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Like many hobbyists I've only ever painted with Citadel paints, but the wonders of the internet & YouTube have exposed me to some of the other awesome paint ranges out there. I've read that its pretty common for serious amateur & professional painters to have specific colors from different brands they are crazy about, and consider essential to achieving the particular style they're going for.

Are there any particular color pots out there you really adore, that none of the competing products ever seem to better? I can't wait to hear all about your favorites.

Part of my problem is legacy paints. I’ve got old Citadel paints, which are really Cote d’arms colors. But I use things like Deadly Nightshade, Glistening Green, and a few others that the modern GW paints don’t quite match. When I run out of them, I’ll need to consider if I want to hunt down alternate brands of the same color, or just switch to the closest GW equivalent.

I want everything to look uniform, but I’m pretty lazy, and just using GW paints is easy.

 Nevelon wrote:
Part of my problem is legacy paints. I’ve got old Citadel paints, which are really Cote d’arms colors. But I use things like Deadly Nightshade, Glistening Green, and a few others that the modern GW paints don’t quite match. When I run out of them, I’ll need to consider if I want to hunt down alternate brands of the same color, or just switch to the closest GW equivalent.

I want everything to look uniform, but I’m pretty lazy, and just using GW paints is easy.

You do realize you can still purchase Coat d'Arms paints? In the US, you can purchase them online from Scale Creep Miniatures.

 Ghaz wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Part of my problem is legacy paints. I’ve got old Citadel paints, which are really Cote d’arms colors. But I use things like Deadly Nightshade, Glistening Green, and a few others that the modern GW paints don’t quite match. When I run out of them, I’ll need to consider if I want to hunt down alternate brands of the same color, or just switch to the closest GW equivalent.

I want everything to look uniform, but I’m pretty lazy, and just using GW paints is easy.

You do realize you can still purchase Coat d'Arms paints? In the US, you can purchase them online from Scale Creep Miniatures.

But then I can’t pick up the pot, give it a good shake, and pay with cash as an impulse buy. I’m not a fan of ordering online in general. But that’s just my old fashioned eccentricities showing up. Aka I’m old and crazy, and don’t like this new fangled world we live in. Plus the cost of shipping is rough on small orders generally.

I’m still nursing along my old pots. Some day when enough hit critically low mass, I might just order a batch of old paints. But as with so many things in my life, it’s a fight between being cheep and lazy to see if anything gets done. Thanks for the link though. I knew in theory that they were still available, and have seen references to places before that carried them, but it’s been a while.

Vallejo model air white; and the Vallejo liquid gold range are both great. Also tamiya clear red and clear smoke I've found good for many things but unparalleled for gore effects.
And blood red from the old games workshop paint range, their new alternative just doesn't look as sharp for a red highlight.

GW: Mephiston Red, Evil Sunz Scarlet, Leadbelcher, Rakkarth Flesh, Pallid Wych Flesh
P3: Thamar Black, Cyngar Blue Base & Highlight
Vallejo: Silver, Decal Fix, Decal Medium, Airbrush Thinner, Airbrush Cleaner

Washes - GW Nuhln Oil & Agrax Earthshade
Specialty - Blood for Blood God, Typhus Corrosion, Necron Compound

These are just paints I'd miss a lot if I couldn't get them anymore

Astronomicon Grey (previous Citadel line, Foundation paint) is my absolute favorite base for painting neutral-cool whites.

Golden Fluid acrylics Carbon Black is THE blackest black in the history of black. Paint a black surface with another black paint, then use this to shade it.

Airbrush metallics - accept no substitute (in terms of acrylics, at least - I know Liquid Gold and Alclad lacquers are the dog's danglies, for a bit of extra hassle). I have a few VMA that are great for both brushing and spraying, but have also been surprised by the quality of the finish of Aztec Pearl airbrush paints from Badger. My Michaels carries them, making them the only locally available line (LGS only stocks GW). Good price point per volume ($7 for 2oz/~60mL, which becomes $4.20 with a 40% off coupon), but a bit pricey on a per color basis and with a limited selection. The bottles come with a sizable bar agitator inside, which makes mixing them up painless, but the flat-topped dropper bottle (think craft paint bottle) gets a bit messy if you try to dispense them drop by drop.

I haven't sprung for any P3 paints, yet, but they seem to be the line that really goes for unique hues. Most brands have rough equivalents of any given color, but that's not always the case when it comes to Privateer Press. Bloodstone, Coal Black, and Underbelly Blue spring to mind as colors I've seen used in painting videos that simply have no parallel in other lines.

hahaha, oadie...
those three P3 paints are definitely part of my list for "must have" unique tones...

besides Coal Black, Bloodstone, and Underbelly Blue, i would add Greatcoat Grey, Sanguine Base, Heartfire, Arcane Blue, Meredius Blue, Trollblood Base, Trollblood Highlight, Khador Red Base, Gun Corps Brown, Menoth White Base, Menoth White Highlight, Pig Iron, and Rhulic Gold...

though honestly, i would just list off the whole range of P3, as the paints, inks, and washes make up 99% of what i use...

outside of P3 i use Vallejo Model Air Gold & Aluminium, and Vallejo Model Color Smoke...
the only three paints in my arsenal that are not P3...

cheers
jah

I absolutely love the old develan mud - one of the best soft body washes out there. (army painter has a version).

A good metallic - I really like the old boltgun metal, and vallejo game air gun metal. both are very nice.

I also like the reaper master series white primer - it brushes on well, and gives excellent coverage.

I have some golden airbrush transparent grey, that is amazing for shading.

@davethepak -- Leadbelcher is indistinguishable from the old boltgun metal, which was an awesome paint.

One thing I missed on my list: Liquitex Black Gesso!!! I would hate not having that. It always dries very, very flat no matter how much you goop on, and it will literally cover *anything* in one coat.

A few come to mind.

Vallejo Game Color - Beasty Brown

Vallejo Game Color - Red Gore

P3 - Blood Tracker Brown (best base color for leather I have found)

A few I swear by:

(Current) GW- Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, Runrfang Steel
OOP GW: Iyanden Darksun, Macragge Blue, Mechrite Red (in theory these all have current equivalents, but I don't like the current range's consistency)
VMA: Ivory, Dark Grey Blue, Dark Earth, Black

I dread the day my 10-15 year old pot of Steel Plate Reaper Pro-Paint runs dry - I've sworn by that for most of my 'silver metal' needs.

My pot of Zandri dust gets used... a lot. I always have some kind of bone or chitin or tanned flesh that needs a tan base. It's the perfect color for that in my opinion and I actually prefer the consistency of GW paints. I can never seem to thin Reaper or P3 paints the right amount. They're always either too thick or too runny.

A lot of times I can slap a base of Zandri on something, maybe add some highlights with Ushabti bone and wash it in Nuln Oil or Agarax Earthshade and call it a day. Probably not a professional job, some might even call it disdainful, but it makes for a rather okay tabletop paintjob. I do the same thing with Mephiston/Khorne red (depending on how dark I want it) and Evil Sunz Scarlet.

These two colors have kind of made up the entirety of my paint jobs I'm going to try branching out into blue next. Then who knows what I'll be capable of next?! Yellow?! GREEN?!

VMC Hull Red
VMC Oily Steel
VMC Iraqi Sand

I use those with insane regularity.

Adeptus Battlegrey - Citadel Foundation, works great to highlight blacks or near blacks. Great coverage.

Coal - Minitaire (Never work in black. Can't really shade it. This is the closest to black while not being black and still have room to work.)

Most Ghost tints from Minitaire, great for effects and quick OSL

P3 are great for mixing, make colors lighter or darker.
Sanguine Base
Exile Blue
Jack Bone - Which is awesome to replace the old GW Bleach Bone
Menoth White Highlight