Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting back into painting after a long absence, so long, my paints have all dried up. So I looked at Games Workshop's range but it seems to have all changed since the days of chaos black and bestial brown etc, and it leaves me confused. So my question is, are there any paint ranges that are similar to the Games Workshop paints (in terms of consistency and colours) of ten years ago. I'm not looking to break the bank and I can't afford to trial a few ranges. Any suggestions would be considered and welcome

Sorry if this has been answered a million times but I had a quick search and couldn't find anything.

Cheers!

_________________
your story is creepier than a bloody mexican soap opera (MacGothmog)

Coat d' arms is the old gw line repackaged (this is what I use)
Reaper paints are great
Vallejo paints are awesome (i like these one's too)
A friend of mine really likes P3 by privateer press
And of course there is nothing wrong with the current gw line... Aside from cost that is. (Despite the cost, most of my paints are gw)

What he said

_________________
Xintao

Perfect i will check them out, thanks jdizzy01!

_________________
your story is creepier than a bloody mexican soap opera (MacGothmog)

I misread the title of the post... I thought it was the 'Best range of pants to start with' and wondered where that conversation was going.

Good to see a talented painter back in the fold - Mac always says 'they always come back.'

I am thinking of going more or less all Vallejo in future due to my WW2 committments so I can benefit from economies of scale.

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

GW have only changed the names of most of their paints, and expanded the range. There's a chart online that shows what the new names are. Quality wise I find they are much the same and what I use 99% of the time.

_________________
Instagram @abbmodels

GW paints aren't bad. I use them a lot but I've become a big fan of Reaper's line. I'd recommend them over GW

_________________
Commission Painting @FB http://www.facebook.com/squyrepainting
Commission Customers include:
GBHL Youtube Channel
MiniWargaming

Every company i listed i recommend over gw, solely because you get more paint per pot for less money.

Only got a single bottle of Reaper, but I did like the very matte finish it had. Not the most accessible line outside of the US though. Vallejo are pretty prominent, have been switching mostly to those in recent years. Good stuff. Army Painter is equally nice, limited range but commonly encountered online. Think I'll stick with metals from the latter, as those are the only Vallejo paints I'm not entirely fond of (shiney flakes seem a bit larger and more noticable).

Although far from perfect, this chart gives some idea of the equivalent colours in each range (don't rely on it if you want one particular hue for continuation of an army, but it's decent enough when looking for a certain kind of colour): http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint ... lity_Chart

That chart is very handy. I've referenced it a lot!

I *always* thin my paints with a touch of water and nothing else (I'm painter not a chemist).

Here are a few more tid bits regarding the different paint brands.
Coat d' arms (CDA)- Paint is a bit on the thin side so you will have to apply multiple coats. This is perfect for those who prefer the glazing technique. The white color from CDA is very...chalky(?). Comes in 18ml pots! Can be purchased from black hat or in the US from scale creep miniatures.

Reaper- Quality paint. Harder to obtain outside the US. Paint comes in a dropper bottle. Pots used to include a small plastic skull in each pot to agitate the paint when shaken. I don't think they do this anymore. At least I don't hear one inside my current pots.

Vallejo- Quickly becoming my favorite line. Easy to aquire, comes in a dropper bottle, their model color line contains the color Ivory. Hands down, the best warm white I have ever used. Do not shake bottles of vallejo paint. If you do it will squirt out the top of the dropper when you open it. Set the bottle on its side and roll it with your hands to agitate it. Weird, huh? Also, vallejo paint settles faster than other companies' lines. I have also noticed, at least the model color line is very opaque. This makes glazing more difficult.

P3- I have 2 pots of P3. They come in the big 18ml pots. They're fine. Nothing to write home about. My impression after using P3 was, meh. It does what it is supposed to do. Given the super positive experience I've had using CDA, reaper and Vallejo, I would only buy P3 if I could not find the former.

Generic craft paint (such as apple barrel)- dirt cheap and you get a lot for your money. I have seen it used with mixed results. I use it for terrain only. I have only met one person who used it exclusively. They were a 40k player and their entire army was done up with apple barrel paint. The army looked fine. Other folks who saw his army indicated that it was well painted, but that it was obvious that he wasnt using real "miniature" paint. I wasn't so sure about that. The minis were certainly table quality at worst. I saw a WIP on the reaper boards where the painter specifically used apple barrel to paint a mini. The conclusion was that the paints would work in a pinch, but the use of actual mini paint was preferred. If push ever came to shove and I needed to cut back on my hobby budget, this is a concession I would make. One could stand to save quite a bit by using regular craft paint.

Lastly, I have been painting as a hobby for about 5 years now, and I still have many of the original GW pots I started with, and I'm still using them. Everytime I open a pot of paint, I peer inside. If it looks a bit thick I add 2 drops of water to the pot, close it, and shake it up. I am not bashful in thinning these paints with water. It will all evaporate out eventually anyways.

Sorry for the wall of text, if you've read this far you should be awarded an achievement or something. I just felt a review was in order.

It's a matter of taste (each company sells you the paints with their own consistency) and availability.

I live on Spain and it's easy to get vallejo model color paints, so I use them. It's also easy to buy GW ones, and so I have. Both ranges are awesome and really pleasant to use.

When you spent years painting you will find that you don't like this or that colour on one company range, because it's coverage level is bad, or the final result looks glossy... whatever.

In the end, they are always more or less the same exluding exceptions. Vallejo Game Color metallics are particularly worse than GW equivalents, for example.

_________________
"It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay."

Visit my WIP!

I like the Army Painter ones as well, the spray with matching bottles is great for large lazy painting as well.

They aren't on the dakka dakka compatibility list but I asked them about comparisons and the response is they have commissioned someone to do that but wont report back for a while yet.

Have top say, a lot of those comparisons on the dakka dakka chart aren't right though.

You also need to be aware of scale 75, wonderful paints that also dry matt.
I have done a review of them on my blog which you may find interesting before you take a leap.
It is also worthy of note about horses for courses and some paints are better than other for individual jobs.
GW - Excellent as a base colour, heavy pigmentation that holds despite thinning. Probably are the better washes, though I admit to not using the new ones.
Excellent metallics.

Vallego - Good for glazing but their washes are poor. Good metallics and an excellent range of colours - almost too many as there is subtle differences between certain shades, so buy carefully.
Superb matt varnish - best by far and perfectly hides any shine you get from any paint, unless you use Testors dullcote (which has some nasty ingredients.)

Scale 75 - For me the best to date. Strong colours that blend perfectly. I need to try out the ink and metal sets. Some of the best painters I know rave about them.

Army Painter - Not tried yet, but I have a shipment on order that I will be reviewing on my blog.

Hope this helps you

_________________
Commission Service Available

mallysminiatures.blogspot.co.uk

Vallejo makes a range that is supposed to be the same as the old GW colours from way back. The names are similar.

I own Vallejo and Reaper flesh tones, they are smoother to apply than GW and need more layers, but that said, the transparency makes your heroes look fantastic. I don't use them on the rank and file, they get the quicker, thicker GW.

I have used acrylic ceramic/craft paint. This needs to be thinned with water or wash unless drybrushing. It is cheap and great for kids or beginners with a lack of cash. It is great for basecoating as it covers really well. I now use it mostly for scenery and bases.

According to a B.A. fine arts, the colors are *not* the same from the old GW range and the new. It really irritates her, but I'm not as fussy. I find they work fine for me.

_________________
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers