Thinning Vallejo colour, What ratio?

[Pete Mac]

Evening folks.

Trying hard to pluck up courage to start my Tamiya 1.32 Spitfire.

Can anyone please help with the thinning ratio of Vallejo colour to brush paint the inside of the fuselage (green)

Afraid I don't yet own an airbrush although I intend to rectify that when the time comes to apply the outer surface of the fuselage.

Many thanks. Pete.

 

[phalinmegob]

never used vallejo paints so a bit unsure but would of thought that you can brush paint it without thinning it all. thining is much more critical for allowing it to be sprayed through an airbrush.

 

[omi1966]

Hi Peter mac, just thought I'd throw something your way, I use but not all the Time, vallejo, I'm going through a figure painting stage.

anyways what the the world of figure painters use for ratios is to thin it until nearly opaque and then paint the models with loads of coats building up the colour, I think this is to get the best coverage, but as the Vallejo paints are very high in pigment you can get away with doing this. I have airbrushed and brushed these paints to death and love them so my 2cents worth is to do a 50/50 if you airbrush and thin even more if you are brushing some of the pros I have seen paint with this stuff say they can do a 1/10 paint to water ratio but I would,nt go that far,

I do find vallejo very forgiving and smooth to paint, but they are fragile so to care as they can mark really easily.

Happy paint slapping my friend.

omi.

 

[andygh]

I usually thin 50/50 when brushing Vallejo..... works for me :emo12:

 

[stona]

I agree. start at 50:50 and do a little test. You can adjust to suit from there.

Which green are you going to use for the interior? The actual colour was cockpit grey/green. This area was revealed under a data plate on an unrestored airframe and gives a good idea of what you are looking for.

Good luck with your Spitfire. I built one a while ago and it is a lovely model. It is also very cleverly engineered which makes it a surprisingly straight forward build.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Pete Mac]

Thanks Steve. I opted for the vallejo match for the Tamiya XF71 which is olive green. Sounds a bit extreme I know and trying it on some scrap thought it could do with lightening a tad. Don't know if I'm right though so open to any suggestions. Thanks again. Pete

 

[stona]

Tamiya XF 71 is the Japanese cockpit green which looks pretty close. I don't use it myself but I often see it suggested for British cockpits. If the Vallejo equivalent is close to that you should be okay.

Cheers

Steve