"Derivan Minis Paints" Topic

Hello

Sometime back I bought a batch of the new Derivan Minis paints. These paints are made in Australia by Matisse, are described as copolymer acrylics, and are light fast.

They come in 36 ml bottles and work out very, very cost effective when compared with Vallejo and GW.

Having now painted with this for a while I would like to make the following observations:

1. The dispensing system is the best I have used. The bottles are of the type, "twist the nozzle and push". This gives very good control for dispensing, and provides an air tight seal. No problems so far with blockages. Dispensers are important for me as I like to paint using a base color, which I get shading from adding a darker colour (normally black) or lighter colour (normally white). In this regard, Derivan paints are superior to both vallejo and GW.

2. Dark black - this is simply the darkest and most matt black I have ever used. Derivan wins hands down.

3. Finish - the Derivans dry very, very matt. They have that almost powdery, weathered look which I am a big fan of. By contrast, I find the Vallejo to tend to dry a little glossy, particularly if the paint hasn't been mixed well (which can be a problem with Vallejo). GW sometimes look a little like a plastic coating. So, again, IMHO Derivan wins big.

4. Range - the Derivan paints have the smallest range but it is more than adequate (and I hope growing), especially if you mix. The names are also useful e.g.,spear brown, confederate grey etc. I find the GW colours to be less useful to me, as I am an historical gamer, and find too many of the colours to be bright and garrish. Vallejo are the winners here.

5. Coverage - GW do this very well, going on like silk. Vallejo I find I need to "put on" the figure - if that makes any sense. Derivan are most like the GW.

6. Value - Derivan win easily.

So, I'm hooked. If you want matt finishes, great vivid colours, easy dispensing and paints that are a pleasure to work with, then I suggest you give Derivan paints a go.

Murray

More very positive feedback. Good on you Murray. They are a fantastic quality and value for money product and probably one of the best things that has happened in the miniatures paint market for some time and I know the good people at Derivan are looking seriously at expanding the available colours in the future.

If anyone is interested in trying them out they are available through my miniatures website. users.bigpond.com/markfenlon

Mark

Rather than make a new thread discussing the same thing, I'm going to revive this one.

I recently received an order of Derivan MiNiS from fozzbozz.com (great service and quick shipping by the way) and the following are my thoughts after a quick test session last night:

The pigments are very good and cooperate well with the binder. When dilluting with water, the pigmentation stays consistently distributed throughout.

The colors mix easily and well together. This at least is one advantage over Vallejo Game Color (my other paints of choice). The Vallejo's take considerably more effort to mix evenly.

The Derivan MiNiS dry ultra matte. As phovsho said. I have not tested their durability extensively, but they seem to be no less durable than Vallejo Game Color paints (which are quite durable in my opinion).

The dropper tops are a plus with Derivan MiNiS in that you never have to actually remove a cap. Turn the top right or left to open or close. So this cuts down on putting a cap away and putting it back on (it also means that paint cannot collect inside a cap, which often happens with my Vallejo Game Colors).

Since the pigment seems very evenly distributed within the binder, they don't require nearly as much shaking as Vallejo paints before use. In fact, my paints arrived very mixed in the bottles. I could not see any separation in the bottles when they arrived, nor after many hours of sitting on the shelf.

The metals seem so far to be on par with GW's and Vallejo's Game Color line. I have not tested these extensively, but I did try thinning them and applying them over black.

Coverage is in my opinion 'just right'. They are very good for doing multiple layers of semi-transparent shades and highlights.

They cover well without being dilluted, about as well as Vallejo Game Color or GW, but since they thin more consistently and the pigment is so fine, they layer better.

Drying time seems to be on par with most acrylic miniatures paints.

So far I'm very impressed. For the price per ounce, Derivan MiNiS are a solid deal and I would encourage any painters who like to explore their options to pick up at least the primary colors to try them out.

I expect to receive some of Reaper's new Master Series paints within the coming weeks and will post a review of them and compare.