Granular Grass and Vallejo Washes

[Daniele]

Hello everybody, I have a couple of questions and I'm going to ask in a single topic.
The first one is, does anyone know where can I find granular grass, as the one sold once by Games Workshop? Is green scatter by Pendraken good for this?
The second question is about Vallejo washes and inks.
I never used them, so, can anyone give me suggestions about? Which is the difference between washes and inks, how to use them?
Thank you very much
Daniele

[John Cook]

I'm not familiar with granular grass by Games Workshop or anybody else, but if it is a flock-type, very fine, scatter you are after, in contrast to static grass, the Javis material sold by Pendraken will probably work for you.  I use similar fine material from Total System Scenic because it matches their terrain tiles.
As far as washes and inks are concerned, I haven't used inks for a very long time - in the days before people produced washes.  Inks are little more than washes but with a denser pigment.  I used to dilute inks for shading but these days I buy washes for the same purpose.  Vallejo washes are quite dense and I usually dilute them 50/50 for most shading purposes on 10mm figures.

[fsn]

I agree with Mr Cook re the static grass. I use it for everything. I use a mix of 2 part spring, 2 part summer and 1 part autumn, but thats just me.

[sultanbev]

Am not sure why anyone buys specific washes. I just thin down existing brown acrylic paint with water and use that. The shade of brown varies depending on the base colour of the model. A desert sand tank likes an earth brown wash, whereas as a darker green base requires an umber or chocolate brown wash. Brown is better than black as well for washes.

After 45 years painting models I'm still learning. Painting 20mm tanks with camo patterns, I never used washes and drybrushing as it tended to obliterate the camo, making the whole idea pointless. Recently I tried a wash and drybrush over the basic plain colour, eg the German sand yellow, then painted the camo on top afterwards. Comes out a treat. Not sure I can post photos here from a public library computer.

Mark

[steve_holmes_11]

I've noticed a significant difference between washes and some paints.

There are paints, particularly the earthier tones, which we often use to wash, which don't dilute evenly.
I'm not sure whether this is a chemical effect (clumping of pigment) or just bigger granules of pigment.
Where this occurs, washes don't work well.
Instead of picking out figure details, they tend to overlay a pattern of blotches.

I think washes are designed to dilute more evenly.
They may also contain less opaque pigment, so a "dip" doesn't wipe out all the underlying painting effort.

[John Cook]

I've noticed a significant difference between washes and some paints......

You are spot on.  There is a difference between acrylic paints and washes.  In the first place it is pigments that give both their colour.  The pigments are suspended in a carrier, essentially water, in different proportions, and both have a polymer binder which provides a synthetic film.  Washes, however, also have something called a surfactant, which paints do not, and the purpose of this is to reduce surface tension so that the wash settles in folds and crevices and stops it concentrating in the clumps and blotches you mention.  You can make washes from acrylic paints, by thinning them with water, but they don't work as reliably. 

[steve_holmes_11]

You are spot on.  There is a difference between acrylic paints and washes.  In the first place it is pigments that give both their colour.  The pigments are suspended in a carrier, essentially water, in different proportions, and both have a polymer binder which provides a synthetic film.  Washes, however, also have something called a surfactant, which paints do not, and the purpose of this is to reduce surface tension so that the wash settles in folds and crevices and stops it concentrating in the clumps and blotches you mention.  You can make washes from acrylic paints, by thinning them with water, but they don't work as reliably. 

Would a tiny dash of washing up liquid help here?

I'm thinking back to my childhood and bricklayers adding some to their water.

Other fluids are available.
I believe Flash (Klear in the USA) is popular with larger scale vehicle and aircraft modelers.

[John Cook]

Would a tiny dash of washing up liquid help here?

I'm thinking back to my childhood and bricklayers adding some to their water.

Other fluids are available.
I believe Flash (Klear in the USA) is popular with larger scale vehicle and aircraft modelers.

I'm afraid I really don't know.  Give it a go and see what happens is the best advice I can give. 

[steve_holmes_11]

Speaking from very old experience.

Klear/Flash, with a tiny dab of brown or black worked very nicely on 1/600 scale WW2 aircraft.
The pigment sunk into panel / cockpit detail.
It dried a bit shinier than silk-finish paint.

Too shiny for anything organic, even a well brushed horse.


I might give washing up liquid a try on something mostly harmless.
I'm inclined to go for near homeopathic levels of dilution.

[fred.]

As John says you are looking to break the surface tension (hydrogen bonds) of the water. 

It may be you need a layer of matt varnish to finish off the model to dull things down. This can also be useful for giving another layer of protection to the figure. Spray varnish is a good option here for speed - and one of the few times I still use spray cans. And the UK weather is just about getting OK to spray outside again.