Any advice on acrylics?

[Richard in Sachsen]

It's getting time to buy a new set of paints. I currently have the large Foundry set of triads, which I really, really like. They've last five years now but I don't think I will invest in another set: the pot lids crack and Foundry, being Foundry, is a bit pricey for me now.

So I was thinking of switching to Vallejo (Reaper is too difficult to get here in Germany and I don't want to have to drive 45 minutes to customs and pay the VAT every time I place a replacement order from the US.)

I wanted to try out Vallejo, so I picked up the Roman Army set that I used exclusively on my 6mm Romans. The colors are bright and work very well for that scale. And I absolutely love the dropper bottle concept, I save a lot of paint by using the dropper on a pallet and the lids don't break and allow the paint to dry out.

Nevertheless, I love the Triad system as it is nice to have a consistent shade, base, and highlight color instead of mixing every time I paint.

So I was thinking of picking up the Model Colors 72 Basic Color Combinations set, as that seems to satisfy the triad problem from what the advert says, but I am not sure.

Still, I am confused if that is the right color pallet. They also have a 72 Basic Hobby Colors set and a 74 Military Colors set. Additionally, they have another line of Game Colors that seem to be geared towards painting miniatures as gaming pieces that get handled a lot although they write that the color pallet is geared towards fantasy figures.

So, I'm not sure which would be the right set.

I need something that has a decent pallet for ancient and dark age figures. Citadel doesn't even come into consideration, I hate the pots and I don't want to sit there and try to figure out what ortheniac yellow, mephisto red or goblin green actually means.

But if anyone has any advice and/or experience and familiarity with Vallejo, I appreciate any input in the matter.

[Steve F]

I'm not going to be much use to your choice, as I tend to acquire paints haphazardly, use different ranges indiscriminately, and mix up the colours I want there and then by eye*.  But just to add to your options, Army Painter has some sets too of which this seems to be the most comprehensive:
http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/warpaints/35021-warpaints-complete-wargamers-paint-set

*Eye not actually dipped in paint.

[Richard in Sachsen]

Thanks, Steve! Now that looks interesting and the pricing looks tempting as well. Not to get into politics, but the Brexit issue has made it better for someone paid in US dollars to buy products out of the UK. And I don't have to worry about the VAT. Plus, the Army Painter site list that set for 299.00 GBP while the site you gave has it on sale for 199.00 GBP.

That's tempting, especially if the sale holds until the end of the month.

Thank you for the suggestion!

[Cubs]

If you Google 'Vallejo Colour Palette' it brings up various images of their different colour ranges for comparison. Personally I don't really care which one of their ranges I buy, I usually tend to go for the colour I want rather than the range itself.

One criticism some people have of the dropper bottles is that they're difficult to shake and mix, so a small ball bearing dropped inside might be an idea. I do that on some of mine and it works a treat.

 

[Richard in Sachsen]

Thanks Cubs,

That ball bearing idea is great as I've noticed that sometimes the drops come out either watery to extremely thick and I've been working with it as it goes. Ball bearings, haven't thought of that.

I do like sets, though, as a basic pallet to have and then supplement colors that are not included which I need. I'll use the google machine to check out the pallets, thanks.

[john Hollyoak]

If you google Vallejo triads there are number of painters who have either listed or done swatches for Vallejo.
Somewhere I have a spreadsheet which converted the Foundry triads to the nearest Vallejo equivalent.

[SBRPearce]

Use stainless steel ball bearings - I regretted using mild steel when some rusted and tinted several white/off-white/light grey paint pots odd indelible colors...

[Mindenbrush]

If you go the Vallejo route then you might want to check out this link to TRIADS
http://napoleonicwargamingadventures.blogspot.ca/p/vallejo-flesh-sets.html

Andrea colours are also extremely good.

[digid]

I love the acrylics. I have mostly Vallejo, but also have Army Painter, Scale75, Citadel, Reaper, and P3. All are compatible with each other and mix well. I find that my painting style has changed some, and I mostly just mix my shades now. But triads are still nice too. I love the dropper bottle also and I have even transferred all my Citadel/GW and P3 paints to dropper bottles. I did buy SS bearings and added them to all my bottles, but I think if I did it again I would use Hex glass beads as the perfect round ball does act as a stopper in the bottles at times. Which is not really a big deal, you get used to it. For mixing the paints in the dropper bottles, rolling them in your hands works better than shaking without the balls. For a good mix I built a paint bottle shaker out of a Harbor Freight multi-speed oscillating saw, some PVC pipe and some foam. It makes quick work of mixing bottles that have not been used in a while.

Dale

[Richard in Sachsen]

Somewhere I have a spreadsheet which converted the Foundry triads to the nearest Vallejo equivalent.

@John, if you come across that spreadsheet again, and if you would like to share, I would love to have a copy of it. My email is richard(dot)gallant(at)uni-jena.de

@SBRPearce - thanks for the tip, rust in the paint sounds annoying to say the least.

@Mindenbrush - just downloaded them, wow, that saves a lot of work, thank you.

@Dale - mixing shades sounds interesting. One thing about the bottles and mixing, I can see where it forces one to evolve their style. I do like mixing colors on individual figures: heroes, generals, and the like. The triads are wonderful for consistancy in painting rank and file, especially if there is a time period breaking up the painting session as one always has a consistent color combination, that's why I really like them. But for getting individual figures to "pop" I find the mixing is a sound technique.

The hexagonal beads are also a great tip and I know the craft shop in town carries them. The paint bottle shaker sound pretty neat, too.

I called Waylay games yesterday to ask about how long the Army Painter set would be on sale as I find that a very tempting offer (100 GBP cheaper than the Army Painter website list price! And the sale last as long as the product is offered or Army Painter increases the price.) You also get more paints than the Vallejo box sets.

The gentleman on the phone was very nice and informative. A painter himself, he gave me even more information. He said the Army Painter paints are very, very good but his personal opinion was that nothing beats Vallejo. Additionally, they sell the Vallejo sets at a discount which beats the 221 Euro that Amazon.de offers (even with the free shipping for Amazon Prime.) That Vallejo set would cost me about 160 Euros, including the bulky item postage from the UK to Germany.

With the color charts I downloaded from the tips of this thread, I think I am going to go with Vallejo and expand the colors as I need them beyond this basic set. Not that I will not still buy individual colors from different companies but this satisfies my need for a new basic set of colors.

I want to thank everyone for the fantastic and invaluable tips and advice, it really helped me in coming to a decision. Any additional advice is, of course, welcome and appreciated.