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I was wondering what a list of paints would look like for collecting a cygnar army. How many paints would you need to get? I'm talking like paints to paint all the models.

And would it be better to use gw paints or pp paints because i already have gw paints. Thanks!

I'm not a Cygnar player but if you're doing the studio scheme for them, PP sells faction paint sets with all the basic colors for that faction. Comes with like 6 colors.

I've never used P3 paints, but paint is paint, you can use any brand on anything. GW paint line is rather limited though, most other paint companies have 4 times the number of colors as GW.

I use the ArmyPainter sprays for base coating, Vallejo Model Color, and GW washes.

P3 paints take longer to dry because PP really pushes the wet blend on model technique.

I use most of GW's paint, I mean, there's no need to switch. However, any of the GW paints that you find are hard to layer (Yellows, Whites, Reds, etc.) I use PP, they have much better opacity. Still, even then, I've got like 4 PP paints,

If you want the colors in the army book than use P3 paint since cygnar blue highlight and base are colors in the brand. I'm sure there is a compatibility chart though for P3 to GW to vallejo (since they are the most common used) somewhere on the internet if you are already loyal to another paint brand. GW dries really fast and most of the time is really thick out of the pot. P3 tends to be thinner, which makes it easier to apply thinly right out of the pot and takes longer to dry. I prefer P3 personally. It doesn't need to be watered down as much and you can do blending with it easier. GW in my experience always needs to be watered down significantly or the paint goes on too thick and obscures details. Also I get alot of dried paint around the rim of the pots which is annoying. P3's pots don't seem to have as much of a problem.

Can't comment on Vallejo since no shops around here sell it, but I see alot of painters online prefer it.

If you are going P3 and want the paint job in the codex than they have the P3 cygnar starter box. That with a pot of gold, a pot of silver and a pot of white is probably all you really need. If you are going to use washes I suggest the P3 armor wash and the P3 flesh wash. I also use the GW Asuremen Blue wash in the crevices of my cygnar blue details, and GW Devlan Mud wash on leather.

phillosmaster wrote: I'm sure there is a compatibility chart though for P3 to GW to vallejo (since they are the most common used) somewhere on the internet...

Indeed there is! In fact, it's right here on Dakka!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

I never like the fluff colors. They are my minis and I don't have to paint them to how they are in the book.

I wasn't suggesting he needed to paint them up like in the book. He asked how much paint he needed, but didn't really specify how he was going to paint them. I just assumed be was going for the cygnar defaults. It is ultimately your army. You can paint them any color you want.

oh sorry i should clarify that i want to paint them as their normal colour scheme and i'd just like to know around how many paints/which ones you would need to paint the default colour scheme.

I will never again buy GW paints outside of some select metals and a single foundation paint. It dries too fast and is generally too think. The coverage is hit or miss, though I do like the silvers and will probably continue to use them. Of all of the paints that I've used, GW paints are the only ones I've ever had dry in the bottle.

I own most of the P3 line, and find it to be the best generalist paint for usage. Its thin enough it can usually be painted straight from the pot and it stays wet long enough to fix mistakes and do some blending on the model (though I'm not very good at that). It also thins quite nicely and you can glaze without needing to add inks. I do find myself looking for certain colors that aren't in the range straight up however.

I have a good selection of Vallejo Game and Model Colors, though sometimes they tend to not have the greatest coverage. For mixing custom colors, nothing beats the dropper bottles. I tend to keep some glaze medium around for use with the game colors, as they tend to get a little weird if you add too much water.

I've used one of the Reaper triads. I like the idea of the triad, but the set I bought just wasn't what I wanted (the silver set). The silvers aren't quite as... sparklely for lack of a better word and they had a fairly serious blue undertone. I may try again if I feel the need to pickup more paint.

Warning about the P3 metallics: As far as I know, they are still off the market. (Something about flammability issues.)
As far as the GW paints go-
If you have the pallete to do what you want, just stick with them. I have painted all my WM stuff with GW paints, and I notice no significant difference in quality once they are on the model. I am switching over to the Vallejo paints as I run out of GW, because they are a bit easier to mix, and have a much greater range. P3 are good as well, and a little better value on the wallet, but I agree that they tend to be a bit runnier.
Overall, you can't go wrong with any of the three lines of paint discussed this far. Everyone has their preference for personal or subjective reasons, but as long as you get the colors you want, they are all equivalent.

Exceptions:
1. GW foundations and washes are really superior to the others. The other two lines either don't have an equivalent yet, (in the case of the Found.), or are using inks, which act very differently than washes.
2. GW is also a bit overpriced, IMHO.

CATACLYSMUS wrote:Warning about the P3 metallics: As far as I know, they are still off the market. (Something about flammability issues.)

The P3 metallics had a tendency to clump up and become unusable in the pot. I think thats why they were pulled, but I'm not 100% sure on it.

CATACLYSMUS wrote:
Exceptions:
1. GW foundations and washes are really superior to the others. The other two lines either don't have an equivalent yet, (in the case of the Found.), or are using inks, which act very differently than washes.

Regarding this, I find the normal P3s to be about the same amount of coverage and smoothness of the foundation line. Is there a color in particular you're speaking of? I find I love the Yellow Darksun Foundation paint, but the others I can just use a P3 for.

As for washes, I find myself using the P3 Flesh and Armor wash a lot, in conjunction with Devlin Mud and Gryphon Sepia. I bought the GW wash pack, but haven't found any reason to use any of the other washes out of the set.

Warning about the P3 metallics: As far as I know, they are still off the market. (Something about flammability issues.)

There's actually a bunch in my store still, so I don't know about a general recall, but they did pull a certain run of Rhulic Gold a while back after the bottles spontaneously exploded. Good fun, that.

I'm personally a fan of the P3s over GW or Vallejo. The pigment count is about the same as GW's foundation line, meaning it typically only takes one or two coats to get a nice solid finish. It's a bit runnier, but that's a plus in my book, as I can actually mix paints without 'em drying on my palette the moment I turn around. I will say that, with one or two exceptions (Pig Iron and Blighted Gold in my experience), the metallics are a bit random in quality, so I generally stick with GW or Vallejo in that area.

As for painting Cygnar in the studio scheme, depends on how well you're painting them. If you're just doing basecoat and one highlight with a wash on metallics, you can get away with the Cygnar paint set plus a bottle of armor wash. Anything more and it gets rather subjective, although the Cygnar force book has a pretty good guide to the actual studio method.

I forgot about the GW Gryphon Sepia wash. Add that to list I posted above because I also use that over anything gold or yellow.

On the subject of GW and P3 washes and inks I say use them both. I like all the GW washes though they are pricey, and P3 inks and washes have a few colors that don't exist in the GW line. Turquoise ink for example. P3 Arcane blue + P3 Turquoise ink + 1/2 arcane blue 1/2 white highlight is a nice easy way to do the Cygnar Arcane glow. Though Turquiose ink is a bit specialized. I've yet to find another use for the bottle which wasn't even half gone by the time I had finished the majority of my cygnar collection.....I guess I need to start a teal army or something

I bought the GW wash pack as well when it came out. I still have a full bottle of Leviathan Purple. Maybe a purple and teal army is in order. To contrast I think is used 4 or 5 bottles of both thraka green and devlan mud painting up my 40k ork army.

On the subject of metallic. I do use GW Shining Gold and Boltgun Metal. They do a pretty good job though I still have all the hang ups with them that I explained in my previous post.

daemon wrote:oh sorry i should clarify that i want to paint them as their normal colour scheme and i'd just like to know around how many paints/which ones you would need to paint the default colour scheme.

I've also recently started painting my cygnar moduls in the PP paint scheme.

I've been using Cygnar Faction Colors, but i've been adding an Iron Kingdoms Colors for extra paints. I really like the Pig Iron and Rhulic Gold color. Also i've added Solid Gold and Quick Silver for highlighting my metallic paints. and last the Umbral Umber for basecoating to the gold areas.

Otherwise look at the painting guide in the back of the Warmachine Rulesbook or in this video; http://privateerpress.com/formula-p3 . It covers the basics of painting the cygnar. But the very best painting guides are in the Forces of Warmachine Cygnar! they include all the colors that they use!

I Hope that helped a bit

Endgame wrote:[

CATACLYSMUS wrote:
Exceptions:
1. GW foundations and washes are really superior to the others. The other two lines either don't have an equivalent yet, (in the case of the Found.), or are using inks, which act very differently than washes.

Regarding this, I find the normal P3s to be about the same amount of coverage and smoothness of the foundation line. Is there a color in particular you're speaking of? I find I love the Yellow Darksun Foundation paint, but the others I can just use a P3 for.

I have the same experience with them. I tried out a couple of Foundation paints and found that they were rather similar to the P3 line, and thinned about the same. They dried faster, though (and dry out faster as well) which can sometimes be a problem for me. I ended up keeping Hormagaunt Purple, Mechrite Red and Iyanden Darksun, for the different hues; i dislike having to mix basecoat colors. It is too bad they changed from the old pots to the new ones, though.

GW Washes are quite good, although I'd like them to come in droppers.

This is all very helpful guys! I actually have a few foundation paints myself and find them to be a bit thick and clump if you're not careful.They really have to be watered down.

The formula p3 set sounds perfect for the quality of painting i want to achieve and i have some gw washes and some paints for gold/silver/bronze parts on guns and the warjacks.

What paint would you suggest for skin btw? I'm thinking just a base colour+ wash to get some decent skin.

I like starting with my basic flesh tone, then shade the flesh with a slightly darker flesh tone (adding some red if I want it ruddy, and then washing a thin mix of flesh mixed with dark green). I line muscles and faces with a mix of the red and green of the ruddy face, and then highlight up.

Or I just use the basic flesh color, wash with a flesh wash of some sort, line with the same color, and highlight up, if I want to keep it simple.

I mostly use GW paints, especially the washes, and lately mostly the Foundation line for base coats.
Devlan Mud wash works on everything. Except blue base coats, then you need to use Badab Black to make it look right.

From P3, Blighted Gold is hands down my favorite color. It has a hint of green in it that makes it look weathered.

I like it so much, I look for ways to use it on my non-Cryx minis.

For other metals I use GW's Boltgun Metal, Tin Bits, and occasionally Mithril Silver. When I need different tints, I vary up the washes I use.

Tamiya Smoke is great for a greasy, sooty metallic. It smells horrible, but works great.
Just be sure to let the paint set for a day before using it. It can cause the paint to run otherwise.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

daemon wrote:What paint would you suggest for skin btw? I'm thinking just a base colour+ wash to get some decent skin.

Lately I am using P3 Midlund Flesh as base and washing with GW Ogryn Flesh wash.

For undead flesh I use P3 Thrall Flesh, or GW Deneb Stone, with GW Ogryn Flesh wash.

If I feel I need more, I will highlight with the original base color after the wash dries.

I also have a couple of Tamiya paints, and they seem to me to be a bit harder to dilute with water. Also, they smell like sour vanilla mixed with vodka mixed with death...