Over the past six years I have seen a few companies realise there own pigments after observing the success of those produced by MIG Productions. Lately there have been more companies such as Vallejo whom have also released their own range. I recently decided to bring some samples of pigments from MIG Productions and Vallejo Products to an independent laboratory for testing to see who was offering the best quality product.

The results and photos obtained are described below. These tests were all performed in an actual laboratory. Anyone reading this article can also take samples of pigments produced by the two companies to any laboratory and they should obtain the same results. We recomend this if you have any doubt.

Test Results

To find the actual differences between the pigments produced by MIG Productions and those from Vallejo Products the following tests were preformed.

• Particle Size
• Dyeing
• Application

I will now explain each of the three different tests and the results obtained.

 

Particle Size

After examining the particle size of the pigments from Mig Productions and Vallejo Products the following results were found. The Pigments from MIG Productions are superior in spreading and tinting abilities due to what is probably additional rolling processes in their manufacture. In the pigments from Vallejo Products excess mineral fillers where detected reducing the intensity, spreading capabilities and cost of the colours. These findings are listed in the graph below.

Dyeing

Samples from four different pigments were studied. Two were taken from Vallejo products and the other two from MIG Productions. Each of the pigments was mixed with an acrylic medium. The mixture consisted of half of an acrylic medium and the other pigments. The mixtures were placed onto glazed laboratory plates and each sample was tested for opacity.

Application

A study of the pigment application using samples from both MIG Productions and Vallejo Products was performed using different mediums. The MIG Productions pigments were easier to mix and contained a better concentration of colour. This is again probably due to additional rolling processes used during manufacture.

Vallejo powders are produced by G.P.P. located in France . They are both the same product containing different labels. G.P.P. mostly focuses on ground effects for railroad dioramas and not for accurate paint effects on scale models such as tanks, planes and other vehicles. The powders manufactured by G.P.P are not refined specialised pigments like the ones produced specifically for modelling by MIG Productions. One cannot obtain the same effects from both of these products. This is the primary reason that the Vallejo powders are so much cheaper.

Only Mig Productions can guarantee you the best results and colours specifically designed for military modelling. Various effects such as earth, mud, rubble, brick dust, rust and fading are based in complex mixes designed by professional modellers. The colours offered have been mixed after carful experimentation on actual models. This is in fact the best way to display the excellent properties of our products.

Use only the best quality products when wanting to avoid potential problems while painting and weathering a model. Quality always has a price and ruining your model is much more expensive.