Best Paint Sets/Ranges?

[Aristo]

It's been a while since I last touched the hobby, and by now, many of my GW pots have gotten dry or thick. I want to rebuild my arsenal of paints, and I've been looking at manufacturers other than GW out of curiosity. Preferably, I'd like to get my hands on a big paint set to have a variety of paints fast, rather than buying individual pots or small sets.

I've looked at Army Painter's Mega Paint Set, which seems like a good value at $100. Most other ranges sell large sets for 150+. Other manufacturers that've interested me are Vallejo and P3.

What're your preferred ranges and sets for getting lots of colors quickly?

 

[Von Calyptra]

I love the P3 paints. They have great, smooth consistency, solid coverage, aren't prone to separation, and aren't prone to drying out. I like them better than anything else I've used except for the metalics. I use Vallejo for metalics now.

I haven't tried any of the current GW paints, and I don't intend to. I'm not going to introduce a color into my palette from a company that is liable to discontinue that color at any time.

 

[Aristo]

Which of the P3 colors do you find best work for VC models?

 

[Thindol]

Coat D'Arms paints are amazing!!! I use them a lot too. The Army Painter stuff is top notch too just don't use the primer though. It's not as good. It tends to flake off and paint doesn't adhere to it well.

If you're in the US then Scale Creep sells the range of Coat D'Arms. I am not sure who sells it in the UK but it's made in Europe so there's bound to be a retailer.

 

[Aristo]

I should mention I have an airbrush in addition to the typical range of brushes. Are the above paints airbrush-friendly?

 

[Bullhax]

For airbrush I'd use vallejo model air, I haven't tried it out myself but that's what I keep hearing anyway The dropperbottles are nice too.!

Well I mainly use GW colours, and I quite like them, but I would never keep to one manefacturer, gw was what the local shop had when I started, I've heard good things of both vallejo and P3. In the end I'd buy what I can easily restock having order single pots of the as they're used up is not for me

 

[Von Calyptra]

Yeah, I order my P3 pots, which is a pain (my local store only stocks the sets, not the individual pots), but I like them so much more than Vallejo that I decided it's worth it. (Shaking Hot Orange for a solid minute and then squeezing out nothing but emulsion was the straw that broke the camel's back with me and Vallejo, though I'll continue to use some of their colors.)

If you try P3, absolutely get Coal Black. It's similar to Deadly Nightshade, from the very old GW line, in that it's a greenish bluish greyish blackish color. It's excellent for using in your mix to highlight black if you want a cool black rather than a warm black, and by itself it gives a beautiful, dark color. I use it in some way on just about every model I paint. I also use gobs of Frostbite, which is a very pale, grayed-out blue. I use it as my base for cool whites, and I mix a lot of highlights with it.

 

[Thindol]

I hate P3. That's me. All the ranges I mentioned are fine in an airbrush. Tamiya is really good too and tends to be cheaper and is great in an airbrush but I think Vallejo would be your best bet then if you are going to use mostly airbrushing.