AK vs. VALLEJO vs. AMMO - COMPARING & TESTING ACRYLIC PAINTS AIRBRUSHING MEDIUM GUNSHIP GRAY

#airbrush #acrylic #hobby
Medium Gunship Gray of AK, Vallejo and Ammo Mig in the acrylic paint comparison. What are the differences? What are the pros and cons? Which one is your preferred? - Let's find out in this video!
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0:00 The 3 suspects
0:42 The test
5:26 The comparison

[@benchlife9375]

Modern jet builder here. I use model air on all my jets. I love the way it sprays and never have any problems at all. Bonus it smells good. Nice video 👋.

[@chrisveya7556]

Vallejo paints are very reliable👌🏼 Thanks for the feedback!

[@chrissteadman4614]

Whilst acrylics are not toxic they still produce airborne particulate, when put through an airbrush, that you, and your daughter, will be breathing into you lungs. Ultimately this will lead to scarring and I'd suggest that anyone spraying them wears an appropriate mask.

[@Yardbird68]

I've used Vallejo & Ammo. They were/are a lesson in aggravation for me. Problems: 1. Getting the right thinner mixture and using the right thinner ( I didn't like Ammo thinner at ALL on Ammo paints. ). 2. GRAINY texture. 3. Having to unclog my airbrush CONSTANTLY. 4. Have to wait to apply a different color. 5. Paint is VERY easily scratched off by accident. Or edges are easily worn off by handling the part I NOW use Mr Paint ( MRP ) Lacquer. Discovering MRP, has made airbrushing FUN again and not a lesson in frustration. Why I LOVE MRP? 1. NO thinner needed. I can go straight from the bottle, into my airbrush. Saves me a LOT of time and headaches. 2. Goes on smooth, nothing grainy about it. 3. I can basically paint multipal parts, WITHOUT having to unclog my airbrush. Unclogging is a RARE thing for me with Mr. Paint. 4. I can spray a part, then almost immediately ( at least 3mins ) and spay on another color or varnish. ANOTHER time saver. 5. On a longish part, such as a missile or barrel. I can hold it in my hand, spray on the color, wait about 3 - 5 mins, turn the part around, holding it in my hand/fingers and spray the other end! 6. Hard as nails finish. Doesn't scrap, scratch or edges worn off, that easily, unless you make an effort to do that. 6. The smell doesn't bother me; happen to like it. I use a filter mask, like I do when painting an "actual" car or guitar. The Only acrylic I use anymore, are some tamiya colors, but my go to paint and varnish is Mr. Paint.

[@chrisveya7556]

I was using enamel / laquer paints at first but had to switch to non toxic products because of my children. It took a while to get everything in a good practice, as you say there are a lot of things to consider but meanwhile i wouldnt switch back to laquers even if i could. One huge advantage is you can clean your airbrush mostly with water only! Thats a time saver on the acrylic side😄 Thanks for the feedback!

[@lesgl]

@@chrisveya7556 Yes acrylic laquers don't agree with me breathing wise..i like them tho'

[@Yardbird68]

@@chrisveya7556 Your welcome. Actually for me, the clean up for MRP is about the same amount of time as acrylic. And I have tried using "straight" water. That is a no go, especially, with any dry paint. I mostly use Isophropyl alcohol, the quality stuff, cleaning up acrylic. The other problem with acrylics, what thinner/cleaner works on one brand of acrylic paint, doesn't work on another brand. Never will go back to acrylic ( except, some colors from Tamiya ) , too many hassles, problems and headaches. I want to enjoy my hobby and not have to fight it.

[@andyshaw5378]

Excellent video Chris. I use the Vallejo air. Nice to see how the others compare

[@chrisveya7556]

They are very reliable and have a great colour range. Some bright colours are a bit difficult though, yellow for instance or skin tone. They have a low coverage. Thanks for the feedback!

[@DrewsModels]

I love Vallejo Model Air! Never noticed the stickiness you experienced. Thanks for the test!

[@chrisveya7556]

It was most probably because the Vallejo had the shortest drying time. But still in direct comparison to each other Vallejo has like a somewhat sticky finish, just slightly more than the other two. Thanks for the feedback!

[@tigershark4453]

Vallejo for sure !

[@chrisveya7556]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@seavee2000]

Used to use Vallejo a lot, but paint too fragile,though pigment is very fine. Have switched to Ammo, great with a brush and a/b. Everyone has different needs and preferences....

[@chrisveya7556]

Absolutely 👌🏼 im switching back and forth between the three brands and i enjoy all of them. Thanks for the feedback!

[@AlmirTaranis]

AK Real Colors, Mr Color 👍 I don't really use acrylic paints anymore 😉

[@chrisveya7556]

I know many people do but the quality of acrylics is constantly improving these days. And they are non toxic. Thanks for the feedback!

[@darkwood777]

Sad day when AK dropped the Real Colors. I'm not at all impressed with their new line.

[@AlmirTaranis]

@@darkwood777 haven't tried those yet. However AK states that is same quality of paint just in 17 ml plastic bottles 😒

[@thepiratepenguin4465]

When I got back into scale modeling, I got some Ammo by Mig's paint, but have since moved on to Vallejo due to better price point & availability.

[@colinspark8712]

I chose the Vallejo halfway through the video. 👌

[@chrisveya7556]

😄👍🏻

[@Beniah107]

Interesting comparison and excellent dialogue and explanation. Goldilocks result, thank heavens. Well done. 👍🏻

[@chrisveya7556]

Mighty kind!

[@DansModelBench]

Great review mate. I'm curious to see how the new Ammo Mig ATOM paints work, but unfortunately they aren't yet in stock in Australia.

[@chrisveya7556]

Oh they are not? I tested some Atom paints for painting my last build, the A6M2 Zero. I realised they were basically made for figure painting. Very high coverage. But they work fine when used with the airbrush as well👌🏼

[@LemurKrazy]

Importer told me about 2 more weeks.

[@3414mercury]

Once again, a great video. To the point and very informative. You have the best subscribers too, I learn so much from reading the comments!

[@chrisveya7556]

Love to hear that, great!

[@billwright2811]

Great job, as usual. On Monday my packaged arrived, all good, no worries. Thanks so much Chris. I like enamels, but acrylic technology has come so far now. There are many excellent choices.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes, im thankful it arrived safely! Great to hear🙌🏼

[@jabonorte]

I've had some success with Vallejo before, but could never get Ammo to work at all. I've tried thinning it less, or more, and I've tried their other paint products, like Transparator, but it never gets easier. AK 3rd gen works well with a brush, but still struggling with it. Could you try the same paints for something like mottling as well, please?

[@chrisveya7556]

I do also think Ammo is the most delicate to handle of the three. Thats a good idea, concering the test with mottling, i see what i can do👍🏻 Thanks for the feedback!

[@AeroWB]

I also am not very fond of the Ammo ones. Its harder to work with, it stays sticky very long, it can easily result in an orange peel finish so you need to be very careful. I also prefer the color of the Vallejo range for the aircraft greys and blues, but I do like the Ammo metallic paints. I have used AK 3rd gen once with an airbrush on a dragon model which worked fine, but I have no comparison for planes yet. Ammo now has their new Atom range out which so far seems to be very good and a big improvement but I don't have any of those yet so I can speak from personal experience yet.

[@lesgl]

Mig Ammo for me..Vallejo a close second..haven't sprayed AK yet

[@chrisveya7556]

They are all solid and none of them falls down. It takes a bit time to get the handling right cause they are all different in some ways. Thanks for the feedback!

[@paulsawyer2326]

I haven't used any of the 3, mainly using tamiya paint. Will branch out using other brands to get a feel and idea for final result depending on my final desire look.

[@lesgl]

@@paulsawyer2326 Can't go wrong with Tamiya..best stick with those..

[@jorgeblanco792]

I prefer the Vallejo finish. Thanks for the video!!

[@chrisveya7556]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@user-ec7dz2zz3c]

I use Vallejo Air exclusively and I have never ever had any issues whatsoever and certainly no stickiness. I do use Mr. Hobby black surface 1500 primer.

[@52down]

Same with me. I chose Vallejo because they are ready to spray straight from the bottle which is useful when you got several color swaps on one airbrushing run and lots of small parts to paint. I have some issues with some bottles, especially when spraying fine lines or mottles, others are grainy, but that's a risk of 100% water-based paints - they can't last like laquers

[@IvanRodriguez-bn7jf]

I like Vallejo the most... anybody has tried the Hataka acrilic paints?

[@chrisveya7556]

I did and will include Hataka acrylics in future tests as well

[@ald1144]

I've used Vallejo acrylics almost exclusively since I got back into modelling a couple years ago because they're easiest to get where I am. But I find I have a very hard time getting good chipping effects because the silver underneath also comes off so easily. So I tried silver enamel as a base and it works like a champ. But man, like you said the fumes are really hard to put up with.

[@chrisveya7556]

I had very good resulst chipping away Vallejo paints while preshading my latest build: fully dried aluminum acrylic colour underneath and a few (maybe 10-20) minutes after applying Model Air paint over the aluminum, i chipped away the paint with a tooth pick, worked perfectly! Thanks for the feedback!

[@Bloody1369]

Excellent video, thank you. I use a mix of different paints including Tamiya and these three. Just getting back into modelling so I wanted to try different things. My overall preference today is Ammo, but occasionally getting certain colors can be difficult. (I've had to order a few things factory direct.) I'm starting to work away from Tamiya and actually the main reason is the type and size of their bottle makes storage a little hard but their paint is good. I think Ammo by MIG has the most complete line of paints, pigments, washes and filter as well. I have also found that Ammo paints seem to airbrush better using Mr. Leveling Thinner over the Ammo thinner.

[@chrisveya7556]

I did hear this several times now, the Ammo thinner strangely seems not to be the best choice to thinn down their own paints. I will try it next time, because i only used the Ammo thinner so far. There are two reasons i never used Tamiya paints so far: 1. the bottle has no dripper as AK, Vallejo or others have 2. i cant stand the way they name the colours...XF 8, just tell me which colour it is, i dont need a special morse code and a code translation table to finally know which colour tone is in the bottle! Thanks for the feedback!

[@PeterMeier-eu5xr]

Grüezi, Du kennst "aller guten Dinge sind drei", also verstehst Du wohl auch meinen Kommentar. Allgemein wird geglaubt, dass bei Acrylfarben keine Gesundheitsgefährdung besteht. Nun, das stimmt so nicht ganz. Die Gefährdung geht von den darin enthaltenen Pigmenten und Formaldehyden aus. Arbeitet man ohne eine Absaugung, werden diese Bestandteile dann perfekt im Raum verteilt. Also, lass Deine Tochter nicht zu lange, nicht zu oft die Luft in Deinem Bastelraum einatmen, während Du die Airbrush benutzt. Acrylfarben benutze ich nur noch für meine Arbeiten mit dem Pinsel. An meine Modelle kommen nur noch Lacke (MRP, Alclad/A-Stand, Mr Surfacer), das gibt eine super smoothe Oberfläche, super schleifbar und keine Probleme beim Demaskieren :-) Ich baue nur Modelle unserer Schweizer Flugwaffe, im Massstab 1/48. Da das Bausatzangebot sehr beschränkt ist, habe ich angefangen meine Modelle selber zu bauen (CAD und Resindrucker). Mein Lieblingsmodell ist die C-36, da habe ich fast alle Varianten gebaut, C-3603, C-3603-SZW52 und die C-3605. Das ist Modellbau 2.0 Gruss und Happy Modelling

[@chrisveya7556]

Grüezi, vielen Dank für den Hinweis. Formaldehyd ist krebserregend und in den Angaben von Vallejo Model Air z.B. ist dieser Stoff nicht enthalten, da ist die Rede von Alkoholen und dass es keine Substanzen enthält, die als gefährlich bei der Einatmung eingestuft sind. Es gibt ja auch diese Acrylfarben mit Harzen gemischt, diese sind sicherlich toxisch und würde ich nicht ohne Maske benutzen und ohne Kinder im Raum. So oder so, ist eine Absauge auf der Einkaufsliste, schon rein der Sauberkeit zuliebe. Oh, dann bist du ein Experte in Schweizer Luftwaffe Modellen, mein Lieblingsthema. Grosser Respekt für deine Arbeit, dass ist wirklich Modellbau 2.0! Ich war sehr überrascht, als ich noch nicht so lange her von der C-3603 erfahren hatte und habe mir ein Bausatz von Kora Models in 1/72 besorgt. Der ist jedoch qualitativ nicht so hochstehend ausserdem aus Resin und ich habe mich noch nicht daran gewagt, aus Angst es zu verbocken! Vielen Dank für dein Feedback!

[@barrybradfordlocksport]

I mostly use Vallejo love them and the weet smell although i have been finding the grey primer is lumpy just lately from new, no problem with black brown or white though

[@chrisveya7556]

I havent tried brown primer yet but just bought a red one lately

[@PatrickMonsieur]

For sure, Vallejo finish is the nicest one.

[@TheLittleThingsJunkie]

What an excellent video, thank you. I'm subscribed! The AK grey appears to have a red cast to it. Do you see that with your naked eye, or is it an effect of the camera/lighting? This was a valuable demonstration of the qualities of these 3 brands. Having seen this I would love to see a comparison of how well they spray details like fine lines, mottling etc. Also how much does each one suffer from tip-dry. And so on and so on... :)

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes you are right its somewhere red to brown and not only in the camera. I didnt want to go down rabbit hole of diciding which one of the three nails the correct tone of the medium gunship gray. I leave this to the experts. But i will probably do more content about best practices using acrylics Thanks for the feedback!

[@TheLittleThingsJunkie]

@@chrisveya7556 Thank you Chris. I'm glad you didn't go down that particular rabbit hole - 'correct' shades of colour are so subjective but it did strike me as strange that one of them appeared to have that red cast, which must surely be 'incorrect' for Medium Gunship Grey. Having just found your channel I am now spending my weekend binge watching you :)

[@carlsmoot2939]

Vallejo has the best finish hands down. I am sure the stickiness you mentioned is strictly a factor of insufficient drying time. I found acrylics to be best after 24 hours. The second choice is AK, however, I could not tell if these were Gen 3 AK acrylics and As others have mentioned, Ammo has a new ATOM line which I've heard is better than their older acrylics. But I still think Vallejo is the clear winner here. I would be interested in comparisons with some of the other Acrylics out there.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes its a 3rd Gen AK paint i used for this comparison. The Atom paints of Ammo are sort of stronger than their older line but i will take another shot and compare Atom paints with other acrylics. Any preference ones? Thanks for the feedback and the hint for a second video Carl👌🏼😄

[@carlsmoot2939]

@@chrisveya7556 , Lifecolour, Mission Model Paint, Humbrol Acrylic are three that come to mind (in addition to the Ammo ATOM). There are some other brands from Italy and England, however, I cannot recall the names. Mission model paint is supposed to be a premium acrylic which they recommend you use a few drops of their polyurethane in addition to the thinner. I've never used Humbrol acrylic. Lifecolor is supposed to have a very accurate range of colors. It could get rather expensive getting the various brands as there are others as well as the ones I mentioned. It would probably be best to consider usage and availability.

[@StyreneDreamsOfficial]

Agreed. Hands down. As a matter of fact, I almost always exclusively use Vallejo products except for a few Tamiya. I use Tamiya flat and gloss clear, flat black and clear orange.. Other than that everything else is Vallejo.

[@davidsmithson9236]

Hey Chris, I just wanted to thank you again. My package arrived from Rusty HQ a couple of days ago (on my birthday).

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes it arrived! And on your birthday!?! 🙌🏼

[@EricElwellArt]

I would agree with Vallejo as the top pick for finish. On Fantastic Tanks, I have been happily using Vallejo Air over Stynylrez, and finishing with AK washes. The jury is still deliberating over the best clear coats. Any opinion there?

[@chrisveya7556]

Oh with clear coats im still going back and forth mostly between AK and Ammo but also others, its a real rabbit hole for me, the varnishes🤦🏼‍♂️... Thanks for the feedback!

[@michaelharding2614]

Hi. A very useful comparison. I've been using Vallejo Air and Model Colour since I restarted modelling last year. I jumped stright in with a cheap airbrush and choose the Vallejo because they advertised as "airbrush ready". A first I had a few issues but have now found out that they do need some thinning and also a few drops of the Flow Improver reduces tip-drying on the needle. The other great thing with Vallejo is the range of colours. The Model Colour range is great for brush painting and remindes me very much of the Citadel paints which I used to use when we collected Warhammer stuff. I would like to try the new Ammo Atom paints, I just need to translate the available colours to those I need.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes usually some thinning us needed, except you have a huge needle and spray at a high psi. Vallejo is reliable only some colour tones are a bit tricky, like yellow for instance. I will pick up on the Atom paints soon👌🏼. Thanks for the feedback!

[@lesgl]

I find that it's best to use a larger tip for these acrylics. Fine rather than Extra Fine on my Badger brushes

[@chrisveya7556]

I went from a 0.35 mm to a 0.15 mm needle and now i found my sweet spot with the 0.2 mm needle. Using acrylics i wouldnt go under 0.2 mm personally.

[@jesusm.3776]

What is the pressure you use with your different airbrushes?

[@chrisveya7556]

Usually always between 18 and 20 psi with a 0.2 mm needle on my airbrush. If i use primer it would be between 23 and 25 psi

[@LemurKrazy]

Use all three - they are ok when you learn how to use them. Best tip I can give is trim your fingernails as they are all fragile. Get a gloss coat on them asap - I'm using AK gauzy.

[@chrisveya7556]

Yes its important to seal the dried paint soon and be carefull when touching it before its sealed👌🏼 I have several varnishes but havent tried the gauzy yet. Heard good things about it though Thanks for the feedback!

[@lesgl]

Agree on that one..clear coat is a must

[@danytalloen]

I almost always have the problem that Vallejo clogs my airbrush after a couple of minutes spraying. I love brushpainting with Vallejo though.

[@chrisveya7556]

Adding a few drops of flow improver to the paint helps preventing from clogging. And the size of the airbrushs needle is also relevant. Thanks for the feedback!

[@pariahzero]

Clogging or tip drying? They're not the same thing. Clogging may also indicate you need to strain the paint before using it - small particles of cured/dried paint from the paint bottle can be easily be transferred into a mixing cup (or the paint cup), and that'll ruin your day in a hurry. Every. Single. Time. I clog an airbrush, I didn't strain the paint first. Yes, sometimes I tell myself "but it's only a few drops" and gamble. But if I'm mixing more than a ml of paint... it's not worth the risk.

[@siamodyssey]

I like the one on the right. Color looks nicer to my eyes.

[@chrisveya7556]

So the one from AK, yes their paints are very enjoyable👌🏼 Thanks for the feedback!

[@fluxxNZ]

Although the paints are 'acrylic' paint/thinner particulates in the air will always be unhealty, you should still be taking precautions such as a spray booth/extractror/respirator, especially for your daughter (closer due to height, still developing lungs etc).

[@chrisveya7556]

Altough its not like my daughters are constantly standing next to me while im airbrushing, this happens only occasionally, i will get an extractor booth soon. I have checked in the Vallejo safety files and its clearly declares there is no harm at all. I will do the same research for the thinner now you mentioned it. Thanks for the feedback!

[@fluxxNZ]

@chrisveya7556 definitely safer than a lot of other paints but any small particles in your lungs (from anything) is not good and we want modelers of this and future generations around as long as possible. Those stashes won't build themselves :-)

[@priest9235]

Thanks for this video man! Was exactly what I was after - trying to decide which paints to pick up to dip my toes into model planes. Vellejo sets are super appealing to me as it’s all the right paints in the one spot. Glad they spray well too, what would you say your experience has been regarding colour accuracy?

[@chrisveya7556]

Colour accuracy is a difficult topic, because it can be influenced by so many things. But generally spoken i do give Vallejo lots of credits for their efforts to achieve good accuracy, they do a great job!

[@priest9235]

@@chrisveya7556 thanks for the reply! I’ll give them a go and see how I fair. Cheers man.

[@rogerbogh3884]

Howdy, glad I found you. Anyway, how do you keep your airbrush from clogging if you leave that much time (5 to 10 minutes) between coats? Maybe, run some airbrush cleaner through it, but then you lose your paint. I think this is a problem I have been having. With too little time between coats I think my paint is building up too much.

[@chrisveya7556]

A thin coat dries quite fast (less than 5 mins), in these cases i just wait and hope its not clogging. If the paint is thinned properly, it should be okey. When i know it will take longer (5-10 mins), i only put a small amount of paint in the airbrush cup, spray, clean with water. Then for the next coat, again drop only a small amout of paint in the airbrush cup and repeat. All these three paints can be cleaned very well with water. Yes, with these acrylics laying down thin coats and giving them enough time to dry is key. I did overdo the first or sometimes even the last coat many times

[@rogerbogh3884]

@@chrisveya7556 Many thanks for the advice. My local model shop has a great selection of Vellejo paint (Model Air and Standard). I have settled on it, but my airbrushing techniques - actually, the paint mixing - has been an ongoing problem. I will try your method with the hot water cleaning between quick, light sessioins.

[@JyBdecals]

Uso las tres marcas, y de las tres prefiero Vallejo sobre todo a la hora de delinear camuflajes a mano alzada

[@chrisveya7556]

Sounds very good! Vallejo is very reliable Gracias for the feedback

[@zulerodoeht329]

Vallejo first, followed by Ammo, last place is AK. I have tried them all. Tamiya is also very good.

[@chrisveya7556]

Lots of people have Vallejo as their favourite, to me they are most reliable 👍🏻

[@NyteStalker89]

Four brands… is not all of them lol. But they are all popular!

[@zulerodoeht329]

@@NyteStalker89 I hear you brother, but I have a finite amount of room for paint. I started with a large stock of Tamiya acrylics, tried out the same number of bottles of Vallejo model air and AK about 4 each in the test run. Model Air won because it seems to thin better then AK. Also, Model Air takes up less room the Tamiya. I have tried Humbrol and Testors Model Masters, Model Masters is no more and the Humbrol I knew back in the day (the 70s) was an oil-based enamel product that came in cool little cans. I never tried Mission Models, from my understanding, you need the paint base, the thinner and a Poly mix additive, so I would have to purchase even more product, no thanks. I also am moving into the Ammo by Mig range of paint, it seems to be the same as Vallejo and Model Air.

[@highlordalcadizakyr1479]

100% vallejo

[@chrisveya7556]

👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@rogeriofernandes8867]

Of course Vallejo is the winner

[@chrisveya7556]

What else?😄

[@whhsfordian]

Vallejo. Best color and finish.

[@chrisveya7556]

They are very reliable and have a great colour range👌🏼

[@jozuavanlangenhove6586]

I prefer vallejo.

[@chrisveya7556]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@darkwood777]

I bought a bunch of Vallejo Model Air last year and they were all like water. Completely unusable at any pressure setting on the airbrush.

[@chrisveya7556]

They only work properly if applied in several thin coats to build up the colour, i spray them with 18 psi. Thanks for the feedback!

[@AeroWB]

My experience with Vallejo Model Air has been fine. I just mix it with some Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver put it in my 0.4 H&S Evolution @ 1.7 bar/24 psi and that works fine. Maybe you got very old bottles that need to be shaken extremely well and as it is already airbrush ready, don't add any/much thinner. Also some colors are much more opaque then others so you might need between two and five coats depending on the paint color and primer color.

[@pawpawstew]

What tip size are you using? I use Model Air in my Iwata HP-CS with a .02 needle/tip and have no issue. Thinner paints require a smaller tip and lower pressure.

[@52down]

Greys are covering the best. Try some light browns, reds, whites, yellows or blues

[@chrisveya7556]

Next will be RLM65 👍🏻 Thanks for the feedback!

[@52down]

@@chrisveya7556 I mean blue blue. RLM 65 covers nicely even in 2 passes

[@a41166]

I have heard you say things that I cannot believe. Do you have some hidden interest in discrediting these Spanish paintings? I say this because I have used and continue to use these paints and if airbrushed correctly they are not rough at all and have a flawless finish. Humbrol paints are rough, apart from being stinky and dangerous to health. When will you do a comparison of British paintings?

[@chrisveya7556]

I never said the finish of any of these 3 paints wasnt flawless. The statements are always in comparison to the others, so the differences between the 3 can be identified.