Miniature painters, help me!

[Sandjube]

For any of you who paint miniatures/models, I was basically just wondering...which brand of paints do you primarily use? Basically, I am looking at buying a set of paints from a website I browse because they are having a 20% off sale right now and the few reviews I have read of the brand, 'The Army Painter', seemed good.

They have some giant set and I figure it could put me on the right track since I haven't painted for a while.

So, Escapist army-painters, do you have have a favourite brand of modelling paints? Have you heard of the brand I'm looking at/used it and was it any good? Any advice/discussion welcome.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Citadel Paints are your best bet for metallics, but for the rest, you can get comparable quality stuff at cheaper prices I'm sure.

 

[Sandjube]

Well, one reply is better than none, thanks. Yeah from what I've seen of the brand I was looking at all the reviews said that the metallics were actually one of the best parts, equalling and even surpassing Citadel, interestingly. Still, I do have some citadel paints, so I can just mix and match, I guess. Oh well that's what the palette is for I guess, experimenting with colours and such.

 

[repeating integers]

I just use Citadel for lack of any better knowledge. The ones I use are old and not produced anymore, though.

 

[Sandjube]

I just use Citadel for lack of any better knowledge. The ones I use are old and not produced anymore, though.

Haha yeah I have the same problem, they just released some huge new range didn't they?

 

[repeating integers]

I just use Citadel for lack of any better knowledge. The ones I use are old and not produced anymore, though.

Haha yeah I have the same problem, they just released some huge new range didn't they?

Yeah, I mean the Foundation paints still seem new to me but actually they're now out of date. Also mine are like 3 years old and I just used them recently after not using them in ages, so they're sort of a paste more than a liquid. You can see the brush strokes on my new models.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Apparently Citadel had to change them all (this time) because of some copyright dispute, the people making the paints for them owned the rights to the exact formula, so when they moved to someone else, they had to come up with slightly new stuff.

As opposed to all the otehr times they changed the for the hell of it.

 

[Diplian]

Tamiya and Citadel mostly.

Tamiya needs to be thinned a lot.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I initially bought this:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470005a&prodId=prod1490025a

Because of all the useful things.

However, when I started running out, I just went to my local art store and picked up whatever paint was cheapest. Working fine so far.

 

[Midnight Llamaman]

The current (reasonably new line) of Citadel Paint's is actually really nice compared to the old one, though some people have a problem with slightly different shades compared to the older lines.

As for Army Painter, they're also good - some shades are a bit more muted than the Citadel equivalent, but that's not always a bad thing! Just be prepared to thin them a little more than anticipated.

Apart from those two, you've got Vallejo's range; Model Colour is a more traditional model painters palette of colours which can complement a brighter range, their Game Colour range is basically the bright warhammery version of theirs (and Model Air is their already thinned air brush ready line).

You've also got Reaper Master Series paints (in dropper bottles, good for exacting amounts), Formula P3 which have some really nice colours (coal black) and metallics the other ranges don't (like blighted gold) and if you're after a colour from the late 90's/early 2000's from Citadel a place called Coat d'Arms has all the old shades as they were the prior supplying company!

I'm currently rocking mostly Citadel paints of the last run (and some 90's pots from way back when), with a really nice range of Vallejo Model Colour to complement it and a few Coat d'Arms/P3 pots to fill out my selection.

 

[Sandjube]

I just use Citadel for lack of any better knowledge. The ones I use are old and not produced anymore, though.

Haha yeah I have the same problem, they just released some huge new range didn't they?

Yeah, I mean the Foundation paints still seem new to me but actually they're now out of date. Also mine are like 3 years old and I just used them recently after not using them in ages, so they're sort of a paste more than a liquid. You can see the brush strokes on my new models.

Haha I know that feel, my Elf Prince riding an eagle thing broke his lance today, so I went to fetch some glue only to find that what was left of it (not much, most had evaporated) was just a slightly sticky jelly on the side of the bottle. Yay.

Apparently Citadel had to change them all (this time) because of some copyright dispute, the people making the paints for them owned the rights to the exact formula, so when they moved to someone else, they had to come up with slightly new stuff.

As opposed to all the otehr times they changed the for the hell of it.

They seem to enjoy changing things for no reason.

 

[Sandjube]

The current (reasonably new line) of Citadel Paint's is actually really nice compared to the old one, though some people have a problem with slightly different shades compared to the older lines.

As for Army Painter, they're also good - some shades are a bit more muted than the Citadel equivalent, but that's not always a bad thing! Just be prepared to thin them a little more than anticipated.

Apart from those two, you've got Vallejo's range; Model Colour is a more traditional model painters palette of colours which can complement a brighter range, their Game Colour range is basically the bright warhammery version of theirs (and Model Air is their already thinned air brush ready line).

You've also got Reaper Master Series paints (in dropper bottles, good for exacting amounts), Formula P3 which have some really nice colours (coal black) and metallics the other ranges don't (like blighted gold) and if you're after a colour from the late 90's/early 2000's from Citadel a place called Coat d'Arms has all the old shades as they were the prior supplying company!

I'm currently rocking mostly Citadel paints of the last run (and some 90's pots from way back when), with a really nice range of Vallejo Model Colour to complement it and a few Coat d'Arms/P3 pots to fill out my selection.

Thanks for all the info! I'll keep it in mind when I shade my models.

 

[Midnight Llamaman]

The new range is much bigger (closer to the 90's line), it's brought back darker colours and highlights so there's less mixing and more natural shade progression. Plus the new Technical range (Dry, Base, Shade, Glaze) is really nice. Ceramite White is a godsend if you're trying to paint white over a darker colour.

The only odd ones are Texture, but I guess if you can't be bothered to PVA, Sand/Flock/Model and paint your base it's handy in a pinch.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Apparently Citadel had to change them all (this time) because of some copyright dispute, the people making the paints for them owned the rights to the exact formula, so when they moved to someone else, they had to come up with slightly new stuff.

As opposed to all the otehr times they changed the for the hell of it.

They seem to enjoy changing things for no reason.

Well, bump up sales. "We've rebooted our paint set!". DC is so behind the times...

The one that gets me is changing Dark Angels Green, to a colour that wasn't Dark Green. It's in the name, it is supposed to be dark. More annoyingly, that shade of green was the shade of green that the Dark Angels are (it's in the name!), you don't just change them to the Not Very Dark Angels.

 

[Sandjube]

Apparently Citadel had to change them all (this time) because of some copyright dispute, the people making the paints for them owned the rights to the exact formula, so when they moved to someone else, they had to come up with slightly new stuff.

As opposed to all the otehr times they changed the for the hell of it.

They seem to enjoy changing things for no reason.

Well, bump up sales. "We've rebooted our paint set!". DC is so behind the times...

The one that gets me is changing Dark Angels Green, to a colour that wasn't Dark Green. It's in the name, it is supposed to be dark. More annoyingly, that shade of green was the shade of green that the Dark Angels are (it's in the name!), you don't just change them to the Not Very Dark Angels.

Bad news for people halfway through painting Dark Angels, I guess. Is there still a colour that matches it? Like is it just named differently or is it completely gone?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Bad news for people halfway through painting Dark Angels, I guess. Is there still a colour that matches it? Like is it just named differently or is it completely gone?

Well, this was a little while back, but no, there wasn't, IIRC. Henceforth Dark Angels were retconned as always having moderately drak green armour,

 

[Midnight Llamaman]

Caliban Green isn't too far off, after shading/washing/highlighting you'd have to look quite close. It still irks, though.

(Caliban Green is the same shade as the old Orkhide Shale Foundation paint, which was a tiny bit darker than DA Green was).

Edit: Also DA's green has been pretty constant, the lore flops between a dark but undeniably green green or 'so dark it's almost black unless the sun catches it' green. If you add the bright red gun of the 90's/current edition and highlight it up with a bit of Snot Green (or analogue) you'll have a brightish DA still! Just don't go too far or you'll end up in Salamander territory.

 

[CAPTCHA]

I use P3 Formular, from Privateer Press. While I think it's a matter of personal taste, I find P3 to have a more muted and natural looking tone to them, while Citidel are more vivid and suit a more cartoony style better. The only problem with P3 is that their metalics are very poor quality and watery and their greens (the brighter greens) and blues (almost all of them) are lacking. To put that into context: their are 18 shades of brown/tan but only 4 shades of blue.

Still, they give a nice, earthy and realistic quality to your minitures one you learn how best to use the range.

Spoiler

 

[lunavixen]

I use Citadel Paints, Tamiya Color - Acrylic (thinner paint, good for plastics, avoid the enamel paint, it's a prick to get off the brushes), I also have Vallejo Model Color and Game Color, all of them are good, Tamiya being the thinnest paint and Citadel being the thickest.

Tamiya have a great Acrylic Range here but few in shades (you need to mix to get some colours) staying mostly with the bolder colours, the acrylic is very easy to get off the brushes.

I have both new and old Citadel paints; good thick paints that don't run at all (also easy to clean the brushes).

Model Color is a more muted palette, the shades I have are not very bright, slightly more dull in colour but very good at sticking to the models, closer to traditional colours, doesn't mix that well with other paint brands.

I haven't got a lot of Game Color paints (my favourite is called Azul Magico [magic blue]) but they act in much the same way as the Model Color paints, both come in a dropper bottle and are in between Tamiya and Citadel in thickness.

 

[Sandjube]

Bad news for people halfway through painting Dark Angels, I guess. Is there still a colour that matches it? Like is it just named differently or is it completely gone?

Well, this was a little while back, but no, there wasn't, IIRC. Henceforth Dark Angels were retconned as always having moderately drak green armour,

Heh. Now I'll always think of that chapter as the "Moderately Dark Angels".