introduction

Vallejo Acrylics polyurethane surface primer is now available in new colors for the Imperial Japanese Army in WWII. Kare-kusa-Iro (parched grass) and Tsuchi-Kusa Iro (earth green) have now been released in both 17ml and 60ml bottles.

The acrylic-polyurethane primers are designed to be applied as a base coat under the main color. This color matching allows the final coat to appear richer in appearance, and blend in if a spot was missed in painting.

the primers

I received two sample bottles of the acrylic-polyurethane primer, the kare-kusa-iro, (70-610) in the 17ml dropper bottle, and the tsuchi-kusa-iro in a 60ml flip top bottle. Both bottles are very nice as they allow drop by drop dispensing in a very clean manner. There is a bit of paint that will build up around the applicator tip that can easily be wiped off.

My first test of the primers was a brush application, which went on a plastic milk jug. I figured the milk jug would allow me to clearly see the opacity of the primers. For this application I also used the acrylic-polyurethane gray primer. I have used this previously and know that it applies easily and provides a good, adhering base for top coats. It is ideal as a base for lighter colors. I applied the primer with a cheap brush (all I could find at the moment) which resulted in some brush strokes, but the primer went on easily. The coat was somewhat transparent on the milk jug, but adhesion was good. Brush clean- up was with water.

As I looked at the milk carton I remember that I had some small plastic cups that I use for mixing paints and pastels. I took two of these and applied a primer coat of each color by air brush. I use a Paasche H model single action, and I am very new to airbrushing. The primer was applied straight from the bottle, without thinning. Both primers went on easily and provided a good base coat. There was some slight mottling in the appearance but I suspect that was more a user issue than a product issue. There was absolutely no odor present when spraying, a major bonus in a household full of allergies and asthmatics.

I cleaned the air brush by spraying windex window cleaner through, followed by water.

The primers, like the paints, are very durable when fully cured. The curing process may take some time, up to a week or two depending on temperature and humidity levels, but will become very hard and durable. I did test the tsuchi-kusa-iro (earth green) as a primer coat under US interior green and found it worked quite well. I have had no issues so far using Tamiya, Testors and Poly Scale acrylics over the Vallejo primers.

I did note in James Bella’s review of the Vallejo primers here:

Vallejo Primers

that there was some slight difference in shade between the primer and paint products. I don’t have the matching Vallejo paints to compare to but suspect that there will be a slight color difference here as well. The fact that Vallejo has produced good quality, accurate paints and now primers for IJA armor subjects is a major bonus to modelers of those subjects.

conclusion

I found that the Vallejo acrylic-polyurethane surface primers are easy to dispense, easy to apply, provide a good primer base coat as a foundation for model painting, were odor free and easy to clean up. I thought it a very good product to use for a novice at air brushing, like me.
Vallejo acrylic-polyurethane primers have a MSRP of $4.50 US for the 17ml bottle and $8.00 US for the 60ml bottle. Online prices were generally lower than this, excluding shipping.