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So, I'm curious out there who uses other lines than Vallejo and Citadel and what do you use?

I've almost entirely migrated away from Citadel and have reduced the number of Vallejo paints I've been using.
My paint shelf is now a combination of Tamiya acrylics, Humbrol Enamels and Mr Color (which I love but it's near impossible to find in the US)

Primarily Vallejo (Game Color, Model Color, and Air Color) and Privateer Press P3 (I have almost the entire range). I also enjoy Reaper Master Series and I have a handful of Badger Minitaire paints too, including all of the candies (or "ghost tints" as they call them).

I've been using Tamiya a lot recently (I've been working on some Star Wars models) and I really enjoy them. I recently took the plunge and bought some 502 Abteilung oil paints and they are much better than W&N oils I had been using before.

I mainly use GW and Vallejo but I also have paints from P3, Minitair, Freak Flex and Tamiya.

I have a few citadel, of pot types going back to the one used by Coat D'arms and P3 these days. Also a few Vallejo Model Colour and Model Air. Mostly because of the colour range, not the droppers. Couple of Humbrol acrylics, most of Ral Partha Europe's Miniature Paints range, and a lot of Coat D'arms. Lastly, a few craft paints: some Folk Art and more Anita's.

Humbrol, Coat D'arms and Ral Partha might be difficult to find in North America, but it goes both ways. I've been itching to try some of Reaper's range, and if I was going to splash out on a bunch direct, I should've done it before Royal Fail's 'four bottles per parcel' ruling. Also, american craft paints are much better than european ones! But they weren't very widespread in shops here and only became less so.

Bought the full Reaper Master Series on amazon and absolutely love it. The fact that most of the colors come in sets of 3 (shadow/base/highlight) make it much easier on my novice painting skills. Also bought the Vallejo Model Air Metallics set and have been very happy with those as well.

Coat d'Arms paints can be found in the US through the Scale Creep Miniatures web store.

I use craft paints for terrain painting. I use Vallejo for primer, varnish, and additives. I use Army Painter Quickshade inks and dips. For everything else, I use Reaper's Master Series paints.
I suppose I use Reaper paints for a few reasons. 1. Dropper bottles. 2. Triad system of shade, base, highlight. 3. I live in Texas and Reaper is in Texas not too far from me. 4. I won a full set of Reaper paints several years ago in a Warlord Tournament.

I have a whole box of craft paints from the usual suspects, but only a few see much use on terrain and even fewer on models. I do get decent mileage out of one or two colors from Golden (their fluid carbon black makes a flat black spray paint look grey, by comparison - magic stuff!), though, and I have a stock of acrylic inks (Daler Rowney colors and Higgins Black Magic), too. Oh, I have one paint and one wash from The Army Painter, as well.

Without a local source for any hobby lines beyond GW (independent store, but that's all the paint they stock), my options are either buy Citadel or order online. I'd like to test out some P3 colors (wouldn't turn down a Reaper pot, of course, but I'm more interested in P3), but can't justify the cost after shipping when I don't need any new paints. Will likely pick one or two up with my next Warstore order, but that won't likely happen for some time.

 oadie wrote:
I have a whole box of craft paints from the usual suspects, but only a few see much use on terrain and even fewer on models. I do get decent mileage out of one or two colors from Golden (their fluid carbon black makes a flat black spray paint look grey, by comparison - magic stuff!), though, and I have a stock of acrylic inks (Daler Rowney colors and Higgins Black Magic), too. Oh, I have one paint and one wash from The Army Painter, as well.

Without a local source for any hobby lines beyond GW (independent store, but that's all the paint they stock), my options are either buy Citadel or order online. I'd like to test out some P3 colors (wouldn't turn down a Reaper pot, of course, but I'm more interested in P3), but can't justify the cost after shipping when I don't need any new paints. Will likely pick one or two up with my next Warstore order, but that won't likely happen for some time.

P3 paints are fantastic (sadly they are in pots). They blend well and thin fantastically for airbrushing. The colors are a bit different from everyone elses but thats not a huge deal. If you are looking for cheap shipping on them check out http://www.discountgamesinc.com/.

As to the main topic. I use VMA, VGC, VMC, Tamiya, Reaper, and I still have some older (last line) of GW paints like Bleached Bone laying around.

Big P3 guy here, i love it over GW. But with that said, i own quite a few GW paints..

Depending on what I am painting determines what paints I use.

For models, I tend to use Vellejo and Reaper mostly - just a few Citadel paints that I really like.

For terrain I use the acrylic paints or tempra paints you can get from Hobby Lobby. I cant recall any of the brands off hand.

I left Citadel many years ago as a primary paint, this was actually when the new potshape with the screw on lid came about. My experience of their later paints are quite limited but from what I have heard and seen they are really a budget brand at a premium brand price. So regardless if you like them or not they are not worth the investment.

Anyway...

My primary paint is Vallejo Model Color and secondary is Vallejo Model Air. I do use an airbrush and for this the dropperbottles and pigmentsize is pretty darn good.

My secondary is Vallejo Game Color (and i haven't tried Vallejo Game Air yet), there are a few colors missing from the model line and they mix well.

My tertiary is Tamiya, they have some that are very very nice for modeling outside the wargames sphere. They also have a whole range of clears that can be used for tinting canopys and similar.

My quaternary is artists oilpaints from tubes for washing, I think this will move up as I get better at it.

My quinary is Citadel since I happen to have a few laying around. But I very rarely use them at all, and if I do it's the washes.

Also...

I have tried Ral Partha and they where pretty nice, about the same as Citadel but at a third the price... but they where discontinued.

And I have my first Secret Weapons washes on the way, I have heard great things about these and want to try them. But most often I just make my own washes.

When is comes to painting terrain and really big surfaces I think I would go with Liquitex BASICS but I rarely do this so I have none at home.

darefsky wrote:P3 paints are fantastic (sadly they are in pots).

What's sad about that?

granander wrote:My experience of their later paints are quite limited but from what I have heard and seen they are really a budget brand at a premium brand price. So regardless if you like them or not they are not worth the investment.

Nothing quite like third-hand experience.

 Vermis wrote:

darefsky wrote:P3 paints are fantastic (sadly they are in pots).

What's sad about that?

granander wrote:My experience of their later paints are quite limited but from what I have heard and seen they are really a budget brand at a premium brand price. So regardless if you like them or not they are not worth the investment.

Nothing quite like third-hand experience.

Personally I like to use dropper bottles. It makes mixing and thinning ratios easier as its a constant.

 Vermis wrote:

darefsky wrote:P3 paints are fantastic (sadly they are in pots).

What's sad about that?

Paint pots pale in comparison to droppers: they tend to dry out much faster; it's more annoying to airbrush with them; more difficult to get precise mix ratios; and in the case of P3 pots, the lid hinge breaks easily.

granander wrote:My experience of their later paints are quite limited but from what I have heard and seen they are really a budget brand at a premium brand price. So regardless if you like them or not they are not worth the investment.

Nothing quite like third-hand experience.

GW paints, at $4 for 12 mL, aren't worth the investment. The simple fact is they aren't the only game in town anymore offering decent quality acrylics; their competitors have stepped up (and in many cases, surpassed them) when it comes to quality paint.

I usually use just the Vallejo and Citadel ranges, but I am also interested in the Xtracrylic range, which are available from my loval modelling shop and have a number of very accurate tones for airbrushing aircraft models.

Do not care for Tamiya paints, The consistency varies a lot, the alcohol in them makes them smell horrid, and their stoopid pots seal themselves if you get only a tiny bit of paint on the lid.

 Vermis wrote:

granander wrote:My experience of their later paints are quite limited but from what I have heard and seen they are really a budget brand at a premium brand price. So regardless if you like them or not they are not worth the investment.

Nothing quite like third-hand experience.

Hehe, true. But I said limited, not that I had no experience. The point I was really trying to make is that they are VERY much more expensive then the competitors so even if they are equal in quality they are still not worth the investment.

Using the prices at Wayland Games as a baseline the price per ml is as follows and the number in parenthesis is how hot much more expensive Citadel is compared to that brand.

Citadel, £0.18 (0%)
Army Painter, £0.10 (82.5%)
Coat D'Arms, £0.07 (173.8%)
Colors of Battle, £0.10 (87.7%)
Formula P3, £0.11 (62.6%)
Vallejo, £0.11 (59.1%)

personally, i love P3, and have been using the entire range since they came out 8 years ago...
i like pots over droppers any day, but i don't airbrush, so i just paint straight from the pots most of the time...

i don't have any problem with them drying out...
i still have original 8 year old pots that are just like new, just like some of my 20-something year old Citadels paints in the same pots are just like new...

for mixing on the palette, i don't get the argument that you can't get the same ratios everytime with pots...
i just dip the back end of the brush into the lid, and get the same size drops everytime...

as for lids breaking, if you keep the inside of the lid clean, they don't break...
they break when you let the rim get all gunked up, and then when you close it, it stretches the little tab out...
droppers need cleaning, as well...
i find the little nozzles getting gunked up on the Vallejo Air Metals that i use, and are problematic if you don't keep them in ship shape, too...

it all comes down to personal preference, really...
i don't have any of the issues that people always bring up in the pot vs. dropper debate...

what i do find is that Reaper colors dry too matte, and Vallejo colors are not as interesting as the cool undertones that P3 colors have...
in my opinion, P3 has the most interesting colors on the market, and i love the slightly satin finish...

so, yeah, P3 all the way for me...

cheers
jah