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Reaper Triads

Someone on AWC posted this link. Has anyone used these,
particularly the dark skin triad? I never thought I'd get as excited over
this hobby as I am about this paint, so I'm hoping it's good quality.

Thanks to Ghaz and I think Ed I tried out the Reaper Master Series and I have been as plaesed with it as I was with Valejo. Good stuff and lots of colors to choose from.

Note: I'm talking about Reaper Master Series here, not the Reaper Pro Paints - very different lines.

 

I never really cared for GW's idea of flesh tones (or the mock GW colors in the Vallejo Game Color line) so I thought I'd give the Reaper flesh tones a try.  Last spring I was ordering something else from the www.thewarstore.com anyway and tacked two of the "triads" on my order - the medium-skin triad and the fair-skin triad. 

FYI, the "triads" are pre-packaged sets of three paints, though you can get any of them singly.

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Just lining them up on my paint table I was impressed.  Each triad flowed - one into the next - in a nice clean progression.  And when I put the fair triad next to the middle triad I got a range of six flesh tones.  And unlike GW, they look like actual skin tones - ie: the back of my hand is "tanned shadow".   I got the dark skin triad a week later and when you add in the three dark skin tones you get a nine-color progression of flesh tones from dark African to pale Scandinavian.  I love it.  I'm all for blending, but anything that makes my life easier? 

 

On top of that they have two other flesh-tone triads - ?golden skin? for more yellow-brown Asian skin and ?rosy skin? for that creamy pinkish tone you see on some red-heads.  I?ve used all them on different projects and just can?t say enough good things about them. 

 

And since I?ve already had it written up - a little comparison chart.

Last time I checked, all three paint lines - GW, Vallejo Game Color (VGC) and Reaper Master Series were $3 (though I've heard this has or was about to go up).

 

GW - 12mL pot with poor seal

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vallejo</st1:place></st1:City> - 17mL eye-dropper bottle

Reaper - 15mL eye-dropper bottle w/skull agitator included

 

In my experience, the VGC?s have a pronounced tendency to separate.  I?ve added glass beads to the VMC?s to help the agitation, but they require a lot of shaking.  The Reaper?s haven?t given me anywhere near the ?separation anxiety?.  They have that agitator already, but they just seem better mixed from the start.

 

So for my money, Reaper is absolutely the way to go.  Since first trying out the line, I?ve gotten the majority of the Reaper Master Series line.  I still have some color favorites in the Vallejo and GW lines, but the core of my paint carousel has definitely become Reaper.

 

-chris

 

Thanks for the review!

Good thread - I've got a question.

 

I checked out the master series - pretty good color selection. Is the paint quality like the Vallejo/GW line?

I bought a few Reaper Pro's awhile back - to me it seemed like they had an almost 'grainy' consistency - not terribly, but enough that I noticed it...

regarding the Pro Paints - yes, i've noticed that same graininess. but Master Series is a totally different formula. i've noticed NO graininess, the RMS are marvelously smooth, even the metallics.

in my humble but picky opinion, they are every bit the equal of Vallejo or GW, and in many instances superior.

-chris

Man, I just switched over to Vallejo!  These sound sweet; I may have to mix some of these in eventually.

And those colored metallics will be really good sellers, since you can't seem to get them in other lines.

I might have to check out some of those flesh-tone triads, because GW flesh colors are a dissapointment, for the most part.  I also would like to try out some of Vallejo's Model Color flesh tones.  Ah, decisions, decisions...

The Reaper Master Series paints are top notch. As stated they are equal to if not better than the Vallejo Game Color line. Also note that the line is still growing. By the time they complete the releases this December, they will have 72 triads or a total of 216 paints, inks and additives.

Another nice thing is they're very interested in customer feedback. They're always looking for feedback in their forums and Anne Forrester (Vaitalla) who's formulating the paints and choosing the colors is a regular in the 'Painting Tips & Advice' forum.

Hordini, if you're looking to try the paints you can pick them up at Nord's Games up in Northgate Mall if you're not adverse to a little driving. At least you're closer than I am since I live out in Florence.

I wouldnt say they are poor paints, I have not bought enough colours, but I have found the pigment a bit lacking in the light colours (light green and red),  they don't cover well at all.

Personally, I don't think anybody should stick to one line though, use whatever line has the colours you want.  my paint collection is GW, Reaper Master, VGC and Adikolor.

-Legacy40k

Thanks for the info Ghaz.  I've been wanting to swing by Nord's Games at some point anyway, so I'll be sure to check out the paints when I get a chance.

Posted by Legacy40k on 05/13/2006 11:52 PM
I wouldnt say they are poor paints, I have not bought enough colours, but I have found the pigment a bit lacking in the light colours (light green and red), they don't cover well at all.

The colors that you're having trouble with, do they have the taped on labels? There were some issues with some of the very first releases that have since been cleared up in later batches. That and almost any light color will have coverage issues over darker colors.

Posted by Hordini on 05/14/2006 1:29 AM
Thanks for the info Ghaz. I've been wanting to swing by Nord's Games at some point anyway, so I'll be sure to check out the paints when I get a chance.

No problem. Nord's is Reaper's company store, so they will have a broad selection of Reaper miniatures (no CAV though, which is weird) some BattleTech, Warmachine and even a little bit of GW. They have a large selection of RPGs and about two thirds of the store is dedicated to board games and the like.

Not taped on labels, but I know they were from one of the first batches just because of when I got them, good to know though, I'll have to look into trying some more when they have a colour I need.

-Legacy40k

All of the first release had taped on labels. Only from the second release on did they have the sticker labels. Not all of the colors were released at the same time.

I have just barely picked up 9 Reaper Master Series and a bottle of Reaper Flow Improver today and so far they are my favorite. I have never tried Vallejo but these Master Series paints are perfect for me, I love them and they fit my style perfectly, they are awesome!

I bought the Reaper skin tones as well (the light skin triad). The paints are fine but I found 2 of the colours too close to each other. Still, the paints are very nice. I only have a few colours though. Happy to buy more.

I bought some Pro Paints as well to try them out. These are designed to be used straight from the bottle, no mixing of water\medium (paint you would use for base-coating I guess). I don't agree with this however. I found they dont come out of the bottle perfect (too thick). They do come in large round bottles though. 8) Still need to play with these a bit.

The triads are a neat idea... I went crazy buying them last year and have now used a good lot of them. I do like them, but once I discovered P3 I have difficulty using anything else.

Could this be a record a 4 year + some months necro

Back to the depths with ye...