Paint Set Recommendations For Newbies?

[Binky]

I'm returning to miniature painting after a very long break and will be starting from scratch buying paints and brushes. Looking online there seems to be more paint brands available now than when I last painted minis in my early teens. The models I'll be starting with are going to be modern military/post apoc so I'm thinking a set of basic colours plus camoflage colours is what I'll need to start with.

Can I please get some recommendations on paint sets or deals that would be a good way to get started again. Are there any good/bad brands to be aware of? I'm in the UK.

Many thanks

[fred]

Hi, welcome back!

I’m not sure on what paint sets are available - but about brands

Vallejo - my preferred brand, an almost overwhelming number of shades, but they are strong on military colours. They do have several sets of paints, might be worth a look at their Panzer Aces series.

GW - have reformulated their paints multiple times, so current range may not be what you remember. Expensive, and often issues with pots drying out. Their new(ish) contrast paints can be very useful for quick painting, they the shades are quite bright so not that suited to military style figures.

Army Painter - I only have a few of these, then main advantage of this range seems to be that they match with their spray paints. The ones I have I tend to find a bit thick - but can be thinned easily enough.

[dadlamassu]

Welcome back.  I have used Coat d'Arms acrylic paints for decades.  They are the original Citadel (round bottle) paints and I have found them to be consistent in quality, offering a wide range of colours and readily available in the UK.

Black Hat games https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product-category/coat-darms-paints/

Colonel Bill's https://colonelbills-store.co.uk/epages/4f27da57-42ee-48c0-9cb8-22c9dd921a68.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/4f27da57-42ee-48c0-9cb8-22c9dd921a68/Categories/Coat_dArms_Paints

And many more.

[Bearwoodman]

Hello Binky!

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago and my first paints (as a full grown adult) was this set from Vallejo:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acylicos-Vallejo-Acrylic-Fantasy-Figures/dp/B000PHCTRK

I found this set a useful starting point, although if you find yourself enjoying the painting I am sure you will quite quickly expand your collection of paints (I now have loads including GW, Army Painter, Reaper and more Vallejo). I was mainly painting fantasy figures so the selection of bright colours suited me, but as fred says a Panzer Ace set might be a better starting point for modern stuff (but I expect that whatever projects you work on you will probably need black, white, a flesh tone, some browns, some greens and a metallic silvery colour to some degree).

In terms of the individual paints in the set I found them all nicely opaque and not too thin, except for the red and the dark green both of which seemed thinner than the others and which need more careful undercoating and more layers.

In terms of my experience of the various brands I have found Vallejo generally very good and the metallic paints I have used have a consistent coverage. The few Reaper paints I have I like, they are similar to Vallejo. GW normal paints generally work as I want them too but I prefer my Vallejo metalics and the GW pots are annoying. GW's Contrast range that fred mentions is interesting but variable: there are a couple I use so much I am on my second pot, others that I cannot get to work at all (although that might just be me).

I am not such a fan of the Army Painter paints I have tried as they seem thinner than Vallejo and require a lot of shaking, but I really like the inks they make especially strong tone and dark tone - I am pretty sure I use these on almost every figure I paint at the moment.

I am far from the best painter on this forum and have not tried every paint in ranges mentioned, but I hope this is useful. Enjoy, and post some stuff once you have had got stuck in!

[Binky]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I suggest that you go with Vallejo Model Colour for military colours and Vallejo Game Colour for bright colours.
These are available worldwide and are consistently good.

I stopped using Citadel paints because they dry up relatively quickly. I do use Citadel washes and they are very good.

Buy some stainless steel mixing balls and put them in each pot to help you to mix the paint.

[Binky]

Buy some stainless steel mixing balls and put them in each pot to help you to mix the paint.

I'd never thought of mixing balls before but it makes sense. I have stainless ball bearings at work so will grab a few.

My job also means I get a trade discount at Halfords and I see a few mentions of people using their grey spray primer, is this recommended or are brush on paints designed for minis a safer option? I have a mixture of metal, plastic and resin models whcih will need priming.

Thanks

[Codsticker]

If you are specifically after a set to start with then I think Mick's suggestion is probably the best:

I suggest that you go with Vallejo Model Colour for military colours and Vallejo Game Colour for bright colours.
These are available worldwide and are consistently good.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

If you are coming back to the hobby, this book may be helpful.
(I am biased as I am the author)

[SotF]

For someone newer, I'd suggest going with the 2 Reaper Bones starter sets for painters, it's rather good for starting to develop or redevelop skills and includes a nice case and a few generic minis to learn them with.

The others I'd suggest would be to look at what you want to paint and if there is a specific set for them, Army Painter has a pretty good generic one, but there's also a lot of the things for various, specific, games that cover things for them, or even the faction.

[The Great Mahoo]

I started collecting and painting again this past summer myself after being away from the hobby for many years and had found myself in the same quandary as you.

Previously, I used mostly GW paints, since that's what my local shop carried, but over the years most of our group switched to Vallejo and they always proved to work well. 

In getting back into it, I ended up settling on Reaper paints, as I didn't have any games in mind, have always liked picking through their vast model collections, and they have some good paint kits.
I bought their two Learn to Paint kits, which got me a good range of colors, a handful of models and came with some nice step-by-step instructions for the included models to refresh my skills.

I've been very happy with the reaper paints. They have good coverage, and a bit more flow to them than paints I have used in the past. With a wet-palate (something I never used in the past but found great support for now and like myself) I find you don't have to thin them much or even at all to get a good smooth application.  They've got tons of colors, making it easy to find something to work for my projects.  I do find their metalics to require a few extra coats to cover the way I like, but they work for me.

And I like how Reaper keeps making new models and includes them in purchases, with periodic specials on their website for grab bags of paints has really grown my collection quickly.  All in all, I am quite happy with my Reaper paint collection, though am now considering dabbling in some others, as you don't have to stick with just one company.

[Tactalvanic]

You are in the Uk

Bounce over to either

https://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/paints-washes-etc

or

https://www.goblingaming.co.uk/collections/paints-the-army-painter

which may price better than say amazon etc, and both carry virtually all the suggested paints/options

There are other similar sites but I have been happy with both so far regards delivery/discounts etc.

They also list paint triads, boxed colour sets etc, so you can target particular colour sets to meet your moderns needs (eg army painter).

If your feeling like new brushes later,

try rosemary and co, they get plenty of praise here already from many past posts regards the quality of their brushes.

eg

https://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolour-brushes/pure-kolinsky-sable/pure-kolinsky-pointed

or their acrylics/acrylic blends which also are well liked

They do a lot of different brushes

Either way you have lots of suggestions already, so welcome back to the hobby, stay awhile, paint, relax and enjoy it as much as you can.

and play some games to at some point you know you deserve it