What Paints to use???

[pokerface]

Hello everyone,
I\'m new to both painting and wargaming. I am about to start painting with the purpose of increasing my skill and hopefully go for golden demon in a few years. I intend to use this site as a valuable resource for displaying my models and recieving help with my painting.

I was wondering what paint brands would be best for the goal I have. I plan to buy a large set of whatever paints I choose so please recommend what paint brand would be best.

Also, for anybody recommending Vallejo paints, could you please tell me what the difference between valleo model and vallejo game paints are and which set would be better?

Thanks

[obsidianpainting]

Well there are lots of paints to use.. I mainly use GW paints.

The difference between Vallejo model and Game colour paints are that the model colour paints are less durable. and the game colour paints are more durable. Also the model colour paints are less saturated with colour, (not as bright) and the game colour are brighter, kinda like the GW equivalents.

Reaper makes some good paints, As does Privateer press P3, Coat d\'arms is like the old gw paints.. there are lots. I recommend GW.


Also, Welcome!

[GreenOne]

Welcome to the hobby and the forums.

I use Vallejo game colors, the set is designed to match the colors in the GW range. Vallejo model color is a much larger range (170+ colors). I think the game color are also designed to be more durable and resist to chipping better for gaming purposes, that\'s what written on the box anyway. I love my VGC and am really happy with them, but many people recommend the GW brand. For a whole set (72$) it\'ll cost you about 100$ more for GW though.
If you get either, you\'ll want to complement with other brands/colors with time, especially for more realistic and darker colors; but a 72 color set is a good starting point.

Though I\'m sure you\'ll get answers here too, you can also make a quick search in the forums for the many, many thread about paints there are.

[airhead]

What color shirt should I wear?

Sorry, but that is a VERY subjective question with lots of VERY subjective answers.

I\'ve used:
GW (hate the packaging=paints are ok)
VGC (looks like GW, but only in better bottles)
RMS (bottles like Vellajo, but in triads so I don\'t have to make special colors for shading and highlighting.)
Apple barrel (some can get good results - not me, I find them ok for terrain).
Artist acrylics (tube paints) (very general statement here... they take a LOT of reduction (thinning) to get them usable for minis - some cannot stand being reduced that much some are very good at it.)

I\'ve not used: (not for any bad reasons, just I have not found any reasonable and reliable distributors).
P3
VMC


Try some blues, reds fleshes and greens of several lines of paint. You may find you like Brand A\'s reds and Brand B\'s blues....

[pokerface]

Thank you all for the supplies so far and thaks for the welcomes.

I\'ve been looking at some of the brands that have been mentioned here and the sets they offer.

I have one question that I forgot to ask in my original post. Did something happen to the new GW mega paint set? I was interested in buying the one that comes with all of the paints, washes, foundation paints, basing material, paint brushes, and case, but on the GW site it says that the product is unavailable and none of the online retailers I checked have it for sale.

Thanks

[Backstabbeth]

hmmm, that is peculiar. I have one but i bought it before all those foundation and washes came out so mine doesnt include those. Im not sure why its no longer available. its a great set (though too expensive)

[Joek]

I have an awful tendancy to buy paints from all over. The slightly dodgy justification is that \'I like the pretty colours\' ;)

I\'ve just made an order for a load more of Coat D\'arms paints to go with the countless GW, P3 and VMC ones I have already. And I know they\'ll not get much use...

On a serious point, there are certain paints from all the above makes that I find myself using again and again. GW metals are still great, and their washes I find invaluable.

Vallejo Model Colours have the most fantastic greys and blues

And I find P3 have some great fleshy tones.

What can I say, I find it comforting to have lots of paint-pots staring at me whilst I paint ;)

[GreenOne]

Originally posted by pokerface

I have one question that I forgot to ask in my original post. Did something happen to the new GW mega paint set? I was interested in buying the one that comes with all of the paints, washes, foundation paints, basing material, paint brushes, and case, but on the GW site it says that the product is unavailable and none of the online retailers I checked have it for sale.
Thanks

While that kit seems like a good deal at first... if you break down the kit into items you\'ll find you\'re not saving money... In fact they charge way more for the brushes than they\'re worth and the other things as well... kind of a rip-off imo.

[obsidianpainting]

From what i see, it is on their website(the mega paint set) And if you have a hard time finding it then i don\'t know why that is... :( However, im going to, hopefully, be opening an online store(to eventually become a retail store) and i can sell gw stuff really cheap.. i think instead of 250 for the paint set i can sell it for like.. 200.. i think.. close to their. but the store won\'t be up for a while.. soo... maybe a month or so..

[mattsterbenz]

Originally posted by pokerface
Thank you all for the supplies so far and thaks for the welcomes.

I\'ve been looking at some of the brands that have been mentioned here and the sets they offer.

I have one question that I forgot to ask in my original post. Did something happen to the new GW mega paint set? I was interested in buying the one that comes with all of the paints, washes, foundation paints, basing material, paint brushes, and case, but on the GW site it says that the product is unavailable and none of the online retailers I checked have it for sale.

Thanks

My local game store still carries it and reorders it whenever they sell out. I don\'t think it\'s been discontinued. Try checking a retailer nearby if you can. If it has been discontinued, there\'s probably a store or two near you that has one. But I\'m sure that\'s not the case.

The set itself is an OK deal. The case that it comes in is nice, and you end up saving a little bit of money. This kit is only really worth it if you plan on using everything that comes in it and if you need all of the colors. If you aren\'t interested in getting the whole range of paint, I would buy what you need separately.

-Matt

[froggybutt]

I have used Reaper, P3, and Game Color brand paints. So far i don\'t have any complaints about the P3 or Game Color paints (still using them)

Reaper paints are what I started with. I find that they have really crappy bottle. lets in too much. after six months or so of painting with my Reaper paint set almost half of my paints had dried out and become nasty squishy blobs...very disapointing. until that happened I really enjoyed using them though.

[Crayfish]

What you should do, is to try as many brands as possible, But for starters GW and vallejo is fine, they are easy to get and they have a good range of colors. Then you can if you like try some p3 andrea reaper coat d arms and the other stuffs, but i think one can get by in the miniature world with just vallejo and gw.

Despite the gw hating everyone seems to have i like their some of their colors. I mean where would the world be without Bleached bone...
:rolleyes:

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Crayfish
I mean where would the world be without Bleached bone...
:rolleyes:

Using Vallejo Model Colours Pale Sand, Beige and Ivory. ;)

To be honest there is No One Size Fits All in terms of paints. I have Reaper, GW, Rackham, But mostly Vallejo Model Colour, which I prefer above all others.
GW\'s Browns are very handly and I still resort back to using them, GW Foundation paints are surprisingly very good and have been a boon in a lot of situations.
But Vallejo Model colours are to me the better paints, Ok they do need to be shaken like a lunatic, but the dropper bottle means that I use far less paint and lose far less paint via drying out in comparison to GW.

[Avelorn]

All personal opinion of course:

I use GW\'s all the time! Their regular paint have a very consistent high quality and is easy to blend. There are some difficult colours but that\'s true for every other brand as well. So GW\'s definitely shares the first place with Vallejo Model Colour as my favourite brand. P3 paints and GW Foundation comes somewhere below. They have very different uses though but foundation paint is not always consistent over different batches. Very annoying... and they taste awful! lol Merchrite red is a nightmare. My issue with the P3\'s is the satin finish, but mixed into other paints they work great. I will try to use more P3 just to test them out better. I use Rackham paint as an additive to other paints to make them dead flat and for bases. By themselves they give a texture that can be used for effects but it\'s most often just a hassle. I don\'t really like most of the game colour paints and reaper master series. Game colour is difficult to blend by eye as many colours dry significantly darker then they are wet. Reaper Masters have some lovely colours but the ones I\'ve tried gives a weird finish and are difficult for me to blend. I\'ve tried mainly browns and almost messed up Dalamyrs coat last year.. I had to revert back to vallejo and GW.

[SJB]

I almost exclusively use GW paints. Regular, foundations and washes. They\'re good quality, thin nicely and are fairly matt. Plus, I see what the eavy metallers can do with them and it reinforces that, yes, you can get the bleeding edge results with them...

I occasionally use the odd colour from elsewhere. Bit of P3 or Vallejo Game Colour but it\'s a rarity. P3s I just don\'t like the satin finish. Can\'t see what I\'m doing as well. They work nicely if you\'re working extremely thinned over white but I usually layer over black.

So, it\'s GW for me.

[COG]

someone said that GW are the easiest to get started with as most of the TUTs out there use them to explain recipes.
If you look at the VGC paints almost all match GW paint lines name for name and the dripper bottles are very easy to use when mixing and thinning.
TBH i myself use whatever color catches my eye. i must say that GW washes are a must and easy peazy to use.

[Ritual]

Vallejo Model Colors are the ones I use most frequently. I like the range of colours, the pigment-rich consistency of the paint, the bottles and the finish of the paints once dry. They handle thinning very well (better than most paints I\'ve tried) due to the amount of pigment in the paint. They work very well with how I paint, in general.

I also like P3, and the satin finish isn\'t too much of a problem for me. I mostly mix colours, and seldom use paint straight from the pot. Just a small amount of Model Color in the mix, and the paint dries flat. If you\'re using only P3 paints a drop of matte medium will sort things out. The paints have a very nice consistency, and a very nice selection of colours.

I generally dislike Citadel (GW). The paints thicken very quickly and dry out inside the pots. So, they change their consistency over time, and generally dry out completely with quite a lot of paint still in the pot. I know you can work around this, but with other paints I don\'t have to, and with the price tag that comes with Citadel paints I really think they should be better. I also remember having lots of smaller niggles with plenty of the paints. I do like the metallics and the washes. But, for regular paints I find better paints and more value for money elsewhere. Model Colors, for instance are considerably cheaper and you get more paint in the pot. I don\'t like the Foundation paints much.

Vallejo Model Air is a nice range. These are very thin and have very fine pigments. The metallics are really nice. Some of the other paints can also be useful for glazing or washing.

I\'m not particularly fond of Vallejo Game Colors. They are thinner than Vallejo Model Color and have weaker pigmentation. Strange things can happen with some colours as you thin them, and like Avelorn mentioned, some paints change when they dry. I like a few select paints, but generally, I dislike the range.

There\'s a handful of ranges I haven\'t tried... Rackham (heard mostly bad things about them), Reaper Masters (have heard mixed things about them, both raving and ranting...), Coat d\'Arms (basically the old Citadel paints, that DIDN\'T dry out in the pots), etc.

But, this illustrates how individual this matter is. You need to try things out for yourself and see what you prefer. I advice against buying a big set of paints. It is better to build your paint collection more slowly and see what paints you need and which brands you prefer. A big set of paints will definitely contain several paints you will never use. And, if you have that big set you will be more reluctant to try other brands and might miss something that will help you.

[Einion]

Jo Sonja! As good or better than all hobby paints and waaaaay cheaper than anything mentioned so far :D

Einion

[DaRat]

Originally posted by froggybutt
Reaper paints are what I started with. I find that they have really crappy bottle. lets in too much. after six months or so of painting with my Reaper paint set almost half of my paints had dried out and become nasty squishy blobs...very disapointing.

Odd: I\'ve had most of my Reaper Master Series Paints for over 4 years, and I\'ve never had any problems with paints being dried out.

I mostly use the Reaper MSPs because they suit my style, but I also like the Reaper Pro Paints (transferred to dropper bottles), Derivan MiNiS, and some GW.

[airhead]

Originally posted by DaRat

Originally posted by froggybutt
Reaper paints are what I started with. I find that they have really crappy bottle. lets in too much. after six months or so of painting with my Reaper paint set almost half of my paints had dried out and become nasty squishy blobs...very disapointing.

Odd: I\'ve had most of my Reaper Master Series Paints for over 4 years, and I\'ve never had any problems with paints being dried out.

I mostly use the Reaper MSPs because they suit my style, but I also like the Reaper Pro Paints (transferred to dropper bottles), Derivan MiNiS, and some GW.

@froggybutt - were they RMS paints (dropper bottles) or the older Pro-Paints line?