Painting Gremlins... ;-)

[Dheekon666]

Got my Gremlins now. I have Wongs Crew, Zipps Crew, McTavish and Burt.

I've assembled and undercoated Wong and his Crew and found my paints are mostly knackered, some can be saved though.

My question is...

Which paints are the best value, good to paint with and give good results. I always used GW paints before but they're not as good value as they used to be and all the colours have changed in the years since I painted before... lol

[the tick]

I like the Vallejo Game Color and Model Color lines for normal paints. The GW washes (Nuln Oil and the like) have been super useful as well as one of their new "technical" that's just an easy way to add the vert de gris effect to copper. Secret Weapons also makes a cool mix of dry pigments to use for other effects. YMMV.

Edit: For value, I think your biggest money maker is using a wet pallet. Easy to make and helps reduce wasted paint.

[Omenbringer]

I would suggest just sticking with the Citadel paint line. They really aren't that bad and the new system gives really good results without a lot of fuss. I don't consider the cost prohibitive but then I always add some of my custom paint additive mixture to keep them flowing and wet (I can give you the recipe if you are interested). If you need a conversion chart from the old paints to the new there is one available however it won't be exact as the formulation has changed and the colors are slightly brighter or darker than what you would expect. Using the entire paint system (base, shade, layer 1, layer 2) for the conversion color does get it much closer though.

Here is what use for Gremlin Skin (I use them in this order):

• Citadel Base Castellan Green
• Citadel Shade Reikland Fleshshade or Citadel Shade Seraphim Sepia
• Citadel Layer Elysian Green

It gives a really nice look with minimal fuss. You could continue with another highlight layer (Layer Straken Green I believe is the next step) if you desire, but I haven't really seen a need to do that.

If you are dead set against Citadel paints then I would endorse the Reaper Master Series line. They are great paints and are available in pre set "Triads" that take a lot of the guess work out of building a palette. They also come in dropper bottles which are nice. Finally, they also take to paint additives very well without chalking. Price isn't that bad either. If I was going to repurchase my paints then I would probably go with Reaper.

Also I can post some photos of my Gremlin's if you want to see how they look with the citadel system.

Edited July 15, 2017 by Omenbringer
Omitted paint addition

[cfrag]

I use both Vallejo model color/game color and citadel paints. Both have tones that you can't find on the other paint lines

[EnternalVoid]

I use mostly a mixture of Citadel and P3 paints from the Warmachine line.  I actually really like the P3s *Bottles are nice compared to Citadel* but I know the Citadel range better so I am about roughly 50-50 with them now.  But I have also started getting some Vallejo that I managed to snag at one point and I like some of the washes I got from Army painter.  So I really have a mix set that I have cobbled together over time.

[Ludvig]

I use Vallejo and P3 with a few washes/inks from armypainter. Citadel lost me when they insisted on using cans that ruin my paints despite having the knowledge to do proper ones. They also discontinued one of the base paints I had used a lot making me look for an alternative and they go around changing names on coloursway too often making it impossible to just pick up the same colour and continue a project even if you wrote down what you used. If I'm going to need to use a conversion chart and find an approximate colour at regular intervals despite sticking with them I don't see why I should continue with citadel. 

[-Loki-]

I use Vallejo, P3 and Army Painter. I stopped using Citadel when they overhauled their paint line and changed their colour tones for the... third time? I don't like having to hunt for equivalent colours when a tone is changed halfway through painting.

[Totzro]

I mostly use GW Citadel paints because that's what I'm used to. It's annoying though that their bottle design makes them dry up from time to time.
I'd rather have them in drop bottles like vallejo, however I have found that vallejo paints are a bit too runny for my taste. I use a lot of washes from army painter and I think they are excellent, especially their, soft, strong and dark tones.
 

[Omenbringer]

11 hours ago, Totzro said:

I mostly use GW Citadel paints because that's what I'm used to. It's annoying though that their bottle design makes them dry up from time to time.

 

I can suggest a custom mix of additives that will assist in keeping your paints from drying out if you are interested. MIne are going on 6 years old and with the exception of the dry brush and texture paints, are as fluid as the day I bought them.

[cfrag]

This might be slightly offtopic, but has anyone tried the warcolours line?

 

They seem pretty nice and I've had a set of them in the shopping basket for some time, but haven't take the plunge just yet

[Nikodemus]

Vince Venturella and Jay Adan have done good looking videos about that line on youtube.

I've got their basic set & transparents set. All I can really say is they feel very different from the usual hobby paints, lot more "gooey". Lot harder to use, at least for me. They don't cover well and behave differently, but so long as you basecoat with something else (I haven't tried their "one coats") there's no reason you couldn't get them to work. If you got a bit of disposable income I'd recommend you get a colour set (like their Olive set if doing typical gremlins). Play around with that. At the end of a day paint is a personal thing.

I think they have some kind of retarder in so they also dry a lot slower. Can be good if you're into wetblending type stuff, maybe. Can be infuriating if you just want to put down a few quick layers 

[Sol_Sorrowsong]

18 hours ago, Omenbringer said:

I can suggest a custom mix of additives that will assist in keeping your paints from drying out if you are interested. MIne are going on 6 years old and with the exception of the dry brush and texture paints, are as fluid as the day I bought them.

I'd be interested in what you use.  Any of it work on bottles already a bit chunky?  I haven't thrown them out because I can glob out a bit with an old brush and add water on my palate to get a usable paint again, but they aren't nice for dipping a fine brush in.

[Omenbringer]

It should restore paints that aren't completely dry, though if you let them sit in the mixture long enough it might even restore those.

My mix is:

• 1 part Liquitex Gloss Medium
• 1 part Liquitex Matte Medium
• 2 parts Liquitex Flow Improver
• 1 part Distilled Water

MIx this up in a separate "squirt" bottle like this:

This may shift your paints final finish toward Satin vice matte or eggshell. If you find it is more semi-gloss or gloss then you are using too much Gloss medium.

What this is doing is adding more of the binding agents to the paint (gloss and Matte mediums) and also "loosening" the paint particles to restore fluidity (Flow Improver and Distilled Water). I would not recommend omitting any of the components as each is doing something a bit different to the paint.

For your "gloppy" paints be sure to add a plastic agitator or two to the pots (if you aren't already doing this). I recommend purchasing a bag of plastic beads (usually found in the kid's arts and crafts area when you pick up your additives. With those in the pot and a few drops of the above mixture you then shake the hell out of the paints. It may take a bit of effort at first and you may need to add a bit more of the mixture as you go. Biggest advice is not to be in a rush, you can always add more but removing too much is really not feasible. An electric back massager like this:

can make this step more effective and less tiring on your wrists. Put your paints in one of those thin plastic tackle boxes. Place that on a pillow and then run the massager over the tackle boxes lid. If they are really gloppy or you just really want everything well mixed, you can use a large rubber band or strap to fix the massager to the tackle box and let it run for a while. This is the type of box I am talking about:

You can usually find them in the same arts and crafts stores you get the rest of the stuff in.

One last suggestion is every few weeks or so (when painting regularly) add a few drops of the mixture to your paints. If you typically go long periods between paint sessions you might try adding some Liquitex Slow-Dri to the above mixture. If you go this route I would recommend trying 1/2 part to the above mixture. If you are comfortable with wet blending you might go as high as 1 part. I don't generally do this myself so you may need to experiment a bit to get the right ratios. Instead, what I do is just add a bit of the mixture into the paint pots and let it sit on top (no agitation). This has worked well for me.

Hopefully, some of this will help you out (or others that may have the same issues). I use Liquitex because it is easier to find, available in larger quantities, and generally cheaper than the hobby specific stuff.

[cfrag]

On 22/09/2017 at 10:35 AM, Nikodemus said:

Vince Venturella and Jay Adan have done good looking videos about that line on youtube.

I've got their basic set & transparents set. All I can really say is they feel very different from the usual hobby paints, lot more "gooey". Lot harder to use, at least for me. They don't cover well and behave differently, but so long as you basecoat with something else (I haven't tried their "one coats") there's no reason you couldn't get them to work. If you got a bit of disposable income I'd recommend you get a colour set (like their Olive set if doing typical gremlins). Play around with that. At the end of a day paint is a personal thing.

I think they have some kind of retarder in so they also dry a lot slower. Can be good if you're into wetblending type stuff, maybe. Can be infuriating if you just want to put down a few quick layers 

Thanks, that's exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. I had seen the videos, but was trying to find an opinion from some hobbyist that had tried em on malifaux miniatures. I will get a set, but it will probably be the one to paint regular caucasian and dark skin. I am already happy with my recipe for gremlin skin 

I do intend to eventually start dabbing into blends, so it helps to have paints that are naturally better at it. 

You didn't try their metallics by any chance? I thought I was happy with mine, but they might have dried a bit (time to use omenbringers recipe ) and their coverage is now terrible and they are not mixing no matter how much I shake em (citadel ones)

[Nikodemus]

Haven't used neither Warcolours nor Citadel metallics. Have been using mainly Army Painter metallics for the last 1½-2 years with no issues.

[Reako]

This is my Zipp. 100% citadel paints.

[Reako]

I was hoping to add a photo of my Som’er as well, but the forum says I’ve reached my limit for this thread, which seems weird.

[Dogmantra]

yeah the forum's native image hosting is a bit weird. try a 3rd party site like imgur.com and hotlink it here

[Omenbringer]

Good looking Zipp you have there. Wish I had thought about adding a jolly roger to the rear fin of mine.

[ChrisB76]

On 14.7.2017 at 8:57 PM, Omenbringer said:

...

Also I can post some photos of my Gremlin's if you want to see how they look with the citadel system.

I would like too see how they look

[Omenbringer]

@ChrisB76

Sorry for the delay, been a busy week. Here they are, included a couple different ones so you can see.

[green-n-dumb]

Citadel paints:
-waaagh! flesh;
-warboss green;
-moot green.

And yes - youtube search like "painting orc flesh miniature" will reward you with LOTS of guides.

[Omenbringer]

That recipe is definitely a higher contrast than the one I posted but man what a striking look.

[Nikodemus]

Pops out from the table that's for sure. What really kills me is that single bright primary blue shoe