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Vallejo Model Air - any good?


nheather

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I love regular Vallejo (thinned with some alcohol sprays great) but never got Model Air to work. Colours look off to me too. Others have had success though, I think things like climate might have an effect.

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I have had success with both Vallejo and Vallejo model-air. I have had good luck until me recent Me. 262 build with the colors. However i cannot vouch for B.o.B. era colors. But my mid war greys (RLM 74/75 ) were off and im not sure why. I wasn't the only person complaining about that either.

     I also use Ammo by MiG. Those are good for airbrushing straight from the bottle. They can be brushed if you let them evoaporate for a bit and thicken up. I have the early war Luftwaffe greens and greys  set (RLM 02/65/70/71) i have seem spot on.

   I use water to thin standard Vallejo with a flow enhancer. The model air is usually good from the bottle but occasionally add a few drops of water to prevent tip dry while im spraying.  

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Thanks, I've been reading quite a bit and seen plenty of criticism for Vallejo matches.

 

Frankly it annoys me a great deal - it's one thing when someone says "use this generic green from their range it is close enough" but when they sell something labelled with an RLM, FS, RAL or BS number it should be pretty damn close - I'm not after perfection but should be close enough.  From what I have read some Vallejo paints don't come close to the reference numbers they are sold as - false advertising.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

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I've used Vallejo ModelAir since I got back into modelling 3 years or so ago. They airbrush well out of the bottle, just keep a Q-tip with thinners/airbrush cleaner handy to clean the tip when clogging, this may be for nearly all Acrylics as they dry almost as soon as leaving the brush! I haven't tried a retarder yet though.

 

As to colour accuracy, I always just think colours can vary in service anyway, either different batches when new or weathering effects, so why worry!  However, I bought the RAF/FAA set and early and late Luftwaffe sets.  The Green for the standard ETO Green/Dark Earth camo scheme, they gave you USAF Olive Drab and this looked a bit on the brown side, USAF Forest Green is better.  See my Tempest II build in the 'Radial Engines Rock GB'.

 

Here's the aircraft.

DSC_0002

 

Their Medium Sea Grey ( I forget what they actually supplied) was far too dark (they actually do a MSG which looks right!).  So far the Luftwaffe paints look OK but I'm no expert on these things.

 

WW2 USN colours look OK I think and sprayed well, the Glossy Blue needed a few thin coats though.

DSC_0001

 

That's all I can offer I'm afraid, it's just a case of experimenting.

 

Davey.

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Quick answer: there are better.

 

I recall ages ago using their RAF and Luftwaffe colors and found them too dark which is a recurrent complaint. I only use them now for interiors (they are quite brushable which is good for touchups) and for colors that cannot be found in the Gunze range, like Dark Slate Grey.

 

Despite Model Air being this "accurate" colors range, this is not always the case. For example, RLM 02 is much better in their standard Model Color range; the Model Air version is practically brown and looks hideous.

 

You should still thin both Model Air and Model Color with some generic acrylic thinner (Vallejo's own is quite good I must say, and I use it for many other brands).  Model Air requires less thinner but you should still thin it to lessen the paint clogging. If you want to go for for a finer spray, use lacquer thinner, otherwise they are not particularly good for small details like mottling or small freehand camo (especially in 1/72 scale).

 

Overall, I've gradually wound down my stash of Vallejo paints and only have about 15 of which most of them are interior colors or generic colors used for interiors. Otherwise I hate to say it but I find them to be among the most inaccurate acrylic paint ranges in the market.

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Just to add to my last point, here's my default paints for BoB era:

 

Sky - Gunze H74

Dark Earth - Gunze H72

Dark Green - Tamiya XF-81 (but Gunze H73 is still acceptable)

Interior Gray-Green - Vallejo Model Air 71.305

RLM 65 - Gunze H67 or Tamiya XF-23 (practically identical)

RLM 02 - Gunze H70 for exteriors, Vallejo Model Color 70.886 for interiors

RLM 71 - Gunze H64

 

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As I was new to airbrushing I tried Model Air. It helped knowing it was already the right consistency. Before a recent trip to the RAF Cosford Museum I prepared a small plasticard strip with Vallejo Dark Green, Dark Earth and Sky. When I got there I compared the colours to the Spitfire and Hurricane there. They seemed spot on to me. I have found the Flow Improver useful having used it with some other makes as well.

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