New Paint Line

[Kurgan the Lurker]

Privateer Press (the Warmachine guys) have their own line of paints coming out:

 

**EDIT: We've had to remove the link to TableTopGamingNews as it looks like one of their banner ads is infected with a Trojan virus.

 

Meantime here is the text of the article:

In addition to the October releases announced today, Privateer Press has also announced a line of paints: Formula P3 Colors.

 

From their release:

Formula P3 has been in development for many years to create the finest miniature paints on the market today. These paints strike the perfect balance of smoothness and opacity that painters around the world have been crying out for. They not only mix perfectly with each other, but also with other acrylic paints and artists inks to give an endless range of color choices.

 

The line will originally see six different paint sets each with an MSRP of $17.99 US:

 

Formula P3 Cryx Colors - The Formula P3 Cryx faction set gives you the key colors for painting your Cryx miniatures that you just won

[-Q-]

Lame.

 

I can understand wanting to make it easier to get into the hobby with sets for each faction. We know PP well enough that it's given that this will quickly spread into a full paint line of overpriced paint (probably re-packaged Apple Barrel). Then we'll all have a whole new line of confusing names to remember... "no CYGNAR light blue, not TRAITOR light blue!"

 

Bottom line... I hope they are bad so I don't have to buy them. :(

[Callas]

Why is this lame, Q?

 

Another line of paints to experiment with is what I see it as - people already combine GW and Vallejo Model/Game colour pots already and Kurgan uses a Ral Partha for his Iron Cranes for example.

 

More the merrier, say I.

[Kurgan the Lurker]

I think -Q- was being sarcastic actually.

 

 

Given the way they are named I'm gonna assume the paints are set up similar to the new REAPER MASTER or FOUNDRY systems with shade/base/highlight for each color. Should be good quality stuff.

[-Q-]

Nope, I'm actually against this one Kurgan. It doesn't make sense to me for them to start a whole new line. There is no shortage of quality paints. There is no need to make it harder on Hobby Shops to stay stocked with popular goods. It feels like a selfish money grab.

[Callas]

Oh? And GW don't do that? :(

 

Well, time will tell, I guess, time will tell. After all, a lot depends on how good a quality these paints are - didn't I hear once that Gamecolour metallics are superior to GW's? Something like that, I think.

[-Q-]

I'm not saying any one company is better than another in their money-grabbing practices. I'm thinking about the reality of the few local shops around here. In fact one just closed forever on Monday. I don't know what the world was like when GW released their paints line, I wasn't paying attention then. I do know that now there are already several choices of very high quality paints. I don't see a market demand.

 

I believe the common opinion is that GWs metallics are better than either of the Vallejos.

[RayGun924]

It feels like a selfish money grab.

 

Business is business. If they believe they can make a profit from it, why not?

 

~Ray

[Penitent Dreadnought]

It feels like a selfish money grab.

why not?

 

~Ray

 

Because it offends customers like -Q-?

[Callas]

Well, each man to his own after all. :(

The paints at least sound promising, remains to be seen whether they actually are, though

[mortiferum]

My opinion (for whats its worth) a little competition is always a good thing for the consumer :wink:

 

They are all wanting the consumers to buy there particular range and therefore each company will want to offer the best quality and at prices consumers will want to pay.

 

It can only result (in the long term) better quality products and at realistic prices (I hope!)

 

Morty

[Brother Elias]

Aren't we supposed to talk about SM on this forum,

Kurgan please don't hurt me.

[librarian_ezekiel]

I think this may be pretty cool, I mainly use reaper master series and gw and the thing that bugs me is there are no highlight, shade paints for gw colours, also as an avid warmachine and hordes player as well as 40k these are a must buy for me!

~EzEkiEl

[Kurgan the Lurker]

Aren't we supposed to talk about SM on this forum,

Kurgan please don't hurt me.

 

 

Haven't used this in a while:

http://www.duckblindminiatures.com/images/funstuff/powermackarel.jpg

[Grey Knight]

I'm thinking I'll stick to my trusty vallejo and GW mix, although if anyone uses these and they turn out to be high quality i might try 'em out. let's just hope they don't suck

[Legacy40k]

Okay.. So now we have....

 

 

GW/Citadel Paints:

 

Vallejo Model Colour:

 

Vallejo Game Colour

 

Rackham Paints:

 

Privateer Press Paints:

 

Reaper master Series Paints:

 

Reaper Pro Series Paints:

 

Adikolor Paints:

 

Tamiya:

 

Model Masters:

 

 

 

 

I'm curious as to peoples opinions on each, particularily the Rackham and Privateer if you have used either.

 

-Legacy40k

[Grey Knight]

well, i haven't used most of those, but i can tell you vallejo model colour is really a joy to work with, and if you're going to do subtle highlighting their thinner wll make your life a WHOLE lot easier

[librarian_ezekiel]

Reaper master series are really really great paints imho it makes painting easier not having to mix colours jsut to highlight which if not written down or done at the exact same time will make the highlights different

also both vallejo paints are pretty good imho but I prefer model jsut for the amazing range of paints, and of course pretty much everyone uses or has used gw

~EzEkiEl

[HuronBH]

@Legacy40K - You forgot Tamiya and Model Masters. I use paints from all the lines you mentioned(except PP because their not out yet) and the two I added in. Best paint for the job is what I believe in, all the the companies do something(but not everything) well. Oh and Golden Arcylics needs to be on the list too.

 

I'm not sure if it helps any, but Mike McVey(the designer of the current GW paints) is designing the PP paints. Also it is rumored that Coat d'Arms(the company that made the first line of GW paints) is going to be the producer of the PP paints. Coat d'Arms paints are fantastic, I still have bottles that I bought 15 years ago that I still use today. We'll see what they are like in October.

 

 

-jay

[ursidae]

It can only result (in the long term) better quality products and at realistic prices (I hope!)

 

I can only agree with Morty on this one. Maybe this will make GW stop their price hiking practices and play fair. :lol: I guess time will tell. *shrug*

[mario]

That paint line won't change the price of anything? $17.99 US for six paints is about $ 3.00 US for one. That doesn't really look like the paints are cheaper (and these are boxes of six paints so itlooks like you get alittlediscout with these already). I don't know where the price will be for one paint but for it to be cheaper the pots need to have more content. The basic price comparison is not really cheap. Taking the top miniature painting paints you will see different properties but the quality is always good or very good.

 

My prediction: They will most probably profit from people who are to lazy to learn a bit of general colour theory and can't be bothered to mix paints for highlighting and shading without instructions. And a bit of colour theory knowledge could help anyone who wants to "recreate" some ofiicial colour scheme with the available paint line. Rackham is doung the same, first they inroduce new paints and then use these names in their tutorials. I like it better if a tutorial shows what colour to use (and the "why" being the important part) and not what paint to use.

 

And my guess is that Privateer Press will have good/high quality paints; with a good pot (my guess: see Vallejo bottles); and that will result in more content for the money as Vallejo paints hold more than the GW ones. That will give them three plusses for their line of paints and the moral high ground for the GW price bashing troops (great paint, easy to use, don't dry in the pot, more content, cheaper). It will sell very good with the PP gamers and some few compulsive painters who need to have a complete paint rack (in some delusion that this will make them paint better). But most painters will probably just buy a few paints that they find useful.

 

Now that I read through that post it looks more and more like a damn rant. What I really wanted to say is: Another line of paint is nice for the consumer but it won't change that much in the end. But that looks to short. :P

[librarian_ezekiel]

any word about where they are going to be available from? PP website? the Warstore or rogue trader stores that sell PP stuff? I really want to get some fo these to work on the new army coming out in october(xenos scum)

~EzEkiEl

[HuronBH]

Rumor says(and from a realiable source) that the bottles will hold 17 to 20 mL. Putting them in the Vallejo(17mL) range and out classing GW(12mL).

 

 

-jay

[Badaab]

I'm all for this.

 

Fair warning, what follows will be a rant of sorts. If you don't like reading about politics, economics, and the like, skip to the next post.

 

Privateer has made a solid effort in the past few years to establish itself as an alternative to GW, priding itself on both quality and affordability. It only makes sense that they would move on to the paint line after the introduction of their magazine (No Quarter), and follow-ups to their successful game of WarMachine (Iron Kingdoms and Hordes). I personally play Hordes, and have found the rules, miniatures, and rulebook all of top-notch quality.

Privateer contrasts well with GW, which continues to raise prices on the US market (it's largest customer base) for two main reasons:

-The bottom line. Like any major corporation, GW need to turn a profit to stay viable. Don't even get me started on shipping from the mail-order- it's ridiculous to pay $7 shipping on a $15 model, and then wait 9-10 days for it to arrive.

-The US economy. Let's be honest folks, the US economy is great right now if you're a conglomerate, but not if you're an average working person. It's still shaky, and has been since early 2001. Because of this, and outstanding debts that the US owes to other countries (read China, Saudi Arabia, etc.), the dollar is weak when stacked up against other currencies (go GW Bush economic team). This is especially evident when you look through back issues of White Dwarf, and the shrinking difference between US and Canadian prices of new releases. While there used to be a bigger gap between the two, it's almost gone now.

-Quality. This is a mixed bag, but personally- I see the quality of GW's miniatures dropping. Plastics seem to be taking a step backwards, with less parts available on the sprues, and less possiblities for standard construction. Metal is even worse- miscasts and mould lines are everywhere, and flash is ridiculous. The sculpts also are losing some of their quality as prolific sculptors like Jes Goodwin and the Perrys are put on side projects (Jes is now in charge of the plastics department, and the Perrys are doing LoTR- I'd rather have them back doing sculpting for the main games in the full time).

 

With GW dropping the ball in notable areas (see the points above), I'm glad to see Privateer supplying an alternative that's not only viable, but also of quality.

 

-Joe

[Lion in the Stars]

My opinions:

 

GW: I like the metallics, and inks. I'm getting frustrated with the price of GW paints, compared with anything else.

 

Vallejo Model Colour: I use these for my Flames of War minis. Everything that I've used has been dead flat, non-glossy. I do like them, though they need some different treatment than GW paint. They're so flat that they don't drybrush well, they look very chalky with 3 drybrush coats.

 

Vallejo Game Colour: I haven't had the chance to use these, yet. It was my understanding that GW put a bid out for a new paint supplier, and the VGC line was Vallejo's answer to that bid.

 

Rackham: No experience, sorry....

 

Privateer: No experience, sorry...

 

Reaper Master: I plan on shifting to these for the flesh tones, but just recently found a local source to get them. No experience as yet, sorry.

 

Reaper Pro: No experience, sorry...

 

Adikolor: No experience, sorry...

 

Tamiya: I've used the spray cans (gray primer is my friend for white models), but I've read that the acrylics are not necessarily compatible, and require a special thinner. Because of this, I've never been interested in trying them.

 

Model Masters: I use these for some things. Armored Steel is one of the paints that I used for my Grey Knights. I also use a couple other colors. Dark Sea Blue is the base color for my Ravenwing, topped with several coats of Black Ink. I like Euro 1 Gray for a color between Chaos Black and Codex Gray. I also use one Oil, Silver Chrome Trim. It's a little brighter than Mithril, but it's used in fancy modeling for 'chromed' (or polished steel) parts like hydraulic cylinders and bumpers. I recommend not using this one, unless you've spent a lot of time making a smooth surface first (for metal models... plastic is a little more tolerant). Testors also makes a line of spray paints called 'Metallizer' that very closely replicate bare metal, and can be polished to whatever sheen you desire. Any color from Titanium (I recommend trying this color for Iron Warriors) to plate aluminum. they do have an adhesion problem, though, and may chip if handled a lot, even if sealed. (I haven't tried that paint, yet, although I plan to build an Iron Warriors uber-Vindicator using this paint.)