I've decided I want to attempt to paint some of my ships so I bought a few colors of Vallejo paint from my local hobby store and experimented with a decimator.

I bought black, foundation white, gunmetal grey, flat red, and dark prussian blue.

I've been eying the Vallejo metallic paint set, and non-metallic metal set, but it looks cheaper to buy the colors individually, and I'm not sure which colors are going to be most useful.

The good news: I think I'm learning some things.

The bad news: I don't have nearly enough colors to really get creative yet and, worse, I just tried using blue painters tape to mask off an area I previously painted but when I removed the tape it pulled the paint under it right off with it.

The questions:

What tape does everyone use for masking?

What colors would you recommend as best bang for the buck?

Thanks,

I like it.

Tamiya's masking tape is quite good so I would start with that. However there is always a risk of stripping previously painted areas when using masking tape. I often press the tape against something, usually my pants, to remove some of the adhesive. It is also a good idea to varnish the surrounding area first to give a little bit of extra protection.

As for best bang for the buck in terms of paint, Army Painter's Warpaints range is probably the cheapest per ml/oz and yet is still a good quality product. The only drawback is a limited selection of fairly basic colours but when just starting out that is not a bad thing.

Of course if you decide to stick with Vallejo, rest assured that is a very good product. Vallejo has several ranges, some more suited to wargaming than others, but just about everything is viable. I would however say that Vallejo is slightly more suited to painters with some experience. I highly recommend that you do NOT buy the non-metallic metal set. NMM painting is an advanced technique that requires a good understanding of the basics and preferably several years of experience before you attempt it.

Can't agree more with MacrossVF1, I use Tamiya masking tape for all my masking.

You really can't go wrong with Tamiya masking tape. Some other things to consider would be...

Scotch Painters Tape - It's cheaper than Tamiya, has an adhesive that is similar to Tamiya, but the downsides are that it's not as thin so has more difficulty with getting around fine detail and it doesn't come in the same small sizes as the Tamiya (though you can always cut it to size). Good for larger masking projects.

Liquid Mask - Comes in a variety of brands but the majority of them are just liquid latex. This stuff is particularly good for masking very small areas and irregularly shaped areas. The only real downsides are waiting for it to dry (doesn't take that long), sometimes you pull up a dry layer while applying a nearby wet layer (annoying, but not really an issue), and you can easily forget where you put it because it dries so flat.

As for paints, just get what you like. I've never liked the mindset that you need to shop bargains in painting. Get what works. I use a lot of Vallejo Game Air these days, but I also still really like the Citadel line of paints. The Tantive that I just repainted is primarily Mephiston Red because it's one of my go-to red colors when I want a nice, solid red that covers well.

Followup question.

Have certain whites/greys been identified as best matches for those used on the rebel ships?

Certain blue/greys for the imperial?

...as in, if I wanted to reverse the colors on an A-wing, or change the line pattern on a Y/X/E-wing, I'd like the end result to be somewhat close to the whites/greys on the base models, etc.

honestly that current blue is far too dark for blue-hot engine glow. you need a light sky blue. morning sky. i did mine with an under coat like your color then tons of light blye. looks wonderful

Because they shade many of these models in a wash (thinner paint that spreads out and seeks low areas) you might have trouble accurately color matching the base grays and whites.

Games Workshop makes several grays sold in a lot of game stores.

I decided not to try to match the rebel colors (at least on the X-Wing models) because they look far less articulated than the brighter contrast of the studio models. I wanted a consistent color off the shelf so I could go back and touch up areas with small detailing without worrying about getting my mix right. After looking at some high quality studio model photos, I settled on Ulthuan Gray. It's bright compared to the base color on the X-Wings, but I've been really happy with the results when it is complete.

Edit: Side-by-side photo for color comparison. The Ulthuan Grey looks very white in the image, but it is a very bright grayish/white. The comparison with the unpainted miniature is what I think is interesting. The original looks drab now:

Here is a link to the images I used for repainting and gray color matching:

http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=3295

honestly that current blue is far too dark for blue-hot engine glow. you need a light sky blue. morning sky. i did mine with an under coat like your color then tons of light blye. looks wonderful

I agree. I started with it then slowly added white to the blue on my palette as I added layers to the center of the engine in the picture. One more lighter coat and maybe a final thinned white over top might still be called for.

I decided not to try to match the rebel colors (at least on the X-Wing models) because they look far less articulated than the brighter contrast of the studio models. I wanted a consistent color off the shelf so I could go back and touch up areas with small detailing without worrying about getting my mix right. After looking at some high quality studio model photos, I settled on Ulthuan Gray. It's bright compared to the base color on the X-Wings, but I've been really happy with the results when it is complete. I can post a side-by-side photo if it would help for comparison.

Has anyone used the vallejo metal medium? Is it as awesome as it sounds to me? I was tempted to buy it, too, but held off for now.