Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey all Ive recently taken a real interest in painting my own models dur to the simple fact that I am the only one who can truly see what I visualize in my mind and plan out.

Im looking for some possible cheap paint alternatives and possibly someone who can school me on airbrushing models. THX =P

You're looking for cheap as the #1 quality of the paint or you're looking for quality in equal amounts with low cost? I find reaper master series to be an excellent choice which is cheaper than GW paints. They come in dropper bottles, 3 bottle sets (highlight, base, and shade all in one), and they don't need very much thinning. They also make great inks, additives to make your washes/etc flow into crevices better, great skin tones and metallics(again with the proper highlight and shade already picked out).

Vallejo seemed to be ok but I found reaper to be just slightly better.

If you just want cheap paints the cheapest you're going to get are craft paints. They aren't horrendous but they usually turn out a bit chalky and grainy and can be of very different consistencies which makes blending and thinning hard. I painted 5 chaos raptors with craft paints and I'm not ashamed to have them on the table, but I also feel if I redid them in reaper paints I would be a lot more proud of them. They are extremely cheap though so on a budget they can work.

I know nothing about airbrushing but you might search the tutorial section for a guide or this section for someone asking the same question.

I like Vallejo the most , i dont like Reaper ( either their pigment is weird or i didnt shake it enough , but the result i dont like )

Recently im testing out more of the products on this list:

http://www.plaidonline.com/productDetail.asp?itemID=868

cant say i like them more than vallejo , but its atleast as good as GW paint and 4x cheaper.

I personally love the Delta Ceramacoat line of paints you can get at Michaels Arts and Crafts. They have a huge line, are usually around a dollar (or less on their sales) and last for ages. I use them along with GW, P3, and Vallejo (I have way too much paint). Many people bash on craft paints, but I use them a lot and I have had great results with them.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_65FzaujZfNE/Sfxx45vkq2I/AAAAAAAAATA/XnSEDSfqy0A/s1600-h/us05balt_staffunit_2.gif

That unit even won a Golden Demon and it is 90% Delta paints. I know a number of painters who have had amazing success with these and other craft paints. It's all how you use them!

Jeff

coat d'arms makes the citadel paints, and sells them under their own label. (IIRC)...

I think it is the same paint, for half the cost.. the problem would be finding them in the USA. .

(but not to sound like HBMC, I use Maelstrom Games to buy them and get them to me)

i like apple barrel paints. they are pretty cheap and have a wide variety of color

As for brushing I like to use the Tamiya paints. They have a wide varity of colors and are pretty reasonably priced at my local hobby store. You can airbrush with these as well.

Another alternative for paints would be Createx AutoAir. I am a sign painter/designer/graphics guy, and I ahve been using these for years. They are extremely durable and come in vast array of colors. You can also brush them to good effect. I just recommend heating with a hairdryer between coats as this sets them up.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I am not sure what you are using for an airbrush, but I like to use an Iwata Eclipse, I can get great detail and coverage with the flick of a finger. They are only around 100-125 USD.

I used Pure Apple Barrel Paints on my White Scars Marines and they do come out chalky but your are going to give them a matte coat for protection anyway. This matte coat will reduce the chalkiness of the craft paints.

Sarpedon_702 wrote:As for brushing I like to use the Tamiya paints. They have a wide varity of colors and are pretty reasonably priced at my local hobby store. You can airbrush with these as well.

They must have improved in the last ten years, because last time I tried them they were terrible! (Except for Clear Smoke which was awesome, though I've pretty well replaced that with GW and Vallejo washes)

If I'm not using GW, I use Vallejo - they have a truly insane range of colour which is nice if you want a particular shade for an entire army but don't want to have to mix it up. The dropper bottle is nice too. They are slightly cheaper than GW if that is a factor.

To answer your question, they have completely redone the formula. I would concur with your opinion. The old Tamiya paints were veritable pisswasser.

JHall wrote:I personally love the Delta Ceramacoat line of paints you can get at Michaels Arts and Crafts. They have a huge line, are usually around a dollar (or less on their sales) and last for ages. I use them along with GW, P3, and Vallejo (I have way too much paint). Many people bash on craft paints, but I use them a lot and I have had great results with them.

I have also employed some Delta Creamcoat paints, and they are very strong quality for your money- probably the best craft store brand out there.

Another thing you should know is that the Higgins line of inks is every bit as good as the game store lines of inks or "washes" (read, "inks with more matt medium or water in them"). The only reason that I use any of the game store lines still is because Higgins doesn't make every last color.

I haven't had a chaulk look on my models, although i dont base coat them with apple barrel. I use the nice paint for base coats.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Rite now im liking the Delta Creamcoat paints and Higgins Ink. Looked them up online and I like what I am seeing! I am going to take a trip to the local Michael's for some supplies and will post some good pics of my work up soon =)

Well time to revive this forum and add some pics. I just got the Army Painter system and have painted some minis. I must say that the system is not as great as it was made out to be, but for the amount of work I do for each mini I am satisfied.

porkuslime wrote:coat d'arms makes the citadel paints, and sells them under their own label. (IIRC)...

Coat D'Arms is the label under which the old range of Citadel paints are now sold. When they made the switch to the newer, squat bottles they changed paint companies. The company that was making the Citadel paints continued to sell them under the Coat D'arms label.

They're still great paints... and better value than the current Citadel range.


Gah... just noticed the date on this thread. Still, it's all still relevant information, so I'll let it run...

I've tried a few of the Revell line, a couple greys, reds and metallics, and are a good 75p-£1 cheaper than the workshop ones, need a good thinning and the pots are a little strange, but decent coverage nonetheless.

I use craft paints to replace blood red, skull white, and chaos black as those I use the most and will translate perfectly.

Use Valejo.

I use a lot of red and found Vallejo covered rather well. I can work with it well when it comes to additives and water.

Starting to try Reaper so have no advice on this.

GW are terrible. Sure, you can use them but it takes so much more work if you're trying to make a real professional mini.

After using GW for so long and moving onto Reaper and Vallejo, I find GW very "watery". But thats just me. Also the GW colours just don't cover nearly as well. Hell, I water down Reaper and Vallejo and they still cover better then GW right out of the pot.

GW where great in the day but with the money companies are making with mini's the quality has gone way up. GW are being left behind in many area's.

Im going off track a little... Good to see you're looking for other paints. GL.

Old thread, yes, but...

One more vote for craft paints. Delta is the smothest of the brands I've tried. I don't think that any of the craft paints are as easy to use as the various mini-specific brands, but I'm not a good enough painter for it to matter, and apparently (as above) they're good enough for golden Demon! Also, at $1-1.60 per 2 oz bottles, you're paying a third the price for 3-4 times as much!

Two other suggestions for cheap paint are using cheap spray paints as bascoats/primer in one step and minwax polyshades instead of army painter dip. I'm currently using the redish brown krylon primer as the base color for my guard, and Minwax antique walut for the dip.

Warlord Imp wrote:I used Pure Apple Barrel Paints on my White Scars Marines and they do come out chalky but your are going to give them a matte coat for protection anyway. This matte coat will reduce the chalkiness of the craft paints.

QFT. I would like to say thank, Warlord Imp.I read this thread in October, and your post convinced me to give AB a try.

The following is copy-pasta from a recent thread on "How do you paint Orks?"

tblock1984 wrote:I use Applebarrel Plaid paints. They aren't as good as GW, but they get the job done, and they are cheap as hell. Kinda chalky, though... But I kinda like the look it gives the skin, TBH.

I only use two colors for my ork skin:
Classic Green
Sage Green

1. Prime black.
2. Normal paint Classic Green over black. Result looks like Ork Hide.
3. Drybrush with 1:1 Classic Green/Sage Green.
4. Drybrush highlights with Sage Green.
5. Wash with 5:1 water/Classic Green. (well, I think it is 5 to 1... I use an empty 20 oz soda bottle cap half full of water, with three drops of green paint in it.)

I am very proud to say that I use Applebarrel. Thanks again!

I personally use Americana paints. Its about a buck for a big ass tube, and the best part is, the cap has a dropper/snap type lid. Heres some of my higher ranked stuff....oddly enough they are both grots?
Da Grot wif da golden gun


And GrotNob

JHall wrote:I personally love the Delta Ceramacoat line of paints you can get at Michaels Arts and Crafts. They have a huge line, are usually around a dollar (or less on their sales) and last for ages. I use them along with GW, P3, and Vallejo (I have way too much paint). Many people bash on craft paints, but I use them a lot and I have had great results with them.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_65FzaujZfNE/Sfxx45vkq2I/AAAAAAAAATA/XnSEDSfqy0A/s1600-h/us05balt_staffunit_2.gif

That unit even won a Golden Demon and it is 90% Delta paints. I know a number of painters who have had amazing success with these and other craft paints. It's all how you use them!

Jeff

Yup good brand, cheep, and long lasting. IMO the best alternative, and in some cases, these replace GW in my pallet.

i am new to the game and painting as well... i have decided to try vallejo and P3. what i wanted to share though was this link:

Miniature Wargaming

i was finding colors listed for GW paints and wanted to get as close as possible with vallejo. that site takes the GW color name and shows its vallejo equivalent. just a good resource...

I personally use a mix of paint brands. But my favorites are the Vallejos. Alot of paint in those little droppers, but I've also heard the Vangough (hope I spelled that right) oil-based paints provide excellent results.

One more thing about the chalkiness of craft paints. It is present, but has never bothered me. Further, if you are dipping, it doesn't matter at all. The dip brings all the shine/sheen you'll ever want on a model. So much that in most cases you usually have to tone down the shine with a matte spray.

Strange, with Delta Ceramicoat i never once had a problem with chalkyness. guess thats another plus for them.

Just a quick review of the Vallejo colors on my part. Yes, it may be a bit biased and quite possible also flawed in some ways.
There are probably also other brands out there that will do more or less the same thing. Possible even cheaper/better.

In any case this has been a bit of an eye-opener for me and the reason why I'm now more willing to explore other options than the Citadel range of colors which I have so zealously stuck to for so many years.

I just started using Vallejo game colors after having used Citadel (both the old 20ml, 18ml and the newer 12ml) for many years and I have to say, I have almost been converted and turned heretic by now.

Comparison : Citadel v.s. Vallejo

Citadel covers slightly better, but not by much.

Citadel may be slightly more resistant to scratches and chipping (haven't made my mind up on this one yet), but if you use varnish to protect your miniatures this wont be a problem.

Citadel seems less toxic (water based?) than Vallejo.

Vallejo has about 50 more paint per pot for about the same price

Vallejo comes with a nice little dropper which makes mixing colors consistently a lot easier, e.g. 2 drops of "this" and 1 drop of "that".

Vallejo, being acrylic, doesn't dry as fast giving you more time and making it easier to blend colors. Also the drying time makes it easier to produce fine details. Citadel has a tendency to dry on the brush on the way from the pot to the miniature - at least in my case

Vallejo last longer per ml due to both the extended drying time and the fact you never have an open lid on the pot, but instead use a dropper. I would reckon 50% of my Citadel paint ends up drying in either the lid/edges of the pot or on the mixing plate, 25% on the brush and, with a bit of luck, 25% ends up on the actual figure.

This might help too !

stoiss wrote:
....Citadel seems less toxic (water based?) than Vallejo.[/list]
....[list]Vallejo, being acrylic, doesn't dry as fast giving you more time and making it easier to blend colors.

Hope I'm not being too nitpicky, but as far as I know Vallejo, Ctadel/GW, Reaper, and the various craft paint are all acrylics in a water suspension.