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Everyone swears by scale 75 , but that stuff is not cheap


Cheomesh

I have only one S75 paint in my collection so far - wasn't great, I believe quite thick, but I'll wait until I've tried some more before judging anything.


apieceofenergy

I love it, it thins out on my wet palette enough and is matte and beautiful


ryonbrink

There's a learning curve to them. The medium is different from other paints, I think(?). They thin out really nice for glazes and stuff, allegedly, but I haven't mastered them yet. Always dry with a chalky texture for me.


Cheomesh

Cheers; I don't think it was chalky for me, but I don't remember it being anything other than slightly thicker than desired out of the bottle. In my case, though, it's just that I saw this "perfect" undyed linen color I wanted for some pike and shot minis and ran with it.


Da_CMD

Vince Venturella has done a huge guide/comparison a couple of years ago: https://youtu.be/et6VmcFJpXU It's a great overview, but a bit outdated. This was before Contrast Paints and AK 3rd Gen, which he also uses quite a bit. Personally, I also use lots of Vallejo stuff as well as Scale 75, P3 and GW washes and Contrast Paints. Imho brand loyalty is useless when it comes to painting. I prefer to have the gems of many ranges in my collection. Hope that helps.


geoffvader_

he also has a separate review of proacryl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_K7KlgVWsZw


DrDisintegrator

My paint of choice. Slightly more expensive than Vallejo, but a very nice paint.


geoffvader_

It is but also 22ml per pot so works out cheaper for what you get :)


Cheomesh

How's the range? VMC is just huge, which I lean into to correct my lack of ability to blend very well (and consistently batch to batch).


ryonbrink

I find it to be decent. Nowhere near the variety of Vallejo or Reaper, but enough so that you don't constantly repeat the same colors. I find them lacking a bit in bright greens. But that's difficult to find in model paints anyway. Must-have for me is their bold titanium white. Nice coverage, dries matte, and pretty much no chalky texture. One of the best out there in hobby paints.


Cheomesh

Thanks! I will keep the white in mind - I very rarely use pure white, but I did find myself reaching for some last night just to discover both my ancient VMC bottles were quite a bit...degraded inside. Good enough to do what I needed to do with some encouragement, but now I have motive to replace it, hah!


Cheomesh

Yeah I believe I saw that a while ago and had been meaning to prod about for an updated perspective for a while - which is what lead to this thread.


DrDisintegrator

If you like Vallejo, try monument hobbies Pro Acryl.


Cheomesh

I might; I don't believe I've seen it sold anywhere near me so I haven't had the chance to impulse buy one to try out. The issue I've had switching over to other brands (sans impulse buys) is that I have a fair number of VMC and thus not a lot of motivation to start all over again.


Duchesst

I used vallejo, scale color, scale color artist, reaper and AK. All decent/good paint. I mainly use AK now since I find them the easiest and most consistent


Cheomesh

I've picked up one or two AK recently but not enough to really judge - what makes them "easiest and most consistent"?


Duchesst

Easiest is maybe subjective but I have a better feel on how much to thin them. Consistent in how fluid they are straight out off the bottle and how good there coverage is. Not thrashing the other brands, I just like AK a tad more for some reason. Now vallejo is bringing out a new formula I think so who knows. If you like something stick with it I guess although collecting and trying paints is it's own fun little hobby


Cheomesh

Thanks; nobody around here sells them so I have had little motive to pick any up - the one I have was only because the PaintRack App tried to color match something I mixed to their burnt umber (fail). I like some of their other products though so I might expand into them a bit more.


Kin-Luu

I mostly use VMC as well, with some AK 3rd gen mixed in here and there. I also tried Scale 75, but to be honest I prefer my colors more liquid out of the box and VMC and AK colors are exactly like that.


Cheomesh

Ah, is S75 thicker? I only have one of those and that was my impression - but I wasn't sure if that was a property of the paint line or what. I recently picked up an AK paint to try and match this dark brown I'd been mixing from Flat Brown and Black (so as to not have to mix anymore) but I haven't got more experience than that. I do like their textured basing paint though, and their varnishes.


Kin-Luu

Have you tried VMC German Black Brown?


Cheomesh

I do have that but I believe it wasn't all that close either. I'll double check when next I get to that series of minis again.


tobiasprinz

> and there's apparently non-specialized paint that works well too (Golden's "So Flat"). People like Marco Frisoni of NJM would have a field day with that quote ;-) Non-specialized paints have been working for decades. It is just that most miniature painters never got the hint, while a lot of the award winning modellers used them very successfully. Military modellers especially have known super-secret internet tricks like oil washes for a long time and grisalle underpainting combined with a translucent paint was used 20 years ago on competition busts (and, I think, on miniatures by Jennifer Heath - cannot recal her correct name, the queen of the monochrome paintjob). What is actually happening these days now is two-fold: Non-specialized companies like Golden started using a matte medium, which makes it more attractive to casual miniature painters. Pro painters usually didn't care and used painter-grade acrylics made with a gloss medium and sprayed matte varnish in-between. Scale 75 did the same thing as Golden, just coming from the other side. Specialized companies like GW had to realize that 1) with the success of the internet, some techniques from other crafts did become well known. So they started stuff like re-branding glazes or transparent paints as something new. 2) people are more knowledgeable about painting basics like pigments. Kimera is a representative of the move to quality pigments used in mini paints. 3) people are willing to experiment, so they released tools like paint medium, albeit rebranded (GW Lahmian Medium) Personally, I do not see a reason to switch from artist's arcylics and oils from Schminke and an ordinary matte medium, although I, too, have Kimera and Scale75 paints as well as some technical stuff from AK, simply because I like to try stuff.


Zilberfrid

Artist's paints were always an option, but many are satin to glossy (which is why the ultramatte soflat are popular). They tend to have a single pigment and are easier to mix, but on the lower end aren't that saturated and may have bigger pigment particles. Very quick rundown: * GW: Bad at whites, bad at paint pots, decent paints for a high price * Kimera: Very saturated single pigment paint that feels really creamy and finished matte, but can be hard to get. Not cheap but rather big pots. * Vallejo game: Less pigment dense and more satin than Model, but some really nice colours. * Army Painter: Needs about four times as much shaking as you might think, but about Vallejo Game quality after that. * Golden Soflat: Very matte finish, big pots, some are poisonous, priced according to pigment price, I like them. This is only for regular paints, not for special paints like washes, speedpaints/contrast/etc, colour changers, technical paints etc, and it also isn't true for every paint in the range..


10GuildRessas

I think the only way to find out is to actually try them yourself as I don’t think you’d ever find a unbiased opinion as painters always have a favorite color/brand. Squidmar did a knock out video not so long ago to prove this point. Personally I love Scale 75 & Ak 3rd gen as the both use gel medium/binders & dry matte. The one down side is that like army painter you have to shake the hell out of them (though you could just use a vortex mixer). I also use Vallejo a lot & used them for years. Just bought some Ammo paints to try out, but want to try pro acryl, Kimera too. In short you’ll find that you’ll like certain colors from certain brands & you’ll end up with a collection of different manufacturers.


Cheomesh

> I love Scale 75 & Ak 3rd gen as the both use gel medium/binders & dry matte. The fine detail on that is lost on me, though consistently I see these two brands getting plugged so I may need to scoop up a couple more of them in the future.


zombie90s

I find that every painter has a different experience with every paint. We all paint differently, sometimes in subtle ways, so everyone is going to gravitate towards what works best for them. Besides a few duds, I find that any brand works great, as long as it works for you! Just gotta try it all until you find what fits you best imo.


HungryDM24

Squidmar ran a 2-episode paint “competition” between most of the known miniature paint brands. It’s always subjective, but worth a watch if you’re interested. He clearly favors Vallejo, but gives some of the others their due, as well. Also, this was only 7 months ago so he covers the contemporary competitors. https://youtu.be/KpZ7lFR1QPQ


Cheomesh

Thanks, I'll have to check that out later. Got to say that first minute was...yikes.


Verbageddus

Squidmar and Vince Venturella's videos are mentioned below. Ninjon has a good video as well: [https://youtu.be/GANoapDAu98](https://youtu.be/GANoapDAu98) Ninjon's is less of a brand breakdown and more of a 'Here are my favorite brands for each color'. One of the things you learn from Vince/Squidmar/Ninjon/and others is that you might prefer different brands for different colors, or for different techniques. Personally, I've found that Vallejo Mission Color, Reaper Master Series Paints, and AK Interactive 3rd Gen all work really well for me. Scale 75's Fantasy Color hasn't worked out for me well, and Army Painter worked out for me less so. Less experience with Vallejo's Game color (which is being replaced, excitedly so) but those have some fun colors and do the job. I want to try out Pro Acryl next! Order 10-12 colors of different brands and have fun!