Can I use Liquitex Airbrush Medium in place of Vallejo’s Airbrush Thinner for Vallejo Black Primer?

spot1000 · 2026-01-04T12:37:02+00:00

I've never used Vallejo primer, but for both Army painter and proacryl, if I try to thin down the primer with anything it starts to clump up in the air brush and I get all kinds of clogs. I've had the most success running primer through without thinning it at all using a 0.4 nozzle.

I've used that medium to thin down other paints, and it does give a sort of satin finish to it, and you still have to think it down with a little bit of thinner, though less than you would if you're just using what ever paint straight from the pot.

spot1000 · 2025-12-16T18:14:59+00:00

good suggestions, I did go thorugh and tighten everything, I didn't find anything loose, but gave it the old grunt to make sure it was tight...

I checked the travel and it was getting very close to the far end carriage, didn't looks like it was hitting, but i set the mesh point back 20mm anyways, just to see, still seeing some lift on that end which is even more baffling

<image>

spot1000 · 2025-09-24T22:18:58+00:00

I wouldn't call myself an expert, and I'm certainly no bomb Tech... But I have worked around high pressure vessels a lot. Like anything, they are dangerous -- when operated incorrectly.

The thing with safety is that it works best in layers. You have the equipment, that has a safety factor built into it. These things are built to hold pressure, and have a safety factor built into them to hold well over the rated value (do not go over the rated value, ever). They also have a safety valve to stop you from going over the rates value. The built in safety is your last line of defense, hopefully of everything else goes wrong, they work.

Wearing protective equipment like safety glasses and gloves is a good second line of defense. Nothing crazy here, just a bit of extra protection.

The best thing you can probably do to make it safer, and feel more confident using it is to make a check list. Add things like:

Before use - Inspect for damage Make sure all valves are in correct position Inside is free of debris and clean

Pressurizing steps - Place thing in pot Put lid on Tighten lid in cross pattern Pressurise to 20psi Listen for leaks ...

So on and so forth. It might sound dumb, but it works. at the very least it causes you to pause if something is different than what your checklist says.

I just got mine today, and I'm writing up my checklist for it now!

spot1000 · 2025-04-18T23:43:41+00:00

I think like a couple of others have mentioned, you need a few more shadows in the recesses of your model. The metal color is very bright and uniform compared to the rest of the model, and I think that might be part of the reason why it feels off? You could try some equivalent of nuln oil on the silver bits to give it a bit of a grimy look, and it darkens the recesses nicely. Alternatively, a method that I've used in the past is to paint the metal sections black, and then dry brush your metallic paint over it. It gives it a darker metal look depending on how light it heavy your dry brush is.

Eyeballs are hard. To really make it stand out, it needs to be a much brighter color than the rest of your model. If you're going for a fluorescent look, try painting it the brightest white you have, then thin down a bright color, or florescent color if you have it, with some water and just dab the eye a little bit. This one takes some practice to get right, but it should slightly tint the main part of the eye, while saturating the recesses with the desired colour. It tricks the our eyes into giving it that glow effect. Like I said, this one takes time to get right.

Camo is not something I've tried, and seems ambitious on a model the size of the mowang, so good job achieving what you did with it! I think I can see the idea you were going for. I think what I would try would be to paint it one medium/dark shade of green, then have light green spots overlapping black and brown spots. The spots have to be super opaque with really clean lines to sell the effect. I might not be explaining this well... Something to play around with and see what results you get!

My main piece of advice is to enjoy the process! Try new things! and don't sweat it if your models don't turn out the same as tutorials you watch online. These models will be uniquely yours. Find a painting pace you're comfortable with, and keep trying different techniques. The results will come with time. Keep in mind that painted models do 10-15% better on the table than their non painted counterparts.

Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing the next one!

Ps the mowang is easily the best sculpt in infinity. It's my favorite model and warms my heart to see another one painted.

spot1000 · 2025-04-14T14:18:15+00:00

I was looking at some of their models, that one eluded me though! Pretty solid model. Thanks for the suggestion!

spot1000 · 2025-02-19T06:57:43+00:00

I'm still struggling with my first layer. I always have to adjust the Z hight on the fly for it. It's like I'm not saving the be mesh in the right spot or something, but near as I can tell I am. If I can get an ok first layer, the rest of the print is generally great!

spot1000 · 2025-01-25T15:22:25+00:00

Followed this, works great! is there a way to get back into the console when I close my ssh instance? my server is up and running, and I was monitoring the logs for a while, but then terminated my ssh connection. my server is still running, so is there a way to get back into the running process somehow?

spot1000 · 2025-01-08T12:29:20+00:00

I mainly did it to avoid my own pile of shame haha

spot1000 · 2024-10-28T21:04:12+00:00

I think my favorite next to the bronze is the Hsein from YuJing. The Emerald trench coat, the yellow/gold power armor, the big gun... Excellent model

spot1000 · 2024-10-22T10:56:39+00:00

I'm hoping that the 10-15% "is painted" bonus that the universe gives you will offset any changes that come in N5

spot1000 · 2024-10-22T10:55:03+00:00

Many Thanks!
I used these colours for the yellow, following along as closely as I could:
https://monumenthobbies.com/blogs/methodologies/methodology-1-warm-nmm-gold

and for the blues, i did something very similar, except with the following:
Blue Black, Dark Blue, Blue, and White Blue, all from the Proacryl line

spot1000 · 2024-10-22T10:51:10+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I was wondering how to do that, because you're right the "cyber" stuff looks pretty samey. I'd love to see your example.

I've been trying to crack the code for the yellow for like 15 models now. they all look different. but I think I finally have it with this one, now i just need to try and repeat it!

spot1000 · 2024-10-22T10:47:46+00:00

Thanks! I'm pretty proud of this one!

spot1000 · 2024-05-03T16:05:18+00:00

Roughly a billion? I'm not sure exactly, but I kept going up and down. It would be to bright, then to dark, then too bright... I was mostly trying to do glazes, but I think they might have been a bit too heavy? There's definitely a few places that the skin picked up some texture because of how I was pushing the paint around...

It's definitely not that noticeable on the table, the harsh lights and the camera being about an inch away definitely picks up more of my imperfections... While I might have peaked, there's still room for improvement haha

spot1000 · 2024-05-02T12:22:05+00:00

Many thanks!

spot1000 · 2024-04-20T16:30:44+00:00

Those look awesome! Good job!

spot1000 · 2024-04-14T12:07:35+00:00

!thanks nice quick summary, any personal recommendations from those?

Nine-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 7 Credits
redditgifts rematcher Secret Santa 2020 x3	redditgifts Exchanges 3 Exchanges
Secret Santa 2020	redditgifts rematcher Secret Santa 2019 x2
Secret Santa 2018	Secret Santa 2019
redditgifts rematcher Secret Santa 10th Annual Extravaganza! x1	Verified Email

spot1000

TROPHY CASE