Vallejo Acrylics workers, on strike (Indefinite)

[gideon stargreave]

It’s worth remembering that Vallejo also make non-wargaming artist paints. I didn’t see a reference in the linked articles about which branch is affected by the strikes/ buyouts. It sucks either way, I love their artist paints (and have even used them for minis in a pinch) and their gaming paints 

[Wormwoods]

Full solidarity with the workers, wishing them nothing but the best. 

[Marshal Loss]

Hope the workers get the remuneration and conditions they deserve.

  

On 11/30/2024 at 9:48 AM, crimsondave said:

OMG.  Are you telling me 70.950 isn't a good black anymore?  I considered it possibly the best paint ever.  Of ANY color.  Please tell me they didn't change it!

 

Tragically yes. I've switched to AK 3rd Gen Intense Black, which is very comparable (though a tiny bit more satin), but I really miss the OG 70.950.

[m0nolith]

It is true that the quality has fallen over the last little bit of time, and the colours arent exactly the same from batch to batch.

I'm slowly going to have to turn to Scale 75 if things keep going like this as an alternative to Vallejo, while GW will still remain my main brand that I use.

 

Regardless, I fully support the Vallejo workers in their strike and hope they get everything they are asking for. 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

7 hours ago, m0nolith said:

It is true that the quality has fallen over the last little bit of time, and the colours arent exactly the same from batch to batch.

That's unfortunate to hear.  Way back around 2010-2012 I had some dud Vallejo paints - Stonewall Grey and Cold Grey were extremely watery and the colour was off by a reasonable amount, and a Game Air Sick Green really didn't match the Game Colour one - but they've been spot-on since.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Firedrake Cordova

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

 

The Spanish press is beginning to echo this strike and they are emphasizing the support shown by wargame influencers and artists to the workers' demands.

Curiously, they are not doing the same with Spanish influencers and artists.

 

Source * In spanish*

[RS1169]

After reading this, I’m happy I took the jump on the P3 kickstarter. Between that, pro acryl, and two thin coats I should be set. Valrak also spoke of GW making a new matte dropper bottle paint range…
 

I do have a handful of the new game color paints from when they were released and I did like them. None are staples in the main rotation and can easily be replaced though. The hobby spray primers are good too. I’ll have to try out color forge now that they’re starting to sell in the US. 

[Redcomet]

18 hours ago, templargdt said:

Two thin coats it is then?

They are very expensive and their bottles are the worst dropper battles by a huge margin. Excellent paint though, mostly. The metallics can be a pita to shake

[phandaal]

1 hour ago, RS1169 said:

After reading this, I’m happy I took the jump on the P3 kickstarter. Between that, pro acryl, and two thin coats I should be set. Valrak also spoke of GW making a new matte dropper bottle paint range…

 

P3 paints do not get enough notice. P3's basic black, for example, will cover just about anything in two coats or less.

 

Vallejo has mostly been a miss for me for years due to poor coverage and consistency, but their Moon Yellow is a good vibrant color.

[Marshal Rohr]

3 hours ago, Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf said:

 

The Spanish press is beginning to echo this strike and they are emphasizing the support shown by wargame influencers and artists to the workers' demands.

Curiously, they are not doing the same with Spanish influencers and artists.

 

Source * In spanish*

Pretty funny a lot of the influencers besides Rob and Lou listed in this article are the same grifters that pushed shoddy paints as an alternative to “stick it to evil games workshop”

[phandaal]

21 minutes ago, Marshal Rohr said:

Pretty funny a lot of the influencers besides Rob and Lou listed in this article are the same grifters that pushed shoddy paints as an alternative to “stick it to evil games workshop”

 

Which of those influencers are you directly quoting there?

[Marshal Rohr]

I’m not directly quoting anyone, but Dungeons & Discourse and Goobertown Hobbies were tangled up in the Speed Paint drama. There’s a lot of “make the best decision for your wallet” people that actually end up hurting new hobbyists with their anti-GW slant. 

Edited December 1, 2024 by Marshal Rohr

[Cenobite Terminator]

I hope the workers get what they need.

[templargdt]

So since I've basically had to leave the hobby, where is the community on paints?  I was a vallejo buyer but now I guess not.  Are GW paints what most people are using these days?  

[Matcap86]

6 minutes ago, templargdt said:

So since I've basically had to leave the hobby, where is the community on paints?  I was a vallejo buyer but now I guess not.  Are GW paints what most people are using these days?  

 

All over the place . There's never been more options for paints than now I think.

 

We have:

Games Workshop

Vallejo

AK

Scale 75

Army painter

Kimera paints

Pro Acryl

MIGs acrylic range

Duncan Rhodes paint range

Cult of Paint's upcoming range 

 

As for what's good... Depends on what you want out of them. Which is a copout answer but still true.

 

[Sky Potato]

The latest AK Gen 3 paints are absolutely phenomenal for what’s it’s worth.

 

If Vallejo do fold, I’ll miss their varnishes and some of their specialty stuff way more than their normal paint.

[DeadFingers]

15 minutes ago, Sky Potato said:

If Vallejo do fold, I’ll miss their varnishes and some of their specialty stuff way more than their normal paint.

Well, if the worst comes to pass there's always the possibility that the talent behind the company goes to work somewhere else or they might even form their own company.

 

Or if neither of those happen, if the last few years have taught me anything by watching the Contrast paints situation, it's that whenever there's something new to offer an alternative to, or a vaccuum in the market, five or six hobby companies will jump on the opportunity like seagulls to a french fry.

[phandaal]

33 minutes ago, Sky Potato said:

If Vallejo do fold, I’ll miss their varnishes and some of their specialty stuff way more than their normal paint.

 

Yeah, the paint would not affect me at all but I would have to switch over to AK's basing products. They will probably work something out with the employees though. Vallejo Acrylics invested quite a bit of money in a new plant due to open this year so they will not be looking to give that up for nothing.

[roryokane]

As a British doctor, and thus a union man myself, full solidarity to the workers! Hope they get their conditions and pay sorted. Really saddening when vulture capitalists descend and ruin things to make a quick buck.

Edited December 1, 2024 by roryokane

[Marshal Rohr]

3 hours ago, templargdt said:

So since I've basically had to leave the hobby, where is the community on paints?  I was a vallejo buyer but now I guess not.  Are GW paints what most people are using these days?  

The state of paint is as it has always been. Games Workshop is the best choice for new hobbyists just starting out but cost an arm and a leg. All the other ranges are varying quality from awesome to less than mediocre, often in the same ranges. Vallejo was a great middle of the road supplementary brand with some wonderful colors and some trash colors pre-capital buyout. 

[Matrindur]

4 hours ago, Sky Potato said:

If Vallejo do fold, I’ll miss their varnishes and some of their specialty stuff way more than their normal paint.

 

Absolutely, all their normal paints I can replace with other ranges but there are three things I can't (at least I don't know with what)

 

One is the texture pastes. While the AK stuff is good too since I am a slow painter I had problems with them drying up in the tub after a year or so while the Vallejo tubs are still going after three years without a problem.

 

The next is the matt spray Varnish. While my last two cans are of noticeably worse quality in that it simply doesn't dry matt anymore but a slight satin finish, which is the reason why I also finally bought AK Ultra Matt, I still use both after each other since the Vallejo Varnish gives a better protection coat than just the AK Ultra Matt. Also while there are other Spray Varnishes out there, I either can't get them easily or they work worse for me. The only ones I can get around here are Vallejo, Army Painter or Citadel. The Army Painter ones kinda change the tone of the colors for me, it gives them a slight white milky tint. And the Citadel one is way more expensive so I haven't tried it yet.

 

The last one would be primers. I like to prime via airbrush instead of spray can for more control and currently Vallejo is the only one with bottled primers around here. I asked my store if they could stock the AK bottled primers so if that happens I guess I could switch to those but at least right now I wouldn't have an alternative

Edited December 2, 2024 by Matrindur

[Evil Eye]

I've heard very good things about the new Army Painter Fanatic range. ProAcryl and Two Thin Coats likewise. I can say from experience Warcolours are very good (I have some of their Nostalgia '88 paints and they're great). Scale75 I honestly don't really get the hype for, I've found it kinda awkward to work with, though their metallics are pretty nice. Citadel is good, if expensive for what it is. Haven't used AK but I'd imagine it'd be fantastic given the general quality of their other products.

[beefeb]

10 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

I've heard very good things about the new Army Painter Fanatic range. ProAcryl and Two Thin Coats likewise. I can say from experience Warcolours are very good (I have some of their Nostalgia '88 paints and they're great). Scale75 I honestly don't really get the hype for, I've found it kinda awkward to work with, though their metallics are pretty nice. Citadel is good, if expensive for what it is. Haven't used AK but I'd imagine it'd be fantastic given the general quality of their other products.

 

For fantasy/scifi stuff Im almost exclusively Army Painter and proacryl currently, with the majority being Army Painter....the new Fanatic range is fantastic, while speedpaint 2.0 are gorgeous to work with.

For historical stuff Ive been increasingly going over to AK 3rd gen...simply gorgeous paints.  I still use Vallejo Model Colour range, but to echo earlier posters, Ive found consistency issues arising, both in the coverage strength of the paint and noteably recently in terms of the actual colour....some of the recent paint purchases have seemed to be totaslly different colours entirely.

Crossing over both fantasy and historical i also use Reaper paints.  These paints have used triad systems longer than GW/et al and they are very nice paints indeed.  Consistency and coverage is excellent.

Two thin coats are very nice, but they are just about the most expensive of all, certainly far outcosting AP, AK or reaper.  I couldnt justify the expense of going over to the whole range, although I do have the Grey Triads and the Silver metallics which are absolutely lovely.

[Stitch5000]

On 11/30/2024 at 6:43 PM, templargdt said:

Two thin coats it is then?

Really it depends on who the supplier is for TTC. It might well be Vallejo themselves. 

[Rusted Boltgun]

38 minutes ago, Stitch5000 said:

Really it depends on who the supplier is for TTC. It might well be Vallejo themselves. 

From the video online, they are made in the UK.

 

MS Paints visits TTC You Tube video