# Tamiya or Vallejo?



## Maritain (Jan 16, 2008)

My favorite paint has always been Tamiya, but with the shortage I thought I’d give Vallejo a try. So far so good, but the jury is still out on whether I like it better than Tamiya. I have noticed it takes a lot more to thin it than Tamiya does which I suppose is a good thing as far as being economical. It covers well, but I haven’t used it yet on any areas with a lot of intricate detail yet. Tamiya always covered detailed areas well without smothering them. I suspect the Vallejo will be the same, I hope. 

I have been thinning them down with the Vallejo brand thinner but it seems to be going fast because it takes more to thin it. Can tap water be added to the product to make it last longer? Also what do you guys run though your airbrush once you’re done spraying? I have been using Model Master thinner and cleaner though mine, anything more economical out there to use. 

How would you guys rate the paints that are out there? Say like Polly scale compared to Tamiya or Model Masters that kind of thing. Why do you like them and how do you use them, what do you thin them with? 

Have a good one.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The two paints are so different that comparing them is really difficult

Tamiya paints are a solvent based acrylic. They are generally poor for brush painting, but airbrush beautifully. They adhere well and are very durable. Tamiya does make a large line of enamel paints also (come in small bottles like the old Pactra paints) but these are not sold in the United States.

Vallejo water based acrylic paints are great for hand painting and can be applied in many thin layers to build up a color. The paints were originally intended for military figures but they have branced out into armor, game, railroad and scenery type colors. Model Color paints can be airbrushed but the Model Air paints are the vallejo spayable line. None of them stick at all to plastic or metal without a primer, and they tend to be somewhat fragile so be careful in handling.

I think Vallejo paints with tap water or Vallejo airbrush thinner. I find, oddly, their regular thinner is somewhat thick and I do not care for it.

On something like a model tank, I would airbrush it with Tamiya paints and do the detail painting with Vallejo paints.

This (in progress) Monarch Sinbad figure was done in Vallejo Model Color paints










One of two large shoe boxes full of Vallejo and Panzer Aces paints I use for figure and detail painting










This Airfix B-24J Liberator was airbrushed with Tamiya acrylic paints thinned with lacquer thinner










This final type King Tiger was airbrushed with Gunze Aqueous Hobby Color paints (similar to Tamiya) but all of the details and figures were done with Vallejo paints










Although Tamiya acrylics are not great for brush painting, I did finish this Polar Lights Hunchback kit with them. It was not easy as the paints lift up between coats, no matter how careful you are, and how long you let the base coat dry.










This original Aurora Hunchback was done with Vallejo paints and I was able to get a much better finish and much more detail. Plus I could paint this whole figure in two days versus a week for Tamiya.










But for airbrushing the Tamiya colors are great... In this case I also used Humbrol Maskol in between each color to give me a sharp edge. The black border was painted with Vallejo paint


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## edward 2 (Oct 6, 2010)

how did you get the thinner to work, did not think you could mix them?


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## Maritain (Jan 16, 2008)

Great stuff djnick, very nicely done. Well for now I'll use the Vallejo until Tamiya gets back on their feet again. It is a good paint from what I have used so far, but I do think it's easier to spray the Tamiya. I can't wait for them to come back.

Have a good one.


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## JamesInNC (Sep 17, 2011)

So what's the issue over the Tamiya supply? I've heard about shortages, but never the reason behind it. Just curious?

James


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

They have had to relable the paint for the U.S.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

djnick,

VERY nice breakdown of these paints.

These are the types of reviews that really benefit other modelers.

I gave up on Tamiya paints thinking them crappy, due to my brushing experiences with them.
I've never tried to air-brush them.
Your comments about their durability intrigues me to give them another try in that area.

I've only purchased a few Vallejo colors, but did like how they brushed.

Did you say you've thinned Tamiya acrylic with ?laquer? thinner?
What ratios do you typically use?

Thanks a lot.
Any other paint comparisons from you are most welcome.


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## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

Tamiya paint shortage, ya say? Well, first, there was an earthquake which was followed by a tsunami. I think that had a minor impact on business in Japan as a whole.


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## Maritain (Jan 16, 2008)

ClubTepes said:


> Did you say you've thinned Tamiya acrylic with ?laquer? thinner?
> What ratios do you typically use?


I thin my Tamiya paints only with their thinner. I was told at the Time-Machine in Manchester CT that anything thing less and the paint wouldn’t be as optimal as it should be. The man who told me this was speaking out of his own experience using it and I don’t think it was to sell more products. As far as ratio I couldn’t really tell ya I just add to what I have mixed until it “looks” right. 

I can see where Tamiya wouldn't be good for brushing it 's too thin in consistency for that, it;s great for the airbrush though. 

I miss it...


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

seaQuest said:


> Tamiya paint shortage, ya say? Well, first, there was an earthquake which was followed by a tsunami. I think that had a minor impact on business in Japan as a whole.


Thats not the reason for the shortage.

There has been an ongoing (before disasters) thing with Tamiya and the US regarding its formulations and labeling.

Once all those issues are settled, Tamiya will be back on shelves.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The Tamiya paint shortage has nothing to do with the earthquake/tsunami. Tamiya kits are not even made in Japan any more... For over a year the paints have been in short supply, along with glues, primers, etc. becuase the mostly Japanese labels had to be supplemented with new English labels. The paints are starting to reappear in US stores now. Nothing was reformulated... nothing was banned, etc. Same old stuff with a new label. The same thing happened with Humbrol some six or eight years ago as the UK/EUR labels did not meet US standards.

I thin Tamiya acrylic paints with lacquer thinner. hardware store stuff will work, but Tamiya's own plastic-safe lacquer thinner is great. You can thin the Tamiya paints up to 50/50, and I have done that using Tamiya acrylic thinner or rubbing alcohol. With lacquer thinner I find I need less. But the exact proportion varies with the color, what I am doing (base coat, mist coat, detail painting, etc) and what airbrush I am using and at what pressure I am spraying.

As for Tamiya thinner being "optimal" someone who is a chemist over on Hyperscale had analyzed the stuff and found it to be a mix of WATER, ALCOHOL and fragrance... I quit buying their acrylic thinner years ago in favor of straight alcohol and more recently the lacquer thinner.

Vallejo paints need to be thinned for brushing too. And make sure you shake the snot out of them before sqeezing out a bit to use. The pigments do settle and if you just pick up a bottle and squeeze a bit out without shaking, you are just getting the binder/thinner and no pigment. You might think the thicker un-thinned paint would cover better but it does not. THinning it makes it flow better on the model and it goes on much smoother. Like most paints, you need to use more than one coat. 

Tamiya paints need to be thinner for hand painting but they do not hand paint well. They quickly clot up on the model and do not level out as they dry so fast. Subsequent layers of paint soften the previous layers and the whole thing gets gloppy and rough. Tamiya does now offer a retarder/flow agent that should make the paints brush better and also spray better witout building up in the airbrush cone.

Any kind of paint requires some practice. Not all paints are the same. Even similar ones... Tamiya and Gunze paints are similar and even come in the same type jar but the paints behave differently and must be handled differently. Vallejo paints are not the same as Poly Scale, etc. You need to learn to use each kind. What will thin one paint may glop up a different but similar brand. 

Paints I like:

Vallejo, Tamiya acrylic, Tamiya enamel, Tamya spray lacquers, Gunze acrylic, Gunze Mr. Color lacquer, Lifecolor, Humbrol enamel, Humbrol acrylic, Testors spray lacquers

Paints I use sometimes: Poly Scale, Testors small bottles of enamels

Paints I hate: Testors Model master enamel jars and sprays, Testors acryl, Xtracolor, Xtracrylic


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

edward 2 said:


> how did you get the thinner to work, did not think you could mix them?


Get what thinner to work? Mix what?

You can thin Tamiya and Vallejo with tap water

You can thin Tamiya with lacquer thinner and rubbing alcohol

You can't mix Tamiya and Vallejo paints

Vallejo also has their own thinner and airbrush thinner

You can paint either paint over the other as long as the first coat is dry


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## Maritain (Jan 16, 2008)

djnick66 said:


> As for Tamiya thinner being "optimal" someone who is a chemist over on Hyperscale had analyzed the stuff and found it to be a mix of WATER, ALCOHOL and fragrance... I quit buying their acrylic thinner years ago in favor of straight alcohol and more recently the lacquer thinner.


That's good to know. But what ratio would I need to go by in mixing the water and alcohol say in an empty Tamiya thinner container? 

Thanks for all the great input guys.


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