TETSUJIN 2020 Vallejo Mecha Color Painting Demo

I was so stoked when this was finalized and was made official by my partners in HOBBYMATE and Acrylicos Vallejo , the no.1 hobby paint in the world! 

I will be doing Basic Vallejo Painting Demos with Vallejo Mecha Colors and Vallejo Shifters for 3 days at Tetsujin 2020 at Singapore. Tetsujin is brought to us by the no.1 hobby shops and hobby stores in HOBBY ART GALLERY and HOBBYMATE. 

This competition is the biggest non-Bandai competition for modelers by modelers. Judges this year are Erix93 ( A legend of the hobby ), Kenny Lim aka Toymaker, Seth Tuna, Chocofalcon and Eday Ng ( verEday ). 

Below is a video documentary of Tetsujin 2019. 

I am sooo excited to meet my old time friends there ( Kenny Lim & Edmund Teo ) and meet the other Masters of the hobby ( Gunpla ). I will be bringing my 16 year old daughter with me, as she really wants to come and see the entries. 

My daughter plans to join GBWC this year. 

Anyways, this will happen soon! I will have a ton of coverage of the event! 

Saludos! 

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Mecha Weathering Workshops with Acrylicos Vallejo

I just closed the registration for my very first FREE Weathering Workshop with Acrylicos Vallejo. 

I announced the FREE Workshop at my Facebook Page last week. 

To be honest, I am not sure if I could do this FREE Workshop again after March 15. I will try very hard to be able to give time to my fellow kababayans ( Philippines ), but my schedule is actually booked until June 2020. 

In fact, my projects ( builds ) are practically booked the whole year. 

Also, I've been teaching ART lessons to kids ages 5 to 13 since October last year ( 2019 ). It has been very fun. We will continue to do Summer ART classes soon. 

The FREE Weathering Workshop with Vallejo Colors is FREE... coz their is nothing more fulfilling than sharing your experience and expertise with others. Gunpla is different than ART classes tho. I will be mentoring adults this time... 

But here is my simple note to myself ( I posted at Facebook earlier )...

Both my parents are retired University Professors. Mom in Chemistry, Dad in Practical Arts ( metal works and stuff ) and Physics. Dad has a woodworking and metal working shop at home. So I know a little bit about metals and rust. 😅

However, they thought me, that once you reach the mentorship role in ANY field. Your goal is...

NOT to IMPRESS your students. 

A mentor's role is to TEACH. 

So while I do have all the @vallejocolors paints at my disposal... 

My painting workshop's goal is to teach how to achieve great results, with the least amount of paints and time. 

ART is achieving masterpieces minus the scientific lessons after all. 

✌🏼

My Vallejo Weathering Workshop on March 15 at my Art Studio is now close. But I will try to give as much workshops to my kababayans as much as my schedule the whole year will permit. 🎨

Lastly, as a mentor... SHARE everything you know. Your students are not competition. You will be proud once they get better than you ( eventually ). 

Happy Weathering fellow #MechaDesigners and Vallejo Painters!

Saludos! ⚙️⚙️⚙️🎨

#alwaysvallejo #vallejocolors #dc23mecharts #verdc23 #donsuratos#dc23art #VallejoMechaColors

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HOW TO Paint a Zoids Gusock at Youtube

I just uploaded my recent video ( I think just my 23rd video ) at my 4 week old Youtube channel. 

The video above is the complete painting process of a quick fun project of a Takara Tomy Zoids Gusock, painted with Vallejo Mecha Colors and other Vallejo Paints. ALL with Vallejo Acrylics as usual. 

This was just a quick "demo" project painting with Vallejo mecha Colors. Although I love my Vallejos for a while now, I am really amaze on how strong the Mecha Color paints are. Although I am very bias, you will see in the videos how I handle ( mishandle ) the pieces even during painting. 

The adherence of these Mecha Color paints are insane even without curing time ( drying time is different than curing time ). 

I used to paint with Vallejo Game and Game Airs, also with Vallejo Premiums... which have strong adherence too. but I let those paints cure for a week before handling. Before playing or before posing ( Gunpla ). The Vallejo Mecha Colors should need a nice curing time, but I do not notice it. They dry fast and with really strong adherence to the material ( plastics ), even on a moving Zoids toy. 

Crazy stuff to be honest. 

I did not even varnish ( Mecha Color Matt Varnish ) the armor parts of this Gusock. 

I find the colors ( color selection ) of the Vallejo Mecha Colors a bit limited ( as of now ), but nothing a good filtering or mixing won't fix. 

CONCLUSION

I love my Vallejo Mecha Colors. LOL

HAPPY 2020 EVERYONE!

I plan to blog ( ramble ) everyday this year. Nothing important, just my way of sort of converting this blog, into a diary of a full time professional scale modeler. 

People specially the younger ones, might be curious how it is to be a full time artist / modeler in the third world. 

Anyways, I was sooooooo tired a couple of days ago ( December 31 ) and yesterday ( January 1, 2020 ), as I migrated from my little corner at the ground floor of my art studio ( Blue Brick Art ), to my old work area at the second floor. 

Imagine climbing up and down a staircase with Gunpla stuff the whole day, and painting the walls the next day. 

I was crazy tired I failed to blog on the first day. But it was worth it!

A couple of days of NO modeling or painting was not very fun, but the logos of Vallejo, my logo and my eldest daughter's on the big white wall turned out nice. It is not perfect as it was hand painted ( with Vallejo Acrylic Studio of course ), but it really turned out nice.

I will have to retouch some errors and blemishes next time. But pretty happy with the logos so far.

I will need to invest on a nice glass cabinet ( 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall ) for all my painted builds this year. I will be painting like a madman this 2020, I am sure I need more cabinets than this area can hold. But a nice 4 x 8 feet at the back of my Gunpla area would be a nice start. 

Anyways, a ton of painting and Youtube Videos this year ( and beyond ). 

Thanks as always for dropping by! Just enjoy the hobby guys! 

Saludos! 

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MERRY GUNPLA CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

MERRY GUNPLA CHRISTMAS TO ALL! 

Pardon the caps as this is the happiest day of my 19 years as a professional artist.

I' am truly BACK this time. I had a couple of attempts to come back to Gunpla ( 2011 and 2015 I think ), but back then... my passion for plastic robots was fueled by Bandai sponsored competitions ( BAKUC / GBWC ) and I was not allowed to join the Open category from 2010 to 2012. Also as a father of 3 growing kids, I focused on my financials the past ( almost 3 ) years.


Blue Brick Art Gallery at Facebook

I was a full time illustrator ( I draw ) working at home for almost 3 years now. I think I illustrated around 56 books and a gazillion of fan art for people abroad ( I rarely do art for local clients ). And it was super fun!

Working at home made us convert the house into an ART studio ( facebook link ). We actually held art classes back in October already ( I actually miss our young art students ), and will resume this January ( 2020 ).

I also met awesome really talented and established illustrators ( and writer ) in the local comics industry a few months back, when I talked at MOA regarding fan art and illustrating for children's books abroad.

I met Paul Medina, Harvey Tolibao, Randy Valiente and Ian Velazquez thru our talk organized by Pop Hub! Awesome experience! I was not worthy to be lined up with those awesome people.


DC23 clothing at Facebook

We also released some DC23 clothing designs a couple of months back. Our shirt printer was awesome as he was able to repro my very detailed art into shirts. It's just that... due to the Christmas season, we were unable to meet some of our client demands... requests.

Requests like smaller... and bigger sizes and shirt colors ( red  and white ).

Moving forward, we are now working with another clothing company to better serve our clients ( but might still work with our old talented printer ). We might be exporting to Australia, Poland and potentially Singapore soon. Albeit we have shipped a few shirts to the US already.

I am designing ( drawing ) more Gunpla / Mecha Designs for our DC23 clothing for next year. DC23 clothing will also be sponsoring a big Mecha competition at Youtube soon.

So stay tuned guys!


Back to Gunpla

As I've said... I'm back. Albeit more as Don Suratos ( my real name ), than as DC23 ( my forums )

To be honest, I am not used to being active in Facebook pages. All of the admins are super cool and all. But I am not comfortable sharing my work to so many groups. I know I am flooding their Facebook groups too much ( My apologies ).

I am dubbed as an "Energizer Bunny" back in 2009 by my awesome friends from Zero G ( ZeroGunz ) forums. I was a hyper active member of that Malaysian based forums. Other than learning my Gunpla in 2008 from the super talented Michael Fichtenmayer ( Fichtenfoo ) and Kenny Lim ( ToyMaker ). I learned a million stuff at Zero G Malaysia ( won't mention names, as I might forget a few ).

Needless to say I learned only from the best.

These days, I am being inspired by other fellow Acrylicos Vallejo artists like Angel Giraldez, Tony Buendia and Chema Cabrero.

The pressure of leveling up my work, as these Vallejo artists are insanely good at what they do. Angel  Giraldez is a monster in the miniature world. Tony Buendia is a master in building scale model planes. My good friend Chema is the guru when it comes to tanks and armor.

And me... Hi I'm Don. LOL


My New Youtube Channel

This month ( December 2019 ) was me trying to get used to a process where I should video record and take photos of my work as I build Gunpla.

You build a little slower this way, as you have to pause and be very mindful of the camera while building Gunpla. I think I am a bit used to it now. It is actually fun.

I actually tried to cheat at Youtube.

I asked for a sort of shout out from a Youtuber ( Gunpla snap fitter and collector ) who asked my Gunpla Interview back in 2017 ( which I failed to reply to, as I was busy building up my Illustration portfolio ). The dude as I expected returned the favor. He ignored my messages at facebook. It's all good tho. Cheating is not good and I guess, Youtube does not work that way. Also, I guess he was building his channel back then... and he no longer does interviews these days. :)

Altho I have the support of my partners, I am now trying to fill my new Youtube channel with quality "modeling" content.

I literally effortlessly channeled my "Energizer Bunny" mode back in 2008 and been churning out quick videos this month.

I will still draw ( Gunpla break so not to burn out ). Mostly drawings for our DC23 clothing and some fan art commissions. But I am focused like an art knife in Gunpla in 2020.

I was just an employee ( at a network ) back in 2008 to 2016. So I just do Gunpla when I get home and during weekends ( like everyone else ). But moving forward, I will now be working full time as a professional Gunpla modeler.

At home... at my own Studio.

I cannot imagine how much Gunpla work I can put out this coming year.

Thus, I need to share a bit less in Facebook groups. Will just share major posts and updates. I tend to post updates a lot, as this is my way of resting from actual Gunpla or miniature work. I promise to NOT flood other Fb groups next year anymore. :)


GBWC 2020

My 16 year old daughter ( @verashley05 at IG ) will be joining GBWC 2020.

So that's that. So I am torn. I envy those people that are determined to join. But should I compete with my 16 year old daughter? Also I will be super busy building and painting for my youtube channel. I doubt I will have the time to modify a single kit til I drop late nights.

Besides, I have a sweet duel / build off with my good friend and master ( in the hobby ) in Kenny Lim aka Toymaker!

That TOYMAKER versus DC23 build off ( link to Youtube ) should be FUN!



FORUMS are DEAD, BLOG is still ALIVE

I am sad as I am a hardcore Gunpla forum guy ( Zero G Malaysia and Fichtenfoo Forums ) back in the day. Thus the code name DC23.

11 years ago, during my most active Gunpla years. It was all forums. There are local ( Philippines ) forums, and a ton of good international forums. I was most active at Zero G, as a friend I met at HK World BAKUC Championship, in Reiloke ( 2008 Malaysia Champion ) invited me there.

Awesome experience!

We also eventually had our own MAC FORUMS, where I met more awesome people here and abroad.

Anyways, needless to say... I am not used to this Facebook group thing. I feel I cannot share too much updates unlike in the forums. So my apologies again for flooding other people's groups. I will try to post the more significant update only moving forward. I was just used to posting everything at Zero G and MAC forums back in those days.

Well at least, a few people still like to read. So I still blog. I am my most talkative here. I like sharing my stuff and even my thoughts here. This blog is getting good traffic again.

I am being penalized by Photobucket for my current blog traffic tho. I do not want to pay for something that should be free. Arrrgh.

Anyways, thanks for people who still like to read blogs. This small blog is alive again.


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

I get a ton of inquiries and messages on Gunpla and how to paint with Vallejos the past couple of weeks. I am actually happy that some people will be shifting to Vallejos ( they said ).

Vallejos are awesome ( I am bias ), and you have a plethora of resources and tutorials all over the net. I am focus on the Vallejo Mecha Color line tho. The other Vallejo paints are used ( and mastered ) by other Vallejo Artists.

Feel free to message me at IG, Twitter, Facebook or even Youtube regarding anything Gunpla and Vallejo Mecha Color paints. I will answer all of them during my Gunpla coffee breaks. Mabait ako... I am most fluent conversationally in Flipino ( Mahirap lang sya kasi i-type ). So message me for inquiries anytime.

Again I am happy to answer them, Also I am NOT charging a dime. LIBRE po. lol


LASTLY

I made a mistake for leaving the Paint Chipping medium to dry for 30 minutes. As I suspected, thus I sprayed a thick amount of chipping medium ( which was cracking during the painting of the white and pink colors, as it was too thick ).

The Grey, White and Pink Vallejo Mecha Colors are too strong and hard!

Again, I left the chipping medium to dry for 30 minutes ( as usual ) and it was super difficult to chip off the paints. I had to take a coffee break ( thus my photo on top ), as I was getting irritated. The paint chipping was supposedly easy ( it is easier with Vallejo Model Color ).

But the extra resistant properties of the Mecha Color line, was a DISADVANTAGE for the paint chipping technique.

Next time, I WON'T let the Paint Chipping Medium dry too long ( maybe just 5 to 10 minutes ) then will chip away the Mecha Color immediately.

I will share this shorter Paint Chipping Medium drying time experiment soon.

Hope this helps fellow Vallejo Mecha Color painters out there.

So that's it! This was a long post. Now off to spending time with the fam.

again...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Saludos!

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Paint Chipping verDC23 Prep & Undercoat

First off, my apologies as I cannot post detailed progress pics here at my blog, as my photos are reserved for something... hmmm... better.

Anyways, I am in the middle of working with my MG Gunner Zaku Warrior when I suddenly wanted to do some heavy weathering. I see a few well done over weathered builds at Facebook. I like them very much.

But photos might be intimidating for new modelers. So I felt I had to create a video to show that weathering is super easy ( and fun ).

I find heavy weathering, without physical damages to the kit a bit off tho. So I thought the first part of my video should teach people what to do in preparing kits for heavy weathering later.

Listed below are my STEPS seen videos at my new Youtube channel, which shows how I prepped the pieces before painting.



PAINT CHIPPING verDC23 PART 1 

• STEP 1 - clean all the nub marks and seam lines. A nice well cleaned ( well done ) kit should look more Pro level work, even if you plan to over weather them. 
• STEP 2 - Scribe the existing panel lines. I scribed with a .5 scriber as this is a Mega Scale and is a big kit. 
• STEP 3 - I made the panel lines deeper with a needle point scriber. This should be great during the washes stage. 
• STEP 4 - Bevel the panel lines with a V shape chisel. Bevels will always make detail look like they are part of the original design. Very sharp un-beveled panel lines and detail look like paper craft. 
• STEP 5 - Melt the plastic with soldering iron. Be careful. Also be mindful of the direction and position of the damages. 
• STEP 6 - Chip away small edges of the armor with an art knife. This will compliment the heavy weathering later.
• STEP 7 - Chip away small holes and damages with a V shape chisel.
• STEP 8 - Sand and clean up excess plastic and sharp edges ( edges of damaged parts ).

PAINT CHIPPING verDC23 PART 2 

• Paint Vallejo Mecha Black Primer
• Paint with Vallejo Brown and Sand Primer ( mix ) for pre shading
• Splatter Panzer Color Light Rust
• Seal with Mecha Color Gloss Varnish
• Let cure overnight

That's it! I hope you still find this informative, even if I can't share detailed photos ( here ). Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next update guys!

Saludos!

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MG Gunner Zaku Warrior REVIEW version DC23

Video Review at Youtube

My apologies as I do not have many photos of this review, as I was focused on recording the video for my new Youtube channel.

I love the design of this kit. Even the old 1/100 HG is beautiful. But this one is an awesome MG. I love the overall look and design of this Zaku. Tall and not as bulky as usual. L

Let's do this in bullets!

PROS

• The joints are great! Specially the joints or arms that hold the big gun to the backpack. The joints that hold the shield are also very nice and solid! Sturdy design! Gone are the flimsy designs of the older MGs ( at least for this kit. 
• Color separation of the parts are perfect ( as expected from a MG ). The construction of each part were not complicated and are all very straight forward.
• The articulation is one of the best ( specially for a Zaku ). The arms and legs fold all the way. The hand wrist joints are very good also. Waist could be more flexible, but it is sturdy enough to hold the huge backpack and gun.  
• Most parts can be easily disassembled for painting after snap fit ( just cut the male pegs ). 
• A beautiful kit, best displayed in flight ( due to the big gun ). 
• The typical Zaku cabling is easier to clean as it did not came in separate pipes. 
• Armor details are good. But there is so much room for more. 

CONS

• Nubs are located along the bevels of the pieces ( armor parts ). Tricky to sand for beginners. 
• Seam lines along the guns and backpack ( expected ).
• Seam lines along the upper arm, upper legs and lower leg parts. 
• There is a small red part ( I missed mentioning this on my video ) in the big gun that cannot be removed again ( after seam line removal ). Masking or hand painting will be required. 

CONCLUSION

I love the kit so much. There is a sudden pang of sadness while looking at the kit, as this is not mine. This is a commissioned work. So will be giving to the client once finish. 

Anyways, that's it! 

Do check out the 12 minute video review at Youtube. As I've said there, I am not sure if I could do these kinds of videos, as I am really focused on painting, mods and dios. 

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next update guys! 

Saludos! 

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WHY Dilute Vallejo Colors with Distilled Water EXPLAINED

Your hand painting with Vallejo Mecha Colors will be better if you use my custom MUG. lol, just kidding.

Other than wanting an excuse to take photos of my mug, and waking up early as I am an old man...


Let's talk shop!

Let's talk WHY Dilute Vallejo Mecha Colors with Distilled Water?


VALLEJO PAINTS

Vallejo paints ( from Model Color, Game Color to Mecha Colors ) vary in consistency. this is normal for acrylics. Vallejo is a high pigment count acrylic with the finest pigments in the market ( I do not have a microscope to test this tho ).

But as a painter ( once in a while ), painting ( on canvas ) with any PRO grade acrylics ( hobby grade or studio grade ) have varying degrees of consistency. The Reds and Yellows are thinner than the very creamy Browns and Greys. The Cream colors ( even in the airbrush paint ranges ) are super creamy.

In time you will learn how to thin acrylics ( in general ) to get master class or descent ( at least ) work.



DISTILLED WATER

I use only distilled water. Vallejo claims that their fine hobby grade pigments ( not industrial grade like cheaper brands ) can be stained by minerals from tap water. Tap water will pollute the paints. So I use only the purest form of water... distilled water.

Other high quality established acrylic paint brands ( I won't name them ) also advises thinning with distilled water.

IMHO, I do not see the difference of thinning with distilled water. Perhaps ( most likely ) my painting is not good enough to see the difference.

However, there is no harm in following Vallejo's instructions in using distilled water exclusively in rinsing and keeping your paint brushes wet. I keep small bottles of distilled water under my bench all the time. Distilled water are so cheap anyways.



DO NOT FOLLOW ( rebel me ) Vallejo's instructions of hand painting, much more airbrushing certain ( all ) Vallejo paints straight from the dropper bottle.

DO NOT FOLLOW ( I am so rebellious... I know ) thinning with distilled water as mediums and Vallejo Airbrush Thinners ( and Flow Improver ) are better, as they won't weaken the adherence and finish of the paints.

Note: I will always say this. Proper thinning for hand painting and airbrushing Vallejo Mecha Colors is key for a strong finish. Vallejo Mecha Colors were formulated to be extra strong and scratch resistant but know how to properly use them to get excellent results.



THINNING VALLEJO MECHA COLOR FOR HAND PAINTING

I thin my Mecha Color for hand painting with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and Vallejo Mediums. At a rough ( this vary per color ) ratio of 4 parts paint, 2 parts Medium and 1 part Aibrush Thinner.

I keep my paint brush wet only with distilled water, and also only clean my paint brush with distilled water. I rarely use my wet palette and use a small plastic paint dish oftentimes. So I regularly wet my paint brush with distilled water during hand painting.

Also, I always rinse my paint brush while painting as these paints dry fast. ( I also use Retarder Mediums to slow down drying time during hand painting ).

I sometimes use my DIY open wet palette ( yes not closable ) when hand painting in thin amounts. This is filled only with distilled water up to the sponge level.

How I thin my Vallejo Mecha Color is better seen in my video below...

THINNING VALLEJO MECHA COLOR FOR AIRBRUSHING

I use Vallejo Mecha Thinner and Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver in thinning my Vallejo Mecha Colors for Airbrush. Same as in hand painting, reds and yellow thin differently than the creamier greys and browns.

A rough ratio of 4 parts paint and 1 part thinner and 1 part flow improver for most paints.

I clean my airbrush ( like my paint brush ) regularly during painting.

I clean my airbrush with a diluted ( with tap water ) Vallejo Airbrush Thinner ( 50:50 )

How I thin my Vallejo Mecha Colors is better seen in these videos below...

CONCLUSION

I hope this early morning Vallejo Mecha Blog entry helps. 

The real key to achieving great quality Vallejo Mecha Color finishes is by using my DC23 logo mug during painting. Hahaha. 

Like I always say, invest in high quality tools and paints ( slowly ) as they are investments if you love the hobby ( and if you love your kits - ;b ). 

Good paints and tools will last for years and will give you years of fun. 

That's it. I hope you'll find this entry informative. Thanks as always for dropping by, until next update guys! 

Saludos! 

This blog article is part of my Vallejo Colors EXPLAINED series of posts.

• Vallejo Paints EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Mecha Color EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Mediums EXPLAINED

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Weathering Without Painting a Rubber Zaku Figure

Just finished this quick weathering project. This project was basically a test, a sort of experiment that you can paint the Vallejo Mecha Colors on kits and figures ( any model surface ), even without priming. And that the paints when dry, will even look like the material of the kit / figure. 

Vallejo also claims that the Mecha Color range were formulated to withstand regular handling and wear and tear of articulated kits like Kotobukiya, Gunpla, StarWars, Transformers and the like.

So I tested the paints! 

I weathered this rubber ( rubber plastic of some sort ) Zaku figure without priming and painting the base colors. I used a ton of Vallejo Mecha Color Paints, but you could reduce the painting to around 8 to 10 colors. I really have to practice painting with sets of 6 to 8 colors ( limited palette ), so that I could share it with other modelers easier. 

MECHA COLORS

• Mecha Color Light Green
• Mecha Color Green
• Mecha Color Dark Green
• Mecha Color Pure Black
• Mecha Color Grey Sand
• Mecha Color Chipping Brown

WEATHERING WASHES & INKS

• Mecha Weathering Black Wash
• Mecha Weathering Eng Soot Wash
• Mecha Weathering Dark Rust Wash
• Mecha Weathering Light Rust Wash
• Mecha Weathering Oil Earth Wash
• Game Ink Yellow
• Game Ink Green

MECHA COLOR METALLICS

• Mecha Color Light Steel
• Mecha Color Dark Steel
• Mecha Color Copper

MECHA FLOURESCENT 

• Magenta Flourescent 

AUXILLIARY 

• Mecha Color Gloss Varnish
• Mecha Color Matt Varnish
• Retarder Medium
• Airbrush Thinner
• Flow Improver
• Distilled Water

MY VALLEJO COLORS WEATHERING PROCESS ( in summary )

1. Hand paint Matt Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
2. Paint lighter colors with Mecha Color Light Green and Green 
3. Dry brush Light Green
4. Paint shadows with Dark Green
5. Paint the chipping with Mecha Color Chipping Brown
6. Hand paint Gloss Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
7. Apply Mecha Weathering Washes in varying ratios
8. Filtering with Game Ink Yellow & Green
9. Hand paint Matt Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
10. Paint Pure Black on details, then Metallics
11. Paint Flo color ( mono eye )
12. Paint rain streaks and armor stains with washes

Asmuch as I want to talk you through in detail. I think it is easier to just watch my Youtube video below. Saludos! 

CONCLUSION

The Mecha Color Varnishes are CRAZY GOOD!

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Vallejo Mediums EXPLAINED

This is one of the reasons why I love Vallejos so much. They formulate and design paints depending on use. They also design auxiliary paints ( varnishes, thinners, binders and mediums ) to achieve optimal results. Acrylicos Vallejo has a super wide range of paints from Fine Art and crafts to hobby paints. It almost feel like toy collecting. lol

This blog article is part of my Vallejo Colors EXPLAINED series of posts.

• Vallejo Paints EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Mecha Color EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver EXPLAINED
• Vallejo Mediums EXPLAINED

I saw that Angel Giraldez ( the awesome miniature painter ) uses mediums to thin paints for airbrushing ( in addition to using Vallejo thinner ). But I personally just use mediums for hand painting. To each his own I guess. lol

THE TRIFECTA

The Gloss Medium, Matt Medium and Satin Medium. 

The Gloss Medium I mix with Black paints to hand paint undercoating for Vallejo Metallic paints. It is always best to paint metallics over a nice gloss black finish. I hand paint small pieces ( even bigger pieces like hands ) instead of masking them and airbrushing.

The Satin Medium is perfect for adding to paints when your painting leather and skin. They will give any Vallejo paint a nice sheen without looking wet and extremely shiny  ( like the gloss medium ). 

The Matt Medium is perfect for everything else. Note that the Matt Medium is not strong in comparison to the gloss and satin mediums. IMHO, The Matt Medium ( same with the Matt Varnish ) are the best ready mixed Matt auxiliary paints in the market. 

THE CHIPPING MEDIUM

I have a ton of chipping mediums as I have a lot of Vallejo Rust and Weathering Paint Sets ( Paints that came in 6 or 8 paints per box ). Chema Cabrero, Tony Buendia and similar master scale modelers, use this medium a lot.

If you are into weathering and paint chipping effects, this is the only choice. Much like any of the Vallejo Paints, this medium is easy to hand paint. No need to put out your airbrush while hand painting weathering and chipping effects.

THE RETARDER MEDIUM

You can use this if you do not use wet palettes during hand painting. Wet palettes will keep your...errr... paint wet while painting, thus you can blend and mix paints together easily. However, I advice using this Retarder Medium if you like blending and mixing and keeping your paints wet a bit longer, both on a wet palette and on a mixing dish. Just use super small amounts of this. You do not want your paint to dry in a year or two ( just kidding ).

THE CRACKLE MEDIUM

This medium is crazy good albeit tricky to control. It gives you a somewhat ... errr... ruined finish. It will give the paint on top some cracks! Literally... you'll produce cracking paints if you use this. you can airbrush or hand paint this, paint over it... then watch your paint CRACK as it dries and cures. The is crazy stuff.

THE PIGMENT BINDER

The Pigment Binder is not a medium, but acts like a medium. lol

Basically you use this mixed with pigments. I will have to produce a video and upload on my Youtube channel to show the effects and how to use this medium well. This is great stuff if use properly.

THE METAL MEDIUM

This is a beautiful medium. It is a gloss medium with shiny micro particles. Unlike using normal gloss medium, this metal medium actually enhances the sheen and shine of Vallejo metallics. This is awesome stuff! I highly recommend this for any Mecha / Gunpla modeler who hand paints metallics! And yes... Vallejo Metallics, much more the Vallejo Metal Color line have their own Varnish! 

CONCLUSION

Serious modelers, and definitely professional modelers should get all of these. However, hobbyists and weekend modelers should be fine with just the TRIFECTA ( Gloss, Satin and Matt Mediums ).

Like I always say, paints ( and tools ) are investments. They are not cheap. Kits are NOT CHEAP too... So always use the best paints and tools for your hobby. You need not buy everything in one blow... slowly invest. 

Anyways, thanks as always for dropping by! Until next update guys! 

Just enjoy the hobby! Cheers! 

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New Video Tutorial Page at the Blog

I just checked my really old TUTORIAL page. And I realized that Photobucket is asking me to pay  to display my banners properly. According to Photobucket, this is due to the bandwidth thing ( blog traffic ) that the tutorial page is getting. 

I am too busy, too broke and too lazy to fix the banners now, so I just thought of creating a new page! 

The new page will be my Video Tutorial Page. 

My old tutorial page has been getting a fairly good amount of traffic ( visits ) even during my inactivity from 2015 to last month. I am really happy that those old WIPS have been visited by a handful and hopefully have been informative or inspiring to some. 

I am always fueled by the inspiration that I get from others and inspiration that I could give to others as well. This is the very reason I share my work in progresses too much. I even share my supposedly secret competition projects wayback.

 I cannot thank all the people enough, who continued to visit this old blog, even during my inactivity. 

This blog is slowly getting the normal traffic it was getting before. I am very happy to know that people ( specially serious Gunpla modelers and painters ) still love to read blogs. Blogs are not totally dead after all. I am very happy to have decided to keep this old blog going again.

Anyways, I have embedded my first 3 video tutorials in this post. I promise to do another and better ( with more close ups ) Armor trimming tutorial very soon. 

I should be filling this new video tutorial page faster than usual, as I work on my Gunpla and miniature projects. I will also create shorter video tutorials ( but are still informative ) soon. 

Old Gunpla friends know how fast I curn up not so well done Gunpla. LOL... But still I finish kits like hotcakes. Hahaha

Okay... I talked too much again. I hope you'll find the new page useful. 

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next update guys! Cheers! 

MY PARTNERS

I only paint my Gunpla, Miniatures and Action Figures with Vallejos - Acrylicos Vallejo Website

I only use Harder & Steenbeck airbrush - Harder&Steenbeck Silverline Airbrush

I get my tools only from HobbyMate Singapore - HobbyMate at Facebook

I get my Vallejos and Miniatures only at Neutral Grounds - Neutral Grounds PH at Facebook

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