Reply To: [unofficial weekender] Old is new?

[blinky465 17028xp 0]

@gorram –  I was wondering where Army Painter sat in the paint line of things, but I think this new paint range sets them apart quite nicely. Fwiw, I got their Mega Paint set about 10 years ago and loved it. Dropper bottles over stupid Citadel paint pots any day. Their reds and yellows never covered particularly well – though that’s the same for many other ranges too – but often you’d spray your mini with red/yellow primer anyway (and touch up mistakes by painting white then reapplying whichever colour).

Where AP really excelled was their “good enough” style of painting – it used to be slap on a base coat, and some strong tone and call it done. Then they kind of got distracted with the everyone else releasing paint ranges and offering different things to different types of painters, to get “silky smooth gradients” and golden-demon-level results. AP could never compete on that level.

Contrast really has been a game-changer in recent years (and, even more recently “slapchop” – no matter if you hate the term or not, it really has been like a revelation for many). And – for me – Army Painter speed paint (even the v1.0 stuff) is just nicer to use than Contrast. It’s hard to say why – it’s just nicer to work with. It feels “silkier” and more “flow-y”.

I’ve gone from being thoroughly fed up with painting “the old way” (base, wash, re-establish base, highlight, details) to loving knocking out minis using a “slap-chop-plus method” (slapchop + edge highlights). Painting Space Hulk genestealers with speed paint is fun (and they look great with human flesh base + speed paint purple).  The idea of doing the same “the old way” left me feeling cold.

So with all that in mind, and the number of paint ranges aiming at the “pro painter” market (two thin coats, vallejo etc.) I’m really interested to see AP getting back to their roots – simple paints, used simply, to create great looking minis in a relatively short time. I’m really looking forward to using their new super-pigmented paints as my highlight colour(s) – if there’s one thing that still drives me crazy it’s that if I do finally manage to paint a nice, crisp, clean edge highlight, I don’t want the colour to fade out or become blotchy in the middle of a stroke, because the paint isn’t fully opaque.

My current method is black primer then grey zenith from rattlecans (I still can’t get along with an airbrush).
Then drybrush with white for a slapchop-like base.
Colour-by-numbers with speed paint.
Edge highlight with a really good, strong, light-but-vibrant opaque colour. For me, these paints will fit in perfectly here!

@sundancer – a lot of your midweek posts revolve around just work and coffee.
Have you thought about getting a hobby? 😉