I've returned to the hobby after a year or so break and noticed GW have changed all their paints.
I've still got the older paints and some are getting slightly tired which means I need some replacements.
I've still got the washes and some inks as well as virtually the full colour range but the new paints offer different pots for different jobs. So are these any good and which ones are the staple batch that you can't do without ?

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I really like them, but I think they're meant to be used together...the Base and Layer paints form natural sequences. The Base paints really do go on in one coat (mostly) and the Layers paints build up nicely for shading and transitions. There is a PDF from GW that gives a conversion chart for the old paint range to the new...it's useful, but not exact.

If there are any I find essential it's the browns, because even purple-clad corsairs have leather belts and boots. Rhinox Hide, Dryad Bark, Steel Legion Drab, Rakarth Flesh, and some others are Base paints I regularly reach for. At the back of their Painting Guide book is a nice chart of sequences, ie what Layers and washes go well with the Base paints.

I have found the new shades and glazes good. The old washes (and even older inks) were quite good for washing and glazing, but washing tended to glaze a bit too much and glazing required precision to prevent them from turning into washes. In my opinion the new separated shades and glazes work better in their respective tasks than the old washes. I'm also glad that the shades and glazes ranges include brighter colours than the old washes. I have still used my old yellow, orange and red inks because the wash range did not provide anything like them until now. And I'm already on my third pot of Agrax Earthshade, I love that stuff even more than Devlan Mud.

Dry compounds... I don't see any need for them. I have tried a couple and in my opinion they don't offer any advantages over regular paints.

I'm not sure but the new Base paints seem to be a bit brighter than Foundation paints. Foundations were a bit greyish and muted and I often painted a coat of regular paint over them. No need for that with the new Base paints. They seem to cover any primer as well as Foundations. Especially Balthasar Gold is a welcome addition, never has painting gold been as little work as with it.

Layers are basically the same as the old colour range, but there are many more. I'm not sure yet, but the amount of pigment seems a bit lesser than previously. Somehow they don't seem to cover as well as the old range.

Ushabti Bone has a bit greenish tint in it compared to good old Bleached Bone. I don't like.

The philosophy behind the new range seems to be that you paint a Base, then shade, then paint a couple of layers without needing to mix anything. Easy for beginners, but if you are an experienced painter, you don't really need half the stuff they are selling. Some, like bases and shades are a great convenience in especially batch painting, but I wouldn't buy any "Mega" sets with all the layer paints because paint is made for mixing.

-- Pasi

Wonderful update thanks.
My painting is not too bad and I mix everything so using a single colour to highlight is a bit alien to me.
I like the sound of the shades and glazes as I always seem to struggle to get things as bright as I want. I'm hoping this new range will correct that.
I will never buy mega packs of paint but will get a few shades and glazes to start playing with.
I'm presuming that the blending is a touch easier as the colours are closer, but I think that is something that experimenting will answer for me.

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I think this is true, but it's something I've been appreciating, it lets a guy like me with unsteady hands and little eye for colour layer on gently in several passes and not totally botch something even if the contrast between the base layer and current layer is high.

Yes, I've been pondering if it is intentional. I don't really mind because in the highlight phase I often thin the paints to slightly transparent anyway just because of the reasons you mention. But that would be quite an interesting approach to make paints in a world where every other manufacturer advertises the opaqueness of their paints.

-- Pasi

They probably thought they could cut down on costs yet further by reducing the pigment content of their paints. I doubt that making the paints better for successive layering was anything but a secondary consideration.

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Sadly, I agree with the above poster - I believe it was a decision to cut costs rather than for the benefit of hobbyists. The old paints, in my opinion, are superior and all GW have done with releasing the new range is pushed me (a loyal Citadel customer) toward stocking and thus using Vallejo paints instead.

On the positive side, I love the expanded range, there are so many more colours and it does make things alot easier for me. On the downside though, the other reason I've become a little disillusioned with the new paint range is the pots. I hate them. The old, hexagonal, pots were a simple case of flip open with your thumb and flip shut - I never, ever had a problem with paints drying up or spilling because of it. The new pots tend to stay open at the back and require a lot more effort to push closed, which in the case of washes often results in spillages and avoidable frustration if the pots had been designed better. I cannot get my head around the thinking with the new pot design, two pots of Nuln Oil have been wasted in our painting studio because of the awkwardly fashioned lid, also resulting in some impromptu laundry. That is my rant over. Other than that, the Citadel Metallic range is second to none it has to be said.

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Greendragon - interesting and thanks.
I've never tried any Vallejo paints but I think now is the time to give them a go. With your advice I will be sticking to GW metals.
Do Vallejo and GW paints mix ok with each other ?

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Hi,

In my experience Vallejo paints can be just as temperamental as any GW paints (I've used most for 20+ years now). It may be my personal preference in using an Acrylic Flow Improver (Windsor and Newton), which sometimes refuses to successfully mix with some Vallejo Model Colours and especially metallics - leaving a palette of separated pigment and liquid. Also, be prepared to spend a lot of time and elbow-grease shaking the dropper pots to get them mixed correctly prior to use.

I have to admit I started to move over to Vallejo but have now moved back to GW. All personal taste I guess.

Cheers, Mungo.

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To answer your question, yes, they do mix well together. I have about an equal number of Vallejo and GW paints and mix them all the time.

-PoW

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