New GW Paint Line

[Darsc Zacal]

So it's official. GW is dropping their old paintlines and formulas in favour of introducing a new line, reportedly from a different manufacturer.

There's panic in the streets and much gnashing of teeth in a few forums, but rumour has it these paints will be of a higher quality than GW's now defunct line. The new line has also been broken up into various categories representing a new, for GW, painting system.

For myself, I've been in the middle of a bunch of painting projects for years, so I'll just be making do with whatever colours come closest to whatever paint I run out of. Whether that means buying the new GW paints and washes, or continuing to find replacements from other companies like Reaper or other companies, which is pretty much what I've been doing.

[mattjgilbert]

As I understand it the old colours are there (with new names) plus the range is expanded. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. I'll continue to buy the washes, the foundation paints and the odd metalic and get my other paints from Vallejo. So no change for me.

[Robert]

As long as there is devlan mud...

[Darsc Zacal]

Well, from all that I have heard, these are all new formulas from a new manufacturer. None of the old names were kept because they're NOT there anymore. Some of the new colours may come close, but because of the change in formula and pigment level, their properties, especially when it comes to mixing and blending, may be quote different from the old colour.

Let's face it, our hobby attracts people who have a tendency towards obsessive compulsiveness. Those folks will be very upset if they can't get an exact match to what they were used to.

I've been in this hobby a long time, and have been through this sort of thing many times before, so it no longer bothers me as much as it may have at one time.

[scarletsquig]

Was already interested in the army painter warpaints, along with p3 and secret weapon washes before this... this change from GW simply gives me a bigger reason to switch.

Tried Vallejio, didn't like, wasn't happy with the coverage, way too much pigment seperation for my liking.

Tried P3, and liked. They're really similar to GW foundation paints, muted colours and good coverage.

Have read a lot of good reviews about the AP warpaints from people who know what they're talking about, so I think a full set of those is likely to be bought. Secret Weapon washes have a bigger colour range than GW, and have an even higher number of good reviews on the internet... they're based on a formula which was tweaked over the course of several years before the recipe was open-sourced.

The new and ridiculous GW names are worse from the perspective of writing a tutorial for mantic models, which I definitely want to do once I get a better camera.

Something like "Start with a 50/50 mix Snagrot Chasm/ SkullSpire Bane then add Macharium Glint to highlight".. would just sound and look utterly stupid, and bear no relation to what is being pictured whatsoever.

[Tellos]

have given all old gw paint to my brother.
i now use vallejo paints, and i get better results
with them then i got with gw paint.

i bought 2 test bottles of the new army painter
paint to test these. if i like them i will get some
of those i have spray cans from, and possibly their
quick shade bottles.

Cheers

[sasheep]

WTF? those names are just ridiculous.
Strangely my paint stores are running out/ drying out so I need to invest in some new paint. Will give their new range a go along with some p3 and possibly vellejo and decide which I prefer. Any idea if the price is going to get (the GW mandatory) rise?

[Darsc Zacal]

I've heard nothing about prices.

Some more pics though from Dakka Dakka.





I'll probably give Some of these a try, just to test them as my current paints run out. I am hoping that the new shades work as well as the current washes. Those are one thing I haven't found a good current replacement for.

[Buffirn]

I've heard nothing about prices.

If we use the precedent of Finecast, the prices will go up.  Probably way too much.

I am confused as to why they seem to want to re-invent the wheel every few years.  I suppose it has to do with someone with a Marketing degree trying to look good in their new job.

[Tellos]

I've heard nothing about prices.

If we use the precedent of Finecast, the prices will go up.  Probably way too much.

I am confused as to why they seem to want to re-invent the wheel every few years.  I suppose it has to do with someone with a Marketing degree trying to look good in their new job.

isn't that what most companies do?? new person in a position to make some changes,
and then go on to re invent the wheel, instead of solving problems.

[Llew]

If you look at the names, they all show a small "TM" next to them.  Some of the expansion was certainly to broaden the line and cover gaps.  The renaming was to ensure that they could trademark every single name and try to lock down it's use.  In theory, you can't even really write a painting guide on their new paints without running under the threat of a C&D order.

They're reinforcing the "moat" or the "fortress wall" or whatever clumsy metaphor they used to describe their IP a few years back.

[scarletsquig]

Yeah, I will not be surprised if GW starts issuing C&Ds to painting blogs using their paints on non-GW miniatures.

They've done it for much pettier reasons in the past.

I can't wait until there are good, cheap alternatives for everything from other companies so I can give up making any purchases at all. At the moment, plastic characters and terrain are the only things I would consider buying from them.

[mattjgilbert]

And their movement trays are still good value for money.

[Darsc Zacal]

I agree with the movement trays and the terrain. Despite all the skulls, I do like a lot of their terrain.

While I haven't bought much else from GW for a while now, I would still likely be tempted by any expansions GW might do on their Empire and Bret mini lines too. I like most of the mini's for those armies, which is why I collected them in the first place, although I won't be using them for Warhammer.

For paints though, I'm limited by what I can easily get locally, which for me means Reaper-which I quite like, Vallejo-which I don't like, P3-of which I've only tried and liked their inks, and of course GW-which if it wasn't for their price and poorly designed containers, I actually don't mind using as a compliment to my Reaper paints.

I know that I'll be trying a bottle or two from each of the new GW paint categories just to see what they're properties are like... But as the current prices are already a bit beyond silly, I can't see myself relying too much on this new line going forward.

[Llew]

Well, I've had great luck with Vallejo (Model Color, not the Game Color), and I love the P3 stuff.  If GW keeps their Foundation paints (Bases now) and the washes (Shades now) functionally similar, I'll still use them.  I quite liked using the Foundation range and washes which were excellent products, although I love the Vallejo washes and semi-transparents.

By and large, I'm drifting to color lines that are more subdued than the traditional GW color palette, although it looks like they may be adding some more subdued colors into the range.  But it's not interesting enough to have me running to pick up a bunch of new ones to try out.