Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

DakkaDakka,

Looking for a new set of miniature paints that will cover Iyanden & Tarnished Bronze Space Marine Legion schemes. I'm currently using GW pots and they are to messy to deal with. I have been looking at Army Painter but really my only "need" are the paints must be eye dropper. Any suggestions?

Mr. Raynor

The most common recommendation you will probably get is Vallejo. Very good product, with a complete line of products from primers to paints to airbrush paints to additives to varnishes to brush cleaners. I used their primers, additives, and varnishes, but not their paints because...

I mostly use Reaper's Master Series Paints. Admittedly, I won a set 120-something of their paints in a tournament several years ago, so I am somewhat biased as I didn't need to buy them all myself. Reaper is also local to me, so there is the appeal of supporting a local business. I do like the triad system Reaper uses, so everything is set up in base/shade/highlight sets of colors.

I haven't used Army Painter's paints, but I do like their quickshade products (both the inks and the dips). I also like that they match the primers and paints to each other, and I believe they match many (if not all) of their paints to GW's colors. If you're a fan of GW's old Devlan Mud, I've read that the Quckshade Strong Tone Ink is an almost perfect duplicate.

It varies depending on what you want. I like the GW base range. I like the Army Painter Washes (which are like the old GW washes before they updated them). I like the dropper bottles from Vallejo and Reaper, though as far as the paint quality itself is concerned I'm mostly indifferent. I like a lot of colours from P3 and I like the pots too.

I also like Mr. Hobby and Tamiya, which are alcohol based acrylics, because they have a bunch of unique colours and they go on really smooth, they also airbrush really well.

it depends on what kind of paint your using. I like the base colours and washes of GW but for other things I prefer the Vallejo range.

I was looking at Vallejo, Reaper, & Minitaire paint range and couldn't find an paint set to my needs that wasn't hugely costed or without having to buy multiple paint sets. Plus, with the Army Painter Set you get the entire range + 3 brushes & the matt varnish. Seems like a good value? Has anyone used the Army Painter range below? If so, were you impressed?

I have the army painter ink and they're great, but the brushes/tools are a bit rubbish.

For brushing, my favourite paints for general usage are Vallejo Model Air, they're a pleasure to work with. When that range doesn't have the colours I need, I tend to go to Vallejo Game Colour which is a nice vibrant range, good for sci-fi and fantasy. I also use Minitaire (have the whole set) and they're probably the best price/volume if you can get them for 40-50% off which you often can. As others mention, GW bases are actually pretty good, and so are their shades. Army painter and secret weapon washes are also really good. You'll gt best results by picking bits from a variety of ranges.

Here's an example for the basic red on my Blood Ravens which uses 3 different brands of paint.
1. Vallejo Polyurethane white primer.
2. Minitaire Nebula Red.
3. Shaded with VMA Hull Red
4. Highlighted with VMA Light Red.
5. Washed with Secret Weapon Ruby wash.

I use Army Painter for all my basic colours, and I find them great. As noted above, their washes are also very highly regarded. For more specific colours I tend to go to Vallejo as their range is so massive.

I will agree that their brushes leave a lot to be desired though - I found them good at first, but they lose their 'point' faster than any other brush range I've ever used, so I stay away from them now (except their Kolinsky brush).

Another vote for Vallejo here. I use all sorts of paint, from the most recent GW to ancient Coat D'arms stuff, and Vallejo Model Air are my favourite, even for brush work. Unless airbrushing, they don't really need thinning, cover most things very nicely, and they have a very good range of colours.

There are 2 places I will say GW wins though. I think GW metallics are by far the best I've used, and tend to retain more consistency than a lot of others (which can separate fairly fast). The Technical paints are great, well worth the higher price, and their Foundation Paint (or whatever they call it now) is very good for getting a first coat down.

If I had to work with just one range, though, VMA all the way.

I've found the various big-name hobby brands all to be of comparable quality. Value ratings would tend to leave GW lagging (based purely on the cost per volume), with the rest in a reasonably tight race. All paint ranges have internal variation, though (i.e. different colors behave somewhat differently), and I've yet to use a brand that didn't have at least one gem and one dud. Different brands also have some completely unique colors, as well as slight variations between their more standard offerings.

Reaper, Vallejo, or Army Painter are all reasonably safe bets and fulfill your container criterion. I'd personally recommend picking up a few of each to try and letting that guide your future purchases. If you specifically want a set to buy once and be done (until something runs out), AP would probably give you the most bang for your buck. I don't generally like sets, as the savings are generally eaten up in rarely or never used colors, leaving you slightly poorer off than buying what you actually need and expanding from there. It is certainly easier, though, so weigh between your budget and your patience.

I did end up buying the Army Painter Mega Set as I believe it would be the best value as I tend to use the basic colors then wash and highlight with mixing. Plus, I think with the Miniataire and Vallejo I would have needed to spend about $50 more to get the range of paints I wanted because they would spread out amongst other sets that had paints I would probably never use. Thanks for the advice