Wednesday, 22 July 2020

Vallejo Game Colour Washes Review

This is more of a partial review rather then an in depth look at everything that is possible. I bought this boxed set of washes from Vallejo after reading a review the Lascannons and Lances Blog which whetted my appetite as I was thinking of moving away, or at least experimenting with something other then Citadel Washes. Do not get me wrong, I like the Citadel Washes; in some circumstances I would be lost without Baddab Black, Sepia and Devlan Mud but although the Citadel washes naturally seem to find the crevices on a miniature they can leave a bit of a grainy inconsistent look when dry.

With this set you get a Black, a Burnt Umber, a Sepia, a Light Grey, a Flesh, a Deep Green, A Violate and a rich Dark Blue. The only colour missing that I would need would be a red but I can turn to other ranges to solve that problem.


I'm currently 'speed painting' some of the Perry Beja from their Sudan/Mahdist range (ironically this article will make the 'speed painting' a little less speedier). and was looking for earthy tones of which VMC Wash Burned Umber and Sepia were going to be prime candidates. However, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the set includes a grey and a black. Bingo! I used to try to mix Windsor and Newton Artists White Ink with W&N Black Ink but could never find acquire the tone I was looking for to use over a grey-white. With this set it is not only possible to mix the Light Grey ink with a tiny amount of black to deepen the tone to go over a grey/white but it is easy.

The results are below the the mix of Black and Light Grey over Andrea White 5  (from the white boxed set), the Burnt Umber over Foundry Spearshaft A and Sepia over Foundry Boneyard A to form the base coat and a wash prior to highlighting. It's probably worth mentioning that I rarely use washed except for glazes when practising my normal technique. I tend to use at least five layers on larger surfaces of a miniature when in 'normal' mode so there's really no need for me to use a wash unless I want to tie the colours together with a very watered down glaze when all the highlights are complete. This is simply not the case nor is it desirable with the Beja as purely from a practical point of view; I have literally hundreds to paint and they are simply never going to see a table top unless I can find a way in which to speed up the painting process with prejudice.

As it stands with these miniatures, they will be getting two highlights over the base coat and ink wash. Please note: No highlights have been added- these is simply the base coat and the wash:

Vallejo Model Colour Light Grey (mixed with a pinch of black) Wash over Andrea White 5:




 Vallejo Model Colour Wash Burnt Umber over Foundry Spearshaft A:





Vallejo Model Colour Sepia Ink over Foundry Boneyard A:




I will be getting around to a full review of all the inks and mixes thereof in a future article as they are more then a little handy and the info may be of some use to others.

13 comments:

  1. There is a red wash in the range, just not in that set so needs to be bought separately. It's a fairly dark crimson red.

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    1. That's good to know Tamsin as I can go down the path of adding a tiny spec of black to get a dark black red or add a little violet for a more colourful base. Thanks. I take it they do a yellow too?

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    2. As noted below by Tim (but missed by me), the red is what you called violet!

      There isn't a yellow wash, but if you look at the Game Colour Ink range, you will find one there. The inks do work slightly differently to the washes.

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  2. The red is in your set, you’ve called in Violet 👍 There are no other Game washes that I am aware of. Gameinks can be used if diluted with glaze medium though.

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  3. Nice Beja by the way....I hadn’t discovered washes last time I painted some. I usually put the highlights on before the wash as the wash helps to smooth the transition.
    Cheers
    Tim

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    1. Do you mean you mean put a glaze on after the highlights Tim?

      My normal modus operandi is to do five six, sometimes seven highlights then use a glaze of necessary to tie the colours together. Often though, once a good coat of gloss varnish followed by a solid matt varnish and allowed to dry has been added this can due to the way in which light refracts from matt varnish can produce the effect of tying the colours together as efficiently as a glaze. :)

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    2. Hi mate
      No, I mean apply the wash after applying highlights. The wash should provide the mid tone layers. It always amazes me how many ways there are to apply paint and get good results.....we all seem to generate our own procedure and they all vary slightly from everybody else LOL....

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    3. Except when I'm speed painting I don't normally use any washes mate. Just a very thin glaze after I've finished layering and then only if it really needs it. I do agree, everyone has their own methods etc and that what makes following someone else to see how they go about things so interesting. :)

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  4. Clothes and folds in particular looks awesome.
    As for the comparison I used Vallejo wash “umber” and now i have a citadel’s one. (using several washes for each color for game miniatures is overkill for me) so l can say that the surface after Vallejo is more velvety and matte, while the Citadel is slightly shiny. Though Citadel’s wash is more fluid which is easier to work with.

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    1. I've tried the Citadel washes on the first batch of completed Beja Dmitry (Pics of fully based mini's to follow) but found the Vallejo Game Colour washes left a much less grainy effect. It will be interesting to see the results of both methods one the second batch of 12 are completed.

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  5. I wash then highlight, interesting thoughts

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    1. It's been like stepping back in time for me. This is how I used to paint all my Third Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles Armies. I'm very surprised at how effective it has been. A real boost to morale too as I now know I can get the requisite numbers on the table top :)

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