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It seems like a lot of guys don't like GW paints, why is this and what other paints do you use?

I like GW paints... I don't like paying extortion for 12ml of paint. I think its probably this for most people.

I've been enjoying vallejo model air, and planning to replace expired citadels with some vallejo game or model colour as they run out or I need new colours based on the value for money alone. But I can buy citadel paints locally, and have to order any others.

Definitely cannot fault the GW paints quality of paint, maybe the pot style is dislikable.

I prefer the dropper bottles other companies provide. Really hate those flip cap tops. Plus you can get just as high quality paint, if not higher at a cheaper price elsewhere. I'm no pro, but this is my reasoning

oh for sure, the paint isnt *better* than the others per say.. but its not bad paint lol. There is bad paint out there, citadel isnt it its just badly priced, and arguably potted. I have moved my citadels to droppers.... making them even more expensive tbh. but much more airbrush friendly.
I poured them in, and then put a splash of matte medium/flow aid/retarder/distilled water mix into the original pot to help get the dregs out and extend the paint a little... 5-10% or so.

Mostly, I've used Citadel paints. While they do the job, the containers are frustrating to work with, and they don't drop out small enough quantities.

Vallejo and Reaper have dropper bottles, which are more effective at getting smaller amounts of paint from the bottle, and that helps you thin the paints that little bit more that makes the coat look nice and smooth.

Hope this helps!

Really sort of goes to the GW paints not being better than anyone else's paint, but you pay more to get less.

They also have a bad habit of changing there paint line for no particular reason (if it aint broke - don't fix it). If you are building a unified army over the course of several years - it becomes a bit of a pain when GW decides to discontinue a bunch of paints and replace them with other paints that may or may not match the performance of the scheme you have been using.

Other paint systems are more user friendly (Reaper and Foundry Triads...something which GW sort of almost went towards this time...but then had one of their bipolar moments and it went sideways). The triads are handy for newbs to just grab a set of three paints, one base, one shade and one highlight to deal with a color. Dropper bottles as mentioned are very handy if you are doing airbrushing (pots are rather much a PITA unless you are using pots that attach to a siphon feed airbrush...which GW pots do not).

Other paints do behave differently (which is why I recommend people to try a bunch and see what they prefer). They may all be water based acrylics (except the ones which are not) but that does not mean they all paint the same way. Some provide better coverage, others are better at whites or blues, if you want pinks and purples - it is hard to touch the range of colors from various craft paint manufacturers.

With all that in mind - spending $4 (or even $3 at discount) for a smaller pot of paint compared to spending half that for a larger bottle that I prefer to use that will still be available in 5 or 10 years... Yeh, no thanks GW, I'll get my paint elsewhere.

I'm just echoing what others have said - GW paint isn't bad quality but it's more expensive than other brands and, compared to dropper bottles, it's not very airbrush friendly.

I do think that GW's habit of changing paint specifications and dropping colours from the range is a Bad Idea - i'm pretty sure other distributors don't do that.

In its favour, GW paint is available in every store in the UK, and those are numerous; I'm happy to walk into town for a bottle of GW paint, rather than travel 8 miles to get a Vallejo or similar equivalent.
And some of the 'technical' paints - drybrush, texture, liquid Green Stuff - are, for me, a Damned Fine Idea.

Showtimebrad wrote:
It seems like a lot of guys don't like GW paints, why is this and what other paints do you use?

GW undercoat is easily the best you can find on the market. But the paints are not that good.

1) Expensive.

2) Crappy pots. I can't even remember one GW pot that was satisfying. Old hexagonal ones were very easy to knock down. Don't even get me started on the infamous screw tops. The current ones are slightly better in both aspects, but guess what ? You're paying more than ever for less paint, and it's still not as convenient as a dropper bottle.

3) Very limited range.

4) Colors and paint properties are always changing from year to year.

Points 1/2/3 put together are a real pain in the butt. Taking paint from the pot to the palette and then cleaning your brush wastes (expensive) paint. Using the paint that stays in the lower part of the lid works fine, but for some reason, I always had a tendency to knock the pot and spill half of it on my trousers. And not using a palette when the color range is so limited is a pretty poor idea.

Vallejo / Prince August paints have these 4 points just right : good value, convenient dropper pots, extensive color range, and these range just stays the same. That Bronzed Flesh I used 15 years ago is exacly the same as the one I'd buy today. In the same pot. They've got a comprehensive range of mediums. Their range of Airbrush metallic paints works great, even on a regular brush. The alcohol-based metallic paints are just wonderful.

However, PA paints tend to be pretty fragile and flake easily. You really have to use varnish if you intend to use your minis for wargaming.

You guys don't put your GW paints into dropper bottles? Best thing I ever did.

e: http://www.twilight-forge.com/2012/04/10/transferring-citadel-paints-to-dropper-bottles/

I prefer;

Minitaire (airbrush paint), Valleo (all varieties), reaper master series. Yeah, dropper bottles are totally the way to go...would not go back.

kb_lock wrote:
You guys don't put your GW paints into dropper bottles? Best thing I ever did.

e: http://www.twilight-forge.com/2012/04/10/transferring-citadel-paints-to-dropper-bottles/

That's a nice idea for those who only have a problem with the pots.

Unfortunately, it makes these paints evenmore expensive, since you'll have to buy bottles and will lose paint in the process and doesn't adress the range issues.

Pretty much echo what everyone else has said so far.

Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread too much (if it is, just tell me to gtfo and I may just start my own then ) but how the heck do you use Tamiya paints? ATM I've just brought a matt black as the glossy finish GW black gives is annoying. I've found the Tamiya paints quite thin, which is okay, but as soon as I do multiple coats to try get an even black it goes blotchy. Especially on detailed areas (these are on infinity models). Also being so thin it runs into the cracks and so after a couple of coats I have to be quite careful not to loose detail. After just shaking it the first time, I stirred it the second and it was a bit better but still difficult to use. Any tips, or should I just be better?

Undercoat is white btw

kb_lock wrote:
You guys don't put your GW paints into dropper bottles? Best thing I ever did.

e: http://www.twilight-forge.com/2012/04/10/transferring-citadel-paints-to-dropper-bottles/

I used to do that, but I decided that it really wasn't worth the effort. Especially since I decided that dropper bottles have their own issues and that I don't necessarily prefer them to standard pots.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 rahxephon wrote:
Pretty much echo what everyone else has said so far.

Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread too much (if it is, just tell me to gtfo and I may just start my own then ) but how the heck do you use Tamiya paints? ATM I've just brought a matt black as the glossy finish GW black gives is annoying. I've found the Tamiya paints quite thin, which is okay, but as soon as I do multiple coats to try get an even black it goes blotchy. Especially on detailed areas (these are on infinity models). Also being so thin it runs into the cracks and so after a couple of coats I have to be quite careful not to loose detail. After just shaking it the first time, I stirred it the second and it was a bit better but still difficult to use. Any tips, or should I just be better?

Undercoat is white btw

I haven't done a lot of brushing with Tamiya paints recently, but I don't think that they're really suited to multiple coats like we might do with our regular paints. The solvent in the paint will tend to "re-wet" the previous coat making it soft and prone to lifting back up. Don't get me wrong, it's great paint but I think it was designed for a different painting style (and it's great for airbrushing).

Vallejo is $2.79/17 ml
GW is $4.45/12 ml
P3 is $2.79/15 ml
Minitaire is $3.33/30ml

It's a good hint at why people often look for an alternative.

Im happy with GW paints my town has few dependable sources of other model paints but I just replaced my chaos black with abbadon and its gash for some reason!/#?
So I may have to mix it up and try some other companies.
I read a lot of these paint articles/threads it seems all the companies out there have divergent paint ranges that do things better and worse in different areas.

I've recently switched to craft-grade paints (apple barrel and the like)... and with a bit of care it can look just as good as the vastly more expensive hobby paints.

I just apply a black undercoat (dark brown for reds, medium brown for yellows and flesh tones, medium grey for whites) and then start applying layers of the color I intend for the top highlight color. It takes several thin layers, but you can build up remarkably gradual transitions between the shade tone (the first layer) and the top highlight that way.

Takes a bit more time and patience, but when your cost for paint is $1 for a two-ounce bottle instead of $3-4 for less than a QUARTER that amount...

 Vulcan wrote:
I've recently switched to craft-grade paints (apple barrel and the like)... and with a bit of care it can look just as good as the vastly more expensive hobby paints.

I just apply a black undercoat (dark brown for reds, medium brown for yellows and flesh tones, medium grey for whites) and then start applying layers of the color I intend for the top highlight color. It takes several thin layers, but you can build up remarkably gradual transitions between the shade tone (the first layer) and the top highlight that way.

Takes a bit more time and patience, but when your cost for paint is $1 for a two-ounce bottle instead of $3-4 for less than a QUARTER that amount...

I've been using them (craft paints) for decades without any special preparation, they are high quality acrylics. You just need to avoid the stuff made for ceramics as it dries on the brittle side. For airbrushing, I would not recommend them, but for a brush-on application they are on par with anything else you can buy and come in an enormous variety of colors. At Wal-Mart. For one dollar ;->

Any brand that requires me to dispense paint with a brush is a non-starter. I gave up on pots and enamels a long time ago ;->

Minitaire is the latest addition to my bench, I am looking forward to giving them a go - if you buy the entire range on Amazon, it is less than $2 a bottle. Why not, that is a bargain for pre-thinned airbrush acrylics.

 Erik_Morkai wrote:
Vallejo is $2.79/17 ml
GW is $4.45/12 ml
P3 is $2.79/15 ml
Minitaire is $3.33/30ml

It's a good hint at why people often look for an alternative.

It's good to know you can get these other paints in Canada, everyone who was commenting was from the UK (which is great!!) but I was beginning to be worried.
Where do you get these?

I prefer Vallejo, because it's cheaper and the dropper bottle format is better airbrushing.

I've been loving the Reaper Triads. I prefer pots, but only ones that 1) stay open, and 2) don't dry out. I prefer droppers to the current GW pots. I also like that the range is bigger, with great HD paints (think foundations).

RAFM is (was) the distributor for Reaper in Canada:

http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAF&Category_Code=Paint

That isn't the whole line of MSP and HD paints though...so I am not sure if it isn't up to date or if Reaper is now doing their own distribution in Canada (something which they set up in order to deal with their KS campaigns).

I use Army Painter Warpaints.

Highly recommended!

 scarletsquig wrote:
I use Army Painter Warpaints.

Highly recommended!

I find their bright tones a bit thin, but I guess that's a feature, not a bug.

Only reason i havent swapped to Army Painter for my main paints, since i did it for my primers and im very happy with it, is because i have so much Citadel i kinda wanna use it up. Also i have issues finding the correct shades of the same color, so i dont want my models that are suppose to be uniform to be different brightnesses lol.

Dropper bottles are SO MUCH EASIER to use, and you dont waste as much paint too.

I am contemplating getting an airbrush though since soon-ish i will be working on terrain and bigger vehicles, and i'd rahter not hand-paint massive sheets of metal lol. If/when i get an airbrush i am not even going to bother with citadel anymore no matter how much i got left over. Lack of dropper = so much wasted paint getting it into the feeder. And hard to measure so you can get it thinned down properly.

I picked up a few bottles of Vallejo awhile back because I wanted to try them out and I'd heard so many good things. I think I got a Black, White, and a Brown, Green, Red (I was painting Orks)

I liked the White, but the Black was a bit of a Dark Gray. I like the new Citadel Abaddon Black much better.

The greens and reds I had issues with because they don't MIX with Citadel paints well. The medium that they use in the Vallejo I found was just slightly different. Even layering a Citadel color on top of a Vallejo color I found I didn't like as much. They contrasted with each other.

I have a LOT of GW paints... and it was much simpler to go back to using GW and replace the GW pots I needed than to buy an entire line of Vallejo colors just for the sake of switching.

I have recently bought a lot of the new gw paints most of there new range and I have to say what a waste of money all the colours have changed names and the ones they say are the older colours are way off whtich means any older models or army's I have previously painted will not match with any of the new models great so my options strip them all and re paint or try mixing the right colours don't get me wrong there are some that are still the same as the older paints in colour unluckily I chose the ones that have changed on receiving my gw paints in sat down started to use them and half of them was dryed up before I had even opened them the lids don't stay open they fall back closed while you are trying to paint I think there is also less paint in them and they are way expensive all in all I would say find alternative paints do not waste ur money on them

I use a mix of Coat'd Arms, P3, Vallejo and Citadel.

Coat'd Arms:
Probably my favorite. They're as good as any of the others and cheaper (plus you can get all the old GW range from the 90s).

P3:
These are also made by Coat'd Arms; the pots are the same, the labels are the same, and If the paint isn't the same then it's damn near impossible to tell. However they do cost a bit more than the regular Coat'd Arms paints, and don't need shaking (allegedly?). I think they are a tad overpriced but no complaints regarding quality.

Vallejo
The pigment separation is pretty bad on some colours, they need a lot of shaking, but they're great value. I buy 60ml bottles and mix my own colours into empty pots.

Citadel
There is no problem with the paint itself, but they are almost twice the price of P3. The pots are also annoying: the older ones don't close properly and the newer ones don't open properly. I have to check through them all every few months and mix a little fluid medium in with the paint to stop them drying out. I doubt I'd ever buy them again (at least not full price).

ReaperHawkmoon wrote:
I have recently bought a lot of the new gw paints most of there new range and I have to say what a waste of money all the colours have changed names and the ones they say are the older colours are way off whtich means any older models or army's I have previously painted will not match with any of the new models great so my options strip them all and re paint or try mixing the right colours don't get me wrong there are some that are still the same as the older paints in colour unluckily I chose the ones that have changed on receiving my gw paints in sat down started to use them and half of them was dryed up before I had even opened them the lids don't stay open they fall back closed while you are trying to paint I think there is also less paint in them and they are way expensive all in all I would say find alternative paints do not waste ur money on them

This seems like a decent point. Put some punctuation in so I can actually read it

Murrdox wrote:
I have a LOT of GW paints... and it was much simpler to go back to using GW and replace the GW pots I needed than to buy an entire line of Vallejo colors just for the sake of switching.

Which is why it is a good time to switch paints when GW switches their line...

I have never had really bad problems with GW paint, a couple of metallics that sucked but looking back now I probably could have revived them if I took a stirrer and stirred them instead of just shaking them.

For hairy brush painting the more I paint the less I really care about brand beyond a few circumstances where I want low opacity paint or exceptionally smooth paint which drives me to certain brands which carry such paints. Beyond that, meh, whatever. I mostly use GW paints simply because the closest stores to me sell Gunze which is nice but smells awful and has the worst pots ever... the next closest store sells GW paint. Because I like to see paints in the person before buying them, it's easiest just to buy the GW paint. Sure, it might be $1-2 more per pot, but I'd spend that on fuel getting to the other shop to buy Reaper/Army painter/P3