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Hey all,

I started with Citadel Paint, mostly because they were the ones that the store I bought my minis at had. They work real well, but I had one issue with them; they had a dry "ring" around the top that kinda goobered up my brushes! Is this normal for Citadel? All of them had it so I was curious. The White had it the worst! I was thinking it might be an age issue(as in, the paints had been sitting in his shop for a long time!) because it's not exactly a popular hobby and the shop itself is in the basement of a pharmacy...

Anyhow, in addition to Citadel paint, what are some of the better other brands? I was looking at Vallejo paints, mostly because the sets they sell seem a little more reasonable than GW. I'm not *too* money conscious, this is my main hobby and there isn't much else to do at this particular locale in Japan, but I would like to be getting a good value!

Any thoughts?

Being in Japan - I would have to say Mr. Color.

http://www.mr-hobby.com/

They are an excellent line of paint with a lot of colors to choose from. Clean up is pretty easy. Be sure to make sure you are getting the Aqueous line though as opposed to their lacquer line (both are great paints...but you need to make sure which ones you are using).

Tamiya is also an excellent line of paints - though it is important to note that their acrylics are alcohol based and not water based. Trying to thin with water will not provide very good results. The colors tend to be more muted in general compared to hobby paints since they target scale military modelers more.

You might consider looking into the local faire more deeply as well. I know the sculptor for this company:

http://www.aurora-model.jp/

And they have been bringing a number of the Western concepts Eastward - so you may be able to get your fix of paints from this side of the pond.

I've had rather good luck with Vallejo's Model Color range, and their other lines (adding up to a very impressive catalog, all told) have received boatloads of good reviews, both here and elsewhere. If you're going to order things online, they're a pretty safe bet.

I agree, though, that it's worth checking out the domestic brands. Between Tamiya and Gunze Sangyo, alone, there are lots of products that modelers worldwide try their damnedest to import from Japan. While many are lacquer-/enamel-based products aimed at the gunpla/vinyl character model markets, there are plenty of products useful to the more acrylic-centric wargaming market, too.

I think it's Vallejo Model Air for me. The whole Vallejo line is pretty excellent in my experience but VMA win for the metallics

I am a big fan of reaper paints. They are good quality and thin quite well. The dropper design is great for mixing.

I am rapidly becoming a big fan of the inexpensive craft paints. Brands like CraftSmart, Apple Barrel, Folk Art and the like. Good selection of colors, and MUCH more affordable than than the average hobby paints like Reaper, Vallejo, or GW. Where hobby paints are around $3-$4 for a half-ounce of paint, craft paints range between $0.60-$1.80 for TWO ounces of paint.

I'll grant you the pigment density is lower, but not hugely so. It just encourages you to use multiple thin layers of paint.

I don't know about anything locally, but you can get Vallejo paints delivered from Full Metal Planet or GW stuff from Iconoclasm. I've used both of them for years, and they provide good service. However, all your interactions will be in Japanese, so YMMV.

Liquitex from the craft store is nice, you get a ton of paint in huge bottles and it doesn't seem any worse than any of the overpriced miniature paints. They have an ink range too.

 Vulcan wrote:
I am rapidly becoming a big fan of the inexpensive craft paints. Brands like CraftSmart, Apple Barrel, Folk Art and the like. Good selection of colors, and MUCH more affordable than than the average hobby paints like Reaper, Vallejo, or GW. Where hobby paints are around $3-$4 for a half-ounce of paint, craft paints range between $0.60-$1.80 for TWO ounces of paint.

I'll grant you the pigment density is lower, but not hugely so. It just encourages you to use multiple thin layers of paint.

This is what I use, though it won't be a better consistency than Citadel. If they have it in Japan, the "Delta Ceramcoat" brand is the best brand of Craft paint and only costs a bit more than the others. It's smoother in application and seems to have a higher pigmentation closer to that of Citadel and others.

Whatever you decide, if you use craft or artists paints, it's highly advisable to get some flow enhancer or Acrylic matte medium to smooth out the paint a bit as it tends to be thicker than miniature-specific paint brands.