I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the local GW in Calgary on thursday and have a demonstration of the new Citadel contrast range. This is a range with a lot of potential. Initially I thought they would appeal to new painters, but they can be a bit challenging to apply. The trick is to have the paint pool in the recesses, but not on the flat areas. You don't paint these on as much as smear them around with a brush. Some of the colours are more of a pastel finish, while others are quite pigmented. The manager at the store did mention that the new base paints Wraithbone and Grey Seer are essential for these paints, as the pigments are formulated differently. While you can use the old base range, the granulation might result in streaks and a grainy result. These paints are quite transparent, so the basecoat does make a difference on some colours. There were also some models based in metallic silver and gold. Painting a green over the silver produces a very interesting result, as the mini essentially becomes a metallic silver. This could be a fun effect for Sting!
While there were no LoTR minis to try the paints on, I could certainly see a number of factions benefiting from the new paint. The cloaks of the Rohirrim and rangers would be fun to try in the greens. Horses would benefit from the browns and greys. The beautiful teal blues would make short work of the Warriors of the Dead.
Don't forget some of the other new colours in the old ranges. The new metallic is a darker silver and would be a great base for Minas Tirith's armoured warriors. The magenta is similar to a colour from another manufacturer I've been using for ages. It goes great against emerald green and the golds released with the Stormcast Eternals.
While many of these are backordered and my FLGS only got a few shades on Saturday, I am planning to try a few of them when I do my Scouring of the Shire order.
