Vallejo RAF colours?

[Guest]

Hi guys,


I've recently been using the Vallejo German RLM model air set on a Bf 109 build and got to say I really like the Vallejo paints for ease of use, plus the RLM labelling on the bottles saves me a lot of brain ache.


So following using the RLM set I've been having a look at the 16 bottle WW2 RAF British Aircraft colour set they produce (VAL71189), but before I buy it I'd like to know all the colours I'll need are in the kit, as I'm struggling to match some of Vallejos names to the RAF colour schemes.


Anyone using this set for their RAF builds?


Cheers, Colin.

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I've not used them myself but if your on Facebook look up Mike Jolly though Model Kits for Less, he's got the set on offer at £19.95 incl postage , normal price is £33.99. A great price for 16 colours !


Adrian

[Guest]

Thanks Adrian, I'll take a look.

[Guest]

This is the Vallejo part of their site which has all the sets listed http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/en_US/model-air/family/17


This is a copy taken for the British set. They also do an 8 colour set..


For me I would just buy the colours you need as some colours you may never need. After saying that I went out and in dribs and drabs ended with the whole lot of Model Air. Got to admit that it gives a lot of scope when looking for colours.


Laurie

• 16 color sets - WWII British Aicraft RAF & FAA
  

16 color sets


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WWII British Aicraft RAF & FAA Ref. 71.189


[ATTACH]108231.IPB[/ATTACH]



Share on facebookShare on emailShare on printShare on favoritesMore Sharing Services


Description


Collection of 16 color sets of Model Air for painting models and miniatures. Each one of these sets has a selection of special colors for painting vehicles, figures, etc. Contains 16 bottles of 17 ml. (with eyed) and color chart.


*The RLM sets (German Luftwaffe XXII) & RAF-FAA contain a leaflet with a brief description of the colors and the part of the planes they were used.


Colors


71.005 Intermediate Blue


71.013 Yellow Olive


71.016 Grün RLM73


71.029 Dark earth


71.031 Middle Stone


71.047 US Grey


71.048 Dark Sea Grey


71.053 Dark Seagreen


71.095 Pale Green


71.096 Panzer Olivergr. 1943


71.097 Grey Primer


71.103 Graublau RLM84


71.108 UK Azure


71.109 UK PRU Blue


71.111 UK Mediterranean Blue


70.520 Matt Varnish


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[Robert1968]

This is the Vallejo part of their site which has all the sets listed http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/en_US/model-air/family/17
This is a copy taken for the British set. They also do an 8 colour set..


For me I would just buy the colours you need as some colours you may never need. After saying that I went out and in dribs and drabs ended with the whole lot of Model Air. Got to admit that it gives a lot of scope when looking for colours.


Laurie

• 16 color sets - WWII British Aicraft RAF & FAA
  

16 color sets


« back


Share on facebookShare on emailMore Sharing Services


.


.


.


WWII British Aicraft RAF & FAA Ref. 71.189


[ATTACH]118819[/ATTACH]


Share on facebookShare on emailShare on printShare on favoritesMore Sharing Services


Description


Collection of 16 color sets of Model Air for painting models and miniatures. Each one of these sets has a selection of special colors for painting vehicles, figures, etc. Contains 16 bottles of 17 ml. (with eyed) and color chart.


*The RLM sets (German Luftwaffe XXII) & RAF-FAA contain a leaflet with a brief description of the colors and the part of the planes they were used.


Colors


71.005 Intermediate Blue


71.013 Yellow Olive


71.016 Grün RLM73


71.029 Dark earth


71.031 Middle Stone


71.047 US Grey


71.048 Dark Sea Grey


71.053 Dark Seagreen


71.095 Pale Green


71.096 Panzer Olivergr. 1943


71.097 Grey Primer


71.103 Graublau RLM84


71.108 UK Azure


71.109 UK PRU Blue


71.111 UK Mediterranean Blue


70.520 Matt Varnish


.


.


.


.


.


. .

Hi Laurie


I never really used Vallejo paints before joining here as I stuck with revel acrylics after binning nearly 100 humbrol enamels as I progressed to ab. Only thing was I found revel acrylics clogged my ab a lot and went to brush ( love my brushes )


Then I went onto tamiya and can say a better finish!!


Vallejo was a little out my price range but then ding the light came on!!! I bought a 1 off set of dark yellow for a tank I was painting, and I was surprised at the finish. Then I joined here and I saw from pictures/ reference and what all you modellers say on Vallejo and model air products and life colour my stash of paints is growing.


( I see some studios on here with all the Vallejo range ( I wish I had the lot!!!


The sets that Vallejo now do are really helpful in painting the correct colours giving you more confidence on the finished result ( money making exercise there me thinks? ( however I still sometimes mix my own shades)


Recently I purchased the waffen ss set of paints from Vallejo and the panzer late war set. They have helped immensely to my projects.


Not got the RAF set yet but I'm thinking on it


Kind regards


Robert

[Guest]

Hi Robert


Yes I have found them very easy to use in two ways. They do not tend to clog the airbrush but if they do a couple of drops of their flow improver does a good job. Especially if I am weathering where I use .2 needle with low pressure.


The other smart thing is that you can mix in the cup by using the dropper on the bottle itself. Also forgot that I have foundModel air to be very kind in that if you overspray you are unlucky if it does not flatten out.


Also used recently Lifecolor and Mig acrylic. Extend the colour range a bit. These two are very much like Vallejo Model Air.


John in the shop does the complete range of Model Air which you can buy in singles.


Laurie

[Robert1968]

Hi Robert
Yes I have found them very easy to use in two ways. They do not tend to clog the airbrush but if they do a couple of drops of their flow improver does a good job. Especially if I am weathering where I use .2 needle with low pressure.


The other smart thing is that you can mix in the cup by using the dropper on the bottle itself. Also forgot that I have foundModel air to be very kind in that if you overspray you are unlucky if it does not flatten out.


Also used recently Lifecolor and Mig acrylic. Extend the colour range a bit. These two are very much like Vallejo Model Air.


John in the shop does the complete range of Model Air which you can buy in singles.


Laurie

Problem is I'm like a kid with a sweatshop ( what to buy what do I need EVerything!!!!


Seriously though yes I do find Vallejo/ etc much better than most and so little waste too!! That's better


Robert

[Guest]

Hi guys,


Thanks for the replies.


So are the Vallejo paints labelled with the relevant RAF names for their colour schemes or does the included chart explain things.


Laurie, as you have the set does it cover everything you need for painting WW2 RAF aircraft?


Cheers.

[Guest]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies.


So are the Vallejo paints labelled with the relevant RAF names for their colour schemes or does the included chart explain things.


Laurie, as you have the set does it cover everything you need for painting WW2 RAF aircraft?


Cheers.

Wow Colin. Thing is that , in my opinion, all the manufacturers choose the colour which is nearest in their collection. For me I have never bought a set just buy individually for the work I am doing at the time.


Vallejo have a comparison chart and there are many others which you can compare manufacturer to manufacturer. Gives a fair idea of colours.


For me I water down the colours with white for the scale I normally work in 1/48. The colours recommended do not take in the scale working. For me the age of the aircraft buzzing through the air at 3 to 4 hundred miles an hour plus being out in the atmosphere severely deteriorates the aircraft colours.


My point is it is a matter of feel what looks right. For me green and grey straight out of the bottle does not give an authentic look they just look very unreal.


Not sure that is an answer Colin but that is the way I do it.


Laurie

[Guest]

Thanks Laurie, good point about watering down the colour. I'll take that on board.


Atb.

[stona]

Thing is that , in my opinion, all the manufacturers choose the colour which is nearest in their collection.
Laurie

Not really. Some manufacturers make specialist paints that accurately (in their opinion) match original WW2 colours. I use, or have used the WEM colourcoats, Modelmaster and Xtracrylix/Xtracolor ranges which all fall into this category amongst many others. Tamiya, for example, produced RAF Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey to go with the first 1/32 Spitfire 'uber kit'. That is they intentionally produce a colour to represent an RLM, RAF, USAAF, or other original colour. They don't just call a dark green colour which looks a bit like RLM 71, RLM 71.


Don't confuse scale effect (lightening for scale) with weathering (representing age, wear and tear). They are two quite different things.


Cheers


Steve

[Guest]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies.


So are the Vallejo paints labelled with the relevant RAF names for their colour schemes or does the included chart explain things.


Laurie, as you have the set does it cover everything you need for painting WW2 RAF aircraft?


Cheers.

Hi Colin,


I have this set and am generally happy with it.


Here is a link to a pdf of the leaflet that comes with the set:


http://www.little-cars.co.uk/RAF-CC090.pdf


Look at the ocean grey. It gives two ways to get the colour.


Hope this helps.


Regards


David

[Guest]

Not really. Some manufacturers make specialist paints that accurately (in their opinion) match original WW2 colours. I use, or have used the WEM colourcoats, Modelmaster and Xtracrylix/Xtracolor ranges which all fall into this category amongst many others. Tamiya, for example, produced RAF Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey to go with the first 1/32 Spitfire 'uber kit'. That is they intentionally produce a colour to represent an RLM, RAF, USAAF, or other original colour. They don't just call a dark green colour which looks a bit like RLM 71, RLM 71.
Don't confuse scale effect (lightening for scale) with weathering (representing age, wear and tear). They are two quite different things. Cheers Steve

Mmm there you go Steve got caught up in the paints I use Acrylics. I should have qualified and said most water based acrylics in the popular ranges.


For instance I bet if you go for a Revell and an Airfix Model of the same aircraft and same colours the colours each gives will not match each other. Airfix actually until recently gave for some of their models in Humbrol the equivalents in Vallejo and they did not match. But I defy any one to choose between the two colours in a sample.


In a practical sense this does not mean all that much if the colours are close. First apply with an airbrush and hand paint and the colours will look different. The reason is that unless you apply a silly number of coats the primer will come through with airbrushing as the paint film is very thin compared to hand brushing. The colour of the primer in this instance also can change the final colour. Take a colour card and put it up against the fuselage of an aircraft it will look different


On top of that if you introduce a white into the mix in the search for scale the colour changes again. On top of that a pristine aircraft will be a different colour to a Merlin Helicopter which has been out in Afghanistan for a year or so in the open. The colour is bleached. When building the Merlin I found two Merlins in the same picture and they were different colours. One looked newish from the UK the other knackered and bleach out.


I take near the original colour. Try other near colours and outrageously choose the colour I like best (no one will know). Then I take a card and mess about with the colour and white to get the scale colour. Some use yellow which is fine but there is more of colour change with the yellow than with white. But I find experimenting, taking my time, making sure the samples are dry before choosing. Also examples should be in the size it will look on the model to get a realistic view. Also view in day light or white light not yellow tungsten.


On top of all this shading can change a colour enormously which I have found is a good way of toning down if required.


My thoughts are do not get tied up to much with the very exact colour for all the above reason.


Warning. This is my way of working and may not be yours or the way you wish to go. But experiment I find is best rather than be disappointed.


Laurie

[stona]

Laurie I agree that trying to precisely match WW2 colours on a plastic model kit is a fool's errand. I do find the matches for the original colours (some of which are better than others!) a good starting point for whatever I am hoping to achieve.


For example it is much easier to start with a decent representation of, say, RLM 75 for my Bf 109 and then muck about with it a bit, than it is to to start with some very approximate grey colour. 'Grey' covers an immense spectrum to our human perception as does 'blue' or 'green' or just about any other colour you choose


Cheers


Steve

[Guest]

Laurie I agree that trying to precisely match WW2 colours on a plastic model kit is a fool's errand. I do find the matches for the original colours (some of which are better than others!) a good starting point for whatever I am hoping to achieve.
For example it is much easier to start with a decent representation of, say, RLM 75 for my Bf 109 and then muck about with it a bit, than it is to to start with some very approximate grey colour. 'Grey' covers an immense spectrum to our human perception as does 'blue' or 'green' or just about any other colour you choose


Cheers


Steve

Agree entirely Steve. When I first started model making I was dedicated to having the exact colour and spent much time trying to achieve that goal.


As time went by I realised as you have put I was on a fool's errand. That the permutations became rapidly out of control to such an extent that I was following my own tail. One thing that I do enjoy now is getting it to look right on the shelf and find as I have gained experience that really is the end game. It is what it looks like when finished as after all it is representation and the attraction of looking at the finished article.


Last week we had a Lynx Helicopter land on the outside of town. I looked closely at the finishes as I have very little opportunity to do so in Jersey. I think that is the best experience as you can see what happens to these aircraft in their life time. How the wear and tear affect the original finishes. Replacement panels, panels which have damaged area and those where the contours have been "re-arranged".


Laurie