Army Painter Speedpaints

[Cyrox]

Anyone planning to try these?

 

From what I've seen so far on YouTube, they look quite promising although I think the folk who have access to them only have a limited range of the paints to try out. Coverage certainly seems better than Contrast for some of the shades.

 

I do like Contrast, so I might try some of these too.

 

Anyone else? The Speedpaint starter set is due Feb 2022 i think.

[Grotsmasha]

them a try for half the price of Contrast

[Cyrox]

Links for anyone thats interested:

 

Speedpaint Starter Set

 

Speedpaint Mega Set

 

 

There's also plenty of Youtube vids where people are testing them live, so to speak.

[Xenith]

 Coverage certainly seems better than Contrast for some of the shades.

 

That depends on the specific contrast paint - they're all different. Magos and Shyish purple for example. Magos is really thin and great for glazing, while Shyish is so pigmented it's more like ink. 

 

Great to see contrasts are so effective others are doing them. I think GW has pretty much everything covered apart from that purple army painter are doing - as above the difference between shyishand magos is so massive, this looks like a midtone - will save me some seconds in thinning shyish. 

[Lord Marshal]

They're not for me, but the finish looks better than Contrast judging from Youtubers like Goobertown and this by Tale of Painters. Plus they're cheaper.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Lord Marshal

[Slave to Darkness]

Not a fan of contrasts but these do look nice, may give them a try if they are better than GW paints, Ill wait a bit longer before committing until people here try them, I value the word of fellow Frater than I do random youtubers. 

[Imren]

I think they are great for airbrushing base coats (large dominant colour on a model) over a prehighlighted (white over black primer) model. The prehighlight doesn't get as subdued/subtle as with regular opaque acrylics paints.

 

But for brushwork I don't like them.

[Magos Takatus]

I find it bizarre that there was comparatively little discussion about the Scale 75 Instant Colour range when they came out. Did people not like the range? Was it because they are harder to get access to for some people? Was it a price thing? I think it would be handy to have a comparison of the three ranges. I've not really dabbled in any of them seriously so I must admit I'm a little curious.

[Slave to Darkness]

I find it bizarre that there was comparatively little discussion about the Scale 75 Instant Colour range when they came out. Did people not like the range? Was it because they are harder to get access to for some people? Was it a price thing? I think it would be handy to have a comparison of the three ranges. I've not really dabbled in any of them seriously so I must admit I'm a little curious.

Scale 75 do them too?? Didnt know that. Have YOU used them?? If so any good?

[pawl]

 

 

I find it bizarre that there was comparatively little discussion about the Scale 75 Instant Colour range when they came out. Did people not like the range? Was it because they are harder to get access to for some people? Was it a price thing? I think it would be handy to have a comparison of the three ranges. I've not really dabbled in any of them seriously so I must admit I'm a little curious.

Scale 75 do them too?? Didnt know that. Have YOU used them?? If so any good?

Scale 75 have the Instant Colours line, which is similar in nature to Contrast - I have their browns set but I haven't used them myself yet.

[Arkhanist]

I find it bizarre that there was comparatively little discussion about the Scale 75 Instant Colour range when they came out. Did people not like the range? Was it because they are harder to get access to for some people? Was it a price thing? I think it would be handy to have a comparison of the three ranges. I've not really dabbled in any of them seriously so I must admit I'm a little curious.

Reviews for Scale 75 Instant Colour were poor. Coverage and consistency are much closer to glazes than Contrast, or washes for the more intense colours. Which you can get just by taking your current paints and thinning them down (possibly with additional medium). They dry significantly more blotchy, and don't have the 'shade in the recesses, but still tint the higher areas' Contrast style. Adding more layers just makes it all darker, rather than adding intensity.

 

So if you want somewhat pricy pre-made glazes rather than thin your existing paint/washes, scale 75 instant work pretty nicely. If you want to use them as a one-coat speed paint over a white or zenithal primer... not really.

 

Now the army painter ones look much more promising. Very similar approach to contrast, but with the coverage evened out across the range much better; some are still a touch pale or dark, but nothing as bad as say magos vs cygor brown. Also a separate medium, which implies the same approach as Contrast, i.e. some form of ink dye with a shrinking medium. The drying timelapse in the goobertown video shows what I mean by how the medium dries. Though that also shows it probably takes a bit longer than Contrast.

 

Dana Howl has first thoughts about speedpaint too.

 

 

Up shot - works a little differently, and need to experiment with the colours so you get a feel for what they look like on a model, but overall a great substitute for Contrast, and cheaper. I'm not sure how much you actually get (can't find it listed anywhere) per bottle, but they look like standard 17ml dropper bottles. So £3 per bottle for speedpaint (standard discount), or £4 for 18ml of Contast; almost certainly the speedpaint is gonna be cheaper, especially if you buy a bundle. Price difference is greater in the US. More colour choices in Contrast atm (34 IIRC) vs 23 speedpaints, but you get all the key colours (do you really need 3 slightly different flesh tones?).

 

Speedpaint still struggles with big flat areas somewhat, though not as badly, e.g.

 

 

It depends what you're painting; I find Contrast great for cloth, leather, fur & flesh, i.e. textured or detailed surfaces. It's less good for big flat plates e.g. space marines, but that's what I have an airbrush for. And you can make it work with some extra care if you wish. I find I can paint a good chuck of many models with Contrast as the base coat, and it's significantly faster than base + wash + base cover-up-wash + initial highlight for me.

 

I do have a pretty much full set of Contrast already, so I likely won't be getting any speedpaint for a while, but next time I need a new pot I'll definitely be trying them out.

 

I see the starter available soon, with the full range (and mega box) end of march.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Arkhanist

[Bung]

I think they are great for airbrushing base coats (large dominant colour on a model) over a prehighlighted (white over black primer) model. The prehighlight doesn't get as subdued/subtle as with regular opaque acrylics paints.

 

But for brushwork I don't like them.

For normal opaque paints in an airbrush i use Ammo of MiG Transparator

https://www.migjimenez.com/en/auxiliary-products-glues/615-transparator-60-ml.html

 

It works good for colors that arent to dark. Something like VMC Dark Sea Blue ist just to dark to get really transparent.

[Xenith]

Not a fan of contrasts but these do look nice, may give them a try if they are better than GW paints, Ill wait a bit longer before committing until people here try them, I value the word of fellow Frater than I do random youtubers.

If you don't like contrasts, then you won't like these? They're the same kind of paint.

That said, contrasts are amazing and have changed my painting style completely. So far only comparison minis have been plate armoured space marines, which are bad for contrasts if you just slap it on. Like, this is also a contrast painted blood angel:

The red there isn't blotchy, but I could have made it blotchy if I wanted to.

Keen to see some non power armoured comparisons.

[Arkhanist]

Looking at the speedpaint range a bit closer, I can see a few colours I'd like to try out even with a near full set of Contrast.

 

Highlord blue looks a bit darker than talassar, so more useful as a mid-tone blue - devastator helmets (sorry, "Support") on blood angels spring to mind.

Dark wood is warmer than wyldwood, yet not as light as snakebite - I think it would make a really nice dark leather tone.

I can see hive dweller purple being useful for my genestealer cult, as a lighter version of shyish.

Pallid bone is a bit different to skeleton horde; I quite often end up using that for both parchment and skulls and even puttees, so having a 2nd colour would help distinguish them apart from highlights.

 

I don't personally need it (yet), but ultramarine blue is definitely poor - speedpaint cloudburst blue looks considerably better.

 

FWIW, I've been painting 80% of my blackstone fortress guys with Contrast + highlight, and it's brilliant for AoS models. Even for marines, I use it for flesh, leather, ribbing, and black gun casings.

 

Firestorm has all the speedpaints available from Feb 25th, so I think I may pre-order from them.

[Xenith]

Likewise, Speedpaint will be nice to fill the gaps in the contrast range - namely the purple, and maybe something between Talassar and Ultramarine blue for me. 

[Arkhanist]

Likewise, Speedpaint will be nice to fill the gaps in the contrast range - namely the purple, and maybe something between Talassar and Ultramarine blue for me. 

Comparison of speedpaint colours vs Contrast over white, via TaleofPainters first impressions.

 

 

A couple look darker out the pot than I've seen in other reviews where all the squares have dry 'pools' - such as hive dweller or cloudburst blue - but overall seems to convey the actual colours well.

 

In addition to highlord, dark wood and pallid bone as filling in colours Contrast doesn't have, there's sand golem, orc skin and and camo cloak. The latter two mainly as they actually have good saturation, unlike ork flesh and creed camo from personal experience. Gravelord grey kinda fits between black templar and basilicanum - I've often found needing two coats of the latter to get a mid-grey, so so that could also be useful. The intensity of each paint is definitely more even across the whole range than Contrast, which apparently took a lot of work.

 

Stahly does note that a number re-activate a bit when painted over, e.g. touching up primer, so you may need a thin coat of varnish to protect it before doing highlight colours - probably because of the makeup of the medium.

 

Even so, I suspect I'm going to end up with quite a few of these.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Arkhanist

[Evil Eye]

Having bought a pair of S75's totally-not-Contrasts I can confirm they weren't exactly brilliant. These however look rather excellent and I might very well buy a few.

[WrathOfTheLion]

I suspect their more even finish is related to the alcohol in the medium that causes it to reactivate, lowering surface tension. I wonder if that was a tradeoff that GW made for the Citadel line when they were researching it, they would have had a longer lead time on development by virtue of being first to market. I could certainly see that being what sways some people one way or the other, especially if someone has to do a lot of touch ups, that would be something that could affect their decision making.

Edited January 22, 2022 by WrathOfTheLion

[Evil Eye]

Pete the Wargamer did a video comparing the two. They seem roughly comparable- AP's medium seems to give slightly smoother results but Contrast has slightly better pigment.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsqV6VrbjlA

[Xenith]

 

Likewise, Speedpaint will be nice to fill the gaps in the contrast range - namely the purple, and maybe something between Talassar and Ultramarine blue for me. 

Comparison of speedpaint colours vs Contrast over white, via TaleofPainters first impressions.

 

 

 

 

Oh wow, so a solid win for contrast in pretty much all accounts then? I was considering a couple of the speedpaints, but if you look at the tone shifts across all those squares, contrast actually gives you a colour gradient, dark to light, while speedpaints are flat all the way across. Speedpaints seem to be monochrome all the way to the edge, then the gradient is condensed to the extreme outer edges of the squares, while contrast seems a bit more consistent at least. 

 

Some of the greens and crusader skin come close.

[pawl]

Having bought a pair of S75's totally-not-Contrasts I can confirm they weren't exactly brilliant. These however look rather excellent and I might very well buy a few.

This is a disappointment to hear - I have the S75 browns set for playing with leathery and hide tones. I know that Marco Frisoni is a fan but I've yet to use them.

[Arkhanist]

 

 

Likewise, Speedpaint will be nice to fill the gaps in the contrast range - namely the purple, and maybe something between Talassar and Ultramarine blue for me. 

Comparison of speedpaint colours vs Contrast over white, via TaleofPainters first impressions.

 

 

 

 

Oh wow, so a solid win for contrast in pretty much all accounts then? I was considering a couple of the speedpaints, but if you look at the tone shifts across all those squares, contrast actually gives you a colour gradient, dark to light, while speedpaints are flat all the way across. Speedpaints seem to be monochrome all the way to the edge, then the gradient is condensed to the extreme outer edges of the squares, while contrast seems a bit more consistent at least. 

 

Some of the greens and crusader skin come close.

 

 

Depends upon the effect you're after. You have it generally gathering darker in the crevices, and less colour build up in the middle of the plates. This will translate to a smoother colour on flatter areas, and less 'coffee stains'.

 

If you take malignant green, which has basically no transition effect at all on the raised plate bits, you can then use it to build up to the colour depth you want without having to do a ton of cleanup work. It still benefits from sucking up big pools with a clean brush though - you can where see that wasn't done at the bottom of the cloak/robe.

 

 

Compare to plaguebearer, where you can see significant more staining e.g. round his left knee and wrist and the axe head, with only one coat. You do get a bit more of a faux highlight though where it's pulled back better from the top of ridges, as you say. So I'd struggle to say either is outright superior, but more the follow-up will be a bit different depending on which you use.

 

 

N.B. malignant was over white vs plaguebearer over wraithbone, so the colours are not directly comparable; also, apologies for fantasy models, but that's the equivalents I could find.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Arkhanist

[ranulf the revenant]

I think one of the main advantages of these speed paints seems to be that they dry more matt. I haven't tried them yet, but that's what I got from the goobertown video. I think that would be pretty nice, because the glossy finish of contrast paints often requires an additional varnishing step (for me at least)...

[Evil Eye]

The man himself does a review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3xuwzgaqxY

Unfortunately they seem to have a problem with reactivating and washing off with even light amounts of moisture.

[WrathOfTheLion]

Ah, they have an interesting comment from Army Painter as well. I mentioned above, that I figured they made the tradeoff for the more even finish, but they actually have a bit more confirmation on that.

 

Army Painter states in their youtube comment,

The chemical make up that allows for the reactivation to happen is actually what helps to prevent tide marks and coffee stains.

 

So I think what you want to do with it is going to influence how you work here. As Juan mentions, I think airbrush or can varnish is going to be what you want to use, brush on varnish will probably agitate it.

 

If you're just using them 'as on the tin', I don't think you'll run into too many issues except perhaps at the final varnish stage, which you'll probably have to do to keep it from rubbing off during play, and maybe issues when tidying up over with the original basecoat if you make a mistake. For decals, you'll probably have to do the airbrush varnish before you apply the gloss varnish coat if you normally do that by brush (like I do).

Edited February 21, 2022 by WrathOfTheLion