So, I've finally decided to give my kits from now on a more life like look to them. I have no clue which products to purchase to chip, rust and streak grime and oil. Even mud for wheels and tracks. I see AK interactive and Mig on Amazon (local shop carries very few AK interactive, Vallejo mostly old stock that hasn't sold and they wont order any new duo to it being "niche") but not sure which to purchase.
I've heard AK and Mig some how have some history such as a prior person used developed some products. Also Vallejo seems to have a lot of chipping, rust and streak products. All 3 companies are out of Spain, is there any other companies in the U.S that make any products? Or are Mig, AK, and Vallejo the three to go to for high end finish products and if so which one of the three would one recommend?

6 of one.half a dozen of the other.Its all about preference and availability.I have some of all these manufacturers in my stash.Mig has been involved in all three companies, now has his own again.So whatever you can get your hands on.

I know Redfroghobbies has good availability on many of these products.So just Google some reviews and pick one

No product is better. To date I have only used the pre-split AK products, and they work well. I do not know for sure if the formulation has changed since.

Whether it be Vallejo, AK, or Ammo, what really matters is how you use them. You can buy these specialty products, or even use your own acrylic paints or enamel paints for the same effect. My personal preference is to use oil paints for streaking.

Your best course of action would be to purchase a product from the different manufacturers and play with them to see what you like

Can't comment on the quality of these specific products as I haven't used the chipping stuff, however, I've been using Vallejo for years on figures and recently got som AMMO and AK products and they work fine.

My bigger issue is you LHS. When I want something that's not on the shelf at my local shop, I check the availability at his distributor, Stevens International. If it's in stock there and I get to the shop on the right day, I can have what I want in a couple days, no shipping and a club discount. This includes single bottles of paint.

Vallejo is carried by MMD, the parent of Squadron, as well as Stevens, the two major US distributors, so your shop should be able to order what you want. If the shop is reticent about getting something that won't sell, offer to prepay. Stevens has both AK and AMMO, but MMD requires an account to see their products. AK's site does not list its distribution network.

I have no experience yet with AK, and limited use of Vallejo weathering colors (favorable). I have used several Life Color sets - check out the reviews here and decide for yourself - and very satisfied with them.

Salt grains or classic cheap hairspray from drugstore. Simple as it gets, i find these two way way better than all the specialised pricey chipping fluids. I tried many of them including the famous AK one which i personally hated tbh. Just google salt chipping method and hairspray chipping method if you are not familiar with those. Especially the salt technique is riddiculously easy to apply, you pretty much cant ruin that and it allows you perfect control of your chipping.

One thing to consider is the media used in the products - either enamel or acrylic - and how the products are intended to be used in the context of your personal style and technique.

Enamel products general give the user some working time to manipulate the results even as the product is drying or setting. However, acrylic products become permanent as soon as the set. They have to be applied exactly creating the results you wish as they are applied. So your personal painting and finishing style and technique are factors in which kinds of products you can get the best results from.

Are you more measured and deliberate and like to take time to "play around" with the effects or are you faster and more "free" with how you weather?

I find that I get better results from AK-I's enamel weathering products than I do from Vallejo's acrylic ones. The enamel products work more like the artist oils that I use for much of my other weathering effects. I don't find acrylic washes and streaking effects products suitable for my personal techniques and style.

I don't use the "paint-release chipping effects" ("hairspray technique") too much, but all of those products seem to be very similar and it would seem that the results are more dependent on practice and familiarity with the particular product you're using rather than on which product that is. I've seen results with ordinary hairspray that were done much better than models chipped with any of the proprietary products, so the skill of the modeler seems to be the most important factor.

The best advice would be to just try one or two different products from different brands to see how they integrate and incorporate into your weathering style, and go from there before you invest heavily into a particular product line only to find out that you simply can't get the desired results with them.

MIG Productions USA at http://www.migproductions-usa.com is having a 20% off discount sales on all their weathering products.

Check them out, they are the original MIG company and have been tried and tested.

Jose