"HELP with Paints" Topic

getting back into the hobby after a 17 year break and I need help in chosing a line of paints..I used to be a profesional painter so I am looking fo a good quality line to start over with. all of mine are mow glass paper weights with somethin that could not be called even vaguely paint still in them…was considering humbrol in acrylics any feed back on them or sugestions

Vallejo are quite good. Miniature Market sell them for $2.45 USD a bottle.

link

Thanks,

John

There are so many great paints now. Vallejo, Reaper, even Games Workshop.

I have quite a few Humbrol acrylics and they are really nice paints. Good coverage with first coat – basic colours are nice and solid. Metallics – I still use enamels.

Also use Coat d'Arms. Again nice paints very happy to use. Larger range than Humbrol, and for me I have to mail order whereas the Humbrol I can buy from the craft shop in town.

I have to mail order..closest hobby shop is 30 miles away in Gainseville…

Given that you have to mail order anyway, I'd recommend Vallejo. That was what I was using before I took a two-year hiatus from the hobby and ended up with the same problem.

If you actually had an FLGS, I'd recommend the new GW paints. My only complaint so far is that you're semi-limited by GW's choice of triads, but the paints themselves are wonderful.

I'd have refreshed my Vallejo, but none of my FLGS's properly restock them, even if they carry them.

I like acrylic, easy to clean and no thinners etc.

Vallejo / army painter / Coat d'arms all worthwhile

Also, if doing medievals, Games workshop do a line called 'foundation' paints (white caps to bottles), which are designed to go on as a single coat and maintain vibrancy. This is useful for whites, yellows and reds, which can often dull if placed over a dark undercoat.

Caliver Books in the UK stocks Vallejo Paints cheap, and are postage free.

Coat d'Arms.

I tend to use Vallejo and Games Worksop for most of my needs.

For horses, grass general purposes you can always fall back on your local craft store like Michaels.

Vallejo, LifeColor and a good selection of 'Craft Paints'.

Regards,

J. P. Kelly

I'm partial to Liquitex. They're formulated for painting in general, but I've been very happy with them.

Reaper Master Series are a good dropper bottle alternative and certainly the quality is there. The HD (base coating) paint line have remarkable coverage even when thinned. Very good price and available in triads if that is your thing.

salut

Foundry triads are also good – as are GW and Vallejo.

HTH.

Reaper Master Series are also good.

Both Vallejo model colors and Reaper master series are easy to get by mail order. Your going to have to experiment with some different brands, but Acrylic are very good in general!

If you are mail-ordering paints, Vallejo and Reaper Master series paints are a good bet. If you paint GW products and want to stay within their realm of color palette, order the GW master paint pack ($300~), which contains all of the base, ink, dry, wash, and layer paints in their system except for the "master series" paints which come in their own ($58) box. If price is an issue, I would recommend the Vallejo over any other set because of the dropper bottle system, the density of pigmentation, and the palette of colors in their ranges. If you go the non-hobby store route, the Golden series of acrylics is a very good start and they have a ton of special mediums to make your painting all the better.

In case you're interested, I stock both Vallejo and Coat d'arms:

link

Mark "Extra Crispy" Severin
ScaleCreep.com
FlagshipGames.com
DeepFriedHappyMice.com

I like the vallejo , Reaper are nice too . Shake the whozits out of them though .

Foundry & Andrea have nice lines as well in Acrylics! DMoody thanks for the Liquitex reminder. I used them when I was a teenager 30 plus years ago. So you know they're good and will be around. Come in a large size for the price as well! Or at least they used to?

Seriously, why not just use the Delta ceram coat craft paints? Haven't tossed one yet, with some 15 years old now. inexpensive, etc. The more expensive paints may be worth it for a few colors (bright red, perhaps), but for the run of the mill colors, I think not. Still I suppose to depends upon your technique and skill as well.

Another vote for Vallejo and Ceramcoat.

I use Vallejo, GW, and P3 paints. I also use Delta ceram coat paints for horses and grass. Just depends what you want to do. If you had to choose one paint, I'd go with Vallejo.

Hi I use 4 types of acrylic paint with the brush
UK based Anita's paints,
Tamiya Acrylics
GW
Humbrol

Anita's are a cheap alternative to GW, Valejo etc, they come in 2 oz bottles for around £1.00 GBP. Great for blocks of colour or for mixing. They are or appear to be water based, so mix with GW and can be thinned with water. They are what I would describe as an entry-level paint, for basic colours like horses, large areas of Uniforms, cloaks etc they are fine. There is probably a U.S. based supplier who does similar stuff.

Tamiya are alcohol based, you can thin with water but it takes work, I tend to use ethanol rather than the isopropyl alcohol, as I have supplies.

GW very expensive, the daft names don't bother me, but they do offend some people. The range changes every now and again and the company staff say that the mix remains the same despite the name change, I remain slightly unconvinced.

Humbrol, I have only just started with their Acrylic paints, used to use their enamels but got fed up with the tubs going hard and having to wash brushes in spirit.

I also use the Army painter spray, they match the GW colours reasonably well, if you are painting mass armies, you could undercoat with the spray then touch up with GW.

You also need to be slightly careful as to which undercoat you use; some acrylics do not sit well on top of GW Chaos Black or Skull white primers. This can lead to paint flaking or an irregular finish as the second layer of paint does not adhere to or bond with the primer.

Try before you invest large quantities of cash.

rabbit

Why not go for artists acrylics?

I bet you wont be far from a Windsor and Newton retailer, and the quality and range will be superb.

I use hobby paints and artist paint almost exculsively. That said the basic model colours of Vallejo are available at hobby lobby. Between those and Liqutex it should cover most if not all of you needs. Mail order Vallejo is available from several sources. Download the PDF of the Game Colours and Master Colours from their website.

VR
James Mattes

thanks for the Liquitex reminder. I used them when I was a teenager 30 plus years ago. So you know they're good and will be around. Come in a large size for the price as well! Or at least they used to?

And now available in spray cans!
liquitex.com/spraypaint

Oils, Grumbacher oils. They're the best.

I have minis I painted in 1970 with Grumbacher oils and the colors are as vibrant, deep, and fresh as the day they were painted. They also take the wear and tear of games exceptionally well. You can also modify the thickness, hue and shade to get the perfet match of color and as deep as you want. I have tubes of paint I bought back in 1970 I'm still using, and it doesn't harden separate, or go bad.

True, it take a longer time to dry, but this is easy to get around by fielding several projects at once and going from one to the other and working systematically.

Used to use GW paints, until the new range came out, so now buy Vallejo. I find both give good coverage, with the Vallejo paints needing a damn good shake to get a uniform pigment. Having said they have an excellent selection, with a wide tonal range to allow subtle shading.

Use GW cans of skull white to prep figures, good coverage and dries quickly.

I'm with OSchmidt.
Oils, Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton with a few specific Talens ones.

Durable, extremely cheap in the long run and an unmatched colour palette.

I use Reaper Master series for fleshtones, Vallejo Model Color for most painting, Vallejo Model AIR for metallics, and Vallejo inks for shading/blacklining.

Another vote for the craft paints. Ceramcoat is a great paint to work with. They now have opaque red, yellow and blue that cover in one coat. Best red on the market.

Oils would of course be superior, but acrylic is still better for whipping out lots-o-figures at a decent to quite excellent standard. I have used artists acrylics myself, which have superior pigmentation to most of the watered-down and over-priced 'paint in a bottle made speshul for miniatures' stuff… The advantage to the small bottles is essentially the quick storage of many pre-mixed colours that you can purchase again in small amounts with exactly the same colour. In the end, skill with the brush and basic design/colour sense will determine the success of the paint job on a miniature. I generally use the cheaper 2oz craft acrylics (watered down slightly) for base colours…'Apple Barrel' has a nice hard finish with enough texture for a top-coat to stick to. Drybrush, highlight, ink-wash, shade, and detail with the small bottles of GW style paint, as they have more pigment/intensity. Buy a small variety of different 'small-bottle' brands until you find the consistency and colour variety that you like best.

I like Vallejo paints as paints, but I don't like their bottles. They come in little squeeze bottles, so you squeeze some out into or onto something and dip your brush in that. The problem is, you either squeeze out too much, and waste some, or don't squeeze out enough and have to squeeze more, which probably wastes even more. Basically, I use acrylics marketed for arts and crafts types (available at Michael's) and only have Vallejo for colors I can't find otherwise.

Used to use GW paints, until the new range came out, so now buy Vallejo.

Wise choice. As much as I was recommending GW, the new dries need to be used quickly, because their shelf life can be measured in weeks. (Ditto on the liquid green stuff, which is too bad, because it's really good when fresh.)

My new collection is currently a mix of GW, Reaper, and Apple Barrel/Folk Art. The Reaper are not as good (in my mind, anyway) as the GW, but they do come in a better color palette.

If its oils you want, then go Alkyd. Lovely rich colour palette and quick drying. Mine dry overnight in a normal room, and my figures still have a great lustre after 25 years.

Vallejo combined with craft paints from Michaels or any other store like that suit my needs. I received a sample set of Vallejo and liked them very much, and they seem to last longer than GW packaging for me (but I haven't bought any GW paint in awhile)…

Well I think I will go with the humbrol acrylics and valleyo .but I sure would like to have a shop close by I could actualy see the paints and have a look at the shades….the craft paints are also a good option as the local Wal Mart has the apple creek ones but I need to find a good selection of winsor-newton inks close..love their inks!!

A combination of Vallejo and GW for me – it all comes down the the color I am looking for really.

I have a GW shop within walking distance of my house, so it is really nice to run over there quickly and pick up what I need and see the colors in person.

Liquitex, Vallejo and craft paint Americana. Ceramcoat has been bought out by Martha Stewart. At least that's what I heard.

If you are near a Hobby Lobby craft store, they typically carry three lines of craft paint. So 100's of bottles of acrylic paints in three huge display stands available at prices ranging from a $1 USD to $1.50 USD.

Americana is a good brand of craft paints.

Got a hobby lobby 60 miles away in St Augustine…and I get over there once a month so I will check them out..Thanks..

Humbrol acrylic – excellent flat coverage, probably my favourites
GW – slightly thin but slight sheen, different effect fdoes eg silks really well. Used to have nice inks but now I use others eg Windsor & Newton, Dr Ph.
Tamiya – somewhere between Humbrol and GW, easier to get now than Humbrol
Vallejo & Liquitex – very thick, have their uses, prefer Liquitex bottles as they last longer,
- Winsor & Newton artists acrylics for base colours, very thick
Sprays – Humbrol, Liquitex, Tamiya are my favourites in that order
I use oils for horses

Used to use GW paints, until the new range came out, so now buy Vallejo.

Wise choice. As much as I was recommending GW, the new dries need to be used quickly, because their shelf life can be measured in weeks. (Ditto on the liquid green stuff, which is too bad, because it's really good when fresh.)

That's why I use Coat D'Arms. They are actually the ORIGINAL Citadel paints, rebadged and sold indeoendently. Highly recommended.

That's why I use Coat D'Arms. They are actually the ORIGINAL Citadel paints, rebadged and sold indeoendently. Highly recommended.

Will keep that in mind, should I decide to order online. Part of the reason why GW and the craft paints take starring role in my collection is that I can go get them when I need them.

By mail? Not as gratifying.

Don't forget to get good brushes. People underestimate the effect a good brush can have on your painting.

Windsor Newtow Series 7, except no substitutes:
link

Xin

I have recently started using Army Painter brand paints for much of my wargame painting. I still have lots of Vallejo, which are also really good. Less often with Coat D'Arms, or Citadel these days.

The Army Painter paints actually match the color of their spray primers which is really nice. I also like white and gray 'Armory' brand primers.

Also, if doing medievals, Games workshop do a line called 'foundation' paints (white caps to bottles), which are designed to go on as a single coat and maintain vibrancy. This is useful for whites, yellows and reds, which can often dull if placed over a dark undercoat.

Foundation paints went the way of the dodo – along with the entire existing paint range – about 8 months ago, the replacements are the Base range though I've heard some say they don't cover as well.

GW very expensive, the daft names don't bother me, but they do offend some people. The range changes every now and again and the company staff say that the mix remains the same despite the name change, I remain slightly unconvinced.

If a staffer says that then he's lying, when the range changed GW were quite open that the new range wasn't an exact match hence the new names – the conversion chart on the GW site (reprinted from WD) includes the caveat that the conversions are near matches not exact duplicats.

I am also a new fan of Army Painter paints (and brushes). Got their Mega Paint set online for a discount. Nice big dropper bottles, excellent washes, and color matched to their sprays so when I flub on a sprayed figure I can easily fix with the bottle paints.