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OK, just received my few bottles as a test order and had to try them out imediately.
Looked iffy first, but when dry it has a really nice finish and good shading effect. Painted over cheap white primer from the DIY store.
Very soft, squeezy bottles, watch out.

I also had to try out if it taints the colors painted over it, like AP. Painted Vallejo white over "Omega blue", "Velvet red" and "Martian orange" - no bleed through, no tainting. Still pure white.

Very nice so far, I will always stay an old school paint-ink-drybrush painter mostly, but whenever I use Contrast-like paints, I will buy the Vallejo ones from now on.

So no official release announcement that I can see, and Wayland has flicked pre-order times to 29 days...

Dark Sphere had them on pre-order, but they are now on 5-15 day lead time.

Good to see they are coming through somewhere, but I had rather set my hopes on getting some launch sets for Christmas :( #mostfirstestworldproblems

 Flinty wrote:
So no official release announcement that I can see, and Wayland has flicked pre-order times to 29 days...

Dark Sphere had them on pre-order, but they are now on 5-15 day lead time.

Good to see they are coming through somewhere, but I had rather set my hopes on getting some launch sets for Christmas :( #mostfirstestworldproblems

With Brexit and Royal Mail strikes I'm thinking this will reach UK after Christmas.

I'm over in Germany for Christmas. I might see if I can pick some up in person


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Actually, does anyone have a top tip for German hobby shops that might have a discount on the new Valllejo stuff?

 Flinty wrote:
I'm over in Germany for Christmas. I might see if I can pick some up in person


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Actually, does anyone have a top tip for German hobby shops that might have a discount on the new Valllejo stuff?

Not the new stuff, but Miniaturicum.de already sells the new Vallejo (Xpress) paints and has a sale on the old stuff - if that helps you.

 Flinty wrote:
I'm over in Germany for Christmas. I might see if I can pick some up in person


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Actually, does anyone have a top tip for German hobby shops that might have a discount on the new Valllejo stuff?

For paints (and many other things) fantasywelt.de usually has nice discounts. Another shop I‘ve used frequently is kutami.de

Both carry the new Vallejo paints, but stocks may vary at the moment.

Thanks for the tips! I will delegate investigation and translation duties to my ever patient Frau

Another review of the Xpress Color paints, this time from Tabletop Workshop and includes a PDF showing the results over white and 'slapchop' (i.e., black with a heavy white drybrush).

https://www.miniaturicum.de/service/xpres_colors_overview.pdf

That pdf is incredibly useful! So many new ways to do wooden planks now

Thanks for posting the PDF!

It looks like Stahly's review will be coming up tomorrow at about 10 am Eastern.

Would be very interested to see what these are like in the public’s hands.
How they compare to AP speed paints.

I was planning to buy some kind of paints for a slap chop or speed paint type method for several projects I’ve got in the planning stages.

I should be getting £70 firestorm games vouchers for Christmas.
The Army Painter full range is £68 I think.
I wonder what these will come in at.
Then of course which ends up being better, by ml to price, and for results and coverage etc..

The updated AP range that doesn't reactivate may well be good, but there's no ETA on them at this stage.
The GSW Dipping Inks are a bit thinner than other "contrasts" I've used so far, but I have only used a few of them.
Obviously, GW's Contrast is pretty solid, but expensive.
I'm expecting Vallejo's Xpress to finally hit early next year, so it might depend on when you plan to start these projects...

The projects are probably years out
I have all the models but that means nothing..

As long as they come out within the year then my vouchers would be valid.

I hear so many mixed reviews regarding Army Painter. It’s been the only thing holding me back.
Some people say no problems, some people say it’s a useful tool/feature, and some don’t like them.

I have seen full xpress sets of the 23 paints and the medium advertised for €80, so your voucher should cover most of it.

It’s the new game colour set that will be a lot above that. The only gripe I have just now is understanding easily in online stores which colours form each colour triad. I know the bottles themselves say, but I haven’t seen a handy chart yet.


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The German stores list the per litre price, it’s great, so Fantasywelt lists xpress at €193 per litre. Seems pretty expensive when later like that

So, my review is up: https://taleofpainters.com/2022/12/review-vallejo-xpress-color-copycat-or-contrast-slayer/

I also made a hand-painted & professionally photographed paint swatch of all 23 colours, and compare them to their Citadel counterparts.

Overall, I'm quite fond of them, though most colours are not as richly pigmented as Contrast.

Any idea if these could be used as a sort of acrylic version of an oil wash?

I've seen Richard Gray use Contrast in a similar technique when painting Imperial Fists, but he noted that the rapid drying time and the need to use the thick Contrast medium to clean up made it necessary to work fast and get it right in one, which seems like a fairly stressful trade off for just not wanting to use oils. I figure the extended drying time of Xpress lends itself to the technique a bit better, but would the fact these are supposedly water thinnable also work well, or would it still need to use the medium (which I assume has more in common with Contrast in terms of viscosity than water)?

@Stahly - great review! One of the best info is that you can paint over them without priming the particular spot again and thus easily correct any mistakes.

 Tim the Biovore wrote:
Any idea if these could be used as a sort of acrylic version of an oil wash?

I've seen Richard Gray use Contrast in a similar technique when painting Imperial Fists, but he noted that the rapid drying time and the need to use the thick Contrast medium to clean up made it necessary to work fast and get it right in one, which seems like a fairly stressful trade off for just not wanting to use oils. I figure the extended drying time of Xpress lends itself to the technique a bit better, but would the fact these are supposedly water thinnable also work well, or would it still need to use the medium (which I assume has more in common with Contrast in terms of viscosity than water)?

I'd always prefer a medium (Contrast or Xpress Medium), yes, you can thin them with water, but it gives them more of a glaze like quality. And their "water thinnability" isn't thaaat much better than Contrast.

Thanks for the review, they look solid and I'm particuarly impressed with Space Grey, absolutely superior to Space Wolves Grey contrast from the looks of it.

scarletsquig wrote:
Thanks for the review, they look solid and I'm particuarly impressed with Space Grey, absolutely superior to Space Wolves Grey contrast from the looks of it.

Honestly, it's one of my least favourite paints. It's more similar to Briar Queen Chill than Space Wolves Grey, as you can see on the Primaris Marine I painted (used both on the bolt rifle there). It's also a rather opaque paint. But hey, might be up your alley

 stahly wrote:
So, my review is up: https://taleofpainters.com/2022/12/review-vallejo-xpress-color-copycat-or-contrast-slayer/

I also made a hand-painted & professionally photographed paint swatch of all 23 colours, and compare them to their Citadel counterparts.

Overall, I'm quite fond of them, though most colours are not as richly pigmented as Contrast.

I know this is the Vallejo thread but seeing you here I have to ask: GSW recently updated / enhanced their Dipping Inks line with Deep Black Ink and others. I haven't seen you or others do a review of these additional paints (at least they aren't mentioned in your review from August that’s why I'm assuming they're a later addition). Will there be one? I ordered Deep Black Ink last week and just hope it's what I need .

Looks like 23 colours will come in at around the £70 mark too then.
AP you’re getting a lot more colour choice (around 40 is it?) for that same cost.

Having choice is useful.
I’m torn between the options really.
Though not sure on bottle sizes maybe that’s why.

Flinty, yeah I like the idea of the game colour set but I’m so invested in paints from GW over the years that replacing all would be a waste.
Again for new projects going forward, I can start anything.
But mid way through armies, it’s hard to change up on paints..

Cheers, Stahly! Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review!!

After your review, and the initial showing from Juan, I bought yesterday the whole range

I think this line of painst fits my style of pinting more than the old Contrast. I prefer the Instant Colors over Contrast because of the matt finish, the less intense colors and the longer dry time to work with the paint more carefully. And the need of two or three coats of Scale never bored me, I even preffer it in some cases to create a better degradation myshelf.

The only real issue I see, that you, and every reviewer that I have seen so far is talking, is the limit of their range, but I'm so glad that Juan in helping improve the color selection right now.

Do we have an estimation of how much time could it take for the second batch to arrive?? Some months?? Half a year?? Various years??

 vanvakaris wrote:
Thanks for the review!!

After your review, and the initial showing from Juan, I bought yesterday the whole range

I think this line of painst fits my style of pinting more than the old Contrast. I prefer the Instant Colors over Contrast because of the matt finish, the less intense colors and the longer dry time to work with the paint more carefully. And the need of two or three coats of Scale never bored me, I even preffer it in some cases to create a better degradation myshelf.

The only real issue I see, that you, and every reviewer that I have seen so far is talking, is the limit of their range, but I'm so glad that Juan in helping improve the color selection right now.

Do we have an estimation of how much time could it take for the second batch to arrive?? Some months?? Half a year?? Various years??

At least months, that's all I can say. But if they listen to me, the line would not only be complete in terms of hues but also include somethings no other brand has done yet


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Danny76 wrote:
Looks like 23 colours will come in at around the £70 mark too then.
AP you’re getting a lot more colour choice (around 40 is it?) for that same cost.

Having choice is useful.
I’m torn between the options really.
Though not sure on bottle sizes maybe that’s why.

Flinty, yeah I like the idea of the game colour set but I’m so invested in paints from GW over the years that replacing all would be a waste.
Again for new projects going forward, I can start anything.
But mid way through armies, it’s hard to change up on paints..

Speedpaints are also 24 colours

 JHMiniatures wrote:

 vanvakaris wrote:
Thanks for the review!!

After your review, and the initial showing from Juan, I bought yesterday the whole range

I think this line of painst fits my style of pinting more than the old Contrast. I prefer the Instant Colors over Contrast because of the matt finish, the less intense colors and the longer dry time to work with the paint more carefully. And the need of two or three coats of Scale never bored me, I even preffer it in some cases to create a better degradation myshelf.

The only real issue I see, that you, and every reviewer that I have seen so far is talking, is the limit of their range, but I'm so glad that Juan in helping improve the color selection right now.

Do we have an estimation of how much time could it take for the second batch to arrive?? Some months?? Half a year?? Various years??

At least months, that's all I can say. But if they listen to me, the line would not only be complete in terms of hues but also include somethings no other brand has done yet


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Danny76 wrote:
Looks like 23 colours will come in at around the £70 mark too then.
AP you’re getting a lot more colour choice (around 40 is it?) for that same cost.

Having choice is useful.
I’m torn between the options really.
Though not sure on bottle sizes maybe that’s why.

Flinty, yeah I like the idea of the game colour set but I’m so invested in paints from GW over the years that replacing all would be a waste.
Again for new projects going forward, I can start anything.
But mid way through armies, it’s hard to change up on paints..

Speedpaints are also 24 colours

Thanks for the answers!! Glad to see that you came here to interact with the community!!

Months is not all that bad, I was worried that the development process could take years. Now I'm honestly curious about how a new brand of paints (specially the chemist part, as my wife is a chemist) is reformulated, hehehe

And I'm intrigued about the "something special that no-one has ever done". I'm sure it would be cool if you are involved, for sure.

I have them preordered as a bundle from a spanish retailer (e-minis), but still nothing.

The bundles seem to be taking longer. The cynic in me suggests this might be deliberate, but then I get all confused as I would have though the best sales strategy would be to splash a new product all over the Christmas sales period with some clear bundles, even If they don’t deliver much saving.

I’ve had to email Vallejo to ask how the triads are ordered. The pdf colour listing doesn’t appear to set the paints out in that way, and the online pictures never show the rear of the bottle so I canwork out what goes with what.

It might not just be GW that can’t market their way out of a wet paper bag.

 JHMiniatures wrote:



Automatically Appended Next Post:

Danny76 wrote:
Looks like 23 colours will come in at around the £70 mark too then.
AP you’re getting a lot more colour choice (around 40 is it?) for that same cost.

Having choice is useful.
I’m torn between the options really.
Though not sure on bottle sizes maybe that’s why.

Flinty, yeah I like the idea of the game colour set but I’m so invested in paints from GW over the years that replacing all would be a waste.
Again for new projects going forward, I can start anything.
But mid way through armies, it’s hard to change up on paints..

Speedpaints are also 24 colours

Yeah I saw after, not sure where I got so many from

I’ll look at the two ranges and see who has the best colours of choice maybe.
Go for that one.

Can always buy the odd extra colour down the line from whatever range as I see and want them (I’ve already got a few Contrast for instance. Skin, a purple ish for my GSC, and the Gharagak Sewer or whatever that awesome colour is).