Different paints - As good as or better than Warhammer Branded

[Andyhutch]

Hi

I'm just getting back into Warhammer, been a long time out. I am unfortunately one of those people that love to research to death. So looking into different paints, there is the obvious to go for which is the warhammer branded paints. In theory you like to think these are good and will do the trick. But looking on Amazon, there is the Army Painter Wapaints brand, which are acrylic, how big a difference is there to these from Warhammer? Are they actually different?

Thanks in advance

Andy

[INKS]

Paint brands differ in paint consistency. coverage and pigments.

Warpaints Fanatics I hear are good.

I like Pro Acryl

Speed paints as tend to be pretty good if you want that type of paint. they are a little like citadels contrast. not exactly but close

some people like twin thin coats - I've never used them

scale 75 is not bad but can be a little thicker

Ak 3rd gen is good also

Vallejo metals are good - some of the best when it comes to metallic paints

Green Stuff world metal pigments are very good if you want to mix and go with that.

 

Another difference is in how much paint you get for price and that pot itself. I just like and prefer dropper bottles. I greatly dislike the GW pots. It's rumored those might change in the near future but for now, I do not like GW pots.

 

I own and use a lot of pro acryl - has good covered, doesn't need to be watered down too much, good color range

But I would also be happy with Fanatic paints, Vallejo or GSW metals - Ak 3rd gen paints. All are very good in my opinion.

 

[Karhedron]

Army Painter has good coverage but has a very slightly glossy finish compared to GW paints. This is not really noticeable until you try to paint over it with GW paints and find they don't adhere very well and are prone to rubbing off. The solution is to varnish part way through painting and then again once it is finished but I would probably avoid the AP range if starting again. The main reason I stick with it for my Blood Angels is that I don't want to change the shade and find they don't match any more. On the plus side they give a nice vibrant red as shown below.

 

[INKS]

10 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Army Painter has good coverage but has a very slightly glossy finish compared to GW paints. This is not really noticeable until you try to paint over it with GW paints and find they don't adhere very well and are prone to rubbing off. The solution is to varnish part way through painting and then again once it is finished but I would probably avoid the AP range if starting again. The main reason I stick with it for my Blood Angels is that I don't want to change the shade and find they don't match any more. On the plus side they give a nice vibrant red as shown below.

 

Fanatics is the new line. Is this true for the Army painter Fanatics as well?

[Evil Eye]

Old Army Painter is very hit or miss (their old washes are fantastic, their "normal" paints less so) but I've heard nothing but good things about the new Fanatic range. Two Thin Coats is also a good bet, not heard any problems with them. Vallejo I've heard mixed things about recently due to a buyout and slipping quality standards but their Metal Colour range is second to none as far as aqueous metallics go. AK 3rd Gen is also great (or so I hear) especially for more realistic/military colours.

[Andyhutch]

37 minutes ago, Evil Eye said:

Old Army Painter is very hit or miss (their old washes are fantastic, their "normal" paints less so) but I've heard nothing but good things about the new Fanatic range. Two Thin Coats is also a good bet, not heard any problems with them. Vallejo I've heard mixed things about recently due to a buyout and slipping quality standards but their Metal Colour range is second to none as far as aqueous metallics go. AK 3rd Gen is also great (or so I hear) especially for more realistic/military colours.

Thank you, this is really helpful

 

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

GW pots tend to dry out and they are the most expensive on the market. Because of that I have shifted to Vallejo.

[TheArtilleryman]

I have some old Citadel paint pots from the late 90s that still have paint in them and haven’t dried out. By comparison, the GW paints die way faster, particularly white and light grey. I barely use Corax White but I feel like I’m always buying it. Their advantage is ease of acquisition and knowing exactly what you’re getting of course.
 

I’ve had some inks from Coat d’Arms (exactly the same paint as old Citadel) and am seriously considering putting in a bigger order of colours from that range.

Edited February 12 by TheArtilleryman

[Evil Eye]

Yeah, Coat d'Arms is AFAIK literally pre-2010s Citadel. Like, they produced GW's old paint range and the current formula is exactly the same. I really should get some of their paints. Shame IIRC the old Foundation paints aren't in their catalogue; I'd do terrible things to get Mechrite Red back on shelves...

 

Also, Warcolors does the Nostalgia '88 and '94 lines, which are very close matches to retro GW paints. I have their Titilating Pink and Bilious Green and not only are they amazing paints, they're actually fluorescent (and have MUCH better coverage than other fluo paints!).

[Karhedron]

23 minutes ago, Evil Eye said:

Shame IIRC the old Foundation paints aren't in their catalogue; I'd do terrible things to get Mechrite Red back on shelves...

 

I agree. I used Iyanden Darksun as the base for my Wraithbone units and my last hoarded drops are nearly gone. 

[TheArtilleryman]

There’s a conversion chart for their paints here:  https://www.hiveworldterra.co.uk/Article/view_CoatDArmsConversionChart.html

[Evil Eye]

1 hour ago, Karhedron said:

 

I agree. I used Iyanden Darksun as the base for my Wraithbone units and my last hoarded drops are nearly gone. 

At the very least Averland Sunset is a pretty damn good base yellow and not too far from Iyanden Darksun. But yeah, pour one out for the old Foundations...actually, "pour one out" may be a poor choice of words there.

[Mazer Rackham]

I moved away from Citadel a while ago when I got into Warmachine, and bought their P3 line. It's being relaunched via Kickstarter, but they were designed by Mike McVey and produced by Coat D'Arms in the UK.

 

The new range has improved metallics and comes in flip-top 2nd Ed style pots, or dropper bottles.

 

One to look out for if you're after something close-to-GW. Some lovely colours in both ranges.

Edited February 12 by Mazer Rackham

[Firedrake Cordova]

Coat D'Arms, Formula P3, 1990's Citadel and current* the Citadel are all manufactured by HMG Paint in Manchester.  

 

* I think I heard something about GW bringing paint production in-house, but it was certainly the case within the last 3 years that it was being made by HMG (source is Tom Hibberd).

[Mazer Rackham]

3 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Coat D'Arms, Formula P3, 1990's Citadel and current* the Citadel are all manufactured by HMG Paint in Manchester.  

 

Ahhh! *Snaps fingers* HMG, them's the one! I couldn't remember the OEM. Cheers! 

 

Oh, and they all taste great too....

[LameBeard]

23 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

I agree. I used Iyanden Darksun as the base for my Wraithbone units and my last hoarded drops are nearly gone. 

Yes my Dheneb Stone is about to dry out and I don’t know what I’ll do without it … 

[N1SB]

On 2/12/2025 at 9:23 PM, Andyhutch said:

Hi

I'm just getting back into Warhammer, been a long time out. I am unfortunately one of those people that love to research to death.

Thanks in advance

Andy

 

Brother Andy, old Blood Axe player here, knowing you'll do your research, let me just point out a possible line of investigation.

GW introduced Contrast paints, and other companies have since released their own versions, like they're called actual Speed Paints, etc.  Compared to what we're used to, it's a whole new line, and revolutionised our painting.  It combines painting and ink/shading in 1 step, great for new, returning and high volume painters alike.

 

It's basically a pre-mixed cocktail of a lighter shade and a darker shade of a colour, in 1.  It's an emulsion.  It comes in normal pots from GW or droppers from other brands, so it'll be familiar to you.  You shake it up real good, paint it on like normal (so it's basically all old techniques), then the paint separates.

 

Here's a sample, using GW's Nazdreg Yellow Contrast paint:

 

 

So remember when we were kids, yellow paints were infamously difficult to work with, it just spoils easily, it's hard to highlight or ink/shade.  But you can see, especially around the left leg, there's ink/shading in the grooves, a little bit and a bit of highlight on the knees, etc.  All this is 1 coat.

 

If you're thinking of returning to Orks, it works VERY well, because the Ork musculature and rough clothing has all the recesses for these Contrast paints to work with.  You do NOT need all Contrast.  Imagine a Deathskull's green skin with Contrast...but then you paint his facepaint with actual blue paints.

 

(Bro-tip - another thing I did here was I did what I found here on B&C is called a "Zenithal" basecoat.  I spray all black 1st.  Then for my 2nd coat, instead of another coat of black, I stand the mini up, spray white paint from above...it creates this lighting effect, like a spotlight.  Because Contrast is a little translucent like shades/inks, the white and black underneath will affect it, retaining that natural spotlighting effect.)

 

Just a heads up, because sharing this might shave off months of effort getting back in The Hobby for you.