Are these paints water based? Just got the military set and was wondering.

This really should be in the painting forum

you really need to thin them down before using them and don't keep your brush to wet when thinning it down you will get better results . Do a couple of thin coats I won't always cover the first or even the second time so lots of thin coats are better than on thick coat because this will also loose allot of the detail on the figure.

yes they are water based, brilliantly pigmented too. good luck in the using them, and remeber a few thin coats>one thick coat

If you're brush painting, don't be tempted to paint straight out of the bottle. For best results, they need to be thinned. As James said, multiple thin coats are far better than one thick coat.

Brushed straight out of the bottle, it will be thick, lumpy and streaky. Suitably thinned, it's magic.

Thin with their own thinner or distilled water - Vallejo doesn't like to play nice with alcohols. The paint separates into little sticky lumps and is rendered unusable.

Hi

As already stated these are acrylic paints commonly referred to as water based.

As regards thinning and use it depends what set you brought. Two main distinct ranges for us modellers, Model Color and Model Air.

Model Color is for brush application after suitable thinning and can be used for airbrushing, again once suitably thinned. Model Air is sold as a straight from the bottle airbrush paint but can be thinned if needed such as climatic conditions.

With Vallejo if you are buying in the shop itself ensure you note down not only the colour reference of the paint but also the "pos" number. This is the position number in the retail rack and does not relate to the colour. It starts at the top left and works its way thorough. Saves a lot of time squinting at all the bottles to find the right one.

Alan

Vallejo's website actually recommends distilled water. Here in the States, that's about $2 a gallon.