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Anyone have experience with GW Foundation paints?? I have not yet used them. It seems  you dont even need a base coat, this stuff is like a colored base coat....your ideas on this and what paints you use..

They are meant to be used for basecoats. Just don't confuse that with primer.

They will definitely let you do nice solid yellows and reds easily in 2 coats over black primer, with only one of those coats being the foundation color. Heck, even one coat works pretty well if the foundation color is the one you actually want.

what would happen if you did NOT use a primer, just painted on Foundation paints. It says that they can be used without a primer because they are a new primerless paint, is this BS...

I've never head anything about them being primerless. The box definitely doesn't mention such use, and refers to them as being designed to go on over black or white undercoats. Acrylic brush-on paint always needs a primer, imo.

There are quite a few reviews around that say that they aren't really much better, even (especially) the yellows and reds. Gimic paint as far as I can gather.

For the first time in years, I bought GW paint and didn't feel like I was getting ripped off. The foundation paints have a rather limited palette, but they make great basecoats. The red covers black primer in a single coat, which no other paint ever did. The paint is very thick, and you can thin it down a little for easier flow without loosing the pigment density.

Truly, I am a fan.

I don't know how well they would work on a bare figure, and it probably depends on the material- metal? Plastic? Resin? Give it a try and let us know. Personally I always prime my figures flat black, and don't intend to stop.

Yeah, I have to disagree with wayfarer and agree with Fellblade.  Based on my personal experience, and not based on reviews, they really do cover very well in one coat.  If you thin them down heavily, then they don't cover as well, but that should be obvious.  Even heavily thinned, they still cover far better than GW's normal line.

When mentioned two coats in an earlier post, I was referring to using the Foundation red (Mechite Red) as a basecoat, and then covering with a very thinned coat of the red you actually want (in my case, Red Gore).  Makes a nice, vibrant red, with none of the mottling or darkness that was the usual case when doing red over black primer even after 5+ coats.

I was just thinking how cool it would be if I did not have to primer a mini. The primer really covers up details on a mini. Anyone ever painted on primer. Spray primer is so hard to control coverage. It seems I get way too much or too litte on and then have to go back and then really get too much on it...ideas to help

I've used an airbrush to apply primer, which gets you a little better control than a spray can. But really, if the primer is obscuring detail, you're using too heavy coats. Try holding the can a little further away?

The primer isn't just for colour, it helps provide a better surface for the paint to stick to the mini.

What kind of primer are you using that covers up details on the mini? Use good primer and be sure to follow the directions (especially if it's from some rattle spray can). Tamiya's Surface Primer for plastic & metal is excellent, as is Gunze Sanyo's Mr. Primer series of products, the latter which come in both paint on and spray on varieties.

Redbeard nailed it: Primer is basically a glue/resin compound that bonds to the figure to provide a surface for the paint to adhere to. Now, , if you are looking to skip the undercoat step (ie: white or black), there are spray primers that come in those colors instead of the standard grey. But you should never skip the primer, lest you find your hard work done painting your figures come to naught as even light handling will rub the paint off to bare plastic/metal if no primer is used.

I just use cheap flat black (or rarely, flat white) spray paint as primer. I find that if you shake the can really well, keep the can about 18 to 20 inches from the figures, and are patient enough to put on two light coats instead of one heavy coat, it does just fine. As well as or better than actual 'primer' spray. Another important factor is the environment- often, when it is very humid, the primer will go on rough or almost gritty.

Some people have tried primering with matte clearcoat. This gives a chemical surface for your paint to adhere to, without obscuring detail at all. I have tried it, once; but I was not particularly impressed with the result.

I used to primer my figures black. When they were dry, I would drybrush them white. This really makes the details pop out, and gives a lighter base for your bright colors. Since I bought the foundation paints, I skip the white drybrush.

I also would not recommend using a clear coat for primering, since in addition to providing a surface for paint to better adhere to, it is also useful for providing a continuous even matte coat which assists in finding any minor flaws that often get overlooked when in bare plastic/metal/resin. Not to mention that if there is some problem with the clear coat (ie: GW's notoriously awful purity seal), you might not notice it until you start undercoating/basecoating.

I bought Foundation paints the day they came out. As I hardly ever buying anything from my local GW this in itself should be a good pointer to my opinions of them. There was an open set in the store for the previous month and I tried them out on my own miniatures.

They are intended to cover over black undercoat with a single coat. Most of the colours do this, though you get a better result if you paint over again with a non foundation paint. By themselves they are not much good, even for painting dull tones, but even just a single coat or normal Gw paints atop them brings out the quality.

What I really liked about them was that you could paint over plastic, but NOT metal, without an undercoat. I rubbed the shop miniature I painted this way (a Skull Pass goblin) in order to soil and wear it, the paint did not come off.

What I have done is undercoat and paint a marine army normally, but left the helmetless heads seperate. I used Tallarn Flesh as an undercoat/basecoat for the head and Astronomicon Grey (or Smelly Primer)as an undercoat for other parts of the head such as ther collar, bionics, service studs etc. Then I glued the headson and highlighted/inkwashed normally. By doing this I have kept the facial features very crisp and clear, normally the first thing to go when you add on layers of paint. I am not a particularly good painter, yet I did a good job this way. Highly recommended.

While I have a full set, I mainly need it for Tallarn Flesh (for the rasons above) and Iyanden Darksun because yellows were always hard to get to work.

I purchased the new Foundation Paints and so far I've been super satisfied. I just finished a Treeman using mostly the new paints with just the finishing touches done w/ normal GW paints and it looks great. I've also used them to basecoat my new Dark Angels on the robes and armor and been very satisfied, almost makes me enjoy painting...

Ozymandias, King of Kings

I looked at GW foundation paints ofr my krieg and I really like them.

Admitibly they have little nuiances that oyu have to get used to. They dry very quickly and if not applied carefully can build up thick coats evenly.

Mix them with a little water and it helps with this. Also due to the nature of the paint it can show brush strokes a lot more easily than Citadel Colour. Foundation paint can give interesting effects when used as washes and they mix with the standard Citadel colour line very nicely.

Infact this is where they excel, at giving more subdued natural tones to some of Citadel Colours more bright and stark shades, as well as improving the coverage strength of Citadel colour at the same time.

I painted my Krieg Grenadier Sarge completely with Citadel Foundation and some Citadel Colour blending. The greys are great for building up to white as well as the dark yellows for building up to bright yellow.

All in all i'm really pleased with this line, but definately use an undercoat or primer first!

Actually I have a Necromunda  Redemptionist that I'v painted using the fenris grey as the base coat and it's come out ok. the main reason for a primer coat is to give the paint something to grip to with out it ,the paint flakes off somewhat.