Guides

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Counter Notes How Do I Know If My Paint Is the Right Consistency? Weekly column · Lessons from the paint counter at WWH · June 2026 TL;DR Thin your paint. For brush painting with water-based acrylics, water is all you need - no special product required. Aim for the consistency of milk. If your paint is dragging, streaking, or filling in detail, it is too thick. Add water, test on the palette, repeat until it flows cleanly. That is ninety-five …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Counter Notes Paint Compatibility: What You Can Actually Layer Over What Weekly column · Lessons from the paint counter at WWH · May 2026 One of the most persistent pieces of misinformation we hear at the counter goes roughly like this: "You can't put lacquer over enamel" or "you have to stick to one paint type or everything lifts." People have binned half-finished models over this. It deserves a direct answer. The more accurate framing is th …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Paint Types for Scale Modelling: Acrylic, Lacquer & Enamel Compared From a Toronto hobby retailer since 1986 · What the labels actually mean · Updated May 2026 There is a conversation we have at our counter several times a week, and it goes something like this: a customer tells us they use acrylic paints, picks up a bottle of Tamiya, and is surprised when we explain that you can thin it with lacquer thinner. "But it's an a …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Miniature Painting Guide Vallejo vs Citadel (Warhammer Color): Which Paint Is Better? Miniature painting paint comparison · Prices, quality, and value for Canadian hobbyists · Updated April 2026 Vallejo and Citadel are the two most popular acrylic paint ranges for miniature painting. Both are water-based, both work on plastic and resin miniatures, and both are stocked at Wheels & Wings in Toronto. Choosing between them is one of the first …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo True Metallic Metal Complete colour listing · Triadic metallic system for miniature painters A complete metallic painting system in 20 colours True Metallic Metal is Vallejo’s dedicated miniature metallic system using real metal particles in an acrylic medium, producing genuine metallic reflectivity rather than a metallic-looking pigment. Each colour family is built around a themed metallic — silver, gold, copper …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo Metal Color Complete colour listing · High-density metallic acrylics for natural metal finish Purpose-built for natural metal finish Vallejo Metal Color is a dedicated range of high-density metallic acrylics formulated specifically for airbrushing over a black primer base. Unlike regular metallic paints, the ultra-fine metallic particle size is optimised for the fine atomisation of an airbrush, producing a smooth, even metal …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo Xpress Color Complete colour listing · One-coat contrast-style acrylics for fast miniature painting Single-coat painting for miniatures Vallejo Xpress Color is a one-coat paint system designed for fast, high-quality miniature painting. Like Citadel Contrast, the formula uses a special medium that pulls pigment off raised surfaces and into recesses, creating automatic highlights and shadow depth in a single pass over a white …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo Mecha Color Complete colour listing · Water-based acrylics formulated for mecha, sci-fi, and anime-style models Built for Gunpla, sci-fi, and anime-style modelling Vallejo Mecha Color is a dedicated range for mecha, Gunpla, and sci-fi plastic model painting. The formula is optimised for the smooth surfaces and sharp panel lines of injection-moulded kits — flowing evenly over large flat panels without pooling, and layer …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo Game Air Complete colour listing · Pre-thinned water-based acrylics for miniature painting by airbrush Game Color, pre-thinned for the airbrush Vallejo Game Air is the airbrushed version of the Game Color range — the same fantasy-focused pigments pre-thinned to the right consistency for direct use in an airbrush without additional mixing. Every colour in the range is designed for zenithal priming, base coating large ar …

Wheels & Wings Hobbies · Paint Reference Vallejo Model Color Complete colour listing · Water-based acrylics for brush painting The broadest brush-painting range in the Vallejo lineup Vallejo Model Color is the paint range most scale modellers reach for first — and with good reason. Formulated specifically for brush application, the thin, self-levelling consistency lays down flat, even coats straight from the dropper bottle with no dilution required on most surfaces. …