Army Painter SpeedPaint Markers (w. Brush Tips)

[SgtSlag]

I realize that acrylic paint pens have previously been posted about, but now the Army Painter company is selling Paint Pens containing their SpeedPaints, with brush tips.  Here is a review of the SpeedPaint Markers, from Goobertown Hobbies, and the owner, Brent.

I find artist's acrylic paint pens extremely useful for both miniatures painting, and for painting terrain.  The brush tips are the most useful, to me, as the brush tips offer both a fine tip for smaller application areas, as well as the side of the brush tip, for broader, faster application of paint.

Brent noted that the SpeedPaint within the pens, was not as effective as paint brush application, due to the lower volume of SpeedPaint which flows through the pen's brush tips.  I agree, and his video clearly shows the different results between using a pen applicator, and a brush.

If you do simple block painting with paint pens, however, you will gain considerable speed, saving time per miniature.  For me, that is king!  I believe with paint markers, I can reduce my 10 minutes of painting time, per figure, to perhaps 6-7 minutes per figure [assembly line style application of block colors + The Dip Technique (brushed on, not dunked and spun/shaken to remove excess) + matte clear coat].  Multiply that by 200 figures, and that adds up to 300-400 minutes (5 to 6+ hours!) of painting time saved!  That is nothing to ignore, in my book, because my painting time is limited.  YMMV.

The paint markers flow more paint, faster, than I can get out of any ink markers, such as Sharpie brand.  The coverage of acrylic paint markers is far superior to any ink-based marker, as well.  To be honest, I would love to switch entirely to paint markers, and give away my acrylic paint bottles, but I can't bring myself to do that.  I am, however, employing more paint pens, every chance I get, when painting my miniatures.  For my terrain, I don't bother with paint bottles, at present, I just reach for a pen, and, Git'er done, Son.  Cheers!

[Burgundavia]

Watched that too - I've filled a paint pen (the same model Brent used) with a DIY purple wash too. I think I got the proportions wrong - it wasn't good.

[SgtSlag]

Based on Brent's experience with the SpeedPaints in the pens, I don't think there is enough liquid paint wash transmitted through the pen's brush tip.  They apply much more liquid paint than any ink marker pen applies liquid inks, but it is not a heavy enough flow, IMO, to work as a wash of any sort.

Well, maybe.

You have me thinking of loading one of the empty pens with some Minwax water-based urethane stain, to see if it goes on heavily enough, or not.  I don't dunk my figures into the urethane stain mixture, I brush it on with a throw-away school paint brush, and even then, I have to remove some excess.  The paint pens might just apply enough to achieve the desired results, without applying too much.  Problem is, how long would they last, before the clogged up?

   You've given me a new idea, a new experiment to try.    Depending on how expensive the empty, fillable pens are, and how well they work...  I have a bunch of em4 Orcs I am painting, which will need a dark wash.  The stars are aligned, the planets are in retro-grade...  It just might be the right time to give it a go.  Cheers!

[Elbows]

As someone who paints, I see no use for them...outside of maybe speed painting some terrain.  However, as mentioned in the video, I don't think I'm the target market.  Hell, I barely use speed paints.

I think these are solutions for people who just want to get some kind of paint on something in a decent hurry, without much fuss.

[pixelgeek]

As someone who paints, I see no use for them...outside of maybe speed painting some terrain.

I doubt if it will work for that. If you watch the video he had issues using them on the bases of the minis he was painting. I think that for terrain they would leaves streaks

[SgtSlag]

Update #1:

New Metallic Paint Pens at Wal-Mart, 10 colors, dual-tipped pens, for $5.48.  kingart Twin-Tip Metallic Pens|10:  metallic flake White, Gold Copper(?), Green, Lt. Silver, Drk. Silver, Purple, Blue, Dk. Green, and Pink (all are metallic flake colors).

I wrote with each pen, on a piece of paper, letting them dry/cure for 4.5 hours, then I soaked the paper in water, to test whether these pens are acrylic paint, or a water-based ink...  They never ran, never dissolved, so they seem to be acrylic paint!  The dual tips feature brush tips, and round tips.

For me, the useful colors are:  Gold, Copper (might be brass/bronze, but closest to Copper, IMO), Lt. & Dk. Silver.  The metallic flake green's and blue, could be useful for dragon figures, if you want them with a metallic flake color quality.  The "off" colors could be used to denote Adamantium fantasy weapons and/or armor, if you like that type of metal to be blue/green in color (I favor blue-colored steel for Adamantium).

Update #2:

Finished some additional figures using my paint pens.

First up, some Kobolds.  These languished in my painting queue for around 20 years.  The paint pens finally pushed my enthusiasm to finish them.  The Wars of the Wee Folk are becoming more, and more, feasible.

Second, Dwarves.  The small stature Dwarves, on the left, are older, likely Ral Partha, having rested in my paint queue for possibly 25-30 years.  Now, they are ready for battle.  Some of them have very large noses...  I may add them to my Gnome Army, as they will fit in rather well.  And since the Gnomes can stand in as Hill Dwarves...

The stockier Dwarves, on the right, in their yellow surcoats, were given to me around 20+ years ago, by a friend who moved away.  He wanted them to have a good home.  I primed them, around 15 years ago, but it was only this week that they received any paint to cover their gray.  Now, they are ready for battle.

Lastly, I finished my Anubis Warriors, all 120 of them!  They were primed black, around a decade ago.  The paint pens inspired me to finish them, finally.

I seriously need to re-read my 2e BattleSystem rulebooks, because I need to get these armies some battlefield experiences...  Cheers!

[mikedemana]

Thanks for all the details on the paint pens. Your photos you reference towards the end of your post didn't show up.

Mike Demana

[SgtSlag]

Thanks for all the details on the paint pens. Your photos you reference towards the end of your post didn't show up.

Mike Demana

I underlined the hyperlinked texts for the photos of my painted figures.  Please let me know if those links do not work for you.  Cheers!

[ced1106]

Some comments in the video note that painters with medical conditions (eg. shaky hands, colorblindness) and busy parents can benefit from this.

I'm still waiting for a paint that will remove mold lines, though. 

110 Euro = 125 US Dollar for 20 pens.

[Hobgoblin]

I've been finding paint (not speed paint) markers very useful over the past few weeks - they allow you to get base coats down very quickly and, in some cases where the colours align, to build up layers of highlights. These guys were very largely done with markers (everything but a wash over the armour, a glaze over the skin at the end and the eyes, mouths and teeth, I think):



The biggest - and to my mind, strangest - problem, though, is the lack of dark and deep colours. I bought a set of 100 markers on Amazon; they're just as good as the more expensive AK Interactive ones in many ways, but there are probably fewer than 10 colours that I'd start with as base tones (to build up lighter tones on with a brush). The AK Interactive 'real colours' advertise lots of nice deep tones, but a lot of them are much lighter than what's shown on the side of the pens and in test shots in the marketing. The 'olive drab' is a case in point: on the pen case, it looks significantly darker than the dark-green panels on this forum; what comes out of the pen is about the colour of the light panels.

That said, there are a few decent deep colours in the AK range; more of these would be great. I looked at AK's 'playmarkers' range, which are designed specifically for miniatures: they seem to be almost exclusively very bright, light colours. Something like Foundry triads in marker form would be so much handier!

[Zodaxa]

I underlined the hyperlinked texts for the photos of my painted figures.  Please let me know if those links do not work for you.  Cheers!

They do show up for me but were taken a bit far away. When I make the photo larger/zoom in they become blurry so it is difficult to tell how they look.

[mikedemana]

I underlined the hyperlinked texts for the photos of my painted figures.  Please let me know if those links do not work for you.  Cheers!

Links work -- I simply misunderstood the text and thought you had attempted to put them in with the text of your post. I am definitely leaning towards using more paint pens for shield designs and such.

Mike Demana

[SgtSlag]

I've been finding paint (not speed paint) markers very useful over the past few weeks - they allow you to get base coats down very quickly and, in some cases where the colours align, to build up layers of highlights. These guys were very largely done with markers (everything but a wash over the armour, a glaze over the skin at the end and the eyes, mouths and teeth, I think):

The biggest - and to my mind, strangest - problem, though, is the lack of dark and deep colours. I bought a set of 100 markers on Amazon; they're just as good as the more expensive AK Interactive ones in many ways, but there are probably fewer than 10 colours that I'd start with as base tones (to build up lighter tones on with a brush). The AK Interactive 'real colours' advertise lots of nice deep tones, but a lot of them are much lighter than what's shown on the side of the pens and in test shots in the marketing. The 'olive drab' is a case in point: on the pen case, it looks significantly darker than the dark-green panels on this forum; what comes out of the pen is about the colour of the light panels.

That said, there are a few decent deep colours in the AK range; more of these would be great. I looked at AK's 'playmarkers' range, which are designed specifically for miniatures: they seem to be almost exclusively very bright, light colours. Something like Foundry triads in marker form would be so much handier!

Perhaps the AK markers were designed/pigmented for use on black base-coated miniatures?  This would explain their lighter shades, as the undercoating would darken the paints.  Just spit-balling.  I agree, unfortunately, the pens I've found/used, thus far, are all pretty light in color, nothing particularly dark.  I, too, keep hoping/searching for darker tones of paint pens...  Cheers!

[Hobgoblin]

Perhaps the AK markers were designed/pigmented for use on black base-coated miniatures?  This would explain their lighter shades, as the undercoating would darken the paints.  Just spit-balling.  I agree, unfortunately, the pens I've found/used, thus far, are all pretty light in color, nothing particularly dark.  I, too, keep hoping/searching for darker tones of paint pens...  Cheers!

I use them on black-undercoated miniatures - black gesso, which is virtually fuligin - but it doesn't darken down much at all. In fact, that's one of the great things about paint pens: their paint is both thin and remarkably opaque, and even very pale colours cover black very well.

At the moment, I'm trying out the markers on some of the old Essex "great scaley [sic] orcs": in the attached photo, almost everything was done with marker pens. I'm very pleased with the yellow (entirely marker in four successive layers, starting with orange) - the coverage is fantastic. In general, I've had the best results with light colours because there are a lot of mid-tones to start with. But anything darker - and especially browns - is much trickier.

I can't imagine there's anything fundamental that stops darker colours being produced in this way (the black pens are fine, and there is a good dark grey, green and blue in the AK range), so we can hope that some will follow in due course - shout if you come across any!

[SgtSlag]

They do show up for me but were taken a bit far away. When I make the photo larger/zoom in they become blurry so it is difficult to tell how they look.

You are correct, my phone's camera did a poor job on focus.  If you are wondering about the smoothness of the paint from the pens, they give a smooth finish, when dry.  The brush tips are fat, with a relatively short taper to them -- they do not go between arms and torsos, very well, so a small brush, and a paint pot, are still needed.  They are superb for quick coverage of open areas on figures, terrain, whatever.  They are not designed for use on miniature figurines such as I am espousing.  They are not perfect, nor will they do everything.  What they are good at, they are very good at.

I am an army painter, and GEtGW is all I care about.  I Dip my mini's by brushing on Minwax Polyshades Urethane Stain, followed by a matte clear coat.  Some turn out exceptional, others are best viewed sitting on the table, whilst standing (more than three feet viewing distance).     Like I said, they are good for painting open areas on a figure:  opaque, super-fast, super-easy to use.  They are a tool.  They can be used to lay down base coats, then layer/wash/highlight/whatever.  My keenest interest in using them, is speed...  Cheers!