Questions about acrylic paint brands

[Chris Kelm]

Hi,
I'm learning all about the acrylic paint world thanks to you guys. I am in need of some questions answered for 2 brands of paint that I maybe interested in buying. The first brand is P3 acrylic paints, to my understanding they are better than Vallejo when it comes to the pigments, is this correct? The p3 brand is a acrylic paint similar to games workshop. Also, the brand chroma. Now can you guy please tell me about these 2 brands in terms of are they also good to paint figures? I know it seems like I'm so called chasing my tail around and around when it comes to these paints, but I just would like to find a happy medium when picking a brand that works for figure painting. Today I received a couple of broachers from JP but have even more questions for them then before I called the company. How odd.
chris

 

[Rompy]

I have not used the paints from Privateer Press so i can't comment much. I do know they have a line of miniatures games which the paints are made for. So i gues you can't go wrong there.

Chroma makes the paints for Jo Sonja and i find them value for money and are of great quality (I paint all my figures with JS)

Frankly it boils down to individual preference on getting a paint set. It's hard to do comparison since everyone have their own preference. With the myriad of brands out there, it's mind boggling.

My best advice would be to try it out

 

[ChaosCossack]

I have used Privateer Press paints and would compare them to Citadel paints as almost interchangeable. I used mostly Citadel for years but once I found Vallejo I haven't cracked a Citadel (save their washes) or P3 since.
I find the Vallejos easy to work with... mix well, nice consistancy when thinned, good coverage and the dropper bottle works well for dispencing, they're clean and have yet to have one dry out if it sits unused for a few weeks (like Citadels I think they were set up to dryout so you were constantly replacing them).
Vallejo seems to have a good selection of colours specifically for WWII uniforms ie German Camos, US Olives, Russian Uniform, Field Grey, Japanese Uniform, English Uniform etc. as well as their Panzer Ace Series. I don't really do WWII's but I would imagine these would be a good springboard for developing your own uniform mixes.

There you have my 2 cents worth of nothing

Colin

 

[Chris Kelm]

Thanks guys I guess instead of dipping my foot in the pool,I guess I should just jump right in and enjoy it. Figuratively,sorry for the pun. Lol

 

[housecarl]

Vallejo for me, plus the odd Andrea, Citadel and Life colour.

 

[Ortigara]

I recently tried Lefranc and Borgeois Flashe acrilycs and I like them a lot. They dry dead matt, much more than Vallejo, which often has a slightly shiny effect (which you can fight off with Tamyia x-21) and they have a very realistic effect. Further, they are much less expensive that Vallejo, as they come in 125 ml bottles for about 4 euro in Italy.

 

[Jarod M. Denver]

Every brand has its characteristics.
I believe the most important are:
-opacity (from real matte to ultra shiny)
-coverage (how much transparency after one layer)
-cost (ml/ $/€)
-pigments (the first two are connected to this one)

Then I'd say
-availability (yes there is the internet, but what if you need just that color in that moment?)
-mixability (not all acrylics mix well or mix at all with each other)
-color range (as long as you have the basics you don't really need 43 kind of the same brown....even though I have)
-durability (how long before they turn rotten, they dry, the pigments break...)
-airbrushbility (if it goes smoothly in the airbrush without using Quicksilver to thin them)

So you get Vallejo Game, Model, Air and Panzer, Andrea colors, Lifecolors, GW (depending on the series), SCALE75, Privateer Press P3, Tamiya...Golden acrylics, Liquitex...and it goes on and on.

Tonight I can write a few lines on those I use.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

Vallejo for me due to shelf life. My fleet of vallejos has many bottles over 10 years old and still going strong. My recollection of citadel is that you are lucky to get 10 months out of them before the bottle dries up.

Colin

 

[Ferris]

Vallejo for me too, particularly for their easy logistics: pick a bottle, shake, drip, done. And they don't dry out, because contact with air is minimal.

I suggest to look at the price per unit of volume, but also at the unit price. You'll probably rarely empty a bottle, so why pick a larger bottle that is more expensive (but cheaper per unit of volume)?

Adrian

 

[Bailey]

Well, since Vallejo has a lot of paints geared towards the historical painter (plenty of WWII uniform colors and the like), you're going to get a lot more Vallejo users here. P3 is a paint line designed for minis, so it should work for you just fine. I had not heard about it being better than Vallejo, I'd think it would be of comparable quality.

As for me, I tend to like the dropper bottle paints, so Vallejo, Reaper Master Series, Andrea, and Scale75 are better for how I like to paint. I know others who like the paint pots instead, so P3 and GW work for them. There are subtle differences in each line and slightly different color offerings... but you won't go wrong with any of those sets. I don't have any experience with Jo Sonja, but I know others use it and get good results. Chroma is new to me.

Also, don't be afraid to mix and match. I use paints from a variety of makers. For example, I've found that the vallejo reds tend to have a bit of a satin finish (maybe I had a bad batch, who knows), so I picked up the Andrea red set. I love the Reaper skin tones, so I have a lot of those. I really like the Vallejo Model Air metallics, so I've picked up a bunch of those. And so on. So don't get locked into one brand. See what works for you and then fill in the gaps.

 

[Helm]

In contrast to Colin I've got some G.W. paints from I believe the original range that must be around 20 years old Probably the damp English climate acts like a huge wet palette
Steve

 

[Mike Stevens]

Chris,

One brand completely left off your list is Reaper. They are a fine paint. I currently Use Vallejo, Andrea and Reaper paints. When I started painting I bought a set like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VALLEJO-PAI...del_Kit_US&hash=item3cd5eee541#ht_1394wt_1091

And ended up filling in the gaps as learned more and became more experienced. There are also smaller sets from Vellejo that you start out with. But its an example.

Here's the reaper set:

http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/Paint Sets/latest/09951

Mike

 

[captnenglish]

For me it's Reaper then Vallejo. I only use GW for their washes and some of their metallics (though that one might change)

 

[ChaosCossack]

I forgot about the Vj sets... I hadn't seen one that big but Ive seen their Napoleonic set, Equine set, Basic set, Brown set... They are about 8-10 bottles of mixed colours that give a good start to build from. The brown set isn't for painting brown like an Andrea set it is a mix of commonly used browns, The Equine set gives a mix of common horse colours, the Nappy set gives a range of colours to start at most Napoleonic uniforms.

Good thing I didn't see that huge set a couple of years ago... I'd have had lots of paint but no figs to put them on for a few paydays at least

Colin

 

[ChaosCossack]

For me it's Reaper then Vallejo. I only use GW for their washes and some of their metallics (though that one might change)

I still use the GW washes but lately have stopped using their metallics... Vj metals are about the same and have added Sargent acrylic metallics and found them to be quite effective and SUPER CHEAP.

 

[captnenglish]

I still use the GW washes but lately have stopped using their metallics... Vj metals are about the same and have added Sargent acrylic metallics and found them to be quite effective and SUPER CHEAP.

I don't care for Vallejo metallics, never have. I am only using up my GW metals and then I might give Reaper's a try we will see. I can't live w/o GW washes.

 

[Alex]

I have W&N artist oils, Jo Sonja and Vallejo model color and model air.
I love Vallejo because the coverage is excellent : you have to dilute at least 1:1 for base coating so you ll get a lot with one bottle.. i mean a lot. most of time, i can paint for at least an hour with one drop of diluted vallejo model color !

for metallics I have W&N, printers ink from Stormtrooper, Vallejo model color metallics, Vallejo model air metallics and Vallejo inks in alcohol.... i prefer the last two and the inks from stormtrooper.