Author Topic: Army Painter Product Review  (Read 5643 times)

Offline joshuaslater

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Army Painter Product Review
« on: June 16, 2009, 09:26:28 AM »
Long story short, I've recently bought stuff from the Army Painter line of products, and have some feedback which may influence your decision to buy their stuff.

Quickshades: I'm a fan of varnish dipping. If you ain't, skip ahead. Their dip is different than MinWax, less smelly, but a little different to work with. I got some good results with it, but I haven't got a complete grip on the nature of the beast. I'm going to try to step on it with water, and brush it on. I used it on a Heresy Ogre and the results were great. On some Warzone models, it seems too thick. Either way, if you are hog wild for dipping models, I'd recommend it, but tell you to start small, dip a few models, then determine if you would just brush it on. You'll need paint thinner to clean your brushes after. Even at the high cost for their product, if watering it down works, and with brushing, you'll prolly stretch your dollar out a looong time.

Tools. I got a kit last night for thirty bucks. It contained good quality metal/plastic cutters, a pin vise with two drill bits, tweezers, a good model file, a hobby knife with extra blades, and a free (yeah, I know) bottle of 5ml of their superglue.

GLUE WARNING!! I expected it to be like Zap a Gap, or GW/Citadel glue, but got a whole 'nother animal. This stuff is like a watered down version that comes shootin' out, goes all over, and when it touches your skin, IT BURNS.

It feels like what happens when glue and accelerant come together on your skin, so you know the feeling. The stuff gives a really good hold, but I'd exercise caution if you use their product. It's a little less forgiving than others.

Brushes. I got some brushes at about five bucks a pop, and the grips are thicker than others, I guess to give better control, but I haven't picked them up enough to give a solid review of how long they will last. I like their "Insane Detail" brush, and the prices are reasonable, but they ain't the same quality as Reaper's really good brushes. They are cheap and good for someone just getting into the hobby.

All things considered, I'd recommend the modelling toolkit for people. I'm using it at home and as my "away" setup, as I paint and pin and do all that stuff while I roleplay on Sundays.

If you are a dip/varnish cat/chick, their shading stuff might be something to consider. If you ain't, this won't convince you to become one. It's no magic formula, but it does what it's supposed to do.

Cheers.
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Offline MadBrad

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2009, 09:39:33 AM »
Nice rundown of their products.  I might look into some of their stuff. 

Thanks for the review.

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Offline Veez

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2009, 10:02:02 AM »
Interesting about the Quickshades.  Are there any on-line guides to its use?
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Offline joshuaslater

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2009, 11:03:26 AM »
There might be an online guide, but I rarely read instructions before handling danger.   ;D
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Offline luckyone

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2009, 05:25:27 PM »
It proabably is on the forums but is there a website for them please?

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Offline Lopis

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2009, 03:11:52 AM »
I think this is the one you wanted:

http://thearmypainter.com/

and here´s a tutorial video:

http://www.thearmypainter.com/videogallery.php?videoid=1
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Offline luckyone

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2009, 05:44:52 AM »
Thanks, you are the man!
Always look out for number one, but don't step in number two.
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Offline Von Koss

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2009, 07:45:23 AM »
Thanks Josh for the review.  I'm leaning towards looking into their dip now. :)
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Offline nico*le*clodo

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Re: Army Painter Product Review
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2009, 03:37:48 AM »
Interesting, but couldn't you just have the same effect with a brown wash? Of course you'll still need to varnish it afterwards.
But you might find cheaper products if we just now what type of varnish it is. I suspect their special varnish to be a varnish I'm sure we can get for cheaper in a normal hobby store. Ah well it's like that for all the stuff, even GW and Vallejo's can be obtained much cheaper with normal acrylic paints in art shops. So it's their idea they still deserve the credit.

But when able I prefer using general stuff than material 'special for miniatures', just in smaller packages with no higher quality.

I'm back in the hobby to try achieving some good painting (getting wet dreams of Rackham-studio quality like painting, but still far from that result), so I don't think I'll be resorting to that.