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Hi all

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked lots, I have used google and the search function but not quite getting the information I'm after.

I've had a long break and want a fresh start in the hobby. Collected & painted between 2010-2014 and used the old hex pots. Still deciding on what army to start with but I'm a little confused with the new mediums and was wondering if any one could bestow their wisdom on me;

- What are the main pro vs cons of the GW contrast paints and the traditional paints
- I'm a sucker for branded stuff so always stuck with GW products in the past, which are the best 3rd party companies to consider?
- I've noticed that people tend to stay away from contrast paints on larger models with bigger panels, so if I had infantry painted in contrast and tanks in traditional would they look silly next to each other (if anyone has photos if they have done this I'd love to see them)
- Any advice on which medium suits which skill level better (ie. complete newcomer/average/golden demon winners)

Sorry if any of the above is really vague, really have the itch to get back into it but getting a little put off with all the new stuff and being confused....

Thanks

Contrast is a new paint that's supposed to give you a shade and a highlight when applied over a smooth light coloured basecoat. Whether it's useful or not will depend on lots of variables. Your skill level, your painting style (batch vs individual) what faction you intend to collect etc.

Contrast is generally not useful for vehicles unless you plan to airbrush it, but then it just acts like a regular paint.

Vallejo is my go to brand when not using citadel. I get colours that I use a lot from them. Black, white, red, beige etc. They're not going to run out as quick as a citadel pot and won't get that annoying clumpiness around the lid and dry out.

My recommended medium is water. Everyone should get good at using water for working with their paints. I understand certain geoprahical locations have water that's not good for paint, but I see you're in the UK so you shouldnt have any issues.

Other mediums can be useful, lahmain medium is used for making glazes and smoothing transitions. Contrast medium is a thinner for the contrast paints, although these can also be thinned with water (don't believe the propaganda.)

As above, plus Contrast does really well on organic parts of models, and on clothing with deep folds and raised areas. I've used the ork skin and it works great, while the colors do well on clothing. It didn't work as well on my Adeptus Titanicus knights (probably too small and flat an area).

That being said, I still use a combinationor methods. I just painted a SoIAF mini and a LOTR Gondor model, all using traditional paints, because the contrast would not have been as smooth, nor given me the result I wanted. I did use Guilliman Flesh contrast on the LOTR face (small as it is).

With re: to paints, and 3rd party, I also started (and still have) some of the GW hex paints, and really like that range. I use mainly GW, Vallejo, Coat D Arms, P3, Army Painter, Scale 75, and even Polly S railroad colors (acrylic, for my bright yellow). Each manufacturer has a color that I like or that works differently than another, so I pick and choose.

I do like Coat D Arms, because they are the old GW hex paints, and the round flip top pots, just not GW branded. They do, however, act like those old paints, so are not as thick or opaque as the current GW "base" type paints. I need to work with more thinner layers as a result. But, they have all the old colors like Blood Angel Red (Angel Red, the orangey one), the old Red Ink, Snakebite Leather, and Goblin Green, just under different names.

I also use water for thinning, though will occassionally use a drying retarder, or a medium. I also use mediums to thin the washes and inks a bit, and help them flow better. Its all trial and error.

I'm a mediocre miniature painter. I rarely paint single miniatures, I usually paint teams or troops of miniatures.
I'm content, if my models look good enough, they do not have to take the breath away.
Before contrast I used the usual methods, priming, block colours + wash + brush, rarely a wet blending.
Since the contrast colours came out I use only contrast + metallics for miniatures - except vehicles.
The light colours usually work splendidly, the dark ones are hit and miss, some work for me, some don't.
I usually use Wraithbone as primer, but have used Grey Seer, Lead Bealcher and White with good results.
The biggest advantage of those colours is that they take a lot of pain of pain-ting miniatures. They flow well, no thinning - except for effect - they save steps - if you like the look. All in all it's much easier to motivate me to paint with contrast paints. But ...
If you only use contrast paints, the models will have a special easily identifiable look.
Please excuse the quality of the image, I just took it with a cell phone and lighted by the desk lamp.
All models are single coats of contrast paint, except the metallics, which are Stormcast(I think) or Leadbealcher, washed with contrast.
Even the tank is painted with contrast colours. It's my reference model to remind me what contrast paint on a tank will look like. It would win much by a drybrush or two. I didn't do it, because it's my reference ...

For most purposes I swear by Vallejo (PU primer, model color, model air, game color, panzer aces). Washes and contrasts are GW. Varnishes are Winsor & Newton Galleria.

I like Vallejo's range because they're consistent. VMC black is what it is and doesn't change. The VMA (model air) range I mostly use with a brush. I like their consistency and fine pigment. Super, super shiny metallics.

Panzer Aces are generally military modelling colours in a pretty thick consistency. Great for basecoating over heavy dark colours. The PA weathered wood and light mud are the key things I use for bone and parchment.

Model color are the base Vallejo range. Not much to say here - many modelling / military colours and as such they don't really vary much over the years. Like I said, consistent.

Game color is pretty similar to the old GW paints. Effectively a similar colour range for similar purposes. There's also a similar 'super opaque' range which are pretty good.

GW's washes and glazes are still great. Nice range of colours. Not cheap, but do what you want them to.

The contrast paints are the new kid on the block - they're effectively a heavy bodied ink (note that I mean ink here, not the pre-thinned ink washes that GW used to sell as that name). Very good for layering and glazing. Neat they can be used for fast base colouring and they work superbly over an airbrushed undercoat.

I was able to get good results painting a BA tank with contrast, but only as a way to get the main colour down, I did have to layer it as if I was using regular paint style


For individual mini regular multi layer paint is miles better than contrast unless you add extra layers

Thanks for the replies, it has helped my understanding. I think it will be best to buy some cheap models and test to see what results I'm happiest with before committing to one.

I really like the look idea of the contrast paints and feel it will have it's uses but think traditional paints will be the route I go down. Especially as I'm not going to be focused on a speed painting to game with but rather take my time with each individual model.

Probably need to decide what army I'm going to collect first as the colour schemes will probably have a big bearing on which method of painting works best. Next stop download impcat that I keep seeing branded about and play around on there.

If you're planning on individually painting your models to the best possible standard (the best way imo) then regular paints should be your thing first off. That's not to say that contrast paints won't have a potential place in your paint box. I have 4 or 5 plus the medium that I use for certain things. It's the same with glazes, mediums etc.

Focus on getting fundamentals down, then work your way up to layering, feathering, blending, weathering etc, and these things will all start to come together.