Paint Brands. . . your favs to work with?

[cmsciulli]

Hi all,

I was curious as to what brands of paint are your favorites to work with and why?

So far I have been using Howard Hues, Testors, and Model Masters.

Thanks!

[KeyanSark]

I can't say I have tried many brands, but since a couple of years I am deeply in love with all Vallejo Paints: a lot of colors, a good value for money, and they never get dry due to their bottle type. Their silver metallics are not good for me, however.

[Auton]

Vallejo make up the bulk of my paints but I also have a few GW, Cote d'arms and Miniature Paints ones.

[revford]

I mostly use Anita's, it's very cheap and works well for me:

http://www.synta.com/anita1.html


My local craft shop don't carry Anita's metalics, so I've been using some from DecoArt:

http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Dazzling_Metallics


I use GW paints for some things, like the gunmetal and some nice greens and a colour called Shadow Grey for my WWII German Uniforms.

Also I've finally given Vallejo a try as I couldn't find a good colour for WWII British uniforms, very nice.

Can anyone tell us if the Vallejo flesh tones are good?

I used to use GW 'Bronzed Flesh', but it seems to change each time I buy a pot, the last one I got was, well, a bit orange.

[Captain Blood]

The truth is, I've never found an entirely reliable range of paint. No-one seems able to get their product to be truly consistent from batch to batch. Some come up shiny and thin - some are beautifully opaque and matt. Buy the same pot of acrylic paint twice from the same manufacturer, and there's absolutely no guarantee it's going to be the same. The old Humbrol enamels were a lot more reliable - but a lot less flexible than water based acrylics.

I have a lot of Vallejo Model Color which I've found to be generally pretty good, although some colours - especially the blues and greens - have a tendency to come up rather shiny. And occasionally, they are just hopeless. I have one maroon red which is simply unusable - thin, shiny, sticky, horrible! Also, I find the teats clog really easily, the pigment and medium separate easily and they take a lot of mixing - shaking doesn't cut it.

I have used a few GW paints too. They're pretty good, but I hate going in there because I can't abide being badgered and pestered by the smug, greasy nerds they employ every branch.

Have never tried the Foundry 'system'... I mean, do I really need all those shades of shades? Yeah, I'm sure it makes the job quicker and easier, but I prefer to mix my own shades, and I also prefer subtler shading to the stark effect achieved by the fabled 'three-colour method'.

Actually, the paint I probably use most of all is dirt cheap 'hobby' acrylic here in the UK made by Inscribe, and available in every craft shop. It comes in giant 59ml bottles (yes that's about 350% of a Vallejo bottle), the colours are incredibly deep and opaque, and best of all it costs just 99 pence. That's just about one US dollar - or less at today's advantageous exchange rate  :mrgreen:

I'm guessing some fellow figure painters might be a bit sniffy about this, but I have to tell you - it's the best bl**dy paint I use! (Especially the black and white) The downside - only 30 or 40 colours in the range as opposed to 200!

[revford]

Inscribe sounds just like the Anita's I use, 99p for 59ml, I guess the local shops here just carry a different brand.

[Lowtardog]

Mostly Vallejo Game and Model colour ranges, some GW (a lot less these days) and some cheap artists paints for terrain, bases etc

[Buddha]

Have never tried the Foundry 'system'... I mean, do I really need all those shades of shades? Yeah, I'm sure it makes the job quicker and easier, but I prefer to mix my own shades, and I also prefer subtler shading to the stark effect achieved by the fabled 'three-colour method'.

I use Foundry paints. I find the three-shade pots helpful to cut down guesswork on shade mixing but in order to improve the subtlety of shading I use intermixes between the three shades supplied and also between the colours. I agree, the simple three shade approach creates too stark a transition for my taste.

[pixelgeek]

I have GW paints (not many), Vallejo paints (way too many) and some of the new P3 paints.

All of them have their uses and all of them have their annoyances. Almost every bottle of Vallejo paint I have clogs and that pisses me off to no end.

The Vallejo metallics aren't that great. I use the new P3 metallics for most of my metal work now.

[KeyanSark]

I have used a few GW paints too. They're pretty good, but I hate going in there because I can't abide being badgered and pestered by the smug, greasy nerds they employ every branch.

Can I add that to my "useful sentences" booklet??  :mrgreen:  ::

Seriously now, I like GW metallics. I've tried many but always return to them... I am tempted to try some of their new "foundation paints". Time will say.

[Malamute]

Mostly Vallejo (my Favourites) Some GW, The Foundry system and cheap Acrylic artists paints for terrain pieces.

[Captain Blood]

Inscribe sounds just like the Anita's I use, 99p for 59ml, I guess the local shops here just carry a different brand.

Yep, think I've seen the same bottles under different brand names - DecoArt as well. Basically, it's all the same stuff, just slightly different ranges of colours under different labels. Honestly, it's good gear - don't just save it for your bases and terrain!

Must try the new P3 metallics. They sound good... Is there a metallics 'set' and who sells them?

Sorry about the GW rant - I just object to being sold to with such blind determination on every visit!

'What are you looking for?'
'Nothing - just browsing'
'Nothing in particular then?'
'No, just browsing.'
'What are you into?'
'Oh, all sorts...'
'Is it for you?'
'Might be.'
'Do you have kids?'
'Might have'
'Do they play Warhammer?'
'Occasionally.'
'How old are they?'
'Mind your own ****ing business.'
'They might want to join our club.'
'No thanks.'
'It meets 6 nights a week - they can spend all their money here' (Okay, they never actually say that, but it's about that transparent!)
'No thanks. Now, do you mind if I just have a look at the things you are selling?''
'Is there anything in particular you're looking for?'
'FOR GOD'S SAKE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, CAN'T YOU? I'D BUY A LOT MORE STUFF IF YOU JUST BACKED OFF!!!!!'

I usually walk out at around this point because I just find the approach intolerable.

Hence I have very few GW paints!

Erm - sorry, that was another rant wasn't it?  And totally off topic :mrgreen:  (Sound familiar to anyone though?)

[revford]

Erm - sorry, that was another rant wasn't it?  And totally off topic :mrgreen:  (Sound familiar to anyone though?)

Yep, I used to be just like that when I worked there.  You missed the all important lines:

Have you got this months 'Dwarf?

Do you need some glue for that?

::

[Malamute]

I know exactly how you feel. I used to try and explain the games we play but now I usually say its for my nephew and I have no idea what its all about. That way I tend to get left alone and not sold anything I don't need!

[Pappa Midnight]

Mostly cheap Artists Acrylics by manufacturers like Windsor and Newton ( 500ml of black for a few quid at my local discount store), Vallejo for WW2 colour matches and GW for certain shades ( like doing denim etc).
I used to buy purely GW but tried some cheap hobby acrylics and found that some of them had much better coverage and were about 1/3 the price!!!

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