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I started miniature painting as a hobby 20 years ago. Initially, I used Citadel but gradually I chose other brands instead. For base color, P3 works well and Vallejo/Reaper fills in all my needs for details. The paint sealant and rough coat from GW has no comparison to Testor's dull coat at all. I don't understand why some people are so interested in Citadel paints? What good does it do?

They're good quality paints for the most part. Some ranges do some things better. Interested to see what the relaunch of the whole paint range will bring.

For the same reasons I use any paints. I like some of the colours and together I paint with a mix of paints from different manufacturers.

Until about eight years ago, I hadn't even seen another companies minature paints, other than the slick horror story that was/is Humbrol.

So GW have been my main paints for a while, the fact I still have some paints from fifteen years ago, means I'm not rushing out to replace all I have. I've got some Vallejo ones, but I'm not a big fan of the dropper bottles.

Did let me get Imperial Purple back mind.

I'd say the main reason is I know what the colours are, what they do. There has been no reason for me to change.

Now on saying that depending on what this 143 stuff does to the range, and if any of the colours don't work as they used to. This might be an occasion where I can stop and consider which range I use.
As if I have to start over on my knowledge regarding how GW paints work for me, I might as well consider all my options, including other companies.

This thread surfaces a lot.

P3 paints are not consistent quality. From my experience even paints of the same color vary dramatically, even when shaken / stirred. Vallejo from my experience is a little more expensive from Citadel. Citadel is what it is. Known in the gaming world. A GW product where if there is an inconsistency in the paint I can call them up, or take it to the shop and usually get a swap.

I use Citadel and certain shades of P3. I really don't use Testors I'm just not a big fan. Vallejo I use the brighter colors like Pink, light blue, etc. Use what you want.

The only thing I will reference: i'm a big fan of GW Foundation paints and washes. They have spead up my painting dramatically. I will admit, they are a little small on the product inside of the container, but i'm willing to live with it for what I pay and the usability.

As for the rough coat: I don't use GW or Testors. I go with sealant from Blick Art Supply. Its very thing, but effective. Hasn't failed me yet.

my guess would be that it's easier to follow the painting guides from GW with GW paints, coupled with the easy availability of GW paints...

the paints are all good quality, but i prefer the old pots...
the washes do nothing for me, as i don't like the matte finish...
we'll see if there are any "must have" colors in the new range, but i've been a dedicated P3 user since their release...
the colors are just so much more interesting...

i'm a huge fan of the Vallejo Air Metals...
i don't want anything else, but in an emergency, GW metals are still the one i go to as a backup simply because they are easier to get ahold of...

my 2 cents...

cheers
jah

Because it works? And it works well. It gives me the results I want and I couldn't be happier with it. The catachan green I bought five years ago looks exactly the same as the catachan green I bought a month ago. The first dab of paint looks just the same as the last little bit at the bottom of the pot.

Why does this matter at all?

Why do you like GW models and games? Why don't you play other wargames instead?

Probably because you like it. Good for you.

VMA metals are gorgeous, yes. But good ol gw boltgun metal, chainmail and mithril silver go a long way too. :-)

In the end, as said, use what works for you. :-)

I use a pretty wide variety of paints (including enamels when i feel i need that look) but i like GW paints pretty well, for the most part.

I have a strong dislike for Skull White, and most of the yellows, as they suck to paint unless you want to do multiple coats.

Even working up from a light brown or Iyanden darksun it's hard to get a good strong yellow, for me.

Other than that the range is good, and the washes are great

They are the ones sold in stores I frequent.

They have the best containers.

They are cheaper than Reaper/Valejo.

I imagine its a personal reason for most of us.
When i first started painting miniatures there were no water based paints to speak of, so when GW finally started to sell paints i was quick to use the water based options instead of the stinky humbrols.
They had a good variety of colours and most of my oil techniques crossed over.
I used GW paints for many years until I was introduced to alternatives andd have since used more and more alternative options over the years until Citadel paints have become a smaller part of my colour options.
The paints I use from that range still do what I want and thats cool, no need to up date them.
I haven't bought a GW paint for 10 years? Probably, but the GW paints I have from the early 90's when they were produced in England by Cote'd'Arms are still as good in their pots as the day i bought them.
I was gifted a mega paint set in the late 90's and picked up a few more singles in the very early noughties. Those do dry out quickly if you leave the top off but when wet they are good colours.
Nowadays I am sold on Vallejo, for the dropper bottles, the bigger quantity of paint in the bottle for the price and for the quality of the paint. I have hundreds of their paints. Particularly good value to buy the sets from conventions when they are discounted.
I also like Army Painter coloured sprays.
I had a quick look and foung eight different paint manufacturers in my collection but Citadle were still in there in good numbers.
I will probably buy brushes solely from Rosemary and co. and most of my paints from Vallejo but if I hear a good report about a given Citadel Paint (like =Devlan Mud) then I will pick it up and try it out.

DarknessEternal wrote:They are cheaper than Reaper/Valejo.

I don't get it...

Citadel is $3.70 for 12 ml.

Vallejo is $3.29 for 17 ml.

Reaper is $3.29 for 1/2 oz (14.7 ml).
(all MSRP)

Does your store mark up Vallejo and Reaper, or mark down Citadel?

Thats true biccat, I have never seen Citadel paints with a cheaper retail price than Vallejo paints.
Also, GW doesn't do discounted paint sets.

Why?

Because they are the best available in the stores that I frequent.

My stores do not carry Reaper, P3 or Vallejo. Sure I could order some online but ordering without looking at it hands on is risky. Risky in not getting what I really want.

Citadel offers me a workable range of color for less than online ordering + shipping of a "superior" brand.

It's just the tried and tested paint for me. I like the shades of color they offer and devlan miracle wash.

Not all paints are created equal. For some reasons some colors of some paints cover better than other.

I use specific colors from multiple companies. Goblin green and Ultramarines blue are both amazing paints and I use them often, but blood red and the yellows all suck so I use other companies for those.

Back when I used inks, Blue Ink from GW was awesome, but I use even today Valejo green inks. The GW washes are really amazing though.

It boils down to the quality of the individual paint. And also I have to plan ahead and order my other paints I use but I can get my staples of goblin green, chaos black, boltgun metal and ultramarine blue pretty much immediatly should I need it.

I have used GW paints for 15 years, so I know what they do and I know I can expect consistency between a color from years ago and now. Although with the new paints, I'm not sure I will be able to.

I use Vallejo paints for the colors that GW doesn;t produce anymore. For example, "Scurf Green". I used to use the GW version, Scaly Green, on my Eldar for their base armor color. It got discontinued by GW, so I went over to Vallejo.

Frankly, I would go over to Vallejo for all my GW paint needs, except that I can't stand how friggin' watery they are. For example, Bleached Bone. If I use Vallejo, and I want to paint highlights on light brown hair, or skeletons, I have to leave the Vallejo version on the palette for five damn minutes just so it actually thickens up enough to not just wick into the crevasses! That is unacceptable. So I use GW Bleached Bone for that.

I also can't seem to find a good version by Vallejo to use as a stand-in for Codex grey, which is the basis of my Space Wolves.

If it weren't for some of the differences in thickness, and some of the colors I want being GW, I would switch over completely to Vallejo. Especially as you get a lot more paint in a bottle that won't ever dry out, which is a double positive.

Ignatius wrote:Because it works? And it works well. It gives me the results I want and I couldn't be happier with it. The catachan green I bought five years ago looks exactly the same as the catachan green I bought a month ago. The first dab of paint looks just the same as the last little bit at the bottom of the pot.

Why does this matter at all?

Why do you like GW models and games? Why don't you play other wargames instead?

Probably because you like it. Good for you.

Hear, hear. I use Citadel because the quality is consistent. I've bought over 30 different paints over the course of my hobbying from Citadel, and they all worked fantastic, straight from the pot. I had one bad paint pot (some Skull White that was a dried out blob when I bought it) and I got it replaced, no hassle. Compare that to Vallejo - I bought a few of them back in the day, and just to start using any given color, I have to shake it furiously for a solid 20-30 seconds, otherwise the paint doesn't mix at all.

Plus, Citadel paints I can just pop open the pot and use it - every other paint company, I have to dink around with a palette, regardless of whether I need to mix paint or not. While I'll agree that Citadel is lousy if you want to mix paints to get different shades, they have a lot of different colors to choose from in the first place. And as Ignatius said, the paints I bought a few years ago look exactly the same today, and every single time I use it, it's the same exact shade. I have this problem with my Space Wolves, which I painted entirely with Vallejo (it was back before I gave Citadel a chance) and to my eye, half the models have a slightly different shade of blue-gray color because I could never precisely get the same ratio of colors.

Honestly, Citadel is just a pretty good brand.

I have the initial Reaper Master Series, complete in the plastic storage box. I have upgraded with a few of their HD series equivalents when my bottles ran out. I prefer dropper bottles.

My friends use the GW paints, and I have tried a handful of the Foundation colors. They are excellent, I won't deny. But I hate the paint pots.

GW's washes kick ass.

kronk wrote:I have the initial Reaper Master Series, complete in the plastic storage box. I have upgraded with a few of their HD series equivalents when my bottles ran out. I prefer dropper bottles.

My friends use the GW paints, and I have tried a handful of the Foundation colors. They are excellent, I won't deny. But I hate the paint pots.

GW's washes kick ass.

Oh yeah I got some Gyphonne Sepia for my IF. fething fantastic stuff.

The washes kick ass, I agree. Even the ones from the 90's were cool.

I wish they would switch back to the old large hexagon pots that were alot like the material Vallejo Game colors are in. I think it was back when they used Coat D'arms. Mine are still good after 10+ years, and they paint awesome.

Too bad GW has a history of telling us what's good for us, rather than giving us what we want.

mattyrm wrote:

kronk wrote:I have the initial Reaper Master Series, complete in the plastic storage box. I have upgraded with a few of their HD series equivalents when my bottles ran out. I prefer dropper bottles.

My friends use the GW paints, and I have tried a handful of the Foundation colors. They are excellent, I won't deny. But I hate the paint pots.

GW's washes kick ass.

Oh yeah I got some Gyphonne Sepia for my IF. fething fantastic stuff.

I painted this Dragon (not counting the base and eyes), with nothing but GW washes.

I wouldnt say i like citadel paints, more that i dont dislike them, i canget the vallejo paints but i prefer the citadel paint pot to the vallejo one. Also i do find that the citadel ones are more easily available from more places

Availability is a factor for me. I can get to a hobby shop and get som GW paint at lunchtime if I really want a color for something I hope to paint in the evening. I order a lot of Reaper and Vallejo paints for major colors, though, nowadays. I think I am saving int he long term as loss from squirting out extra is better than loss by paint drying up.

Eh I just mix my own paints out of basic stuff from the art store. If you want true quality and consistency you gotta do it yourself.

GW washes produce the exact same effect as my homemade washes so I've been buying that in order to skip a few steps in the process. I suppose this is why I "like" the few Citadel brand paints that I use.

biccat wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:They are cheaper than Reaper/Valejo.

I don't get it...

Citadel is $3.70 for 12 ml.

Vallejo is $3.29 for 17 ml.

Reaper is $3.29 for 1/2 oz (14.7 ml).
(all MSRP)

Does your store mark up Vallejo and Reaper, or mark down Citadel?

If those are the actual MSRPs, then I'd say some from column A and some from column B.

Up here, the ONLY store stocking GW paints is GW.

The main street hobby store stocks Tamiya, Humbrol, Vallejo and testors.
The FLGS stocks Vallejo.

BOTH have full ranges of Vallejo, and they are cheaper than the GW (by about 20% - the hobby store DOES not mark down paints).

The hobby store used to stock GW (about 18 years ago) stuff - but when the local GW opened, they made it harder for the store to order the stock, so they just dropped it.

in this country, GW paints being cheaper would only happen in the bizarro verse.

Anything being cheap in this country would be bizarro

I use GW because the store I go to is a GW bunker and I don't really feel like getting my paint online.

I have some Citadel foundation paints, but mainly I prefer Coat d'Arms. It's the same paint GW used before they switched to their bolter shell bottles and is available from a variety of online sources.

I also have some Reaper, some P3, some Valljeo, etc.,.

As for GW's washes, I much prefer making my own using the recipes from Les at Awesomepaintjob.com. The Citadel paints are a solid product though.

The main reason I don't use Vallejo more is that I find it not as tough as P3, Coat d'Arms, Reaper, etc.,. While I do varnish everything with at least two coats, I still find Vallejo to be the weakest in terms of handling use as game pieces. When I do use it, I add in a little fluid matte medium to increase it's strength.

The strength thing could also be a result of temperature extremes and the shrinking/expansion of different materials. It gets up to 40C in the summer and -40C in the winter here.