Vallejo has been the big name in acrylic paint for over fifty years and they have just announced some big changes and a new line for miniature painters.

Vallejo Game Color // New Branding New Paint

They were developed by their experts together with professional painters and modellers, such as Angel Giraldez. The new Game Color formulation greatly improves the application of the paint. The paint is formulated to spread very smoothly, is more fluid, opaque and contains a high pigment saturation. The range is broken into the main acrylic line, supplemented by metallics, fluorescents, inks, washes, and special FX paints.

Triads for Vallejo

The range has been designed according to the BSL (Base, Shadow, Light) figure paint system, based on chromatically compatible groupings of three colours, which offers the less experienced painters an easy choice of colours (shades) to paint miniatures with the appropriate highlights and shadows for each base colour. I'm not sure how this is going to be implemented for painters as the names and numbers are the same as the current range. Will they be boxed this way or suggested pairings? Time will tell.

Xpress Color // Vallejo

Xpress Color are Vallejo's answer to the question of Contrast paints. Working with another outstanding painter Juan Hildago, they have made a range of matt colours to paint in a fast and easy approach. While they can be used to paint in a fast way they are pushing the ability to blend, layer, and shade with the range as well. Really leaning into exploring more than one quick coat. The matt finish is the most intriguing part for these alternatives.

You can see the full range including the mediums and varnishes as well. I've used Vallejo acrylics for well over twenty years now, the Game Color range always lagged a little behind the Model Color in pigmentation, so much so that they released a Heavy Opaque base set to get better coverage. If they have managed to remove the satin finish and up the pigmentation for coverage while still maintaining the consistency of the colours then I think this has to be a great revamp.

The technical paints and xpress will be interesting to try out, a Contrast variant is pretty much required these days and Juan has been talking about them on his channel he's a huge fan of Contrast and has helped to develop these to work alongside those and at the same time fix some of the issues he has with Contrast for his style of painting. Being able to thin with water is a big change.

Will you be Xpressing your paint range?