Greetings people!

Wow it sure has been a few really screwed up weeks with a hell of a lot to do both in terms of school and other things happening (work, Music, etc) BUT FINALLY i have managed to find some time to do another review of the Washes!!

Firstly before i go into the details about this review i just want to let people know and highlight that almost every single person i know does their washing differently so do keep this in mind when you use washes or make your own. It is extremely important for you to understand that what might turn out your way for you might vary alot from another individual. 

NOW something else i need to say is that there are many ways to prep your models before washing, and all of these also play a huge part in the outcome of the model and how it looks so keep that in mind!!! Some people jsut wash the whole thing in one specific color like black or brown or whatever color. Some people use different color washes for different areas or only use a certain wash for certain colors. Some people varnish before washing to make sure they minimize surface tension and making sure the wash flows well (the vallejo varnishes are great if you are working with Vallejo washes). I myself have a weird way of working with washes that many people are not very used to. I have seen it happen a few times but i must admit i am one of the only people i know that regularly does this. But what i do is that i paint a base color, then i wash it, and then i paint on top of this. Reason i do this is because it gives a very nice and subtle change and blend when it comes to shading. Therefore if you ever have the time give it a try!!! 


Finally on to the actual review of the vallejo washes hahahaha.



OK, so basically the vallejo washes are great. I could be an idiot and leave it at that and say nothing more but ofcourse that wouldnt be fair to you all taking the tiem to read this looooooong and tedious article. Back to the point, the washes are great. They have an extremely interesting range of colors and what i really like about them is that they have very natural colors. The natural colors gives a hell of a lot of different ways you can combine colors with washes and get different effects based on what you are looking for. So this is definitly something that people should look into. However there are not really any funky funky colours like purple or blue and stuff. But honestly, i feel that if you are washing over a color like blue you dont need blue but rather a black or grey shade.      *note* all of the washes reviewed here are done on a test model that has simply been primed white. NO VARNISHING OR ANYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN DONE. HOWEVER IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WHEN WORKIGN WITH THESE WASHES


Which brings me to my next point. Vallejo actually has a few colors which are very unique. They have a GREY wash. This grey wash is outstanding. It is used like any other wash but instead of giving clear and deep dark lines at shading areas it gives a more subtle variation between colors and can help to eliminate the unnatural look. Because honestly, if you are spending alot of time and not to mention money on your models you want them to look as bad ass and natural as possible when you are done right????!!!! so do look into using grey as an alternative. Will give more details on the black later.
But here you see what the grey looks like. Take note at how nice and sublte it highlights all the details. 



Now for the next one we have another color which may not be common to see in washes but is honestly very highly appreciated. Dark yellow. Just look at that wonderful deep and rich color. Keep in mind that this is jsut one layer of the wash. And yo usee how deep and rich the color is. This dark yellow wash can be used for MANY things. Primarily ofcourse washing yellow. Yellow is a ridiculously tedious colour to paint where you need like 1245823948750916427 thin layers of yellow for it to actually look yellow, but this wash helps alot. To start with you can use it over a nice and flat white base color and just wash this and you will see the details beneath. if you want it darker ofcourse jsut wash it again. Its that easy. Another great use of thsi wash is if you are working with OSL lighting from a fire or open flame for example. Ofcourse you can go through the process of manually painting hte glow on flesh or wherever you need the shine but if you are painting a flesh tone that is getting hit by a flame this wash can help you a lot. as you can see it gives of a nice warm yellow which fits perfectly with OSL lighting and you can easily use this to add nice gradients of lighting. However if you are doing this i recommend you thin it down. This gives you mroe control over how strong you want the color as the closer it is to the light source the stronger the light will be ofcourse.
Other than that it can actually be used in combination with other washes(or jsut this one alone) on Vallejos lighter colored textures like their white pumice. It can give a very nice sandish type of color (if you want this shade of course) and once you have washed the pumice once its pretty much good to go. There wont be any need to paint or anything. VOILA, DARK YELLOW FTW PEOPLE!!!

By the way two different pictures under different shades of lighting to show the depth of the color



Next up is Dark Khaki Green. This color is absolutely beautiful. It flows very very well which means that most of the time the shading will fall exactly where you want it when using this color. This color is also great for a wholerange of uses. It works on many many colors and it really helps to get a gorgeous sense of depth when you use it to wash. This wash as it doesnt discolor very much is very easy to clean up as well. it works very well for khaki base colors (DUUUHHH) like pants and khaki uniforms and also great for painting camo as it has a very nice earthy color to it that also replicates the color of sand alot. The greenish tint that it has is also a very nice addition as it gives you a very big difference from a brown wash that. The green is also a very natural green as well that perfectly suits camo type of colors and also gives a very subtle and somehow at the same time strong contrast from regular brown washes. 



Again we have another brownish shade and this time its European Dust. This european dust wash gives a very rich and deep brown wash. Its not dark in anyway but its strong. Also if you compare it to the above wash, you can see that this one clearly has a colder feel to it whereby the Dark Khaki Green wash has a warmer feel where it is redder. This wash is one of the best all round washes vallejo has to offer along with the Light Grey wash that they have. You can use this brown on almost any type of base color and it will always give a wondrful color. It doesnt add too much tinting to a the base color but rather it gives a nice outline on the details (kinda like a not so harsh version of blacklining of details) It gives really nice depth to the washed area and thru this really makes alot of the details POP alot. Perfect for almost anything.


The Brown wash has many similar characteristics as te European Dust Wash. This is one of those wonderful washes that you can use on almost anything and it will do nothing but make them look better. It has a beautiful tone to it and gives you alot of room to play around espcially with the other brown shades from the Vallejo washes range. 

Now here comes a vey important wash for everybody. BLACK. Black wash is honestly one of the best washes they have. I love using it on metallic areas especially if they are machine related coz it gives of a really nice and gritty dirty metal type of texture that has gone through a fair amount of oil and soot and what not when it comes to all this type of stuff. The black wash is also perfect do doing panel lining as it flows perfectly on a proper base and also it gives a wonderful finished effect. It is also perfect to drybrush over especially if you are woking with metallics as it gives a very nice and natural change in the colors when combined with drybrushing. The black wash is also perfect dark base colors like coats or maybe a dark armor color. It really gives cery nice natural shading and it really helps to give a really strong POP around details, so this helps you and makes your life much easier as you dont have to worry about spending so much time on making details not look so flat. Also bear in mind that when painting with the black color it looks much darker when its still wet. So be careful when you paint with this color. Once the color dries it will stil lbe dark, but nowhere near as dark as when its wet. So be patient when painting with this color and work in a smart way. Dont overload or underwash or whatever. Just learn the feel of the wash before you start fully working with it. EXPERIMENT!!! Its always fun and it always gives you great inspiration!!



This Beautiful color is Vallejos Light rust wash. It is magnificent. Personally i have used this for ALOT of different thigns ranging from flames, to red armour and also rust (which i presume it is for). This color functions very much like the Dark Yellow wash earlier shown, as it really helps to amplify the desired color and it gives an intense and deep final product that will bring you close to a visual orgasm. this wash also works great if you mix it with some of the earlier washes such as the brown wash if you are not looking for such a strong orange tint to the wash. It is very very friendly to work with and it gives wonderful results. It works Much better as rust than i thought it would but for this specific color make sure you paint in many thin layers if you want a deeper color. Partially because this stops pooling from happening and it also lets you determine what stage of rusting the model is in. Also it gives you a much greater control of the finished piece. This wash really gives you a chance to let the creative juices flow. You can use it for so many things and it only helps you (all you need to do is let it help you hahahaha) I am sure that the uses i have used it for is not even half of what its potential is. Not only can you use it on models but same like the earlier examples it works wodnerfully with the Vallejo textures if you are going for a dark red/ martian type of terrain themed base. If i could explain this wash in one word all i can say is WONDERFUL


Last but absolutly not least is the Oiled Earth Wash. This wash works alot like the European except this one has a slightly blackish tint to it. Fortunatly this cane only really be seen alot in the deepest recesses. Therefore this will be a small paragraph as most of the things that can be said about this wash apply similarly to their Brown wash and also their European earth. Kind of like a cross over between the two with a little bit of grey wash as well. It is a great color, but use it carefully and find out where you like it and how you choose to work with it.


As a little conclusion to this article i jsut want to say that i realyl applaud Vallejo for their washes. They are truly amazing. They work with everything and they have such a huge variety of washes (some of which i didnt even include) that are perfect for pretty much anything!!! Just the different shades of brown alone are fantastic and it lets you get more out of your painting! This allows you to use all your knowledge and improve your skills as a painter by constantly figuring out new nice color combinations and also washing in different ways to achieve different outcomes. Their washes are Truly great. I HIGHLY recommend these as i have pretty much changed all my previous washes and am almost solely using these at the moment and i am not complaining at all. However i did mention this in one of the earlier reviews, that make sure you shake them really well before you use them!!! sometimes the pigment collects at the bottom if you dont use them for a while ;)

Take care folks!!! If you need any tips or advice do feel free to message me on our FB page and also there are plenty more examples over there of the Vallejo washes used!!!