Paint Comparison

[fieldarchy]

Ok, so I pretty much have painted 90% of my minis using Reaper Master Series paints. When they work well they work really well. However, when there is a problem with a color the project you were working on just goes to hell in a handbasket. So, after having five of my browns turn out to be no good this weekend I stopped by the GW store here in Grapevine, picked up a couple of colors and played around with them.

What I noticed is that I could get a finer point on my brush which mean thinner lines of paint being able to be applied. Also, it went on really smooth and buttery. The blends are just awesome! A blend that would take time to accomplish with the RMS line took only a couple of minute to get looking perfect with the GW paints. I\'m kinda rethinking my paints now.

So, I wanted to just see what the majority of people use. What paints do y\'all prefer to use on a regular basis? Why do you like one line over another?

 

[Shadzar]

i guess i can be called a GW fanboy. i use primarily GW paints, with some added Walmart paints for tings i need mass coverage on.

Apple Barrel Forest/Hunter Green vs Dark Angels Green.

but in ym defense i did buy a dispaly rack from a going out of business sale on eBay where i got my paints for less than $1 per pot for about 400 of then...so i need to use these first before trying anythign else. lol

i also use testors acryllics.

but i don\'t have the techniques or skills many other here have so i may be using prodcuts that don\'t give the better results because i am unable to produce those results anyway.

 

[Dragonsreach]

I use Vallejo 90% of the time, GW, Foundry, Coat D\'arms, Reaper MS, Windsor & Newton Artists Acrylics and or what ever suits the purpose of the figure I\'m painting.
It\'s a mix & match but all the model paints mix together without any problem.
At the moment I\'m really liking the Vallejo Air Brush Range as they are finer pigment and smoother than both standard Vallejo & GW paints.

I don\'t think it neccessary to limit yourself to one range / brand of paints hence the great range I\'ve ended up with.

 

[fieldarchy]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

I don\'t think it neccessary to limit yourself to one range / brand of paints hence the great range I\'ve ended up with.

Oh yeah I totally agree. I use Vallejo Silver because it\'s one of the best brightest silvers around, I use Renaissance Inks Gold because again it\'s the best and brightest shiniest gold out there that I\'ve found. It\'s just that I have the entire RMS line (got it in exchange for some pieces I painted) and have just stuck with that since it\'s a ton of paint. But I know other painters who swear by other brands.

So I\'m wanting to know what the MAIN PREFERENCE is for artists on here. Which lines do you like over others and why.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Ok preferences:
GW for Mid tone Reds,
Vallejo Model Colour for natural tones, Sand Brown is a very close match to my own skin colour hence my preference for it .
Foundry for naturalistic browns,
Coat D\'Arms for lots of reasons Colour specific mostly.
Winsdor & Newton Artists for Washes and heavy glazes.
Reaper for their Purples and Greens,
Vallejo Air Brush for Metallics.

 

[foosgoalie1]

I am throughly impressed by GW Boltgun metal. Very smooth coverage and no metal flake look. Better than Vallejo silver, which I was using before. I use an equal amount of Vallejo, GW and various other name brands except Micheal\'s or deptm\'t store brands.

 

[Shadzar]

one friend i have prefers Reaper/Vallejo for a few reasons.

he is a better painter than myself, and just rushes through it because he doesn\'t like painting. lol

he reason for choosing those over GW are:

1. less waste. you squirt some out and the rest doesn\'t dry up
2. less work. they are alreayd pretty thin so you don\'t have to worry with thinning them too much
3. smaller. they take up less storage space than GW pots.
4. more spill proof. knocking them over with their lids means they are less likely to pop open than the new GW pots, or mek lose because of paint in the threads of the screw tops. also the less amount of paint and smaller exit means less paint will come out unless you knock it over and step on the bottle squirting it across the newly carpetted floor. (he was mad about that, but it quickly cleaned up.)
5. cheaper. since the paint is conserved by using less and cheaper per bottle it means you don\'t have exces go to waste costing more to stock up on paints of various colors. also the line of Vallejo is extremely close to and mimics GW from what i understand so no real reason to pay GW\'s overpriced for the same color.

that was what i took from the discussion we had a few years back. and now he only uses GW paints because they can be gotten locally (me or an LGS) without the extra cost of fuel, but would still prefer to use the others for his criteria listed above.

you may have other criteria, and no be as lazy with workign witht he paints so.... YMMV based on his reasons for choosing.

he and i likewise both like the GW inks a bit better even though they seem to be glossier. they just worked better for us.

do those reasons help any better than the previous post?

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by foosgoalie1
I am throughly impressed by GW Boltgun metal. Very smooth coverage and no metal flake look.
Then hang onto it because a good quality Boltgun is a rarity. most are quite heavy in metal flake.
Better than Vallejo silver, which I was using before.
As I have said the Vallejo Air Brush (Black bottle tops) are far superior to ANY metal I\'ve found in the past 30+ years of painting

 

[Thunderhawker]

As I stated in another thread, I am a paint whore. I will try anything once, often way more than once. I am partial to the GW metallics. I also am in possession of a good BG Metal and will be very sad when is runs dry one of these days. Ihave to agree though, if GW had dropper bottles, they would likely be my #1 paint, especially the Foundation line.

@DR - Duly noted about the air metals... Imma have to find some

 

[Grumgore]

My preferences are GW for browns, Reaper for metals (they have the smallest metal flakes I have found) and Vallejo for the rest. This isn\'t a hard rule because I often use what I have available (I don\'t have the entire collection of Vallejo, and I just started Reaper a few months ago).

 

[CrookedEye]

I like to experiement and have some of pretty much every range. I think your experience with the GW paints is probably because they are new to you and fun to play around with.

That being said, the RMS are my least favorite to basecoat with- but one of my favorites for layering and highlighting/shading.

Zach

 

[DarkStar]

Originally posted by fieldarchy


So, I wanted to just see what the majority of people use. What paints do y\'all prefer to use on a regular basis? Why do you like one line over another?

I have the complete set of Reaper Masters, Vallejo Game colors and the complete set of the colors that I would ever actually use (many are redundant) of Vallejo Model Colors.

I also have hundreds of craft paints, a spectrum of oil paints and a handful of airbrush paints, all I use when painting miniatures.

I\'d say quality/consistency wise, Vallejo Model Color is the best, for me at least.

The pigment is strong, a little goes a long way and you know what to expect from the paint with very little in the way of unexpected surprises.

The drawback is the insane amount of shaking you have to do, I should buy a paint shaker I guess because shaking those paints has starting getting on my nerves after time.

I fall back on Reaper Masters when airbrushing in larger scales quite a bit though. There is a certain translucence that lends itself well to blending gradients of color with an airbrush, the fleshtones are exceptionally well suited for this.

Also, I pick those up when I\'m about to do some squirrely freehand on anything since I like to keep it simple colorwise when doing elaborate freehand work, and their 3 color system is easy enough.

I generally stay away from Vallejo Game Color as I\'ve had more problems with that line of paint than any other. And I mean...I already have the Model Color equivalent of each color in that set anyways.

But yeah, Reaper Master Series have their place in my arsenal of paints, but I would be frustrated if I had to rely on them to paint with solely, there is other paint that I prefer to do my work with. I love their Clears though! Great for glazing and for enhancing shading and such.

 

[fieldarchy]

anyone else?

 

[Felon]

I use artist acrylics. They come in big tubes for about $5, about 10x the amount of mini paints. They are thick and densely pigmented, so you must experiment with how to mix them up for painting minis. I usually mix my own colors up in little jars, and I know what ratio of improver and retarders + water to use with them.

 

[fieldarchy]

Originally posted by Felon
I use artist acrylics. They come in big tubes for about $5, about 10x the amount of mini paints. They are thick and densely pigmented, so you must experiment with how to mix them up for painting minis. I usually mix my own colors up in little jars, and I know what ratio of improver and retarders + water to use with them.

Tried that too. Golden Acrylics to be exact. Eh, it was so so. Any reason you use those? Is it just the price factor?

 

[Felon]

Not all acrylics are equal see, you need to spend some time and figure out how they mix best, what to add to them in what amounts yah you see...

 

[fieldarchy]

Originally posted by Felon
Not all acrylics are equal see, you need to spend some time and figure out how they mix best, what to add to them in what amounts yah you see...

Well I understand that. I\'ve been painting for the past four years and tried a decent amount of stuff. I tried the goldens for several months and then just went back to the Reaper Pro Paints I had. Then I did commissions for Reaper in exchange for the RMS line to try something new. And that\'s worked out with some colors but not all. Then I tried GW again (started with those when I first learned to paint as my paint buddy used them) and liked what I saw with how they were reformulated.

So it\'s not that I haven\'t tried things . . . I have and I\'m still not totally sold on any one paint. Hence I am asking the people for their wisdom!

 

[Felon]

Of course, of course. I\'m afraid I can not be of any further assistance to you in regards to this matter at hand.

Good day.

 

[Antnol]

I started on GW paints and they are all I use for any competition quality paint jobs. For my faster, lower quality pieces I use P3 and GW foundations. Those give me great coverage with less amount of layers but they are fairly hard to blend. GW paints just seem to get me those super smooth results that I cant get with any thing else.

 

[DaRat]

I mostly use the Reaper MSPs, and I\'ve been mostly happy with them. I also use the Derivan MiNiS paints, and, I really like them as well. The reds in particular are very nice (and very matte). The Derivan MiNiS do require quite a bit of shaking and an agitator.