Foundry Paint System Issues

[PhilB]

Did you buy any of the WWII set? I feel like they were released about seven or eight years ago, though I could be wrong(?). If so I'd love to hear about how well they cover. I bought them when they first came out. BTW, this isn't about being lucky, it's about a company knowingly selling a sub standard product. They refused to give me my money back, which is at least morally wrong, right?

No, none of this WWII set. I do fantasy-medieval figures, so WWII paints are right out. <g>
As far as the "knowingly selling a sub-standard product", I do feel your pain, but I also understand a company who may be hesitant to respond to accusations, depending on how it's worded.

I wrote to Foundry recently, seeking their permission to use some of their figures in photography accompanying a Pathfinder Second Edition (Compatibility lecensed) adventure I published on Drivethru RPG. Foundry didn't respond, neither did Warhammer/Citadel. All the other manufacturers were very supportive. I suspect that some manufacturers just don't have the time or energy to deal with random emails from customers. Sad, but somewhat understandable.

[Atheling]

No, none of this WWII set. I do fantasy-medieval figures, so WWII paints are right out. <g>
As far as the "knowingly selling a sub-standard product", I do feel your pain, but I also understand a company who may be hesitant to respond to accusations, depending on how it's worded.

To be very honest, a lot of very good painters on the Steve Dean Forum gave Wargames Foundry plenty of time and scope to fire back an honest answer. They did nothing as far as I'm aware. IIR, one or two WWII sets were replaced but most folk were simply ignored.

I wrote to Foundry recently, seeking their permission to use some of their figures in photography accompanying a Pathfinder Second Edition (Compatibility lecensed) adventure I published on Drivethru RPG. Foundry didn't respond, neither did Warhammer/Citadel. All the other manufacturers were very supportive. I suspect that some manufacturers just don't have the time or energy to deal with random emails from customers. Sad, but somewhat understandable.

They have steadily got worse over time at answering e-mails. I realise that if you're running a business you have to deal with keeping your business running but to ignore the negative feadback from customers will eventually be to their detriment.

[Cubs]

There are replacement lids (I also needed them).
https://www.warcolours.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=155
https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product/paint-pot-lid/

DJ

Hey, thanks for this! I buy these plastic pots in bulk to decant my Vallejo's into (can't get on with dropper bottles) but I now have a lot of pots and not so many lids, because I keep needing to replace the lids! Perfect, ta.

[Bloggard]

not quite sure I understand this fantasy / wwII difference.

as mentioned above I bought both  large 'sets' they offer, and quite a number of individual paints from the full list (iirc they're not separated into genres / periods in said list).

the patchiness (both figuratively and literally - gah!) doesn't discriminate as far as I could tell from the pots I tried.

thinking back, one thing which also struck me was that the 'finish' of paints could vary within triads - with one being matt, another high-sheen etc ! Looked rubbish on the figure, and I'm not sure that matt varnishing would have produced a consistent look.

[Atheling]

not quite sure I understand this fantasy / wwII difference.

as mentioned above I bought both  large 'sets' they offer, and quite a number of individual paints from the full list (iirc they're not separated into genres / periods in said list).

the patchiness (both figuratively and literally - gah!) doesn't discriminate as far as I could tell from the pots I tried.

thinking back, one thing which also struck me was that the 'finish' of paints could vary within triads - with one being matt, another high-sheen etc ! Looked rubbish on the figure, and I'm not sure that matt varnishing would have produced a consistent look.

All of the above.

I used Foundry Triads since they burst onto the miniature painting 'scene'. To start with there were few problems. Some satin, some matt within the same triad sequence, that sort of thing, but nothing that a good coat of glass and a good coat of matt varnish couldn't fix.

Over time the quality worsened until it got to the point where the WWII colours were concerned. Honestly, at least half of the whole set was completely unusable! Please appreciate how much they cost(!) which goes a long way to explain my outrage.

If I sold you a dog with two legs listed as having four would you not be annoyed? Perhaps even consider trying to get your money back?

[EskeiraSees]

Picked up a couple of pots from the fantasy range at their shop, seemed good and I had a discount voucher so put in a large order online. Out of 100 or so pots about 25% were fine, 25% useable but very thin compared to GW, Scale 75 etc. The remaining 50% were basically unusable, really lacking in pigment and prone to separate really fast.

That was around 2 years ago, I wouldn't entirely discount them if you can get them cheap but I wont buy any more.
Some people may even get on with the thinness but there are much better ranges out there IMO. Of course sometimes supply issues mean bad batches sneak through, and to their credit foundry did replace the worst of them (eventually)


 

[Bloggard]

pretty much my experience EskeiraSees - although I didn't have the heart to try and get any joy from their 'customer service'.

my order was from a year ago - and paints 'fresh in' (I had to wait for some to be posted subsequently as a result - part of the reason I didn't try and return them, it being well after a month before I actually got 'round to trying any out ... ).
So don't know about the 'bad batch' bit ...

were the replacement paints better?
Certainly be interesting to learn that they can supply all the paints with adequate pigmentation etc ... but if this is the case, why the heck aren't they doing so all the time - with such lapses over what is clearly quite an extended time-frame ... ?

[Bravo Six]

Thanks for all the insights gents. This has been a very interesting thread and since I only own 1 triad, I doubt I;ll spend money on anymore knowing what I know. I generally use GW and Vallejo, and will probably delve more into Army Painter.

Or don't bother with any tomfoolery and just buy better quality paints!

Yes. That.

[EskeiraSees]

@ Bloggard - Some seemed a little better but I was still not happy with most of them, it took a fair effort to get the replacements so I gave up at that point.
I still have a few on my paint desk but I mostly use them mixed with other brands, in some cases a few drops of ink, thick art acrylic or matt medium saved a particularly bad bottle (or at least proved an interesting experiment).
 Worth mentioning again that some were completely fine, I also have some purchased maybe 5 years ago that are still going strong so it seems like a recent issue.
I think I have learnt when it comes to paint the best practice is to mix and match the best of different manufacturers.

[syrinx0]

Hey, thanks for this! I buy these plastic pots in bulk to decant my Vallejo's into (can't get on with dropper bottles) but I now have a lot of pots and not so many lids, because I keep needing to replace the lids! Perfect, ta.

To date my only issue was the paint lids as well.  I ordered a bulk shipment from a manufacturer in the UK.  Depending on how many paint pots you may have....
https://www.theplasticbottlescompany.com/shop/product/cap-20mm-tamper-evident-flip-top-white/

I stick by my suggest to experiment with Tamiya Flat base if you want to salvage paint you already have.  It's a useful tool to have on your paint table assuming it's as easy to come by in the UK as it is in the US.

[Desert Rat]

So, it's not just me noticing this.
I bought the first set (Pots 1-36) at least 10 years ago. They were fine and worked well.
The new ones just don't cover as they used to and are sometimes shiny.
It's a real shame, I guess time to look for an alternative system.

[Bloggard]

@ Bloggard - Some seemed a little better but I was still not happy with most of them, it took a fair effort to get the replacements so I gave up at that point.

thanks. Hard to avoid the impression that they've changed supplier to someone in the cheapskate dept. and are happy to pass on the results to their customers. Not good.

btw - Army Painter were mentioned above - a word of caution in that there are a number of (conflicting) reports about those too (on this board as well as elsewhere). LukesApps (or whatever - on youtube) has posted lengthy videos about getting the 'most' out of them, which seems to involve a lot of arseache tbh.
I bought 10 or so a few weeks back and found them very mixed (if you'll excuse the pun).

I have all sorts of issues with GW myself, but the Citadel range of paints remains v. high quality in comparison. Scale 75 excellent too - and live up to their billing of being a genuine flat matt (although not their 'fantasy' range btw).

* however - must give this tamiya flat / talcum business a go with the Foundrys at some point - although I'm not sure how they can make up for the pigment not being there in the first place (if that's the issue).

[syrinx0]

True, if there is not enough pigment the matt additive won't help.  I will have to experiment with the Andrea and scale 75 as I buy new paints.

[majorsmith]

I think foundry stopped selling the ww2 range? I have the complete range and some are good, some not so, I do find  even after shaking and stirring them some really aren’t so good, French artillery green for instance is awful,  never had a problem with rawhide though, as for shiny finish, I Matt down everything so it’s never a problem

[SteveBurt]

I always store my paints upside down; much less shaking required that way :-)