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tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:
I have hundreds of different paints majority is Vallejos and GW's.

GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots.

Well not for me.

Not for me either. I've got years old paints from the current pots. As long as they're sealed properly, i've never had an instance of drying in the pot.

LordAriakan wrote:
I think you're missing the point of dropper bottles. They are not meant to put a brush inside to get paint. You squeeze a bit of paint onto a palette and then load your brush. You have just as much (if not more) control of how much paint gets on the brush as you do with GW's pots.

You maybe lost the conversation, the argument was being made that if you want to paint directly from the pot without a palette you could still do that with droppers, while that's technically possible I think for the most part that's much more of a pain in the arse than with pots.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

LordAriakan wrote:
I think you're missing the point of dropper bottles. They are not meant to put a brush inside to get paint. You squeeze a bit of paint onto a palette and then load your brush. You have just as much (if not more) control of how much paint gets on the brush as you do with GW's pots.

You maybe lost the conversation, the argument was being made that if you want to paint directly from the pot without a palette you could still do that with droppers, while that's technically possible I think for the most part that's much more of a pain in the arse than with pots.

The thought of someone actually attempting that is practically giving me heart palpitations.

 Lord_Valorion wrote:

 Overread wrote:

 Lord_Valorion wrote:
Dropper bottles will be the last nail in the coffin for me. Then I quit this <redacted> of a Hobby.

What's so horrific about dropper bottles?

Because I paint directory from the Pot. I don't dilute. And no, my models look good. Bottles and palettes Arena paint waste for me and need more preparation time. I Almosen don't have time for the Hobby because of work and the damn Kids, I paint in the night sonstiges for 15 mins. If I have to handle palettes and stuff, I just stop painting All along. And since I online play fully painted...End of Hobby.

To each their own (obviously), but nowadays I don't see any other way for a good painting experience (and even a really quick setup if you only paint for very short sessions that aren’t weeks apart) than using a wet palette. I do have small children as well who tend to interrupt me, and I mostly paint a little after they've gone to bed.

The thing with a wet palette is, you have way more control about your paint and they don't dry out (at all) while you’re painting. When you’re done or get interrupted, just clip on the lid and the paint will wait for your return, for days - when you’re back just open the lid, continue. You are also much, much quicker changing between several different paints if you still have some on your palette, eg when correcting mistakes.

They can be made on the cheap, there are lots of tips online. Mine is a shallow plastic bowl with a sealed lid about 15cm (eg tupperware), a kitchen sponge-cloth thing cut to shape and soaked in water, and baking parchment on top. You may want to rinse the whole thing every now and then. Maybe give it a try, it really changes things.

That said, I use my remaining GW paints directly from the pot and thin them on the brush (or in the lid, to counteract drying from my slow painting), and I prefer Contrast and GW shade paints from the pot as well.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

LordAriakan wrote:
I think you're missing the point of dropper bottles. They are not meant to put a brush inside to get paint. You squeeze a bit of paint onto a palette and then load your brush. You have just as much (if not more) control of how much paint gets on the brush as you do with GW's pots.

You maybe lost the conversation, the argument was being made that if you want to paint directly from the pot without a palette you could still do that with droppers, while that's technically possible I think for the most part that's much more of a pain in the arse than with pots.

which depends on the pots and the droppers, not all are the same and the argument that droppers are always opaque and pots are always clear so you can see inside with one but not the other is far stretched

not all pots are practical to get the brush inside the pot and you pick the paint from the lid/cap, as well as not all droppers are practical to get brush inside and you pick the paint from the cap
so as soon as GW changes pots again, the big "advantage" of pots might be gone because it was not a general thing but a specific case for this certain pots and the next ones will be different

and most droppers I have are clear and I can see inside while this is not the case with the pots I have (for the main reason I removed the label from the droppers and not from the pots)

my problem here is a simple one, claiming that it is in general impossible to pick up colour with a brush from one type of bottle but always possible with another type of bottle and for that reason the person must quit painting, is bs (specially with visibility as an argument) as GW is not the only one using pots

PS: how practical those things are depends on what people are used to and the bottles
I think the current ones are the worst GW ever had and my favorite ones were the "Bolter" ones with the screw cap while I have no problem with taking the cap off from the AP droppers and paint from the pot

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:
I have hundreds of different paints majority is Vallejos and GW's.

GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots.

Well not for me.

Not for me either. I've got years old paints from the current pots. As long as they're sealed properly, i've never had an instance of drying in the pot.

I'm still using paints in pots from 2016, with no issue, so.

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:
I have hundreds of different paints majority is Vallejos and GW's.

GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots.

Well not for me.

Not for me either. I've got years old paints from the current pots. As long as they're sealed properly, i've never had an instance of drying in the pot.

I'm still using paints in pots from 2016, with no issue, so.

Good for you lads thats not what happens to me and apparently to plenty of people too, just google it and see loads of tutorials on how to revive dried out GW's etc... Its a well documented issue and has been mentioned several times on Dakka too.
Doesn't matter since we have totally different experiences with it.
I also noticed it happens more to light colours like whites and creams but metallics bad too...

May I add that in more than 20 years I can only recall 1vallejo drying out on my large collections of miniatures paints ( not even mentioning fine art paints in this mix).

 kodos wrote:

my problem here is a simple one, claiming that it is in general impossible to pick up colour with a brush from one type of bottle but always possible with another type of bottle and for that reason the person must quit painting, is bs (specially with visibility as an argument) as GW is not the only one using pots

Sure. But this is a thread discussing GW pots and the post I replied to you specifically said you could paint directly from the bottle with Vallejo droppers which is totally impractical.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 NAVARRO wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:
I have hundreds of different paints majority is Vallejos and GW's.

GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots.

Well not for me.

Not for me either. I've got years old paints from the current pots. As long as they're sealed properly, i've never had an instance of drying in the pot.

I'm still using paints in pots from 2016, with no issue, so.

Good for you lads thats not what happens to me and apparently to plenty of people too, just google it and see loads of tutorials on how to revive dried out GW's etc... Its a well documented issue and has been mentioned several times on Dakka too.
Doesn't matter since we have totally different experiences with it.
I also noticed it happens more to light colours like whites and creams but metallics bad too...

May I add that in more than 20 years I can only recall 1vallejo drying out on my large collections of miniatures paints ( not even mentioning fine art paints in this mix).

Yeah, people have different experiences, but when you make declarative statements like:
"GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots." it's fair for people to correct it. Because "anyone" using GW paints won't have that experience. Just some people. We don't really know why it effects some people and not others, whether it's climate or the way the paints are being used, but regardless it's not something that happens to everyone, and it's wrong to say that it does. Just like none of us pointing out it's not happened to use aren't denying it happens to other people.

deano2099 wrote:

 kodos wrote:

my problem here is a simple one, claiming that it is in general impossible to pick up colour with a brush from one type of bottle but always possible with another type of bottle and for that reason the person must quit painting, is bs (specially with visibility as an argument) as GW is not the only one using pots

Sure. But this is a thread discussing GW pots and the post I replied to you specifically said you could paint directly from the bottle with Vallejo droppers which is totally impractical.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 NAVARRO wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:
I have hundreds of different paints majority is Vallejos and GW's.

GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots.

Well not for me.

Not for me either. I've got years old paints from the current pots. As long as they're sealed properly, i've never had an instance of drying in the pot.

I'm still using paints in pots from 2016, with no issue, so.

Good for you lads thats not what happens to me and apparently to plenty of people too, just google it and see loads of tutorials on how to revive dried out GW's etc... Its a well documented issue and has been mentioned several times on Dakka too.
Doesn't matter since we have totally different experiences with it.
I also noticed it happens more to light colours like whites and creams but metallics bad too...

May I add that in more than 20 years I can only recall 1vallejo drying out on my large collections of miniatures paints ( not even mentioning fine art paints in this mix).

Yeah, people have different experiences, but when you make declarative statements like:
"GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots." it's fair for people to correct it. Because "anyone" using GW paints won't have that experience. Just some people. We don't really know why it effects some people and not others, whether it's climate or the way the paints are being used, but regardless it's not something that happens to everyone, and it's wrong to say that it does. Just like none of us pointing out it's not happened to use aren't denying it happens to other people.

Sorry to say but your argument does not stick.
By your line of thought people expressing and flagging their personal experience is wrong because well "its not everyone experience"... Which means everything that anyone says about their experience on anything is fundamentally wrong
Either way it happens to me and to plenty others (even some on this tread) so yep take or leave it. Not my problem.

The use I give to them is exactly the same use I give to my Vallejos and they live on the same space, im not talking a few paints either I have way too many.

I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

It comes up from time to time. I occasionally wish people had even stronger opinions, because then we could just get posts that tell us that the poster's preferred way of painting is the objectively correct one and everyone else is having fun the wrong way. It would oftentimes be a less wordy and more efficient way of saying the same thing.

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

 Geifer wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

It comes up from time to time. I occasionally wish people had even stronger opinions, because then we could just get posts that tell us that the poster's preferred way of painting is the objectively correct one and everyone else is having fun the wrong way. It would oftentimes be a less wordy and more efficient way of saying the same thing.

If you lived through the glory days of sore thumbs opening the GW paints from the 90's, then years of trauma through the screw top era of paints drying out (assuming you could even get into them), then you'd understand why paint pots are so important. Kicking around in a draw somewhere I probably still have my old Testors gold enamel that I haven't been able to get open for roughly 30 years

Personally I'm not too fussed so long as the paints keep well over my occasional years of absence from the hobby and aren't a bloody nightmare to get open, for all my bitching about GW's pots I'm not rushing out to buy a bunch of dropper bottles to swap them to (though have considered getting a bunch of coat d arms pots over the years). However, I've met people who refused to even try Vallejo because of the droppers.

 NAVARRO wrote:


Sorry to say but your argument does not stick.
By your line of thought people expressing and flagging their personal experience is wrong because well "its not everyone experience"... Which means everything that anyone says about their experience on anything is fundamentally wrong

Of course you're allowed your personal experience. But that's not what you said. You said, and I quote:

"GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots."

If you said, "My GW paints dry inside the pots so I get 100% of the paint wasted anyway" that'd be fine.

But what you did was take your own personal experience, and claim it to be universal. Then you got annoyed when people went "it's not universal it doesn't happen to me".

You said "GW dry inside the pots" - for you they do, but not for everyone. You can argue you were just stating your own personal experience there and phrased it badly, but then you said "anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots". You said "anyone". Maybe you meant anyone will have some issues as you get dry bits around the edge of the pot, which would be true... oh no, you said "100% of the paint dried out".

You said something that was a declarative statement, which was just nonsense, because it's fun to bash GW, and then you got defensive when it was pointed out your experience wasn't universal.

 gorgon wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints so long as the person is getting their models painted and is happy with the result (which seems to be a pretty high bar in this hobby).

In GW style the Dropper bottles will be made of glass, so not only will it take a long time for the paint to dribble out since you won't be able to squeeze the sides, but if you drop it of your paint table it will shatter into painful shards and you will lose your overpriced paint completely.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
If you lived through the glory days of sore thumbs opening the GW paints from the 90's, then years of trauma through the screw top era of paints drying out (assuming you could even get into them), then you'd understand why paint pots are so important. Kicking around in a draw somewhere I probably still have my old Testors gold enamel that I haven't been able to get open for roughly 30 years

Trauma? I won't have you speak ill of the screw tops. Where do you think did I get my bulging muscles?

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints so long as the person is getting their models painted and is happy with the result (which seems to be a pretty high bar in this hobby).

I mean...I think we can come up with endless examples of alternate ways of achieving certain tasks that may give an acceptable result but are less than ideal for legitimate reasons. I'd also offer that the reason that 'best practices' exist are so that people maximize their chances of being happy with the end result.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints

Not getting dust and contaminants into your paint is best practice no matter what you're painting. Whether someone cares about that or not is up to them.

 gorgon wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints so long as the person is getting their models painted and is happy with the result (which seems to be a pretty high bar in this hobby).

I mean...I think we can come up with endless examples of alternate ways of achieving certain tasks that may give an acceptable result but are less than ideal for legitimate reasons. I'd also offer that the reason that 'best practices' exist are so that people maximize their chances of being happy with the end result.

If someone paints quicker straight out of the pot then for them perhaps that's the best practice, because the end goal is a painted model rather than a pot that is free from contamination.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Geifer wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
If you lived through the glory days of sore thumbs opening the GW paints from the 90's, then years of trauma through the screw top era of paints drying out (assuming you could even get into them), then you'd understand why paint pots are so important. Kicking around in a draw somewhere I probably still have my old Testors gold enamel that I haven't been able to get open for roughly 30 years

Trauma? I won't have you speak ill of the screw tops. Where do you think did I get my bulging muscles?

Bulging thumb, forefinger and wrist I assume? I think that's inflammation rather than muscles.

deano2099 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:


Sorry to say but your argument does not stick.
By your line of thought people expressing and flagging their personal experience is wrong because well "its not everyone experience"... Which means everything that anyone says about their experience on anything is fundamentally wrong

Of course you're allowed your personal experience. But that's not what you said. You said, and I quote:

"GW dry inside the pots so anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots."

If you said, "My GW paints dry inside the pots so I get 100% of the paint wasted anyway" that'd be fine.

But what you did was take your own personal experience, and claim it to be universal. Then you got annoyed when people went "it's not universal it doesn't happen to me".

You said "GW dry inside the pots" - for you they do, but not for everyone. You can argue you were just stating your own personal experience there and phrased it badly, but then you said "anyone worried about waste of a few drops on a dropper will have 100% of the paint dried out on pots". You said "anyone". Maybe you meant anyone will have some issues as you get dry bits around the edge of the pot, which would be true... oh no, you said "100% of the paint dried out".

You said something that was a declarative statement, which was just nonsense, because it's fun to bash GW, and then you got defensive when it was pointed out your experience wasn't universal.

Mate with all due respect your forging a really weird narrative and tangent.
Universal what? Fun to bash what? Annoyed and defensive?
You seem inclined to say people are wrong if they dont comply with what you think they should be writing on a forum about paint pots.
Like I said take it or leave it its your problem.

IF they ever do, I hope they bring back paint sets. It's frankly pretty weird that they no longer sell paint sets other than the tiny ones that come with a couple of figures.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints so long as the person is getting their models painted and is happy with the result (which seems to be a pretty high bar in this hobby).

I mean...I think we can come up with endless examples of alternate ways of achieving certain tasks that may give an acceptable result but are less than ideal for legitimate reasons. I'd also offer that the reason that 'best practices' exist are so that people maximize their chances of being happy with the end result.

If someone paints quicker straight out of the pot then for them perhaps that's the best practice, because the end goal is a painted model rather than a pot that is free from contamination.

I guess, if the 3(?) extra seconds it takes to move paint to a palette represents a substantial time savings. TO ME, that's not a terribly strong argument, but whatevs. And of course the pot-to-mini scenario implies one isn't thinning, mixing, or manipulating the paint in any way. Again, not that anyone is required to do any of those things. But they may lead painters to better results, which is why GW's own videos show their painters using palettes.

You can do whatever you want. My point here is just that there's some actual rationale behind not painting from the pot.

 gorgon wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 gorgon wrote:

 Galas wrote:
I never knew people had such strong opinions about their paint's containers until this thread.

Oh, I've seen this exact conversation get kinda heated on FB.

I prefer droppers because the best practice is avoid putting your brush directly in the source container so that you don't contaminate (with dust, liquid, other colors, etc.) the whole thing. This is true for miniature painting or house painting. Droppers make things easier in that context.

Note that I'm not saying anyone is doing it *wrong* by putting their brushes in the pot. If that's *right for you*, have at it. "Best practice" doesn't mean "law". It does mean "best practice" however, and that's why there is a very legit rationale behind using droppers.

Edit: Regarding GW pots, you can add me to the list of people who've had issues with the current version. They aren't awful. They're CLEARLY better than the old bolter round pots, which would dry out unopened on the shelf. But I've had fewer bad experiences with dropper bottles. The P3/Cote D'Arms/old GW pots are great too if pots are your thing.

I'd say it's a stretch to say there even is a "best practice" when it comes to miniature paints so long as the person is getting their models painted and is happy with the result (which seems to be a pretty high bar in this hobby).

I mean...I think we can come up with endless examples of alternate ways of achieving certain tasks that may give an acceptable result but are less than ideal for legitimate reasons. I'd also offer that the reason that 'best practices' exist are so that people maximize their chances of being happy with the end result.

If someone paints quicker straight out of the pot then for them perhaps that's the best practice, because the end goal is a painted model rather than a pot that is free from contamination.

I guess, if the 3(?) extra seconds it takes to move paint to a palette represents a substantial time savings. TO ME, that's not a terribly strong argument, but whatevs. And of course the pot-to-mini scenario implies one isn't thinning, mixing, or manipulating the paint in any way. Again, not that anyone is required to do any of those things. But they may lead painters to better results, which is why GW's own videos show their painters using palettes.

You can do whatever you want. My point here is just that there's some actual rationale behind not painting from the pot.

Furthermore to this, pots function is not only to make it easy to transfer paint in small doses to minis or palletes depending on your favourite way of doing things, but also to actually store paints and keep them airtight enough so they dont dry out. Has Gorgon also noted some pots dry out unopened which to me reinforces the idea that the design of these pots is not good enough for that either.
Also painting from pots with those huge lids open leads to the so common pot spills accident we see everyday...

BigOscar wrote:
IF they ever do, I hope they bring back paint sets. It's frankly pretty weird that they no longer sell paint sets other than the tiny ones that come with a couple of figures.

They started doing this at the GW locations:

While you’re there, collect the paints you’ll need to bring your new Tyranid friend to life, and get the tenth pot free with the Pick ‘N’ Mix Paint Set. You can choose whichever paints you like and the most expensive one is free, so design an eclectic new colour scheme and make that project happen this year.

The text is pulled from the Tyranid coin+model bit, but it has been going on since Contrast was released.

 Kanluwen wrote:

BigOscar wrote:
IF they ever do, I hope they bring back paint sets. It's frankly pretty weird that they no longer sell paint sets other than the tiny ones that come with a couple of figures.

They started doing this at the GW locations:

While you’re there, collect the paints you’ll need to bring your new Tyranid friend to life, and get the tenth pot free with the Pick ‘N’ Mix Paint Set. You can choose whichever paints you like and the most expensive one is free, so design an eclectic new colour scheme and make that project happen this year.

The text is pulled from the Tyranid coin+model bit, but it has been going on since Contrast was released.

My FLGS gives me 10% off plus a point system that basically equals another 10% in store credit. The GW "deal" seems much worse. Oh btw I have to drive 30 mins past 5 FLGS to get to the 1 Warhammer store in a 200 mile radius to take advantage of it. I can see why it might be helpful to a new player who doesn't realize it or the GW cultists that seem to hang out at the GW store and refuse to buy anything elsewhere but it isn't much of a deal for 99% of playeers

Plus it's not really a "set." A set is a curated collection towards a common theme, such as a collection of faction colours or aimed towards executing NMM or perhaps a range to help someone get started. What GW offer is a pretty weak bulk buy discount.

To be fair, it has some perks.

Most paint sets have some paints in colors that just don’t match your scheme, and are wasted.

The GW gives you the most expensive paint for free, where many “buy x, get one free” give you the cheepest.

Not every FLGS gives discounts.

This is a discount from GW. Kinda rare.

Could it be better? Yes. Is it a bad deal? Not really. Sure, it’s not a curated starter set, but the GW staffer can talk to the buyer and get them the paints they need to paint their models, and save a bit of coin.

Not a bad thing.

Aye, but GW is already 20% more expensive than getting them elsewhere, so giving me essentially 10% off when I buy 10 still isn't the deal of the century for me.

In contrast, I remember buying the Base Paint starter set back when they first launched them and it was a nice starter set of the core base colours, all at a very reasonable price, available at discount from my local gaming store. Lovely stuff

I would be glad to get GW in droppers.

For those who like pots I would argue that it is easier to move paint from droppers into pots than vice versa. So far the only paint I've moved over to droppers are stuff like contrast and washes.

(For those who say I could buy other brands the problem is that brand availability near me is very low. However, my FLGS is looking into shipping Scale75 so who knows)