Alternative Paints

[CrankyDragon]

Has anyone found a cheaper alternative to the Games Workshop, and other model paints such as Army Painter?
They can't be that much different than regular craft paints such as DecoArt can they?
I'm not keen on buying a paint named Green Apple, or Pansy Purple for a war game but it's all about cost right now.

[pixelgeek]

They can't be that much different than regular craft paints such as DecoArt can they?

They are. That said I have seen people do quite good jobs with the Applebarrel paint that Walmart sells in the US.

I haven't seen anyone use them for WM or BFG scale painting and my only concern would be that the paints would have more paint material in them than hobby paints and tend to clog up your models.

What type of figs are you painting?

[CrankyDragon]

Just painting Games Workshop Warmaster figures

[Stormwind]

Coat D'Arms paint is exactly the kind of paint GW used in the 90s. They still sell it in the old pots!  You get more paint in a pot and it's high quality:
http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=21

The most popular paint at the minute is the Spanish producer Vallejo:
http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/en_US

They come in dropper bottles so you can use a palette and waste less. =)

[Dave]

Craft paint's opacity is much less than model paint; model paint has a higher pigment count.

I own and use both CdA and AP paints. Both are good, although I prefer the CdA metalics and the AP washes.

[jchaos79]

Vallejo or Model colors, have a range called Game Colors. They are for fantasy and the color is more intense than model color regular paints.

It depend on tastes, but for warmaster (10mm scale) I tend to paint more bright/color intense because when playing with mass of fiures, the soldiers needs to highlight to enjoy the figures at a distance of half meter/meter from the tabletop.

[Jimmy Zimms]

Also a common feature of most acrylics used for model painting is going to be consistency between batches. Basically you can generally be sure that if you buy the paint and use it and then say a year or two later get another, the paint's going to match. That's not always the case with more general hobby acrylics.

[pixelgeek]

Just painting Games Workshop Warmaster figures

I'd test a sample of the paint to see if the coverage is too heavy or not.

[Stormwind]

Pay attention to Dave. Unlike posers like me who buy models and never paint them - this man actually knows what he's doing! =-P

I would seriously suggest sticking to the ranges branded as for modelling rather than craft paint. I only use craft paint for undercoating, drybrushing and painting scenery.

[Jo]

I personally prefer the vallejo and army painter paints as well. The bottles allow easier mixing on the palette.

I even tend to use Vallejo Model Air colors. These are thinned down colors that can be used in an airbrush. This saves the time to water the paints down for a better finish. But that is just me being lazy I guess 

[pixelgeek]

I personally prefer the vallejo and army painter paints as well. The bottles allow easier mixing on the palette.

I think the OP is asking about cheaper alternatives to the paints mentioned. Vallejo is just as expensive as GW etc.

[horizon]

The droppler bottles I kinda dislike because of all the waste...

Coat'd arms is indeed more money for value.

And decorfin, I imagine an equivalent of decoart, is thicker. But watering down helps.

[CrankyDragon]

Thanks for all the replies.
It seems that craft paint may indeed be just different enough from modeling paint that it may not work as intended, so I think I will stick with modeling paint for now.  I bought some of the new Games Workshop paints but I don't really like the pots, the price or how it applies to the models.  It seems to be rather thick straight out of the pot.  I have some Army Painter paints on the way and will probably get a cheap craft paint just to see what happens.  I liked the old Games Workshop paints when they were made by Coat 'd Arms so I might get some of those if I don't like the Army Painter paints.

[Jimmy Zimms]

Just a suggestion with those GW paints is to put them in empty dropper bottles (you can buy empty paint droppers for cheap). GW paints are notoriously bad for letting paint dry out. There's a few colors that they do (or did) make that there's no good replacement (e.g. Chardon granite) that I had bought huge stockpiles of and put into droppers. Might make your hobby dollar (euro, pound, whatever) go farther. Army painter is nice stuff, especially with the matching primers. Just be aware that when they say shake it for 3 minutes, they mean it.

[berzerkmonkey]

To add to what others are saying, always thin your paints! Painting straight out of the pot is going to get you clumpy, streaky, detail obscuring results.

Regarding the new GW paints: there were two batches that went out in two different bottle styles. The first batch did not seal well and will result in your paint drying out (planned obsolescence?)

Regarding craft paints: like Dave said, they have a low pigment count. They're a cheaper alternative, but you're really paying for a lot of medium and not a lot of pigment.

Yes, miniature paints are expensive, but the great thing is that you don't need every color under the sun - limit yourself to a color palette. Not only will you spend less money, you'll have a cohesive army as well. I made a big mistake back when Vallejo originally put out their miniature line - I purchased the entire line of paints. I'm pretty positive that there are paints in that set that I have never opened, let alone used...