re-building my paint set; Reaper/Vallejo/Army Painter discussion

[Cassu]

Due to some awful circumstances I lost my entire Reaper set of Bones III Kickstarter figures and my entire set of Reaper paints. This caused me to step away from the hobby for awhile, due not only to not having paints but I felt a little heart-broken over the whole thing. (Mostly my paints, I had spent years building up my set of Reaper paints including some of their awesome limited edition ones they gave away during events.)

However, it is time for me to wallow no longer and a trip to a local shop this past weekend has had me purchase some paints to jump start my passion for the hobby again.

 

In the past I have only ever used Reaper and Citadel paints (Citadel paints are freaking awful, the way the yellows dry up after you've barely used them once... might as well be tossing money at a brick wall) so am keen to stick with what I know. I have however just purchased some Vallejo and Army Painter paints and washes due to the fact that no-where local stocks Reaper paints in store. I am avoiding Game Color paints as well because although my local store stocks them I have heard nothing but bad things about the stuff.

 

I just purchased a few Army Painter tones and the Vallejo skin tone set. (The skin tone set has some handy dandy how-to inside as well.) This is enough to let me get a few licks of paint on some minis I have on hand but I am doing some research on the most cost effective way to restock the diverse inventory I had in one foul swoop. I've been looking into various Reaper sets (are the triads no longer a thing any more?) and am tossing up between the 'building your own paint set' and the pre-packed Reaper Master Series Bones Paint Complete Set: https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/set/sku-down/09966

 

I just had some fun in Photoshop pasting together swatches of all 54 colours in the set for easy reference:

This set is $184.99 for 54 paints, which is $3.51USD per bottle, the same price as the 'build your own paint set' for the same number. That's $4.68AUD which is still cheaper than the $6 for Vallejo paints I can get at my local gaming store.

 

Given that I don't use metallic paints much at all and I am fairly set for skin tones I suppose it would be better for me to build my own paint set. In that vein, are there any colours that anyone really recommends I get? A colour you personally love and find yourself running out of more often than not?

Edited September 12, 2016 by Cassu

[Glitterwolf]

My paint arsenal consists mostly of Reaper MSP, Scale 75 and Vallejo.

 

GW and P3 are remnants and slowly replaced.

 

For Metals I recommend Scale 75. They have a set for the gold and the steel spectrum.

IMHO Scale 75 has some of the best Metal paints.

 

Vallejo has a great skin set for undead/unworldly creatures, Malificent Set.

 

Reaper, check out the Vampire Skin Triad and the Moldy Skin Triad, and the Olive Skin Triad.

 

Of course it is all kinda personal.

Depends on the style of painting and the fantasy race you paint the most.

[Heisler]

The Reaper Triad sets are still available, you just need to dig a little farther. I think the build your own set is a great option though.

[Bane Of Humanity]

My paint set consists of alot. 

​I have the entire line of Citadel paints.  (this was a gift I didnt purchase it on my own nor even ask for it but hey gift horse right)
​What I will say about Citadel is I most agree with you they are not very good.  With one exception....The technicals, Textures, and Shades.  Seriously the shades are sooo good...

 

​I have a fairly large a array of reaper paints.  While I'm trying to use up the citadel.  I find that for miniatures that I really want to do well on vs terrain or mooks.  I find myself going back to reaper as it just seems a vastly superior paint that easier for my to thin and wetblend with.   Down side to reapers paints....Metallics...Specifically New gold and True Silver.  I cannot paint well with these colors for some reason.  They don't flow well. 

​Vallejo I have mostly just their varnish and mediums.  Their glaze medium is pretty good.  I just got this metal medium but I have not tried it on anything.  (I do like to use metallic for a lot of things so we are opposites on that). 
 â€‹I also got their line of transparents.  These have been interesting when painting some tiles that are clear.  They were also pretty good for painting Reaper slims.  I recommend them.  I know Reaper is supposed to have their own as well but I have not picked up any to try yet.. Not even sure they are out yet.  

Primer - I pretty much exclusively use Army painter primer for all my metal stuff.  Occasionally I will use Reaper Brush on primer...Depends on the whether. 

 

Pokroney Paint from Dwarven forge is something I use for terrain.  I have considered trying to use this stuff in place of Brown liner for priming bones.  Just as an experiment...This paint is very similar to Reaper paints.  the fact that is paints directly to the Dwarvenite pieces without primer is what makes me interested in trying it.

 â€‹As to my favorite paint color.  I would say other than brown liner lol which I buy often I would have to say Mahogany brown.  I used this color often for leather.  I seem to always be running out.  There is a citadel color that's similar but I forgot what it was as its the first paint I emptied from the set.  (second was the Sepia shade.)

 

[Gadgetman!]

I find that Palomino Gold is a good base for Yellows, Golds and Copper.

Coat'D Arms has a set of 'Super Washes' it may be well worth looking at.

(There's 3 browns in it. They're in pots, but empty droppers are cheap)

 

But then again, I like Tamiya Clears, also, so take anything I write with a grain of salt...

 

I have the MSP Bones kit, and they're sweet. some are a bit 'difficult' to get right, at least for me, but yeah. I also have the entire Army Painter kit... They need way more thinning than Reapers. The white is useless(agaqin, this may be me... )...

 

Vallejo have a few colours of brush-on primer you may want to look at, such as 'skeleton Bone', 'Leather Brown' and 'Plate Mail metal'

[Chaoswolf]

Just a suggestion:

 

Coat d' Arms paint is a pretty near perfect match for a lot of Citadel paint colors if there are any of those that you liked.

[Loim]

I use Walnut Brown on pretty much every miniature I paint. It's one of my "have to have" colors. Ashen brown and Dusky Skin are another couple I really like. Saffron Sunset is another good one. I also think highly of Sunburn Flesh and Suntan Flesh. 

[Cassu]

So much great stuff in this thread already, thanks everyone!

 

 

For Metals I recommend Scale 75. They have a set for the gold and the steel spectrum.

IMHO Scale 75 has some of the best Metal paints.

 

Vallejo has a great skin set for undead/unworldly creatures, Malificent Set.

 

Reaper, check out the Vampire Skin Triad and the Moldy Skin Triad, and the Olive Skin Triad.

 

Of course it is all kinda personal.

Depends on the style of painting and the fantasy race you paint the most.

Thanks for the recommendation on metals. I think I'll end up getting any metallics later, I still don't have that much experience with metals and when I do finally feel ready I want to go head-first using different techniques, weathering, etc. to make them look amazing.

I haven't seen those Vallejo sets but will keep my eye out!

 

The Reaper Triad sets are still available, you just need to dig a little farther. I think the build your own set is a great option though.

I shall keep looking! I remember getting a few nice ones years back, they're such a great idea.

 

​What I will say about Citadel is I most agree with you they are not very good.  With one exception....The technicals, Textures, and Shades.  Seriously the shades are sooo good...

 

​I have a fairly large a array of reaper paints.  While I'm trying to use up the citadel.  I find that for miniatures that I really want to do well on vs terrain or mooks.  I find myself going back to reaper as it just seems a vastly superior paint that easier for my to thin and wetblend with.   Down side to reapers paints....Metallics...Specifically New gold and True Silver.  I cannot paint well with these colors for some reason.  They don't flow well. 

​Vallejo I have mostly just their varnish and mediums.  Their glaze medium is pretty good.  I just got this metal medium but I have not tried it on anything.  (I do like to use metallic for a lot of things so we are opposites on that). 
 â€‹I also got their line of transparents.  These have been interesting when painting some tiles that are clear.  They were also pretty good for painting Reaper slims.  I recommend them.  I know Reaper is supposed to have their own as well but I have not picked up any to try yet.. Not even sure they are out yet.  

Primer - I pretty much exclusively use Army painter primer for all my metal stuff.  Occasionally I will use Reaper Brush on primer...Depends on the whether. 

 

Pokroney Paint from Dwarven forge is something I use for terrain.  I have considered trying to use this stuff in place of Brown liner for priming bones.  Just as an experiment...This paint is very similar to Reaper paints.  the fact that is paints directly to the Dwarvenite pieces without primer is what makes me interested in trying it.

 â€‹As to my favorite paint color.  I would say other than brown liner lol which I buy often I would have to say Mahogany brown.  I used this color often for leather.  I seem to always be running out.  There is a citadel color that's similar but I forgot what it was as its the first paint I emptied from the set.  (second was the Sepia shade.)

 

I've used a combo of Primers, but fairly happy with Reaper. Used some of their clears before too and really enjoyed working with them, work really well for transitions. Brown liner yay!

 

I find that Palomino Gold is a good base for Yellows, Golds and Copper.
Coat'D Arms has a set of 'Super Washes' it may be well worth looking at.
(There's 3 browns in it. They're in pots, but empty droppers are cheap)

But then again, I like Tamiya Clears, also, so take anything I write with a grain of salt...

I have the MSP Bones kit, and they're sweet. some are a bit 'difficult' to get right, at least for me, but yeah. I also have the entire Army Painter kit... They need way more thinning than Reapers. The white is useless(agaqin, this may be me... )...

Vallejo have a few colours of brush-on primer you may want to look at, such as 'skeleton Bone', 'Leather Brown' and 'Plate Mail metal'

I shall look into those primers, thank you.

 

Just a suggestion:

 

Coat d' Arms paint is a pretty near perfect match for a lot of Citadel paint colors if there are any of those that you liked.

Thanks for the tip!

 

I use Walnut Brown on pretty much every miniature I paint. It's one of my "have to have" colors. Ashen brown and Dusky Skin are another couple I really like. Saffron Sunset is another good one. I also think highly of Sunburn Flesh and Suntan Flesh. 

Oh yes, I (somehow) ended up with a few bottles of Walnut Brown and loved it so much, especially after Buglips' amazing discovery of covering your Bones in a Walnut Brown wash to make the details pop before painting.

[ub3r_n3rd]

I love Reaper paints for nearly everything except metallic. For metallic I prefer Scale 75's they are very very smooth and I love their consistancy. If you like matte paints, SC75 also has some great paints that are very matte. I like GW's shades like Agrex Earthshade, Nuln Oil, and Reikland Fleshshade. I also recommend inks and reaper clears to up your game with additional glazing options and punching up colors.

[Tarsemina]

Paint wise, any non-metallics Reaper!!! But, I love Vallejo metallics. Sorry reaper, but I hate the metallic paint they make it always seems grainy.

[Cassu]

I love Reaper paints for nearly everything except metallic. For metallic I prefer Scale 75's they are very very smooth and I love their consistancy. If you like matte paints, SC75 also has some great paints that are very matte. I like GW's shades like Agrex Earthshade, Nuln Oil, and Reikland Fleshshade. I also recommend inks and reaper clears to up your game with additional glazing options and punching up colors.

I have used the Reaper clears before and really loved the, totally getting some more again!

 

Paint wise, any non-metallics Reaper!!! But, I love Vallejo metallics. Sorry reaper, but I hate the metallic paint they make it always seems grainy.

I have limited experience with metallic paints  but as others have recommended, will try a different brand.

 

So I've build my own paint set and added it to my cart, this is it:

(I must have missed one when I was copy and pasting the colours from the site into Photoshop.)

[Auberon]

I've picked up a few brands over the years, so I'll give you my opinions.

 

Vallejo Model Color – a very extensive line of paints that covers a lot of colors. It works great for techniques such as layering. The downside that everyone mentions is their fragility. Definitely seal anything that will be handled. Some of their pigments are really bad about separating so you might want to look into a mechanical aid of some type unless you really like shaking your paints. Their glaze medium is really handy to have around.

 

Vallejo Game Color – A much smaller line of paint designed to be sturdier for gaming. In my experience they do hold up better, but some of the paints aren't as nice to work with. That's not to say that all of them are bad; for example the GC “heavy†paint set uses the Model Color formulation , but overall it is their weakest line. Speaking of the good stuff, Vallejo's ochre is a nice base for yellows and golds.

 

Vallejo Game Ink – Pretty standard colors. They dry very gloss.

 

Scalecolor (original formulation) – A very tight range of paints, but what there is is really nice. The paint is super matte, but also handles differently than other hobby paint so there is a bit of a learning curve with it. At first they are a pain to shake (I recommend adding an agitator) but once they've been used a bit and get some air in the bottle they mix pretty well. I've found that when painting with them I can't be as aggressive as I can with Vallejo. Paint that looks just dry tears pretty easily. Because the line is very focused you will need to mix these paints on your pallet to achieve some intermediate shades.

 

Reaper – I use Reaper paints mostly for skin and haven't purchased much beyond that. Overall a good line, but limited in some areas because they avoid certain pigments.

[Serenity]

Paint wise, any non-metallics Reaper!!! But, I love Vallejo metallics. Sorry reaper, but I hate the metallic paint they make it always seems grainy.

So, the issue with Reaper metals is that they have grains larger than other brands?  That is a shame since I've had mostly positive experiences with the MSPs I've used to date.  If that's the whole issue, it seems like it would be pretty easy to fix, which makes me wonder why they haven't.  May need to inquire with Vaitalla.

[ub3r_n3rd]

 

 

Paint wise, any non-metallics Reaper!!! But, I love Vallejo metallics. Sorry reaper, but I hate the metallic paint they make it always seems grainy.

So, the issue with Reaper metals is that they have grains larger than other brands? That is a shame since I've had mostly positive experiences with the MSPs I've used to date. If that's the whole issue, it seems like it would be pretty easy to fix, which makes me wonder why they haven't. May need to inquire with Vaitalla.

IME, they are too thick, separate too easily, and don't thin well. So I go for SC75 now since it is the complete opposite and the coverage is excellent.

 

Not bashing reaper as I love all the regular colors, the HD range, the liners, the sealers, the primers, the clears, and the inks

[Doug Sundseth]

For saturated colors, I'm slowly switching to single-pigment Golden Fluid Acrylics. The more I work with them, the more I love them. (Dioxazine Purple is amazing.)

 

Reaper for a wide range of browns and liners plus some premixed things that are a bit of a pain to mix from single pigment colors.

 

Scale 75 and P3 for metallics, because both do them quite well. (Reaper metalics work pretty well as glazes over an appropriate base coat, but they really need that base coat.)