Best Paints in your honest opinion
- Thread starter Enzed
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green stuff
New member
It depends what you want to do with them and what your painting style is.
GW are of good quality and have good metallics.
Valejo are as good or better (and matter) and have more color choices but prefer the GW metallics.
Rackham are a bit textured ... so they\'re rather good for terrain
.
I\'m rather used to GW paints so most of mine are from that brand, but I\'ve started completing my palette with Prince August (Valejo) to fill up the gaps.
GW are of good quality and have good metallics.
Valejo are as good or better (and matter) and have more color choices but prefer the GW metallics.
Rackham are a bit textured ... so they\'re rather good for terrain
.I\'m rather used to GW paints so most of mine are from that brand, but I\'ve started completing my palette with Prince August (Valejo) to fill up the gaps
.painterboyroy
New member
used to have just about all the GW colours, but with naff lids etc and the price per pot, have now changed to Vallejo which IMO are better, more colours, more paint per pot for less money, eye dropper bottles so pot not left open. also bought vallejo model air sets which i will use for airbrush soon, but are also great to use as washes.
recently out of interest bought the black set and white set from andrea miniatures and these are great paints.
plus even started using some oil paints for little effects and these too are working very well.
recently out of interest bought the black set and white set from andrea miniatures and these are great paints.
plus even started using some oil paints for little effects and these too are working very well.
Avelorn
Sven Jonsson
Citadel and Vallejo Model Colour definitely.
Rackham paint are excellent if you mix them into other paint as they turn them dead flat. So yeah bases and natural material is their main domain. But Soil of Avagddu is a colour I use in almost every miniature. Mixed with black you can take away the shine from chaos black shading in the recesses. Just don\'t use them on their own if you aren\'t after some kind of rugged leather effect.
I\'ve tried Reaper Master Series. They aren\'t great. I think they seem to chuck too much stuff in their paint so the result is that they are harder to blend and leaves the surface area not very smooth. It shines in some mysterious way as well like it\'s chemicals in it... Some excellent colours though.
P3 Are excellent but dries too satin for my liking. I haven\'t tried them so much yet but for any surfaces that you don\'t care about how shiny the surface become I recommend them. I guess you can mix some matt medium in them or Rackham paint. I should try that as it could be the best from both worlds, excellent covering and diluting possibilities coupled with matt finish.
Vallejo Game Colour is just... hm. Well I don\'t like them as they vary in quality much. The greens for example are useless. Many colours dry substantially darker on the palette making blending by eye difficult.
Rackham paint are excellent if you mix them into other paint as they turn them dead flat. So yeah bases and natural material is their main domain. But Soil of Avagddu is a colour I use in almost every miniature. Mixed with black you can take away the shine from chaos black shading in the recesses. Just don\'t use them on their own if you aren\'t after some kind of rugged leather effect.
I\'ve tried Reaper Master Series. They aren\'t great. I think they seem to chuck too much stuff in their paint so the result is that they are harder to blend and leaves the surface area not very smooth. It shines in some mysterious way as well like it\'s chemicals in it... Some excellent colours though.
P3 Are excellent but dries too satin for my liking. I haven\'t tried them so much yet but for any surfaces that you don\'t care about how shiny the surface become I recommend them. I guess you can mix some matt medium in them or Rackham paint. I should try that as it could be the best from both worlds, excellent covering and diluting possibilities coupled with matt finish.
Vallejo Game Colour is just... hm. Well I don\'t like them as they vary in quality much. The greens for example are useless. Many colours dry substantially darker on the palette making blending by eye difficult.
mattsterbenz
New member
GW and P3 would be my top two. But this question comes up a lot and I always say that any paint will do the job. Whatever works for you will be just fine.
We need to sticky one of those \"What paints do you like\" threads in here
@Avelorn: That\'s interesting what you do with the Rackham paints. I have them and didn\'t like using them on their own because they dry so flat. I never tried mixing them with other brands before so I guess I\'ll have to try it some time Thanks for that info!
-Matt
We need to sticky one of those \"What paints do you like\" threads in here
@Avelorn: That\'s interesting what you do with the Rackham paints. I have them and didn\'t like using them on their own because they dry so flat. I never tried mixing them with other brands before so I guess I\'ll have to try it some time
Thanks for that info!-Matt
Corvus
New member
I\'ll try to keep it short, here\'s what I use and why:
Vallejo Model Color: huge color range, good consistency, lots of colors seem to match (earthtones). Metallics are very poor.
GW: superior metallics. Haven\'t tried the latest generation of their paints and inks, but I guess they\'re ok.
Vallejo Game Color: superior inks, don\'t like the regular paints because they\'re too thin.
Vallejo Model Color: huge color range, good consistency, lots of colors seem to match (earthtones). Metallics are very poor.
GW: superior metallics. Haven\'t tried the latest generation of their paints and inks, but I guess they\'re ok.
Vallejo Game Color: superior inks, don\'t like the regular paints because they\'re too thin.
generulpoleaxe
New member
they all have their advantages and disadvantages.
gw, vallejo model colour and most of the game colour range are cracking paints.
(never tried reapers stuff)
the only reason i tend not to use gw in general any more is due to the price, although their foundation paints are fantastic for glazes.
any one who doesn\'t like the gw metal prices but loves the fine pigment gring will love vallejo model air metals, just as fine and cheaper
saying this, if i was a person who mainly picked stuff up from stores i actualy visit instead of online then i would more than likely still be using gw\'s range as it\'s pretty good when i\'m honest about it.
tamiyas paint\'s are great for airbrushing, never had much luck when trying to brush paint with them though (apart from tamiya\'s clear red)
i still use gw\'s inks for glazes as well as adding to colours occasionaly for added oomph. going to have to go to coaties for my ink goodness when they are gone though.
p3 paints are pretty damn snazzy, but my vallejo do just as good a job, whilst retaining a matt finish (their colored metals are pretty cool)
coat d\' arms are nice paints, cheap as chips but unfortunately have a satin finish so need the dullcote love showing.
foundries paints have more pigment than coaties but unfortunately have a price tag like gw\'s (and a stupid price for a single pot)
hope that helps someone.
gw, vallejo model colour and most of the game colour range are cracking paints.
(never tried reapers stuff)
the only reason i tend not to use gw in general any more is due to the price, although their foundation paints are fantastic for glazes.
any one who doesn\'t like the gw metal prices but loves the fine pigment gring will love vallejo model air metals, just as fine and cheaper
saying this, if i was a person who mainly picked stuff up from stores i actualy visit instead of online then i would more than likely still be using gw\'s range as it\'s pretty good when i\'m honest about it.
tamiyas paint\'s are great for airbrushing, never had much luck when trying to brush paint with them though (apart from tamiya\'s clear red)
i still use gw\'s inks for glazes as well as adding to colours occasionaly for added oomph.
going to have to go to coaties for my ink goodness when they are gone though.p3 paints are pretty damn snazzy, but my vallejo do just as good a job, whilst retaining a matt finish (their colored metals are pretty cool)
coat d\' arms are nice paints, cheap as chips but unfortunately have a satin finish so need the dullcote love showing.
foundries paints have more pigment than coaties but unfortunately have a price tag like gw\'s (and a stupid price for a single pot)
hope that helps someone.
AllTerrainMonkey
New member
Yep; for every person who says, \"GW paint stinks, Reaper rocks!\" the next will come along, \"Reaper stinks, Vallejo rocks!\", followed closely by the \"Vallejo stinks, GW rocks!\"
See if you can find friends or a local store that\'ll let you play around with a line or two so you can see which consistencies and colors mesh well with your painting style. You\'ll find top-quality miniatures painted here with just about everything under the sun, so the entire exercise is extremely subjective, and probably won\'t help you at all. It doesn\'t matter how many people tell you which line they think is the best if it doesn\'t feel right to you.
See if you can find friends or a local store that\'ll let you play around with a line or two so you can see which consistencies and colors mesh well with your painting style. You\'ll find top-quality miniatures painted here with just about everything under the sun, so the entire exercise is extremely subjective, and probably won\'t help you at all. It doesn\'t matter how many people tell you which line they think is the best if it doesn\'t feel right to you
.I still use a ton of Citadel paints (I have them all, both current and several editions worth of OOP ones) but the last couple years I\'ve been loving the P3 as well. They supplement the Citadel range beautifully since they have a different style of color. Less bright, more realist/subdued.
What P3 lacks you can get in other paint ranges easily (like a really dark green for example). But they make some of the best browns/khakis for sure. Coal Black is another beauty that you might have a hard time finding anywhere else.
Like a lot of companies, their metallics aren\'t as hot as Citadel. Some beautiful colors for sure, but they seem to be thicker, stickier or something of the sort. Hard to go on as smooth as I\'m used to.
I really like how the P3 paints thin down as well. The few I\'ve used for subtle glazing have worked out great.
If you\'re using varnish on your models (and most of us do!) then the slight shine on some of the P3 paints really isn\'t a huge issue.
What P3 lacks you can get in other paint ranges easily (like a really dark green for example). But they make some of the best browns/khakis for sure. Coal Black is another beauty that you might have a hard time finding anywhere else.
Like a lot of companies, their metallics aren\'t as hot as Citadel. Some beautiful colors for sure, but they seem to be thicker, stickier or something of the sort. Hard to go on as smooth as I\'m used to.
I really like how the P3 paints thin down as well. The few I\'ve used for subtle glazing have worked out great.
If you\'re using varnish on your models (and most of us do!) then the slight shine on some of the P3 paints really isn\'t a huge issue.
As stated it\'s all personal preference.
My preferences are as follows:
Currently I most like the Reaper Master Series. They are consistently good paint (smooth, even, thin and blend nicely, good intensity) with an amazing variety of colors to choose from. Eye dropper bottles are a big plus too.
I began with GW and still use their metalics primarily. The foundation line is great... it\'s as good as advertised.
I\'m not big on Vallejo Model Color. A little grainy and inconsitent quality for my liking.
One of my best friends has recently used the P3 line and loves them. They have too few colors of an odd mix of colors to choose from for my liking however. I haven\'t yet been persuaded to try them yet.
Best of luck. Buy one or two of each brand and play a bit.
cheers :beer:
My preferences are as follows:
Currently I most like the Reaper Master Series. They are consistently good paint (smooth, even, thin and blend nicely, good intensity) with an amazing variety of colors to choose from. Eye dropper bottles are a big plus too.
I began with GW and still use their metalics primarily. The foundation line is great... it\'s as good as advertised.
I\'m not big on Vallejo Model Color. A little grainy and inconsitent quality for my liking.
One of my best friends has recently used the P3 line and loves them. They have too few colors of an odd mix of colors to choose from for my liking however. I haven\'t yet been persuaded to try them yet.
Best of luck. Buy one or two of each brand and play a bit.
cheers :beer:
generulpoleaxe
New member
the model air range is good for painting with as well mate, realy fine grind.
which is why i like the model air metalics
demonherald
New member
what he says right across the board.. I love the rackham flatness and how it works with other colours and Yes Sven it does work really well with P3. I currently tend to mix and match manufacturers a lot and everyday brings a new experiment.. currently experimenting with coloured metallics to get varying degrees of golds and brass by using flat colours in the base and gettimng some interesting results..
GW are still my standard purely on the grounds that I have used them longest but slowly P3 and rackham are creeping in there..
I have a few good sets from reaper the browns are good. as are the purples...
my recent can\'t live ithout colour was recommended to me b ritual for highlighting flesh ad that is P3 hamerfall Khaki.. love it.
mind you my first Andrea should land on the doorstep anytime soon so we will see.
I guess the basic premise is don\'t get tied down to any one range . experiment and see what comes of it...
Valander
New member
I personally prefer Vallejo Model Colors to Citadel paints, and have recently been picking up some P3 paints and like them pretty well, too.
Really, though, every paint line has slightly different properties, making some more suitable for certain techniques. You really should try some of each out and see which works best for the way you paint.
Really, though, every paint line has slightly different properties, making some more suitable for certain techniques. You really should try some of each out and see which works best for the way you paint.
freakinacage
New member
i bought an alcohol based vmc silver in a square pot and it is beyond any silver i have ever bought before. it is ridiculous. the particles are so fine, i couldn\'t recommend it more!
before that the best silver i had was an old citadel mithril silver
before that the best silver i had was an old citadel mithril silver
I have a completely different approach; I use artists acrylic paints in the three primary colors plus black, white, and brown (It's hard to mix a good brown). Hi quality acrylics mix true and are a fraction of the cost of pre-mixed paint pots. Plus, any good line of artists acrylics with have acrylic mediums such as matte, satin, and gloss varnishes; matte and gloss mediums that can be added directly to the colors; retarders to extend drying time, and airbrush medium for airbrushing (needless to say) but which also works well for reducing the surface tension of brush on colors. Transparent extender can be mixed in for different wash or tinting effects.
airhead
Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
I like airbrushable food coloring on cakes,
Two stage ureathanes on helmates
Createx on t-shirts
Morris make-up on faces
Used to use Testors and Pactra enamels on minis.
Then I found Railroad colors and that other brand that comes in little pots with pry off lids.
***
Like many have said, use what you like. If that means reds from one brand, and greens from another, go for it.
I use Reaper, Vellajo, Tamaya, some GW and a few other odds and ends.
Two stage ureathanes on helmates
Createx on t-shirts
Morris make-up on faces
Used to use Testors and Pactra enamels on minis.
Then I found Railroad colors and that other brand that comes in little pots with pry off lids.
***
Like many have said, use what you like. If that means reds from one brand, and greens from another, go for it.
I use Reaper, Vellajo, Tamaya, some GW and a few other odds and ends.
