on the surface.
After I had removed the string and had " clean " paint I used a plastic shot glass to do a mix with the extender and a little thinners. Spray was perfect ! And no tip drying.
I've had white lumps in some varnishes before , they certainly block up the AB .

 

[adt70hk]

I can understand how Andy felt in trying to get his H&S infinity to spray Vallejo, it drives me to the point of having the thought of spraying at all. Doing the Bunker was nearly all brush work, except for spraying some trees. There I used the extender the Andrew had mentioned, what a difference? Now as I use up the Vallejo I shall replace with the AK 3rd Gen. Pleased that I don't have to ditch them and start again.
I agree with David about someone who doesn't have any problems saying,it was bad enough when I returned to modelling and stocked up on Amig, they were a nightmare as well, thought temperature in the then unheated cave was the problem.
I wrote to them and was told we will send you some ball gets, well they never came but I bought some. Slight difference, then shaking, various diy methods, at last a vortex shaker, has made a big difference.
I told Andrew the other day I'd drained a bottle of white primer into a container to dip the trees in only to find a great string of thick paint, now that would cause a blockage on its own. Can only assume that this came from thickening paint on the side of the bottle falling back in when been shaken, now is this occuring in every bottle of paint ? When the bottle is full it's high up into the narrow neck, as It's used the level drops into the wider part of the bottle. So a larger surface area, which must thicken on the surface.
After I had removed the string and had " clean " paint I used a plastic shot glass to do a mix with the extender and a little thinners. Spray was perfect ! And no tip drying.
I've had white lumps in some varnishes before , they certainly block up the AB .

Thanks John for your thoughts and experiences, much appreciated!

Andrew