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1-2 paints from any paint range. I myself want to say Agrax Earthshade. It can make anything beautiful. I keep two bottles under my pillow.

Vallejo Model Air metallics.

Otherwise, whatever you need when you need it. I paint from 5 ranges i think.

whatever works for them seriously

I personally love my bottle of Reaper ancient bronze. Since I paint a lot of Skaven, I tend to use that a lot. And Vallejo Old Gold. Beautiful colours.

My absolute must haves:

Vallejo Game Colour Ghosty Grey - fantastic coverage and opacity for such a pale colour, great base for whites.

Vallejo Model Colour White - brightest, cleanest white I've ever used.

P3 Sanguine Base + Sanguine Highlight - excellent dark burgundy red and it's slightly pinkish highlight. Great combo and Sanguine Base applies wonderfully for basecoats.

Vallejo Game Colour Charred Brown - very dark rich brown .

Vallejo Game Colour Tinny Tin - a brown bronze, very versatile.Covers well, which you can't always say for VGC metallics.

Army Painter Gun Metal - basically Boltgun Metal, one of the best medium silvers around.

Vallejo Model Colour German Grey - not far off black and a very useful dark highlight.

Reaper Master Series Pure Black - does what it says on the tin. Very matte.

Army Painter Dark Tone and Strong Tone - Black and Brown washes. Cheaper than the alternatives and superior imo.




Prefer Reaper's Old Bronze myself. much yellower and is fantastic for making pale, white gold by adding silver.


Matthew - if you use a lot of Agrax it may be worth your while checking out Army Painter's Strong Tone. It's basically the old Devlan Mud but you get 17ml in a dropper bottle, for less than you'd pay for 12ml in one of those GW pots.

Army painter washes.
And purple.

 sockwithaticket wrote:

Matthew - if you use a lot of Agrax it may be worth your while checking out Army Painter's Strong Tone. It's basically the old Devlan Mud but you get 17ml in a dropper bottle, for less than you'd pay for 12ml in one of those GW pots.

But is it worth it to have it in a dropper bottle? Seems a bit weird, how do I paint directly from the bottle? I do plop mine on a palette to dilute it, but when I want a thick coat?

 Matthew wrote:

 sockwithaticket wrote:

Matthew - if you use a lot of Agrax it may be worth your while checking out Army Painter's Strong Tone. It's basically the old Devlan Mud but you get 17ml in a dropper bottle, for less than you'd pay for 12ml in one of those GW pots.

But is it worth it to have it in a dropper bottle? Seems a bit weird, how do I paint directly from the bottle? I do plop mine on a palette to dilute it, but when I want a thick coat?

Absolutely, better control over your quantities and less risk of drying out/evaporation. Painting straight from the pot with a dropper just means putting a couple of drops on your palette and not diluting them, it's functionally the same as sticking your brush into a pot, just you do it on the palette instead.

Also from a personal perspective, as a bit of a clumsy sod, I have lost almost entire pots of GW wash from knocking them over, no such worry with a dropper!

 sockwithaticket wrote:

Also from a personal perspective, as a bit of a clumsy sod, I have lost almost entire pots of GW wash from knocking them over, no such worry with a dropper!

I feel your pain.

 Matthew wrote:

 sockwithaticket wrote:

Also from a personal perspective, as a bit of a clumsy sod, I have lost almost entire pots of GW wash from knocking them over, no such worry with a dropper!

I feel your pain.

Ha, I suspect most of us have had that dispiriting experience.

Probably should have also mentioned the monetary advantage: Strong Tone is significantly cheaper than Agrax Earthshade, especially if you're using it a lot and having to replace pots frequently, while being an equivalent product (I happen to prefer the finish Strong Tone gives and think they are slightly different); I don't know about Swedish prices, but here in the UK I can usually get 17ml of Strong Tone for £1.80 compared to 12ml of Agrax for £2.30. Over time and with a lot of usage, that's a fairly significant saving.

A while ago I might have said Devlan Mud/Army Painter Strong Tone... but really it just comes down to what paints are required to paint the model in front of you. I haven't used any Army Painter wash in months and if I lost all my collection for some reason and had to start from scratch it probably wouldn't be on my shopping list.

If I had to pick two, I would say Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil, both by GW (Citadel). Those two paints are talent in a pot. They never let me down.

Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade. Never leave home without em'

Yeah, I have to go with the flow. Nuhln Oil and Agrax Earthshade are get-out-of-jail-free cards for painting When in doubt, wash with one of them... or both... and it will turn out... better!

If you want to pick some less obvious paints, I would say: Liberator Gold, Rakkarth Flesh, Pallid Wych Flesh, Ulthuan Grey from GW; Wolf Grey from VGA; the new Vallejo Metal Air Gunmetal for Airbrush or Leadbelcher with paintbrush; and the two Cyngar blues and Thamar Black from P3. Oh, and the dark purple from Reaper, not sure of the color name.

If you want to pick mediums... I would say Liquitex Flo-Aid. Don't paint near-white without it Lahmian medium is wonderful.

And best non-paint: Black Acrylic Gesso. It will cover anything (literally!) and dry smooth yet give you a really nice grippy surface to paint on. And require only 1 coat!

VMA sandy brown
VMA sand

All your parchment and cloth is done forever

Blood for the blood good

Vallejo liquid gold old gold

My fave thinner/cleaner... VODKA.. (SKÅL!!!)
And AP strong tone..
With that and any basic acrylics, great minis can be painted..

Gamecraft Bronze; Possibly the best bronze ever,excellent for drybrushing also!
Gamecraft Powder blue;Great colour in its own right but works brilliantly as an undercoat for white.
P3; Radiant platinum;Not quite gold not quite silver but a great in-between.
P3 Brass Balls; This just works!
Citadel;Mephiston Red. Perfection!
Gamecraft;Black. Great stuff!
Foundry;Blackened barrel A,B and C!

I don't know, Mephiston red IS incredible, but it's always thick... So thick that you can't thin it properly.