Citadel or Reaper\'s Master Series Paint?

[Aria Amberhawk]

In the past, I have exclusively used the Citadel brand of paint for my miniatures, but this time around I\'ve ordered the Master Series paints from Reaper.

Is there any noticable difference between the two brands?

 

[mattsterbenz]

I tried a few of the Master Series, I liked them. They are comparable to GW, but if I recall correctly some of the colors didnt have as much pigment, but it could just be me.

I didn\'t fully invest in them because I am not too fond of eyedropper bottles. But I like being difficult it seems.

-Matt

 

[Jericho]

I really like a lot of the colors available in the Reaper Masters Series, and they are a bit cheaper and come in bigger pots than Citadel. I\'m still not a fan of dropper bottles (just like Matt ).

I haven\'t heard anything about them being much better/worse than average but I do hear that they can be thinned down a lot more readily than Citadel. I guess when you get really watery like 10:1 they hold up better than some other paint ranges. Not sure how many people are affected by that

 

[Aria Amberhawk]

Thanks for the info, guys.

 

[skeeve]

See my Blog in the blog section. Definitely Reaper
http://blog.coolminiornot.com/skeeve/note/371/reaper-master-paints.html#comments

 

[Aria Amberhawk]

Originally posted by skeeve
See my Blog in the blog section. Definitely Reaper
http://blog.coolminiornot.com/skeeve/note/371/reaper-master-paints.html#comments

The triads were what caught my interest, too. My order should be arriving in a day or so... thanks for the info!

 

[DaRat]

The Reaper MSPs are geared towards the layering style. As a result, some of the colors are a bit more transparent than similar colors in other lines (like P3) and may require more than one coat for basecoats.

The browns, skins, and liners are particularly good colors to get.

The Reaper MSPs generally only need 5-15 seconds of shaking to mix.

For base coats, I usually use about 3-4 drops of paint to 1 drop of water.

I do suggest keeping a medium sized safety pin handy. If you get a dropper bottle that is clogged, just plunge the needle into the bottle as far as it will go and pull it out.

 

[Aria Amberhawk]

Originally posted by DaRat
The Reaper MSPs are geared towards the layering style. As a result, some of the colors are a bit more transparent than similar colors in other lines (like P3) and may require more than one coat for basecoats.

The browns, skins, and liners are particularly good colors to get.

The Reaper MSPs generally only need 5-15 seconds of shaking to mix.

For base coats, I usually use about 3-4 drops of paint to 1 drop of water.

I do suggest keeping a medium sized safety pin handy. If you get a dropper bottle that is clogged, just plunge the needle into the bottle as far as it will go and pull it out.

Thank you for the advice... my paints just arrived in the mail, and I was a bit uncertain as to what the initial paint to water ratio should be for my basecoating.

 

[airhead]

I have found that the Reaper MS paints have the most binder of any I\'ve used. This is scientificaly (not) proven when I wash off my tiles that I use for a pallet.

DaRat, I keep a paper clip handy. Open it up a bit an run it in and out.

The only alternates I would consider would be VGC (colors designed to be very similar to Citdel) or the P3\'s (I have not tried these, but keep hearing good things).

I am not a fan of the Citidel line, not because of the paint, but because of the bottles. They are designed for \"paint out of the bottle\" painters.

 

[fieldarchy]

Ok, I\'ll give you my honest opinion, but I am a bit biased since I am a freelancer for Reaper and I have half of the paint set (getting the other half this weekend).

There are 216 colors, all part of triads that include the shadow, midtone and highlight, though you have a wide range to work with and can mix your own colors if needed.

The RMS paints are already formulated with \"gunk\" in it so all you have to do is add a little bit of water to thin it out. you don\'t need to add any more flow improve, retarder, etc to the paint as it\'s already in there. Not to mention Reaper actually cares about their consumer base, so if you have any problems with the paints they will usually work with you to figure out if they need to be replaced at no extra charge.

 

[Aria Amberhawk]

I just used the Reaper paint for the 1st time tonight, and I was extremely pleased with the flow and texture... just a little bit of water and they were good to go. Being a novice, the triad concept is a big help... especially when it comes to picking out the base, highlight and shadow for painting faces.

As a recovering P..t.B. person (\"Paint out of the bottle\" as coined by airhead), I\'ll be using Reaper brand from now on.

 

[TokenArtGuy]

The Reaper Master Series metallics are really nice, I like them a lot better than the P3 versions (and the GW stuff too). The metal flake is very fine and has really good coverage.

I\'m also having better luck with Reaper\'s dropper bottle than with the VGC/VMC droppers. I transfered my P3 colors over to GW pots because I really didn\'t like their droppers.

I have not tried anything other than matallics though.

 

[lizcam]

I adore RMS paints. I have someof almost everything but go back to these for most stuff. I do tend to paint in layers and these just thin so well! No splitting of pigment and for the most part the consistancy is wonderful. If you do end up with a bad bottle they will replace it with no questions asked. I have half the set and have been hinting pretty heavy for the other half for Christmas.

 

[Joek]

Very interested in these paints, but as I live in the UK, would any fellow brits out there know where I can get them from?

Many thanks!

 

[DaRat]

You might go ask on the Reaper Boards. Alternately, given what the exchange rate is, you might consider ordering from one of the mail order houses in the States. Miniature Market and The WarStore are my favorites.

 

[Wombat85]

What sized bottles are the RMS paints? how big are they in comparison to GW. I am looking to start on a new paint as i am sick of GW paints and the bottles.

 

[DaRat]

The Reaper MSP bottles are 1/2 oz or about 15 ml.

 

[meanmuttley]

I\'ve been hearing a lot of good stuff a RMS paints and I can wait to get them next week! I checked on some P3 paints but all the sites I check didn\'t have a pic of the color of the paint, can someone point in the right direction?

 

[DaRat]

Here is a site that not only has color swatches for a great many paint lines, it also allows you to specify a color and it will give you the closest color matches.

 

[Thunderhawker]

If I were forced to choose, I would go with the RMS paints. They have better and more consistent pigmentation than citadel color, with the exception of the foundation line. Also, RMS has brush on primers available with are tremendous. (They smell, but they work great)