Hi Lyla, while the colour does dry slightly darker than the wet paint, the colour it dries to matches the colour of the label on the bottle. So when looking at the bottle you can get a fairly reasonable assumption of what the dried paint will look like. As to the staining you said you experienced with glazing, one of the benefits of Fanatic is the long working time. You should be able to go back in with a wet brush and further feather out that edge, even a minute or so later, giving you the smoothest blend possible. As for the wash bubbling, this is not something we’ve seen or can replicate either. The Wash formula has not changed and has been a proven performer for over a decade and a staple for many hobbyists.
Thanks for your reply! I appreciate you taking the time to write all this. Unfortunately, the coffee staining in the glazing with water was even after feathering.
i think it needs to be said after The army painter rushed speed paint 1.0 to market buying anything new from them is risky. i would advise anyone looking to invest in paint not touch ANYTHING from army painter. their original warpaints are horrible, their aerosol cans were horrible. flat out the company doesnt stand behind their products and mostly produce garbage.
It's got to be the stenylrez primer. I hate it. White or black, they cause extreme tip dry, spitting, and constantly have to clean out my airbrush until it just ruin one so bad I couldn't get it work anymore. I spoke with the owner and his offer was to give me a discount on a new airbrush, flow improver, needle juice, and one other product. So my question was why did I have no problems with Vallejo, and pro-acryl primers but I need 3 products to use stenylrez primer? I will never use another stenylrez product. I lost the 15 bucks for the bottle and an airbrush.
I'm a little surprised you mentioned "paint dries a different colour" as a problem. My only experiences with acrylic are only with the existing AP Warpaints and Vallejo Model Color. But it's pretty much my universal experience and expectation that paints dry to a slightly different colour.
I noticed the same thing with basilisk red... A good color, but not dark enough for vampire enthusiasts! :-) Gray also needed 1 or 2 darker shades. I totally agree with the "they caught up to the pack" sentiment!
I enjoy the fact that you gave both what you liked and what you found to be a challenge. This just means they have time to make some medications/improvements like adding some darker reds etc…. Thank you for taking the time to do this, I hope they send you the entire range…
Yeah, that’s why you’re meant to use the other colors in the range for your highlights and not to mix custom ones. If you do mix custom ones they recommend using a recipe and honestly that just makes a lot of sense custom color matching seems about like winning the Powerball lottery.
"Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence." It's true for all water based paints, unfortunately.
As a fairly terrible (scale model) painter, I’ve seen the wash bubbles before. For me it usually happens from painting over a primer that hasn’t cured fully. The mold release solution that is used in molds can also cause it, but you’d see that as primer bubbling and a bit of an ‘orange peel’ look.
I've had a similar problem with Stynlres as well as white inks used for a zenithal. I now hit my minis with a matte varnish after I do my zenithals and that's fixed it.
I appreciate an honest review. I'm a rather middling painter who is primarily trying to get figures painted neatly so I can play with them before I die (and my local stores should carry them) so the Fanatic range has my interest. Cheers!
I appreciate your thorough exploration of these new paints - going over both their strengths and their limits. For me, Army Painter's strength has always been affordability and availability. Having very good quality paints available at their price point and distribution really excites me, even if they are not the best paints for every use case and preference (and, of course, no paints are). Thank you for your hard work educating us!
As someone who glazes with water, im glad you brought this issue up. I'll probably get myself some medium so this doesn't happen. I definitely noticed in vidoes the paint definitely dries darker than when its wet by a considerable margin. I noticed that on the blues a lot.
YES! So that primer has always been a problem for me if I don't give it a proper 10 or so hours to dry. Also if there is a lot of moisture in the air it can cause the primer to have issue. You are not the only person that has had this issue.
I’m glad I watched this video. I just recently ordered a huge amount of paints from monument, and heard about these paints the other day and was thinking I might have made a bad choice based on the hype. Thank you for this honest review!
I am not going to throw out what I have in favor of these paints, but two that you showed off are now on my wanted list. That yellow and light, bright green look like just what I need! Also, the shades (AP calls them "Tones") from the old set have always been good. If the new ones are as good or better, they can't be beat at the price. Happy painting!
The one thing I wish other paint companies would steal from Army painter is the colored caps. I appreciate that detail quite a lot. Makes painting easier for me to know where a wash or a metallic paint is on my board.. I agree with your assement as well, and appreciate your honest review.
As always, I appreciate a balanced review, and appreciate Lyla's take on things. I'm such a fan. I'm ordering a set. The limitations don't sounds like they'll impact me. I'm a new painter, and honestly struggle with both mixing colors and deciding dark-mid-light combinations. Part of the appeal of these are the 'triad' groupings and plain color description. I believe it will help me learn about coordinating colors, and allow me to more successfully branch away from it, if that makes sense. My skill level (yet) isn't enough I don't think to be too concerned about the glazing issues. I'm happy if I can get something glaze-y on a model!
Well I accidentally rewatched this. I'm glad you made an UPDATE video on your experience as it was a significant mistake not to watch how dry your room was getting. I 3D print in the same room I paint so my relative humidity is around 20%. I have a water paint booth and wet pallets in my painting area so that does provide me a small zone of maybe 30%rh still pretty dry. So yeah these paints dry out fast-ish in my art room. But outside of that room they last a good long time. I don't have a handle on the medium they are using yet. It interacts with water very well. It may even need water. Which is odd for me after taking so many years of traditional canvas painting has gotten me to use mediums 100% of the time and ZERO water with acrylics. I don't know what to say, as I have many many years of exspiance with other types of painting and only a few years in miniatures. But that's changing and I'm painting miniatures almost every day now. I have the complete set of AP Fanatic and I am enjoying them. I got their old paint on sale and have found them to be very nice cheap paint for non-show pieces. Lots of stone and shadows. I can see why ya'll may dislike them if it's all you use. But using one paint brand to me is like using one paint brush. I don't think AP was trying to sell bad paint. It's just different from what you guys are used to. Anyway, I've used 90% of my complete Fanatic set and they have been real good. I can't see how you can be disappointed. "Coffee staining" in you reference there is usually a clean sign of fast drying. I wish more people would use more mediums and slow down. Just thank god you aren't working with oils and you have to wait hours, days, weeks and months between painting sessions. I mean unless you enjoy that. Just enjoy painting. Stop trying to rush it.
I am a very inexperienced painter and I decided to go with Army Painter when I started two years ago due to availability in Norway and the fact that I prefer dropper bottles over GW pots. And although they have been fine for me as I was learning I definitely see their shortcomings. I do however still love Army Painter just because of how accessible they are, how big the range is and just how easy it is to find information about their products with excellent pictures and guides regarding their range. I prefer to stick to one brand and Army Painter has always been solid as a one stop shop if you disregard the quality of their old paints. So when I found out about the new fanatic paints I was pretty thrilled that I could finally get rid of some paint-related frustrations without having to ditch the brand I actually like, so it was an easy choice for me and I'll hopefully be picking up the mega set tomorrow. This new range really shows why I love Army Painter as a company in general too with this range having even better information about colours with the triad system and the fact that they add two shaker balls to every bottle from the factory. It's just those small things outside of the paints themselves that lift the experience for me as a consumer. And the fact that they made this massive improvement to the range is also great to see. Luckily I only have about 25 bottles of the old stuff so it's not a huge waste to do the swap and I'll keep the old paints around. So thank you for a great review, I'm really looking forward to try these myself!
Thanks so much for the review. I think AP addressed the glazing in another video where they mention that their proprietary stabilizer will solve all the coffee staining etc. I do wish they included that in all their sets if that's the case.
I had not heard that, thank you! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who experienced this, as some commenters have been quite rude about me experiencing coffee staining.
@@LylaMev Also what it's worth I am super sorry people are being rude to you about glazing. It honestly is shitty to be upset at someone who points out something they didn't like and doesn't suit their own way of painting. People are ridiculous
The things your pointing out as red flags exsists in all paint. Iv worked in art stores for years and years since I was 16 till almost 30 I’m now 43 All wet colours will look different to when dry no matter the brand. The paint tarring or texture is because you’re not waiting long enough for layers to dry, or your fussing with the paint for to long and it’s starting to coagulate, If you need more time u have to add retarder, again that’s no matter the brand of acrylic paint or even oil paint. The glazes that are coffee staining is caused by where you ended your brush stroke, that’s not an issue with the paint, again you would get that with any brand of paint that’s water based from acrylic or watercolour esp. and as for the army painter washes I personally think they out do GW by miles. I have yet to try the paints but I plan to as I paint many more models on larger scale as well as gaming miniatures. I just think the things you’re pointing out as bad points are your personal working practice and not the paint. In saying this tho it’s not meant to be as an attack, but to make you aware as I love your videos, but with a few small changes to your methods, you could make huge jumps in your painting journey.
1. The paint dried darker than I’m used to paint drying. Otherwise, I would not have commented on it. I think the footage speaks for itself. Army painter also recognized this in their own reply, stating the color dries darker to match the printed color of the label. 2. If you watched the footage, I feathered out my glazes. That’s why it was odd, I’ve never had coffee staining from my feathering. 3. Army painter is apparently coming out with a specific thinning agent for this paint. I did not have access to it, so that is probably my issue with drying time, and my issue with coffee staining. I’m very glad you like my videos, but I wish people would give me some credit in that I know what I’m doing. People are basically saying I’m stupid or unskilled because I had problems with the paint, instead of believing the problems I had to be real problems I experienced. I absolutely love kimera and there are plenty of people who dislike it. That does not mean they are stupid, poor painters, or in any tother way wrong. Some times people just don’t like a certain paint for their work flow.
@@LylaMev People will give credit when they see something worth giving credit for. Respect is earned, not asked for. No one is saying you're stupid or unskilled, no one is even insinuating that. People are pointing out, rightfully, that you seem to be the one creating some of these issues here, and far more talented painters (yes, they do exist) with more experience (they also exist) aren't having these issues - they are using better brush control, solutions and mixes, and getting incredible results. Some of the push back you're experiencing is a result of your performance and opinions, not anything else. People are watching what you post, judging it, and providing their feedback. That's reality, it's not a bubble, it's not an echo chamber, it's not a group of friends to affirm you. We're just keeping it real with you.
@@LylaMev thank you for the reply, and as I said I like your videos. With any paint by changing brands you will have different working practices, as each has a different formulation. You’re a fabulous painter I wasn’t taking anything away from that. But with more experience you will find if u alter how you work depending on the brand you use, you will get better and better results. maybe the fanatic paints brand are just not for you and your style. Never be afraid of constructive criticism. I was not attacking you just helping you expand your knowledge about painting and paints in general (my many years working and selling multitudes of art supplies and my own artwork have been fun I love art in all forms). I had the very same issue when I did lots of my art work at collage. Sometimes u gotta adapt to get the best results from any medium that you use. Ps I just read some of the other comments so I don’t blame you for being defensive. Don’t let the arseholes and nasty weirdos comments get you down, your allowed an opinion of your own. Just think if it’s not constructive it’s a comment made because they have issues, not any other reason
I respect your opinions and other RUclipsrs. That's how you feel based on your experience and it's up to us to make up our own mind. Obviously there's lots of variables involved with the paints results as mentioned by you and others. All paints have their own issues like when speed paint 1.0 had a reactivation issue but others found that not a problem. At the end of the day we will figure out what works best for our skill level. Keep up the good work
Love the basis of your review! As many others have noted, the wash bubble effect is definitely one I encounter most often when in a very humid environment, or when the primer has not settled completely or correctly. As for the color changing, this is also an issue I have encountered many times with my Vallejo, Two thin Coats, Pro Acryl, GW, and original Army Painter lines. I took the time to paint a small amount on the lids of each bottle to give a reference point everytime I look at my bottles so I know the actual shade I am going to be working with. A common occurrence in my limited experience, but one easily rectified with a little time. That being said I agree fully about the lack of depth of the range. I consistently use more brown variations than any other color when it comes to mini paints. It is going to be hard to justify a new range that will be limited in that area over other popular options. But for a do it all range that is finally got quality behind their base line, this new fanatic line really hits the nail on the head and will be a good option even if a little limited for now!
I have had that bubbling with hobby store primer. I have bought a few cans in a hobby store for testing and they behave really strangely. When I apply paint to them for the first time, they behave as if they are "resisting paint". I had the bubbling with this paint. The manufacturer is Novasol spray // Acrylic ral pinty plus EVOLUTION. (The "name" words are all over the place and I have no idea what is the intended order). It is RAL9005 black paint. And it takes NOTHING. However, the workaround for me was to cover the primer with air brush in 3-5 layers to get even coverage. The first layer was always "running off" the models - but after airbrushing and covering it completely, it started to behave and take paint "normally".
Appreciate this view of the paint for illustrating that while this paint may be technically very good, it might not suit personal needs or style. For example I just can't get on with Scale 75 paints, whereas others find them amazing. I'm gonna pick up the smallest Fanatics starter set to give them a try, and take it from there. On a side note, I've had that problem with the primer from time to time, it seems to be related to how long the primer has had time to cure, rather than just touch dry.
I've had washes and contrast paints not cover properly after undercoating with the automotive primer that i usually use. This also happened with zenithal priming using white ink as the top layer. They just don't work over them. Vallejo and citadel primers were fine.
I heard that inks can be a problem with contrast/speed paint, because it's too smooth. Speed paint needs a primer with some "teeth" it can stick to in order to do its thing properly. Apparently that was one of the major reasons why Speed Paint 1.0 could sometimes crack.
Thanks. All your negative points are positives for me. So definitely will be getting these. Not a fan of vibrant colors so awesome. I hate mixing paint (never get the same result if after 6 months I need to add a mini to my army in the same scheme)
I've had similar to that bubble effect happen with contrast paints. I found you just have to let the primer dry fully. I've even let it dry over night before using contrast paints.
All the paints (from 5 different brands) that I have changed after they dried, so I don't see a problem with Army Painter Fanatic doing it too. Here in Norway, where I live, Army Painter, Citadel, Vallejo and AK are the brands that are easiest to get without having to order from abroad, which is very expensive. It is possible to get hold of Pro Acryl, but there is only one store that sells them and unfortunately they do not have the best stock status. I've almost completely stopped using Army Painter, but I'm very keen to try out the Fanatic and see if it can measure up in quality and price to Vallejo and AK which are the two brands I use the most right now, have some Cittadel, but it is the most expensive of these options and the quality of it does not justify the almost double price for it.
I've had the bubble problem a number of times on one thing i was painting, my brush was feathered and i think it caught a bit bubbles in it. I just had to smooth the brush out and all was fine.
Incredibly helpful review, thankyou! I liked it because it gets into technical reasons why paints behave the way they do and what to look out for, such as pigment load, thinning with water vs medium, overworking, coffee-staining, unwanted texturing, the importance of a good primer, and a big one for me: difficult colour-mixing/matching due to drying-shift.
Thanks for the review. I could see AP following up the Mega and Complete sets with an EXTENDED set that includes two additional colors for each 6-color group. One very dark. One very light. Maybe some of the groups wouldn't benefit from this. But those that could use the darker and lighter "extreme" variants would give us the higher contrast options for each group.
That would be very cool! The whole line up is interesting. There were some colors that felt rather repetitive (the highlights for example), and I wish they had used those slots to give more colors more of a range.
Hi Lyla, great video, I struggle with glazing with pro acryl and it's the exact same problem you experienced with the coffee staining, what paint would you recommend for glazing techniques? I'm looking for really vibrant colours especially for glazing I don't care about how good coverage is
Never had any problems with washes. Also, I don't know about your experience, but I tried Citadel, Vallejo, Fanatic, old army painter and proacryl. They ALL without exception dry darker and less saturated. The reason is very simple - wet stuff reflects more light. I don't know why you would bring this up here - I didn't notice any difference in behavior with other ranges. Certain colors (greys, whites, reds, yellows) naturally suffer from this more. The muted tones are likely more to do with opacity. They create opacity by adding white - that's why these paints seem desaturated. This is a fair criticism. My other criticism of the paints is that many colors don't go dark enough. Reds oranges and yellows in particular are very bright at the darkest spot of their triads, while blues and greens go almost to black. I just recommend buying supplement paints from other ranges like Vallejo.
Love the Honest review and comparisons … I use Reaper , Vallejo , Scale 75 and Army Painter paints myself… so I was a little skeptical about all the reviewers saying how this is the BEST
Thanks for the in-depth video! One question: how do they behave on the wet palette after resting a few days? Eg the pro Acryl start curing on the wet palette which is a deal breaker for me. How is it with these?
Would you be willing to go into more detail on how you thin your paints? The reason I ask is one of the repeating themes I've seen in reviews of Fanatic have been an extended working time, allowing for wet blending without needing to add additional retarder and helping to remove and level out brush strokes to avoid texture. Given you had a different set of experiences in your test, I'm curious as to why.
Good to see more independent reviews and appreciate the honesty. I think you raise good points and i can see you're being attacked for them unfairly. I suspect it's not a case of absolutes but the problems you mention are comparatively more so than in other ranges. Is that a fair interpretation?
This was a thoughtful and thorough review. One question I have is that i thought all paints "dried down", aka got darker when they dried. Is this not the case?
Have you compared your paint usage to Vince Venturella's video on these paints? He didn't seem to encounter the same trouble with glazing or bubbling washes. Perhaps climate or style of brush stroke? If you test opacity, try doing it across a black/white boundary - it will show differences in coverage better than just over black. Some of the color change effect may be due to the matte finish too - Scale Color paints, and even some Kimera ones do this a bit. Vibrant hues often have low opacity pigments, so if the whole line is desaturated but on average has high coverage.... they probably desaturated the colors with white/gray so that they cover better. Some colors simply *can't* have coverage on their own. I'm definitely glad to hear that AP paints are much improved. I got rid of all my old ones because they were so bad. Now if I see them in a local game shop, and want to support the shop, I can gladly pick up a bottle or two (not looking for a whole new line, but a few new bottles can be fun!).
Not to be rude but Vince knows he w to really paint …Just look at the way she is using her brush for basecoat or layering ..She is pressing so hard it makes me wonder how she does a model ..I don’t want to be mean but the facts are on video lol .Not sure if she should be giving her advice on this subject.
I have had that bubble problem with all of the Badger primers if you try and work with them inside of an hour after painting. I don't know if they're outgassing or are porous, or what. Even though the directions say you can paint within a few minutes, I find if you treat it more like Vallejo airbrush primers, you're better off.
Ive had the bubbling problem with gw contrast paint and this washs, im guessing there is a chemical thinner in them that semi reactivates not fully cured paint, i now leave my models a full 24 hours before going on with a wash and the problem has stopped
Thank you for your honest review. I'm a bit surprised how many can't stand critics. This is very precious because your critic is based on your way to paint. The people who're offended should check if they have the same approach in painting. If not they shouldn't be harmed by your critic. And it is also understandable that one prefer to thin down to glazes only with water. Using mediums means having a thicker layer which can be problematic in keeping the details visible, when adding up more and more layers, which is likely when glazing.
@@LylaMev I think some people are really hyped. In the end it's a paint which is way better than the former one. But the marketing is really impressive and that helps to let stand out the army painter despite the 3rd generation ak Interactive or the vallejo game colors are very similar also from a price point.
Great to see a review that isn't just singing its praises or finding faults for the sake of being contrarian (and clicks). They look awesome. Surprised that Pro Acryl looks so watery in the comparison though. I guess you'd be thinning the others down to that level for painting anyway rather than straight from the bottle.
THANK YOU. People are saying I’m being dramatic to be dramatic. Having two things I don’t like doesn’t mean I hate them! My thumbnail said may ruin. Do my my listed downsides ruin it? Up to you the viewer! My proacryls are quite old. Perhaps that’s the problem? They still work fine!
@@mikefisher8563 they cared enough to reply. I'm sure the most well known RUclips hobbyists have a definite impact in hobby sales (for supplies). I don't know by how much, but they sure have an influence. Lyla is one such RUclipsr. I'm sure AP cares about word of mouth, and so they care about her opinion.
@@LylaMev yikes. Their washes were the gold standard. How old is your primer? Mines about 2 and I thought that might be the cause of bubbling and beading.
I'm considering the new Game Color because Pro Acryl is expensive, especially considering it doesn't get thinned down. It's hard to get the gel paints or Two Thin Coats here in the US.
Water breaks down all acrylic paints and prevents them to function properly... Some people can make it work, but personally Ive only really had great succes with using airbrush thinner/medium
Thanks Lyla, really helpful review. Did they lift the triad system from Duncan's 2 thin coats range (& just expand to 6) - or has it been arround for a while?
I might have a lemon, but the warm reds are not red at all. On the pallette theyre orange and once dry, its still orange. The skin tones have been, for the most part good, but I will hold off on buying any more and will stick with Pro Acryl's reds or Vallejo's updated model color line.
Every matte paint tend to desaturate heavily after drying, e.g. Kimera and AK due loosing reflective water after evaporation. You can fix this with satin varnish/medium mixed into/covering after. If you working with Vallejo (esp. Game Color) or Citadel, you could have some issues while you adapt to matte paints nature. This is actually strange decision since satin paints are easier to work with and more suitable for wargaming.
@@LylaMev I've used Vallejo for a year, and during Kirill Kanaev master class he offered us to try "tempera" paints. That paints change colors after drying 10 times stronger than any other brand existing. After tempera paints, transition from citadel/VGC to AK/Kimera (inspired to do so by your videos and Kanaev) was much easier, lol.
Very good material, but I would like to hear from you how, in your opinion, the quality of these paints relates to the price at which they can be purchased compared to other brands you mentioned.
Awesome review. How much do you think the color change as the paint dries is due to painting over a darker surface rather than a visible change as it dries? I'm not saying the color doesn't change, because it clearly does, but how much less would it be if it was over say, white?
The six triads are basic guide to painting certain colours than actually 100 per cent required to painting certan parts of models, which I mostly do not follow when using Citadel Colours. I'm still curious to giving their new Warpaints Fanatics a go since I've never used The Army Painters before. Thank you for your review on this Lyla.
As far as the bubbling goes the primer might not have been completely dry releasing air trapped beneath. You should always wait a full day after priming with a can and if you have high humidity wait at least three days. Some primer can brands are particularly bad and never do harden correctly and need to be varnished with a matte acrylic varnish before painting can begin. But to lessen the chances of air bubbles and the priming layer not hardening just never prime in high humidity ever. Everybody knows this. But 4chan also exposed a bubbling problem with the new game color line that seems to be related to the polyurethane medium that traps air bubbles too easily. It's most pronounced when doing washes because the brush introduces more air as it's swished against the model. Most dropper bottle paint brands are secretly made by vallejo so it's possible these are as well and so have a similar problem. But that's just a guess.
While I sort of agree with the issues raised, not every paint can cover every usage. this paint range seems focused on being beginner friendly and easy to use, with the heavy pigments and organisation system. Having the paint dry to the label colour is again a feature targeted at easy of use, I hate it when paint dries and it's nothing like what's on the label, of course it would be nice if the colour was consistent between wet, dry, and label, but we can't always have everything. The long work time seems to target layering more than glazing as a workflow. I think Army Painters hit what they set out to do with this paint set, but it's not for everyone. Especially if glazing is a big part of your workflow. I use almost exclusively Vallejo acrylics and Japanese lacquers, but this set has definitely got me interested to try a Army Painter line.
I dont know a single brand whose paints don't dry at a different color then when they are applied. This is why everyone looks at their color sheet and I even apply my own paints to a board first so I know first hand. This was her biggest complaint besides color vivancy?
I got one of their mega sets and so far the paints are decent, but I think since I'm so new to mini painting it's gunna take me a while to really know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.
Did u try glazing on diffrent primer and with an glazing medium? I remember speedpaints had problems on some primers too. And the retarder in glaze medium might help vs just water or medium.
It would be great if they added a vibrant colour line too. I understand the muted colours as they are for painting armies. However once they have the bases down add bright colours too.
Great review!!!!! I was hoping for an honest look, all other reviewers have drunk the coolaid. Thank you for laying out the colors on a black surface then add in other name brands. May I ask what was the figure of a woman with a wand?
I wish they did a better job of telling people not to use water. Paint thinner made for acrylics is good, generic, medium is OK, but they make a specific stabilizer for this purpose. When doing brush work, it’s only mildly apparent but when running it through an airbrush, you basically have to use the stabilizer.
Hey I understand! I’ve been watching all their content (as well as reviews like yours) because I preordered their complete set, so I’ve picked up on little tid bits! I recommend trying the stabiliser as basically a glaze medium!
I think the new Fanatic range does everything it claims to do and more! 🙂 Feathering glazes eliminated the coffee staining for me, even when thinned with water.
I saw a vid of army painter speedpaint reacting poorly with a very small number of high gloss white primers leading to cracking, I suspect it may be related.
While it's possible that primer contributes, the cracking of speed paint is more likely due to the thickness with which the paint is applied. I've worked with both SpeedPaint 1.0 and 2.0 and the newer version dries faster. As a result, if thickly applied (particularly evident in cloth folds), the top layer has dried while the paint underneath is still wet. As the wet lower layer dries, it contracts and pulls apart the top layer, leading to cracking. I solved this by adding a drop of acrylic retarder to SpeedPaint 2.0. This increased the working time and pretty much eliminated cracking.
@@MrSkullhead1 some you tuber did a comparison test of a ton of different primers and had 2 that were both high gloss that cracked, it was in the thick spots, so what you say is true, however something about the paint didn't play nice with those couple of primers.
Well that's a good video i guess.. but from their lastest promotional video, where they want to Monte San Savino for a competion, they asked top pro painters to test those paints, and honestly, seems that drying time was not an issue at all. Even the big Roman Lappat told them he could do some wet on wet technique, and needed to wait a little longer for the paint to dry. I don't know the final words here.. but i think you might be wrong there. Sure paint aren't revolutionary, but seems very decent. Coffee stains is always the case with water, way more than using thinner. I'm sorry but i think your wrongs are ''Rookie'' mistakes, not the paints's fault.
@@LylaMevI haven't heard of the glazing agent being used either. Most I watched have used water saying they thin down great for glazing better then others; it's the one point that put me on the fence on buying these.
ProAcryl has the same issue. I use their giant bottle of Glaze / Wash medium. There's so much pigment that reducing it to a glaze means your need it to be 5-6 parts water, which will break the paint. I found I'm using the medium in a lot of things now instead of water.
Would you be able to comment on how they compare to your sample bottles of UltrAcryl? Their initial video of yellow on black reminded me of UltrAcryl's promotional videos during the kickstarter.
7:21 I'm half surprised you didn't jump to Terrestial Titan (also is that a typo on that image? Is it not Terrestrial?) as a shadow for the red. But yeah, a darker red would have been lovely.
So many choices, and honestly, at my limited skill level, I’m not sure how much a premium paint is going to improve my results. It’s like giving a Stradivarius violin to a first year musician.
Newest generation acrylics (Pro Acryl / Vallejo New Game Color / AP Fanatic / Two Thin Coats) are less about being 'premium' paints, and more about being really solid and easy to use, thanks to the lack of inconsistencies and issues that troubled old paints, from massive inconsistencies in paint behavior within a single paint line, to horribly weak coverage. In that, I think beginners are the ones that benefit *the most* from the new paint lines; the Stradivarius comparison works better with paints that require a better understanding of color theory, paint mixing, all that jazz - things like the Kimera paints, which are actually premium, single-pigment paints, and heavily rely on you mixing your own colors.
Abit weird you found then to dry faster when army painter used it as a selling point that they would dry slower due to the added retarder, wonder if its something to do with humidity?
Im not trying to be rude, im just saying that every paint ive ever used has dried darker. I dont really think its fair to call that a red flag because thats just how paint works
This is an honest review and the type of thing I've been looking for on the Fanatics. All of the ones up until now have just felt like sales pitches. I have ak3rd fen and vallejo near me. I'll stick woth those
Army Painter has really been knocking it out of the park with their advertising. People are really getting hyped over this stuff. And if you're looking to replace Warpaints then yeah, I can see it being a 100% improvement. But I already own the entire set of Pro Acryl. If Fanatic isn't substantially better than PA then, at most, I'll pick up a few select colors rather than an entire set.
I've heard Fanatics compared as "as good, or almost as good, as Pro Acryl", but never as *better*, so I don't see why you'd want to replace. Pro Acryl, Two Thin Coats, Vallejo New Game Color, and AP Fanatic seem to be universally acknowledged as "the differences between them are small enough that you'd never want to actually throw away one to replace with another, unless you really don't know what to do with your money, or are an absolute perfectionist". At the end of the day, we've reached a level within this generation, where all of these brands - and possibly others, like reapers, too - are honestly fantastic, and looking at local prices and color availability should probably be the driving force for anyone looking to buy.
Interesting, definitely going against the popular hype here. I have never seen anyone talk about the reaper paints as a go to.... any chance you would do a review of that line of paints? I dont think what you have to say would stop me from buying these if I needed a broad range of paints but it does further enforce my decision to pick up a few paints but not a lot from the line (can never have enough browns and the lava orange triad looks interesting, maybe a yellow or 2 because of the coverage). Thanks Lyla, good video as always.
I own many reaper paints, and MANY brands of paints. i'd say I own many, of most paint lines made today, and even some of the paints like "golden so flat) that aren't even mini paints, just artistic paints that paint miniatures as well or better than a lot of "mini paints" I put reaper toward the bottom of my list, honestly, I put them below the original Army Painter line.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi Lyla, while the colour does dry slightly darker than the wet paint, the colour it dries to matches the colour of the label on the bottle. So when looking at the bottle you can get a fairly reasonable assumption of what the dried paint will look like.
As to the staining you said you experienced with glazing, one of the benefits of Fanatic is the long working time. You should be able to go back in with a wet brush and further feather out that edge, even a minute or so later, giving you the smoothest blend possible. As for the wash bubbling, this is not something we’ve seen or can replicate either. The Wash formula has not changed and has been a proven performer for over a decade and a staple for many hobbyists.
Thanks for your reply! I appreciate you taking the time to write all this. Unfortunately, the coffee staining in the glazing with water was even after feathering.
This is a great response to the issues raised. Well done AP.
i think it needs to be said after The army painter rushed speed paint 1.0 to market buying anything new from them is risky. i would advise anyone looking to invest in paint not touch ANYTHING from army painter. their original warpaints are horrible, their aerosol cans were horrible. flat out the company doesnt stand behind their products and mostly produce garbage.
It's got to be the stenylrez primer. I hate it. White or black, they cause extreme tip dry, spitting, and constantly have to clean out my airbrush until it just ruin one so bad I couldn't get it work anymore. I spoke with the owner and his offer was to give me a discount on a new airbrush, flow improver, needle juice, and one other product. So my question was why did I have no problems with Vallejo, and pro-acryl primers but I need 3 products to use stenylrez primer? I will never use another stenylrez product. I lost the 15 bucks for the bottle and an airbrush.
The bubbling was more user error on her part. She can’t even recreate it.
I'm a little surprised you mentioned "paint dries a different colour" as a problem. My only experiences with acrylic are only with the existing AP Warpaints and Vallejo Model Color. But it's pretty much my universal experience and expectation that paints dry to a slightly different colour.
I noticed the same thing with basilisk red... A good color, but not dark enough for vampire enthusiasts! :-) Gray also needed 1 or 2 darker shades. I totally agree with the "they caught up to the pack" sentiment!
Would a wash get those darker hues you’re looking for? Or would it need to be darker than that?
Did AP give you these to try out sir?
the did @@steveisaak4320
just add some black. :)@@jhemmers
@@EvilminiatureOr use dark purple
I enjoy the fact that you gave both what you liked and what you found to be a challenge. This just means they have time to make some medications/improvements like adding some darker reds etc…. Thank you for taking the time to do this, I hope they send you the entire range…
I'll be honest - I've never had a paint dry and be the same color that it was wet. All change color when drying.
Yeah, that’s why you’re meant to use the other colors in the range for your highlights and not to mix custom ones. If you do mix custom ones they recommend using a recipe and honestly that just makes a lot of sense custom color matching seems about like winning the Powerball lottery.
Yeah a lot of paints are like this.
Oh wait I saw that LylaMev had already addressed this point.
This happens to all acrilics. Only emanels or oils do not behave this way
"Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence."
It's true for all water based paints, unfortunately.
As a fairly terrible (scale model) painter, I’ve seen the wash bubbles before.
For me it usually happens from painting over a primer that hasn’t cured fully. The mold release solution that is used in molds can also cause it, but you’d see that as primer bubbling and a bit of an ‘orange peel’ look.
I've had a similar problem with Stynlres as well as white inks used for a zenithal. I now hit my minis with a matte varnish after I do my zenithals and that's fixed it.
I appreciate an honest review. I'm a rather middling painter who is primarily trying to get figures painted neatly so I can play with them before I die (and my local stores should carry them) so the Fanatic range has my interest. Cheers!
I appreciate your thorough exploration of these new paints - going over both their strengths and their limits. For me, Army Painter's strength has always been affordability and availability. Having very good quality paints available at their price point and distribution really excites me, even if they are not the best paints for every use case and preference (and, of course, no paints are). Thank you for your hard work educating us!
As someone who glazes with water, im glad you brought this issue up. I'll probably get myself some medium so this doesn't happen.
I definitely noticed in vidoes the paint definitely dries darker than when its wet by a considerable margin. I noticed that on the blues a lot.
AP says the stabilizer does that thinning trick.
YES! So that primer has always been a problem for me if I don't give it a proper 10 or so hours to dry. Also if there is a lot of moisture in the air it can cause the primer to have issue. You are not the only person that has had this issue.
I have this with every primer.
Need atleast 10/12 hours before actually setting.
Maybe because I live in a humid country near water?
Idk.
@@maxxammax0get hycote primer and you will never have that problem again.
I’m glad I watched this video. I just recently ordered a huge amount of paints from monument, and heard about these paints the other day and was thinking I might have made a bad choice based on the hype. Thank you for this honest review!
I'm mostly a Pro Acryl guy, but I fell in love with the Daemonic Yellow from this series.
I am not going to throw out what I have in favor of these paints, but two that you showed off are now on my wanted list. That yellow and light, bright green look like just what I need! Also, the shades (AP calls them "Tones") from the old set have always been good. If the new ones are as good or better, they can't be beat at the price. Happy painting!
The one thing I wish other paint companies would steal from Army painter is the colored caps. I appreciate that detail quite a lot. Makes painting easier for me to know where a wash or a metallic paint is on my board.. I agree with your assement as well, and appreciate your honest review.
As always, I appreciate a balanced review, and appreciate Lyla's take on things. I'm such a fan.
I'm ordering a set. The limitations don't sounds like they'll impact me. I'm a new painter, and honestly struggle with both mixing colors and deciding dark-mid-light combinations. Part of the appeal of these are the 'triad' groupings and plain color description. I believe it will help me learn about coordinating colors, and allow me to more successfully branch away from it, if that makes sense.
My skill level (yet) isn't enough I don't think to be too concerned about the glazing issues. I'm happy if I can get something glaze-y on a model!
Well I accidentally rewatched this. I'm glad you made an UPDATE video on your experience as it was a significant mistake not to watch how dry your room was getting.
I 3D print in the same room I paint so my relative humidity is around 20%. I have a water paint booth and wet pallets in my painting area so that does provide me a small zone of maybe 30%rh still pretty dry. So yeah these paints dry out fast-ish in my art room. But outside of that room they last a good long time. I don't have a handle on the medium they are using yet. It interacts with water very well. It may even need water. Which is odd for me after taking so many years of traditional canvas painting has gotten me to use mediums 100% of the time and ZERO water with acrylics.
I don't know what to say, as I have many many years of exspiance with other types of painting and only a few years in miniatures. But that's changing and I'm painting miniatures almost every day now. I have the complete set of AP Fanatic and I am enjoying them. I got their old paint on sale and have found them to be very nice cheap paint for non-show pieces. Lots of stone and shadows. I can see why ya'll may dislike them if it's all you use. But using one paint brand to me is like using one paint brush. I don't think AP was trying to sell bad paint. It's just different from what you guys are used to.
Anyway, I've used 90% of my complete Fanatic set and they have been real good. I can't see how you can be disappointed.
"Coffee staining" in you reference there is usually a clean sign of fast drying. I wish more people would use more mediums and slow down. Just thank god you aren't working with oils and you have to wait hours, days, weeks and months between painting sessions. I mean unless you enjoy that. Just enjoy painting. Stop trying to rush it.
I ordered a set. Looking forward to putting it through an airbrush. Gonna use some of them on my new Bretonnia army.
I am a very inexperienced painter and I decided to go with Army Painter when I started two years ago due to availability in Norway and the fact that I prefer dropper bottles over GW pots. And although they have been fine for me as I was learning I definitely see their shortcomings. I do however still love Army Painter just because of how accessible they are, how big the range is and just how easy it is to find information about their products with excellent pictures and guides regarding their range. I prefer to stick to one brand and Army Painter has always been solid as a one stop shop if you disregard the quality of their old paints. So when I found out about the new fanatic paints I was pretty thrilled that I could finally get rid of some paint-related frustrations without having to ditch the brand I actually like, so it was an easy choice for me and I'll hopefully be picking up the mega set tomorrow. This new range really shows why I love Army Painter as a company in general too with this range having even better information about colours with the triad system and the fact that they add two shaker balls to every bottle from the factory. It's just those small things outside of the paints themselves that lift the experience for me as a consumer. And the fact that they made this massive improvement to the range is also great to see. Luckily I only have about 25 bottles of the old stuff so it's not a huge waste to do the swap and I'll keep the old paints around.
So thank you for a great review, I'm really looking forward to try these myself!
Thanks so much for the review. I think AP addressed the glazing in another video where they mention that their proprietary stabilizer will solve all the coffee staining etc. I do wish they included that in all their sets if that's the case.
I had not heard that, thank you! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who experienced this, as some commenters have been quite rude about me experiencing coffee staining.
@@LylaMev Absolutely!
@@LylaMev Also what it's worth I am super sorry people are being rude to you about glazing. It honestly is shitty to be upset at someone who points out something they didn't like and doesn't suit their own way of painting. People are ridiculous
The things your pointing out as red flags exsists in all paint. Iv worked in art stores for years and years since I was 16 till almost 30 I’m now 43 All wet colours will look different to when dry no matter the brand. The paint tarring or texture is because you’re not waiting long enough for layers to dry, or your fussing with the paint for to long and it’s starting to coagulate, If you need more time u have to add retarder, again that’s no matter the brand of acrylic paint or even oil paint. The glazes that are coffee staining is caused by where you ended your brush stroke, that’s not an issue with the paint, again you would get that with any brand of paint that’s water based from acrylic or watercolour esp. and as for the army painter washes I personally think they out do GW by miles. I have yet to try the paints but I plan to as I paint many more models on larger scale as well as gaming miniatures. I just think the things you’re pointing out as bad points are your personal working practice and not the paint. In saying this tho it’s not meant to be as an attack, but to make you aware as I love your videos, but with a few small changes to your methods, you could make huge jumps in your painting journey.
1. The paint dried darker than I’m used to paint drying. Otherwise, I would not have commented on it. I think the footage speaks for itself. Army painter also recognized this in their own reply, stating the color dries darker to match the printed color of the label.
2. If you watched the footage, I feathered out my glazes. That’s why it was odd, I’ve never had coffee staining from my feathering.
3. Army painter is apparently coming out with a specific thinning agent for this paint. I did not have access to it, so that is probably my issue with drying time, and my issue with coffee staining.
I’m very glad you like my videos, but I wish people would give me some credit in that I know what I’m doing. People are basically saying I’m stupid or unskilled because I had problems with the paint, instead of believing the problems I had to be real problems I experienced. I absolutely love kimera and there are plenty of people who dislike it. That does not mean they are stupid, poor painters, or in any tother way wrong. Some times people just don’t like a certain paint for their work flow.
@@LylaMev People will give credit when they see something worth giving credit for. Respect is earned, not asked for.
No one is saying you're stupid or unskilled, no one is even insinuating that. People are pointing out, rightfully, that you seem to be the one creating some of these issues here, and far more talented painters (yes, they do exist) with more experience (they also exist) aren't having these issues - they are using better brush control, solutions and mixes, and getting incredible results.
Some of the push back you're experiencing is a result of your performance and opinions, not anything else. People are watching what you post, judging it, and providing their feedback.
That's reality, it's not a bubble, it's not an echo chamber, it's not a group of friends to affirm you.
We're just keeping it real with you.
There literally are commenters insulting her intelligence in this very comment section, though.@@metafox6240
@@LylaMev thank you for the reply, and as I said I like your videos. With any paint by changing brands you will have different working practices, as each has a different formulation. You’re a fabulous painter I wasn’t taking anything away from that. But with more experience you will find if u alter how you work depending on the brand you use, you will get better and better results. maybe the fanatic paints brand are just not for you and your style. Never be afraid of constructive criticism. I was not attacking you just helping you expand your knowledge about painting and paints in general (my many years working and selling multitudes of art supplies and my own artwork have been fun I love art in all forms). I had the very same issue when I did lots of my art work at collage. Sometimes u gotta adapt to get the best results from any medium that you use.
Ps I just read some of the other comments so I don’t blame you for being defensive. Don’t let the arseholes and nasty weirdos comments get you down, your allowed an opinion of your own. Just think if it’s not constructive it’s a comment made because they have issues, not any other reason
I respect your opinions and other RUclipsrs. That's how you feel based on your experience and it's up to us to make up our own mind. Obviously there's lots of variables involved with the paints results as mentioned by you and others. All paints have their own issues like when speed paint 1.0 had a reactivation issue but others found that not a problem. At the end of the day we will figure out what works best for our skill level. Keep up the good work
Love the basis of your review! As many others have noted, the wash bubble effect is definitely one I encounter most often when in a very humid environment, or when the primer has not settled completely or correctly.
As for the color changing, this is also an issue I have encountered many times with my Vallejo, Two thin Coats, Pro Acryl, GW, and original Army Painter lines. I took the time to paint a small amount on the lids of each bottle to give a reference point everytime I look at my bottles so I know the actual shade I am going to be working with. A common occurrence in my limited experience, but one easily rectified with a little time.
That being said I agree fully about the lack of depth of the range. I consistently use more brown variations than any other color when it comes to mini paints. It is going to be hard to justify a new range that will be limited in that area over other popular options. But for a do it all range that is finally got quality behind their base line, this new fanatic line really hits the nail on the head and will be a good option even if a little limited for now!
I have had that bubbling with hobby store primer. I have bought a few cans in a hobby store for testing and they behave really strangely. When I apply paint to them for the first time, they behave as if they are "resisting paint". I had the bubbling with this paint. The manufacturer is Novasol spray // Acrylic ral pinty plus EVOLUTION. (The "name" words are all over the place and I have no idea what is the intended order). It is RAL9005 black paint. And it takes NOTHING. However, the workaround for me was to cover the primer with air brush in 3-5 layers to get even coverage. The first layer was always "running off" the models - but after airbrushing and covering it completely, it started to behave and take paint "normally".
Appreciate this view of the paint for illustrating that while this paint may be technically very good, it might not suit personal needs or style. For example I just can't get on with Scale 75 paints, whereas others find them amazing. I'm gonna pick up the smallest Fanatics starter set to give them a try, and take it from there. On a side note, I've had that problem with the primer from time to time, it seems to be related to how long the primer has had time to cure, rather than just touch dry.
I've had washes and contrast paints not cover properly after undercoating with the automotive primer that i usually use. This also happened with zenithal priming using white ink as the top layer. They just don't work over them. Vallejo and citadel primers were fine.
I heard that inks can be a problem with contrast/speed paint, because it's too smooth. Speed paint needs a primer with some "teeth" it can stick to in order to do its thing properly. Apparently that was one of the major reasons why Speed Paint 1.0 could sometimes crack.
Thanks. All your negative points are positives for me. So definitely will be getting these.
Not a fan of vibrant colors so awesome.
I hate mixing paint (never get the same result if after 6 months I need to add a mini to my army in the same scheme)
I've had similar to that bubble effect happen with contrast paints. I found you just have to let the primer dry fully. I've even let it dry over night before using contrast paints.
All the paints (from 5 different brands) that I have changed after they dried, so I don't see a problem with Army Painter Fanatic doing it too. Here in Norway, where I live, Army Painter, Citadel, Vallejo and AK are the brands that are easiest to get without having to order from abroad, which is very expensive. It is possible to get hold of Pro Acryl, but there is only one store that sells them and unfortunately they do not have the best stock status. I've almost completely stopped using Army Painter, but I'm very keen to try out the Fanatic and see if it can measure up in quality and price to Vallejo and AK which are the two brands I use the most right now, have some Cittadel, but it is the most expensive of these options and the quality of it does not justify the almost double price for it.
I've never had paint dry so drastically different! If I had, I wouldn't have said anything in the review.
I've had the bubble problem a number of times on one thing i was painting, my brush was feathered and i think it caught a bit bubbles in it. I just had to smooth the brush out and all was fine.
Incredibly helpful review, thankyou! I liked it because it gets into technical reasons why paints behave the way they do and what to look out for, such as pigment load, thinning with water vs medium, overworking, coffee-staining, unwanted texturing, the importance of a good primer, and a big one for me: difficult colour-mixing/matching due to drying-shift.
Thanks for the review. I could see AP following up the Mega and Complete sets with an EXTENDED set that includes two additional colors for each 6-color group. One very dark. One very light. Maybe some of the groups wouldn't benefit from this. But those that could use the darker and lighter "extreme" variants would give us the higher contrast options for each group.
That would be very cool! The whole line up is interesting. There were some colors that felt rather repetitive (the highlights for example), and I wish they had used those slots to give more colors more of a range.
I've had citadel contrast bubble like that if I don't leave the primer to cure long enough.
Hi Lyla, great video, I struggle with glazing with pro acryl and it's the exact same problem you experienced with the coffee staining, what paint would you recommend for glazing techniques? I'm looking for really vibrant colours especially for glazing I don't care about how good coverage is
Never had any problems with washes.
Also, I don't know about your experience, but I tried Citadel, Vallejo, Fanatic, old army painter and proacryl. They ALL without exception dry darker and less saturated. The reason is very simple - wet stuff reflects more light.
I don't know why you would bring this up here - I didn't notice any difference in behavior with other ranges. Certain colors (greys, whites, reds, yellows) naturally suffer from this more.
The muted tones are likely more to do with opacity. They create opacity by adding white - that's why these paints seem desaturated.
This is a fair criticism.
My other criticism of the paints is that many colors don't go dark enough. Reds oranges and yellows in particular are very bright at the darkest spot of their triads, while blues and greens go almost to black.
I just recommend buying supplement paints from other ranges like Vallejo.
Love the Honest review and comparisons … I use Reaper , Vallejo , Scale 75 and Army Painter paints myself… so I was a little skeptical about all the reviewers saying how this is the BEST
All my current paints dry darker then when wet. It seems
Fairly logical that this would be the case?
As someone who can get only GW and Army Painter paints at my local game store, this new line is perfect for me.
Thanks for the in-depth video! One question: how do they behave on the wet palette after resting a few days?
Eg the pro Acryl start curing on the wet palette which is a deal breaker for me. How is it with these?
Could you please put link to the minis painted? I've watched a few of your videos but the minis are never named or in the description.
Would you be willing to go into more detail on how you thin your paints?
The reason I ask is one of the repeating themes I've seen in reviews of Fanatic have been an extended working time, allowing for wet blending without needing to add additional retarder and helping to remove and level out brush strokes to avoid texture.
Given you had a different set of experiences in your test, I'm curious as to why.
Apparently Army painter has a special glaze medium, which I did not know or receive!
Good to see more independent reviews and appreciate the honesty.
I think you raise good points and i can see you're being attacked for them unfairly. I suspect it's not a case of absolutes but the problems you mention are comparatively more so than in other ranges. Is that a fair interpretation?
Right!
This was a thoughtful and thorough review. One question I have is that i thought all paints "dried down", aka got darker when they dried. Is this not the case?
This one was far worse than usual!
AP Speedpaints I've used don't seem to dry much darker, so it does seem a bit egregious.
Have you compared your paint usage to Vince Venturella's video on these paints? He didn't seem to encounter the same trouble with glazing or bubbling washes. Perhaps climate or style of brush stroke?
If you test opacity, try doing it across a black/white boundary - it will show differences in coverage better than just over black. Some of the color change effect may be due to the matte finish too - Scale Color paints, and even some Kimera ones do this a bit. Vibrant hues often have low opacity pigments, so if the whole line is desaturated but on average has high coverage.... they probably desaturated the colors with white/gray so that they cover better. Some colors simply *can't* have coverage on their own.
I'm definitely glad to hear that AP paints are much improved. I got rid of all my old ones because they were so bad. Now if I see them in a local game shop, and want to support the shop, I can gladly pick up a bottle or two (not looking for a whole new line, but a few new bottles can be fun!).
Not to be rude but Vince knows he w to really paint …Just look at the way she is using her brush for basecoat or layering ..She is pressing so hard it makes me wonder how she does a model ..I don’t want to be mean but the facts are on video lol .Not sure if she should be giving her advice on this subject.
go away
I didn't mean to offend! I'm glad you had another take on the paints. Just had some suggestions there. @@LylaMev
@@LylaMev if that's your response to criticize then you need to go away.
Not you,@@questgivercyradis8462, your comment is fine!
@mikefisher8563 should go away.
The glazing on that mini is masterful, you are so good.
Thank you for the review. I appreciate your objective take based on your own preferred painting methods.
I have had that bubble problem with all of the Badger primers if you try and work with them inside of an hour after painting. I don't know if they're outgassing or are porous, or what. Even though the directions say you can paint within a few minutes, I find if you treat it more like Vallejo airbrush primers, you're better off.
Ive had the bubbling problem with gw contrast paint and this washs, im guessing there is a chemical thinner in them that semi reactivates not fully cured paint, i now leave my models a full 24 hours before going on with a wash and the problem has stopped
Thank you for your honest review. I'm a bit surprised how many can't stand critics. This is very precious because your critic is based on your way to paint. The people who're offended should check if they have the same approach in painting. If not they shouldn't be harmed by your critic. And it is also understandable that one prefer to thin down to glazes only with water. Using mediums means having a thicker layer which can be problematic in keeping the details visible, when adding up more and more layers, which is likely when glazing.
I think the only really things I saw people not agreeing with was the drying a different color. Which happens with all paints.
I've never had it happen this drastically! If I did, I wouldn't have said anything about it for this paint????
@@LylaMev I think some people are really hyped. In the end it's a paint which is way better than the former one. But the marketing is really impressive and that helps to let stand out the army painter despite the 3rd generation ak Interactive or the vallejo game colors are very similar also from a price point.
Oof! Thanks for calling out the color change in drying. That's a 100% dealbreaker for any paint. You saved me some cash! :)
Thanks for the review! It's nice to get a balanced perspective on this product.
Great to see a review that isn't just singing its praises or finding faults for the sake of being contrarian (and clicks). They look awesome.
Surprised that Pro Acryl looks so watery in the comparison though. I guess you'd be thinning the others down to that level for painting anyway rather than straight from the bottle.
THANK YOU. People are saying I’m being dramatic to be dramatic. Having two things I don’t like doesn’t mean I hate them! My thumbnail said may ruin. Do my my listed downsides ruin it? Up to you the viewer!
My proacryls are quite old. Perhaps that’s the problem? They still work fine!
I liked the review. Very Honest. Usually these "gift reviews" are all Unicorns and Rainbows
My opinion can't be bought.
Really lol ..I’m sure AP doesn’t really care what your opinion is .
@@mikefisher8563 they cared enough to reply. I'm sure the most well known RUclips hobbyists have a definite impact in hobby sales (for supplies). I don't know by how much, but they sure have an influence. Lyla is one such RUclipsr. I'm sure AP cares about word of mouth, and so they care about her opinion.
Had the same issue with Stynlres (sp?) thinned in an airbrush using ScaleColor paints. Looking at the shoulder, did the dark wash granulate too?
It happened on every place I applied a wash!
@@LylaMev yikes. Their washes were the gold standard. How old is your primer? Mines about 2 and I thought that might be the cause of bubbling and beading.
I have owned it for just a few months. However, perhaps there is a production date on the bottle that will show the primer is older.
For the beginner market/casual painter it is sounding like these are the paints that maybe something to look into.
I'm considering the new Game Color because Pro Acryl is expensive, especially considering it doesn't get thinned down. It's hard to get the gel paints or Two Thin Coats here in the US.
In regards to glazing, I thought I saw them say to mainly thin with their medium due to the all the pigments.
Water breaks down all acrylic paints and prevents them to function properly... Some people can make it work, but personally Ive only really had great succes with using airbrush thinner/medium
I have had people comment this before! Now I know
Thanks Lyla, really helpful review. Did they lift the triad system from Duncan's 2 thin coats range (& just expand to 6) - or has it been arround for a while?
It's been a part of their air line for ages.
I'm glad to hear Reaper is on my list. I have limited access to paints but Reaper is one I can get easily and they're cheap.
I might have a lemon, but the warm reds are not red at all. On the pallette theyre orange and once dry, its still orange. The skin tones have been, for the most part good, but I will hold off on buying any more and will stick with Pro Acryl's reds or Vallejo's updated model color line.
Thank you for an honest review, Lyla.
I know what they're doing, but I still twitch at "six paints in the triad" :)
Continue to love your videos ❤
The fact that their “triads” contain six colors is making me feel stabby 😂
Yeah.
Video: "The six colors in each triad...."
Me: "Wait... what?"
Thanks for your work 🎉 greatings from germany. 😁 you helped me paint
Thanks for the vid.
I want those yellows for sure. I'm always on the lookout for yellows with good opacity.
The yellow was definitely one of the better ones!
Man, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought Jungle Green was total garbage! I thought i may have just gotten a bad bottle, but obviously not!
The paints are an acrylic gouache for opacity. More transparent saturated paints like Kimera would be a good layer companion to these paints.
Every matte paint tend to desaturate heavily after drying, e.g. Kimera and AK due loosing reflective water after evaporation. You can fix this with satin varnish/medium mixed into/covering after. If you working with Vallejo (esp. Game Color) or Citadel, you could have some issues while you adapt to matte paints nature. This is actually strange decision since satin paints are easier to work with and more suitable for wargaming.
My guess is that it is more noticeable with the fanatic line than other brands.
@@LylaMev I've used Vallejo for a year, and during Kirill Kanaev master class he offered us to try "tempera" paints. That paints change colors after drying 10 times stronger than any other brand existing. After tempera paints, transition from citadel/VGC to AK/Kimera (inspired to do so by your videos and Kanaev) was much easier, lol.
Very good material, but I would like to hear from you how, in your opinion, the quality of these paints relates to the price at which they can be purchased compared to other brands you mentioned.
Awesome review.
How much do you think the color change as the paint dries is due to painting over a darker surface rather than a visible change as it dries? I'm not saying the color doesn't change, because it clearly does, but how much less would it be if it was over say, white?
Good question! I had the same thing happen over a dark and light base
The six triads are basic guide to painting certain colours than actually 100 per cent required to painting certan parts of models, which I mostly do not follow when using Citadel Colours. I'm still curious to giving their new Warpaints Fanatics a go since I've never used The Army Painters before. Thank you for your review on this Lyla.
As far as the bubbling goes the primer might not have been completely dry releasing air trapped beneath. You should always wait a full day after priming with a can and if you have high humidity wait at least three days. Some primer can brands are particularly bad and never do harden correctly and need to be varnished with a matte acrylic varnish before painting can begin. But to lessen the chances of air bubbles and the priming layer not hardening just never prime in high humidity ever. Everybody knows this. But 4chan also exposed a bubbling problem with the new game color line that seems to be related to the polyurethane medium that traps air bubbles too easily. It's most pronounced when doing washes because the brush introduces more air as it's swished against the model. Most dropper bottle paint brands are secretly made by vallejo so it's possible these are as well and so have a similar problem. But that's just a guess.
While I sort of agree with the issues raised, not every paint can cover every usage. this paint range seems focused on being beginner friendly and easy to use, with the heavy pigments and organisation system. Having the paint dry to the label colour is again a feature targeted at easy of use, I hate it when paint dries and it's nothing like what's on the label, of course it would be nice if the colour was consistent between wet, dry, and label, but we can't always have everything. The long work time seems to target layering more than glazing as a workflow. I think Army Painters hit what they set out to do with this paint set, but it's not for everyone. Especially if glazing is a big part of your workflow. I use almost exclusively Vallejo acrylics and Japanese lacquers, but this set has definitely got me interested to try a Army Painter line.
how smooth is the black color? their previous matt black was one of my fav black color…
very smooth!
I dont know a single brand whose paints don't dry at a different color then when they are applied. This is why everyone looks at their color sheet and I even apply my own paints to a board first so I know first hand. This was her biggest complaint besides color vivancy?
I got one of their mega sets and so far the paints are decent, but I think since I'm so new to mini painting it's gunna take me a while to really know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.
I'm glad to see some negatives on this list. Not that I don't like the paint but seeing everyone only say good things always makes me skeptical.
Thanks! People are unhappy with my opinion.
Did u try glazing on diffrent primer and with an glazing medium? I remember speedpaints had problems on some primers too. And the retarder in glaze medium might help vs just water or medium.
agree with you 100 % ill stay with my reaper and pro acrylic paints i do love thier colored metallics though
It would be great if they added a vibrant colour line too. I understand the muted colours as they are for painting armies. However once they have the bases down add bright colours too.
The full range had some pretty bright looking vibrant triads, at least in the marketing material.
Necrotic Flesh, Dusty Skull, Burnt Turf. Those are some good names.
Great review!!!!! I was hoping for an honest look, all other reviewers have drunk the coolaid. Thank you for laying out the colors on a black surface then add in other name brands. May I ask what was the figure of a woman with a wand?
All paints darken a little bit when they dry right?
I almost bought that set, but my Vallejo paints are working fine
I wish they did a better job of telling people not to use water. Paint thinner made for acrylics is good, generic, medium is OK, but they make a specific stabilizer for this purpose. When doing brush work, it’s only mildly apparent but when running it through an airbrush, you basically have to use the stabilizer.
Aren’t you supposed to use the stabiliser if you thin it a bunch?
I didn’t know there was one until after I released the video!
Hey I understand! I’ve been watching all their content (as well as reviews like yours) because I preordered their complete set, so I’ve picked up on little tid bits! I recommend trying the stabiliser as basically a glaze medium!
I should really check out pro acryl then, since youre saying their reds dont appear any dimmer when dry.
I think the new Fanatic range does everything it claims to do and more! 🙂
Feathering glazes eliminated the coffee staining for me, even when thinned with water.
I did feather it! The coffee staining occurred even at my feathered edges
I saw a vid of army painter speedpaint reacting poorly with a very small number of high gloss white primers leading to cracking, I suspect it may be related.
While it's possible that primer contributes, the cracking of speed paint is more likely due to the thickness with which the paint is applied. I've worked with both SpeedPaint 1.0 and 2.0 and the newer version dries faster. As a result, if thickly applied (particularly evident in cloth folds), the top layer has dried while the paint underneath is still wet. As the wet lower layer dries, it contracts and pulls apart the top layer, leading to cracking. I solved this by adding a drop of acrylic retarder to SpeedPaint 2.0. This increased the working time and pretty much eliminated cracking.
@@MrSkullhead1 some you tuber did a comparison test of a ton of different primers and had 2 that were both high gloss that cracked, it was in the thick spots, so what you say is true, however something about the paint didn't play nice with those couple of primers.
@@MrSkullhead1 video was by grey scalp miniatures
Well that's a good video i guess.. but from their lastest promotional video, where they want to Monte San Savino for a competion, they asked top pro painters to test those paints, and honestly, seems that drying time was not an issue at all.
Even the big Roman Lappat told them he could do some wet on wet technique, and needed to wait a little longer for the paint to dry. I don't know the final words here.. but i think you might be wrong there.
Sure paint aren't revolutionary, but seems very decent. Coffee stains is always the case with water, way more than using thinner.
I'm sorry but i think your wrongs are ''Rookie'' mistakes, not the paints's fault.
Interesting, first artist I've seen to knock the paint's glazing ability. Heard others call them better then existing paints for that.
Apparently they also are releasing a glazing agent, which I did not know!
@@LylaMevI haven't heard of the glazing agent being used either. Most I watched have used water saying they thin down great for glazing better then others; it's the one point that put me on the fence on buying these.
ProAcryl has the same issue. I use their giant bottle of Glaze / Wash medium. There's so much pigment that reducing it to a glaze means your need it to be 5-6 parts water, which will break the paint. I found I'm using the medium in a lot of things now instead of water.
Would you be able to comment on how they compare to your sample bottles of UltrAcryl? Their initial video of yellow on black reminded me of UltrAcryl's promotional videos during the kickstarter.
Sometimes the army painter washes just bubble. I've run into the same issue and can't reproduce it consistently either. It's weird.
I’m waiting for my Big Box Ultracryl set to arrive from their kickstarter.
7:21 I'm half surprised you didn't jump to Terrestial Titan (also is that a typo on that image? Is it not Terrestrial?) as a shadow for the red.
But yeah, a darker red would have been lovely.
The bubbling reaction may have been due to the Stynylrez primer not being fully cured.
So many choices, and honestly, at my limited skill level, I’m not sure how much a premium paint is going to improve my results. It’s like giving a Stradivarius violin to a first year musician.
Newest generation acrylics (Pro Acryl / Vallejo New Game Color / AP Fanatic / Two Thin Coats) are less about being 'premium' paints, and more about being really solid and easy to use, thanks to the lack of inconsistencies and issues that troubled old paints, from massive inconsistencies in paint behavior within a single paint line, to horribly weak coverage. In that, I think beginners are the ones that benefit *the most* from the new paint lines; the Stradivarius comparison works better with paints that require a better understanding of color theory, paint mixing, all that jazz - things like the Kimera paints, which are actually premium, single-pigment paints, and heavily rely on you mixing your own colors.
Just shows how uninformed I am. But still it’s a bit confusing for the casual hobbyist.
Abit weird you found then to dry faster when army painter used it as a selling point that they would dry slower due to the added retarder, wonder if its something to do with humidity?
Im not trying to be rude, im just saying that every paint ive ever used has dried darker. I dont really think its fair to call that a red flag because thats just how paint works
This is an honest review and the type of thing I've been looking for on the Fanatics. All of the ones up until now have just felt like sales pitches.
I have ak3rd fen and vallejo near me. I'll stick woth those
Army Painter has really been knocking it out of the park with their advertising. People are really getting hyped over this stuff. And if you're looking to replace Warpaints then yeah, I can see it being a 100% improvement. But I already own the entire set of Pro Acryl. If Fanatic isn't substantially better than PA then, at most, I'll pick up a few select colors rather than an entire set.
I've heard Fanatics compared as "as good, or almost as good, as Pro Acryl", but never as *better*, so I don't see why you'd want to replace. Pro Acryl, Two Thin Coats, Vallejo New Game Color, and AP Fanatic seem to be universally acknowledged as "the differences between them are small enough that you'd never want to actually throw away one to replace with another, unless you really don't know what to do with your money, or are an absolute perfectionist". At the end of the day, we've reached a level within this generation, where all of these brands - and possibly others, like reapers, too - are honestly fantastic, and looking at local prices and color availability should probably be the driving force for anyone looking to buy.
Interesting, definitely going against the popular hype here. I have never seen anyone talk about the reaper paints as a go to.... any chance you would do a review of that line of paints? I dont think what you have to say would stop me from buying these if I needed a broad range of paints but it does further enforce my decision to pick up a few paints but not a lot from the line (can never have enough browns and the lava orange triad looks interesting, maybe a yellow or 2 because of the coverage). Thanks Lyla, good video as always.
I own many reaper paints, and MANY brands of paints. i'd say I own many, of most paint lines made today, and even some of the paints like "golden so flat) that aren't even mini paints, just artistic paints that paint miniatures as well or better than a lot of "mini paints"
I put reaper toward the bottom of my list, honestly, I put them below the original Army Painter line.
good to know, thanks@@slickschoppers