2 Miniature Paint brands you MUST TRY (And 2 to skip) | Pro Acryl, War Colours +more

[@LylaMev]

Check out This weeks sponsor on kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/shieldwolf/war-is-coming-reinforcements Which is your preferred brand of paint?

[@NightfallTH]

Hey, I am interested in the Valkyrs. Are the heads separate and do they look like fearse viking women?

[@Finkeldinken]

I like my base set Kimeras and ProAcryl. You've probably already ordered that ProAcryl Magenta, so this warning is too late, but in case it isn't: The ProAcryl Magenta has a buttload of white pigment in it, so it will not be what you are looking for as a primary mixer. They may have a good magenta in their range, idk, but I can tell you that it is NOT named Magenta - I was SO disappointed when I got mine! :P Yet another wonderful video. Thank you

[@shieldwolfminiatures8645]

@@NightfallTH Thank you. That's affirmative, the heads are separate (both helmeted and non-helmeted options). 21 different head sculpts total, 33 heads provided per kit.

[@NightfallTH]

@@shieldwolfminiatures8645 oh, thanks for the comprehensive answer! If I were to need some awesome nordic women heads fast (this sounds like a serial killer, omg), are the Valkyries heads the same as your existing Shieldmaiden set on your homepage?

[@shepharda74]

Currently my favourite paints are Scale75, have you tried them/opinion?

[@y2ace]

While I agree that most people can skip War Colours, I feel that the review did them a bit of a disservice. War Colours are a gel based paint whose strength is their consistency and transparency. They are not a citadel like paint system, they are a specialized paint line with a specific purpose, wet blending and glazing. I'd highly suggest checking out other reviews that give a more indepth review to show how to really utilize them properly. Their black and white are some of the best I've used and allow you to have far more precision with the tone compared to other black/white paints. Similar to Kimera or Scale 75, they are NOT beginner friendly paints. But if you know how to use them you can get truly amazing results.

[@warcolourspaints3256]

very well said!!!

[@clamus68]

Don't particularly care for War Colours from Army Painter, my main issues being opacity and viscosity. Their Washes or Tones on the other hand I think are the best in the business. I find for what they are marketed for Vallejo does the job better. Army Painter has always been the odd outlier in the miniature painting space. Citadel, beyond the sheer brand recognition, makes a great generalist paint line. Best at nothing but VERY good at most everything. Vallejo on the other hand just makes great paint. Pro Acryl is a phenomenal paint line though, and if I didn't have the money tied up in Vallejo/GW the way I do, I would shift strictly to those.

[@jbbconsulting]

@@clamus68 Warcolours isn't an Army Painter brand, it's an entirely different company. I've only used a couple of their colours at this time and like them but I don't have a strong opinion yet. I do like their naming convention though as it makes it easy to organize and work with shades.

[@NODHLAN]

can you recommend a good video review for war colours?

[@jbbconsulting]

@@NODHLAN Vince Venturella has a few videos on them kzbin.infosearch?query=warcolours Here's two of them, but I counted 7 direct videos and others where they are mentioned. Product Review 27 - Warcolours Glazes kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmq5q5iJbMSpnKc Hobby Cheating 86 - How to Paint with Warcolours kzbin.info/www/bejne/m16sdIqkgtWhd9k I hope this helps.

[@adriandoyle8668]

I recently bought Golden Soflat basic sets and I'm in love. Single pigment, high opacity, consistent texture, very fine pigment. You can dillute the heck out of them and they don't disperse. Best white I've ever owned.

[@TheCatHerder]

I own most of the proacryl range (can't justify the shipping cost for expansion 3 right now) and agree your notes. I strongly dislike the default lid and prefer their dropper lids over the screw top.

[@TheChronicToast]

I've got to agree on the Pro Acryl from Monument Hobbies! Every time I try one of their paints, I'm always impressed and blown away every, single, time. It is such good value for the money.

[@House-Atreides]

Agree! Agree! Incredible.

[@milgram12]

I have switched most of my paints to pro acryl. The vibrant color, good coverage, and extensive range have sold me. I swapped out all of the twist tops for flip tops, and they have been great. I painted some grey primer onto the flat lids, then painted on some of the color, which makes it very easy to see what the color will look like on the model, and find it in the rack. They also sell empty paint bottles, making it very easy to pour two colors together to make a bottle of a custom color. I use this mainly for transition colors between two colors. For example, I made two extra bottles for the mid points between Bright Jade, Jade, and Dark Jade.

[@alejandroballesteroshernan1678]

Crazy how availability changes between US and EU. You cant find Pro Acryl in Spain but GSW, Vallejo, Mig, AK 3rd Gen is pretty much everywhere. The latter is my favourite so far, and I definitely recommend it to you.

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

I’m in the US, Ak Interactive and AMMO Mig are pretty easy to get in my area. Scale 75 isn’t sold locally and Vallejo always seems to run out of stock.

[@B4MBI72]

If I want to buy paint from a shop in the UK its either GW or GW or maybe GW. Gotta love online retailers.

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

@@B4MBI72 GW and army painter are everywhere too.

[@Michael43056]

Have you ever tried the Reaper Pro or MSP colors. I use them most exclusively. They are made to be thinned, but I find that one base coat of untinned paint works well. I would love to hear you opinion on these paints.

[@Evil0tto]

Vallejo's new line (the black-top Game Color ones) has become my go-to brand. Great coverage, great pigmentation, and just the right thickness. And they're not expensive, either.

[@AndrewKendall-PortPics]

I've recently found out monument hobbies has released an alternative top for the proAcryl paint bottles.

[@LylaMev]

No way!

[@AndrewKendall-PortPics]

@Lyla Mev - The Mini Witch I have the same complaint about the tops, so when I found the new tops, I ordered some. They haven't showed up yet, so I can't comment on them. Yet.

[@Cheeseburger2469]

@@LylaMev Yeah, I really like the round flip top ones. I wish they were the default! A trick with the regular ones though is to leave the bottles open for a bit after taking some out so the paint has time to flow back into the bottle and release the trapped air.

[@Tannhauser42]

Yep, I bought the dropper tops for all of mine.

[@AndrewKendall-PortPics]

@@Tannhauser42 how are they?

[@velvetyoda2pointOH]

I recently purchased the pro acryl base set in hopes of getting back into miniature painting. After your review, I feel I made a good choice!

[@LylaMev]

Glad I could help!

[@funchick202]

i hope it helps.

[@crowsandbones]

Reaper Miniatures makes my favorite paints. If you like magenta, their Clear Magenta is a single pigment paint, works great for mixing and glazing, but opacity is low due to the nature of the pigment. They have a magenta with more coverage called Thuvian Sun Orchid which I think is lovely.

[@Tragicflaw27]

I love pro acryl but hate the tops too. However, to avoid too much mess or gushing when opening after shaking, I've learned that waiting roughly 10 seconds after shaking and a few seconds after applying paint to a palette makes less of a mess to clean from the top.

[@LylaMev]

Thank you!

[@theobviouskraken3404]

I absolutely fell in love with Pro Acryl paints from the moment I used one for the first time. If I could go back and tell younger me not to buy half the paints I did (ESPECIALLY the shitadel paints) and wait to get the whole Pro Acryl bundle off the bat, I would.

[@dougsundseth6904]

If I were to start buying paints now, I'd buy a combination of Scale75, Reaper, probably some Vallejo, and artists' fluid acrylics/acrylic gouaches. Reaper's browns and neutrals are generally very nice, both in consistency and color, Scale75 has brilliant metallics and quite good flat colors, Vallejo has everything, and artists' colors are heavily pigmented with excellent acrylic monomer density, though they do require a bit more knowledge of mixing (and the price per volume for artists' colors is quite good).

[@norwegiangadgetman]

I started with Army Painter(the less said the better), then bought some Reaper paints... Now I have just about all of them, even some of the discontinued ones. But I've now also 'found' Scale75, and man, those metallics are to die for!

[@rikhavok]

Lyla, first time I have seen one of your videos. I like your style of painting. Your minis look awesome. I really like speedpaints by army painter. Not a fan of their other colors so I agree with you there. Honestly, I have never found a brand of paints that were great across the whole color spectrum. Reaper, I have found is the most consistent, but their yellows aren’t great unless you use their HD line which they sadly discontinued. You mentioned Color Shift paints. I love using Color shift paints! The ones from Folk Art are amazing and surprisingly consistent. A trick I do with them- water it down, apply then wipe it off. You will leave the color shift part only on the raised surface without the color. gives the glisten without much color. Makes an item magic by giving it that color shift glow.

[@kumarawr740]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Reaper's paints. Personally I enjoy them and find them easy to work with but noone ever seems to mention them anymore.

[@doc59911]

I agree, Reaper paints make up a lot of my current paints in the rack. I also do some Warcoulors, Greenstuff World, and Vallejo, but I love the color range of Reaper and the consistency seems pretty good for my style.

[@kumarawr740]

@@doc59911 I just recently got some GreenStuff World paints and I must say I really enjoy them. For me personally they are on par if not better than Reaper, which I never thought I'd say.

[@MrSJPowell]

ProAcryl and AKInteractive's 3rd Gen are my two go to paint lines, but I'm very curious about Golden's So Flat line.

[@jamiethomas3287]

I have to be honest and say that I love the citadel range. I supplement this with inks from daler rowney, a white from liquitex and a couple of alcohol based metallics from vallejo. I find that they all have good parts and bad parts. The citadels range of colours is massive but the liquitex white has no chalkiness.

[@B4MBI72]

Gotta try that liquitex white ink, I have some DR but it doesn't go thru my airbrush well at all.

[@hobominded]

@@B4MBI72 Did you end up getting to try it? I have the same issue with DR white through an airbrush being crap

[@ikkiiiieee]

@@B4MBI72 @Hobominded If the ink isn't going smooth through the airbrush, you're simply using any of the tools or products you're using wrong.

[@themantisman3640]

is kimera not just rebottled artist acrylics, cause i honestly prefer jo sonjas, liquitex or golden paints

[@jacobmurphy3045]

If I'm not mistaken kimera's biggest selling point is that they are all single pigment paints which make them perfect for mixing. Could be wrong. Nice video.

[@crazeh8]

I only have one pro acryl colour paint right now, and it's their infamous Bold Titanium White. Going from using Citadel and P3 whites to using that is like night and day. It's incredible.

[@LylaMev]

I agree!

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

Citadel isn’t that good. Ak interactive, ammo Mig, scale 75, and Pro Acyl are all far superior.

[@crazeh8]

@@andrewobrigewitsh citadel have plenty of good paints. Their whites are definitely not though, except apothecary white contrast paint, that's pretty good at what it does. It's just commonly seen as hip to hate on Citadel. It has been for years.

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

@@crazeh8 I started with Citadel and frankly I don't like their paints too much. Only recently have people started to realize they are not the best. Same goes for army painter, but at least the army painter pots are not super annoying. However you can get good results with any paints, and what people think is good or not is subjective and also dependent on painting style and what you paint. I prefer AK Interactive if I want one coat coverage and scale 75 for glazing. I also use oil paints, enamel and inks. I even use some Daler and Rowney and Liquitex.

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

I'm confused as what you you mean by Infamous though. Infamous means well known for being bad.

[@sikfahq]

I love the pro acrylic top. Took a little getting used to, I learned to close the top then wipe the tip on the pallette

[@funchick202]

Just got to keep a paper towel at your side.

[@sikfahq]

@@funchick202 no, I just wipe the tip on the pallette and leave it be. The paint on the top dries and falls off easily next time I use it. Also, the colored tip helps me find the right color I want when I'm looking into the box. Love your videos, they are really helpful for noobs like me!

[@SlaveToChaos]

Love Pro Acryl. Finally got the courage to branch out from GW and picked up some Pro Acryl and Scale 75 … Absolutely loved the Pro Acryl and soon after had just about the whole line which has become my go to. Scale 75 is great too, but have had a couple “misses” for lack of a better word. My GW paints are now in storage bins and not really used minus a few staples.

[@Defeshh]

ye, scale75 is super super thicc, they are very hard to control, great for wetblending. This review is really making me consider getting some proacryl paints. As far as GW paints, I only keep Mournfang Brown, Averland Sunset and Khorne Red. The rest is also put away.

[@funchick202]

I use scale75 at 50/50 paint to water it's so thick.

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

Scale 75 works best for glazing, you can thin them down quite a bit. And they are my go to paints to make glazes. They are the only paints I use to paint skin.

[@nickshep8488]

I use some pro Acryl and am gradually shifting over to it, You can find replacement caps to work more like other paint brands however I find that you get used to anticipating the extra droplet and if you let it dry rather than wiping it off it will plink right off with ease.

[@funghazi]

Oooh I just got a bunch of light Pro Acryl colors, I hope those are as good as the others you reviewed.

[@YanniCooper]

Just a note regarding Green Stuff World, they're not the greatest company out there, whether it's trademarking other people's work, or putting a strike against a hobby youtuber (Sworde & Steele) I'd recommend choosing a different company to buy hobby supplies from if at all possible.

[@jasonmaloni8793]

Completely agree. I started with Citadel, Reaper and some P3. There are a few Vallejos i still use (ice yellow is awesome), but I find myself reaching for the Kimera and Pro Acryl bottles more than anything else.

[@LylaMev]

I'm going to have to get new shelving for my pro acryl and kimera paints

[@jasonmaloni8793]

@@LylaMev Scrap wood in the garage. Paint shelves are the easiest thing to build by hand plus you can build to suit your space.

[@timothythorne9182]

Monument sells other lids for their bottles. I just use the ones that come on them and wipe the excess on a paper towel. I know some people also just leave it open for a few seconds to let the paint drain back into the bottle

[@ogreman2229]

Pro Acryl is my go to paint. Other lines have individual colors I enjoy using but for a complete set Pro Acryl is absolutely the best.

[@LylaMev]

Right where I am, too!

[@mattcurr9931]

as someone who has the ENTIRE warcolours range I agree lol. But after basing with something else I find they're great for wet blending/feathering. And for airbrush jobs they're awesome once you've thinned them down. Pro Acryl are my go to now, you can do everything with them, but even for base coating they just can't be beat. And they're about to release a bright jade :)

[@peterdickinson4599]

I agree. I too have almost the entire Warcolours range. In the early days they broke my heart. But once I learned how to use them over a greyscale or tinted zenithal undercoat my opinion changed. You still need opaque paints. And I wouldn’t recommend their One-Coats. To me they have no association with the layer paints. Crazy good for painting vehicles and mechs, but not for miniature people. I use Vallejo Model Colour with the Warcolours and find the earthy opacity and the transparent crispness go very well together. I also really like their metallics over an opaque metal base. You can really produce a polished effect that I can’t repeat with other ranges. And their Yellow 1 is phenomenal for tinting warm colours. A strongly conditional recommendation from me.

[@LylaMev]

I have war colours explained to me as: "they are very good at what they are good at, and bad at everything else."

[@peterdickinson4599]

@@LylaMev Ha Ha! That pretty much nails it.

[@House-Atreides]

I absolutely love ProAcryl. I bought two full sets. One for home and one for my work office during lunch breaks. Incredible opacity.

[@almost_zab]

I'm very close to ditching all my mini paints and just using golden so flat. its amazing. i and slowly replacing many of my paints with colors from golden. i love their hi flow transparent and fluros too!

[@thomasjones3221]

Never heard of it. Link?

[@DarkFire0421]

7:48 in is that a eyeshadow make up brush your using on the valkyrie wings ? Im new to painting and any advice would be great . I need help with types of brushes and brands . Even techniques on how to use them better would also be appreciated

[@Owensfineart]

I'm a professional oil, landscape artist so I am used to messy paint tube tops. My supplies are always a mess. LOL I don't think the Pro Acryl tops will be a deal breaker for me. Thanks for the great reviews, I'm going to try Pro Acryl soon.

[@EricHonaker]

Have you tried Golden's Fluid line? I think they're a great middle point between ProAcryl and Kimera for viscosity. Plus, they are art paints so you get that high intensity, single pigment goodness.

[@LylaMev]

So many people have suggested it I'm going to have to go try it now!

[@unclej5951]

Know of a good online source for golden? Closest artist supply to me is 140 miles 1 way

[@radunnam]

I came here to recommend these. Their High Flow liquid acrylics go through my air brush straight from the bottle and their Titanium White is the best white I've ever put through it. They are a little thin for base coats, but mixed 50/50 with medium they make a great Contrast alternative.

[@EricHonaker]

@@radunnam the basic Fluid colors are perfect for basecoating

[@EricHonaker]

@@unclej5951 Dick Blick?

[@KarimTheilgaard]

I am increasingly switching from Vallejo, Citadel and Army Painter to Green Stuff World as, living in Northern Europe I have had swift and easy delivery experiences from them, at great prices. They are also relatively easily available in the shops here. For a cheaper and slightly easier to use option to Kimera, I find Scale75 shares many of Kimeras positive properties while having a much wider selection. As I have just purchased an airbrush I expect to be exploring using inks a lot more now.

[@LylaMev]

I definitely looked at this from Ann American view point

[@Kconv1]

Pro Acryl, Reaper, Vallejo and Scale 75 are my go to. Im sad that in all the years, no one has made a paint as good as Polly S fantasy colors from the 80's.

[@ruftime]

Thank you! Just got the full range of Pro Acryl paints, and converted over to the new bottle lid/dropper option Monument sells😎

[@Filthyanimal9]

Since trying a few Pro-Acryl colors it’s all i buy now. Agree on messy lids and also hadn’t heard they have alternatives! I have started to squeeze out less on wet pallette, then the excess that oozes out from retightening the cap i just dab onto the palette - it ain’t perfect but a little better at least!

[@stephenbobby6715]

The proacryl changed how i paint. they are so good. You get used to the top i find. Going from vallejo to these guys was just night and day. Vallejo separates badly and gets very chalky. Proacryl has better pigments. I do like to use tamiya for airbrushing though

[@ArynCrinn]

It's just too bad the alternate lids are a separate purchase. If you could buy from them with your top of choice, it would be perfect.

[@joanneworrell5936]

The seperate lids also aren’t compatible with the original bottles unfortunately. ProAcryl are decent enough paints but dealing with the messy, hard to squeeze bottles makes me reach for an alternative 9 times out of 10.

[@hrvojegrgic-akovic5552]

Ars Manufactorea can sell you Kimera paints, and they are located in Italy. No idea how much shipping would cost to the States, or how long a wait you would have, but they can be consistently found through them if you need them.

[@steveisaak4320]

have you used scale75? I am moving towards pro acryl, scale 75, kimera. for airbrush army painter.

[@TheMannis]

I’ve tried GW, Vallejo model, Vallejo game, Scale, Reaper, Army Painter, pro acryl, and AK 3rd gen. I use them all here or there, but I prefer the silver metallics from pro acryl (preferred consistency and coverage), washes/shades from GW, standard colors from AK and Reaper. AK surprised me as it’s sort of like the pigment density of Vallejo model but thinner in consistency like Reaper and slightly more durable than the former. I like it a lot. The durability is high on Vallejo game color (true to their advertising) though the consistency and coverage varies considerably. Still it’s nice when you’re looking for paints that are like the “old” GW range.

[@jerdog8335]

I am a Vallejo fan. Spendy ($6.35 each) but my favorite. Your opinion?

[@CoryG1981]

well after this ill be grabbing some pro Acryl to try out , what I use now is mainly Army painter as and I have everything but the new speed paints and ive been really happy with them once I got away from gw . Thanks Lyla for this is was very helpful for me

[@kevinbrum9940]

Where did u get the figure holder from looks great and would give you something to steady your hand.

[@questgivercyradis8462]

ProAcryl's Transparent White is a total game changer for painting sheer white, highlighting pale sections, or highlighting NMM. The intense white paints can be difficult to thin without being chalky. This is a soft white, almost a glaze. It is among my favorite bottles now.

[@thephoenix8722]

Im 99% sure transparents are inks in acylic meduim.

[@milgram12]

I had never thought to use the white that way. I'll have to try it out, thanks!

[@darkhighwayman1757]

Ive been wanting to slowly get rid of my gw paints with another and this helps. Ill keep em till they run out but....

[@Fissi0nChips]

I like the Scale color paints. They have some really nice matte finishes and colours. Also they appear to be that gel like medium you like too.

[@LylaMev]

Thanks for the info!

[@ronaldcarver4232]

I have not used any Kimera yet, but how is it to base with Kimera, and glaze over? Also, what paint would you recommend using to glaze over Kimera?

[@Doppelwulf]

ProAcryl does offer an alternate "normal" dropper cap but you have to buy those separately from the paints.

[@midlandernc7403]

Add Fowtrol or acrylic medium to your cheap paints. Also I often dilute more expensive paints with the cheap and add medium too. Use 70% alcohol to thin also.

[@Omnicot]

I replaced my citadel and army painter paints with the whole range of Pro-Acryl and the Scalecolor set by Scale75. I love these matt paints.

[@bootstraspbill]

Quick question; why miniature painters do not use Mr Color or Tamiya paints?

[@chrisbarrett1006]

Not sure if you've tried the scale 75 thick body tube acrylics. They've brought me to the dark side of painting figures. I use to use only oils for figures.

[@SamuelHolt1980]

I am phasing out citadel and looking more at Vallejo, the colours seem decent and they are readily available. Also thinking of mixing large batches using pigmants and mediums to save some cash, do you do this? I would be interested in hearing your views on it.

[@theoldgoat3000]

Thank you for this (and to the commenter who mentioned pro acryl new lids)! I've been looking to branch out with paints and this has convinced me. As for other paints I've tried, I really like Turbo Dork. They're expensive and metallic only, but they do some great shifting paints and just really pop overall. Thanks again!

[@quakeSanchez]

As of late I found myself using Scale75 more and more. Both their main line and 'Fantasy and games' line have amazing colors to use. Most of their 'inktensity' products are also brilliant, if you know what you're doing (or willing to learn and experiment). Also, Amsterdam is not a miniature paint brand, but their Ultramarine blue and Cobalt (ultramarine) blue work very well. Pyrrole red is great for mixes but is a little tricky to use on it's own, at least for me. I'm a little curious about green stuff world and Pro Acryl.

[@tinyfishhobby3138]

I love my ProAcryls. You get used to the twist top on the bottles- I keep a paper towel handy. Haven’t tried the others yet.

[@appledornart2535]

You might be disappointed with the pro acryl magenta. It's a mixed pigment paint that relies heavily on white for opacity. Comes out more pink. I've recently supplemented my paints with golden so-flat acrylics as well as liquitex acrylic gouache. Both highly matte, highly pigmented, soft body artist acrylics. As a painter I've always had an assortment of artist paints on hand, but these two are the best so far for minis.

[@LylaMev]

That's what people keep telling me!

[@cainedicarde]

Been really enjoying Green Stuff World and P3 lately. Gonna go to my LGS this weekend and see if they still have that box of Kimera on the shelf.

[@LylaMev]

Good luck!

[@shanewalker3427]

The Bold Pyrrole Red by Pro Acryl is by far the best red in my collection. I look forward to buying more of their stuff next time I get the chance.

[@LylaMev]

It's the best red for me as well!

[@fateweaver9844]

Pyrrole Red is great as an oil color as well. Though Napthol Red is my favorite shade. Stop light red basically.

[@grandmastersmash4754]

I use Army Painter because you can buy a large set all at once for a good price. But your video showing alternatives is very helpful. Thanks!

[@joegkushner]

Would be curious to hear your take on Scale 75 and their various ranges as well as AK and their 3rd generation and tube paints.

[@jmg7842]

10:08 on monument hobbies there is a flip cap alternative i got 50 of those puppies just a tip for yall

[@bleachorange]

4:10 looks like unprimed plastic. Is this a technique you normally use? I prime all my minis for the adhesion benefits and I think many paints are meant to be applied over a primer coat.

[@s.lmodelistequebec.8925]

Interesting topics, did you ever try AK 3rd generation? I would love to have some feedback! Thanks 😊

[@LylaMev]

I haven't!

[@AlkalineTrooper]

Always wanted to try Kimera but since my friend steered me onto pro acryl there's no going back for me. A lot of my citadel paints are just gethering dust these days.

[@ernstbergerbrent]

Once I discovered monument it's hard to buy anything else for base coating/blending. The tops are a minor inconvenience especially compared to GW's paint pots.

[@ashley-r-pollard]

First time viewer, I enjoyed this talk, and will now have to check out your channel. Thank you.

[@brucekinghorn4961]

Hey Lyla, what is the holder you are using for painting your minis, and where can I get one?

[@theofficerfactory2625]

I haven't heard of most of the paints mentioned. Thanks for bringing them to light.

[@MaskedRiderChris]

For myself? I got the basic colors from Pro Acryl (dark and bright red/blue/'yellow, plus black and white), and while I like them alright and I like supporting an American company? I find myself reaching for my Vallejo and P3 paints far more often then the Pro Acryl colors. They're not bad paints, but they don't excite me too much, here. Their airbrush primer, however, is excellent stuff on par with my Vallejo Surface Primer and I'm using their Black Brown primer often these days. Their brushes and supplies are rather good, too, IMO. I appear to have found my personal sweet spot with my Vallejo and P3 paints, and I still find use for my Citadel collection as well from time to time. Maybe I ought to try the Pro Acryl paints again and give them a fair shake?

[@SigurdDecroos]

Please try Golden Soflat. Next to their high flow and fluid lines, the soflat is matt and super easy to blend. Very pigment rich (mostly single pigments).

[@brokenbristles8235]

I actually swapped over to Pro Acryl as my primary paint a few months ago. I love their paint and Jade was my favorite, but the new Bright Jade might fight for it. Jade and Dark Purple make a GORGEOUS blue too.

[@darrengibbons4728]

intresting about the Pro Acryl I know a lot of people dislike the tops, they do a normal dropper lid on there site but I dont know stockist who stock it so have to buy direct from them wish they could sort this. As I have the whole range on order from a kickstarter

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

Guides like this are so helpful! With the amount of paints on the market it feels like stumbling around in the dark to find the one that works for me, and with the prices that is not good! Thanks for this!

[@LylaMev]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kylemoore7746]

Something between Kimera and Pro Acryl... have you looked at Scalecolor Artist Paints? They come in a tube, but they have a body with consistency between those two other brands. They work perfect on my wet palette for blending and thinning, and make the best mixes of any of my paints IMO.

[@ericharris1526]

I'm on the hunt for a great pre-made airbrush paint line. Any way to get a review/comparison like this video of different brands. So far have made my own, used cidital and vilajo. Cidital is still limited and vilajo is so thin and ends up clogging my brush on larger models. That or maybe a comparison of airbrush paint thinners.

[@jakea3950]

Knew pro acryl was the thumbnail lol. If I was a new painter I'd be going pa too. Been super happy with Vallejo though and will incorporate the two.

[@ansbach310]

Hey I noticed when you were talking about the gel based paints you said it didn't need to be thinned down. Does the same apply for Scale 75?

[@SmokeytheBeer]

I just picked up another boutique paint brand called "Turbo Dork" that has a line of nice metallic paints. It's pretty cool to see boutique brands emerging all over the place. Are we in the renaissance of mini painting?

[@hiltedhobbies]

I didn't think Turbo Dork was that boutique until I went and saw their Instagram only has 5k followers... and all this time I thought they were well known.

[@elleofmusic]

Pro Acryl Jade is indeed SO GOOD. A real treasure. I haven't tried the other brands you've mentioned, but I'm surprised to see how Warcolors performed since I've heard good things about the glaze range at least. That's good to know. Hardly an indie brand, but I've recently gotten some Apple Barrel paints after Eons of Battle recommended their satin black (I can confirm it's excellent) and much of their matte range is less than a buck. I was expecting them to be good for drybrushing at least, but so far I've been really impressed by how well they glaze even without thinning. I imagine it's because the pigment density is lower, but it's still not grainy, and the paint itself is nice and thick, so getting very fine glazes is super easy. I also really like Sennelier's Abstract line. Like the Apple Barrel, it's not very opaque so you kinda have to get a glob of paint on the brush and then spread it over the model if you don't want to end up needing five coats, but once I got the hang of it I found it was really worth it for just how buttery smooth the finish is, no visible brush strokes at all. I just got a few flesh tones from them after falling in love with their Caput Mortum colour, because I have a hunch they'll do very well on busts and larger models with a lot of skin.

[@LylaMev]

I was really surprised about war colours as well! at first I thought that once I tried my second model it would go a lot better, but when it didn't I chalked it up to the paints themselves. But if anyone has any suggestions as to what I was doing wrong I would love to hear them! I tried to give all the brands a good shot.

[@sovietbear1917]

I've switched to Liquitex professional artist acrylics. Bit of a learning curve with thinning (I've learned to set my wet pallet the night before so they get more workable) , but they're super cheap and available locally at Michael's (my nearest FLGS is 2 hours away).

[@drachengaming7321]

Crazy how good your blending is, would love to see more vids of you just painting stuff too

[@velinion1]

I am a beginner with both painting and miniature painting. I started with a bunch of Tateyama Color paints recommended by my local hobby shop and... was not a fan. The paint REALLY prefers sticking to itself than even a well primered surface, so if it was even the SLIGHTEST bit damp when I went to add another layer, it would just lift off and I'd be back to bare primer. Then I got Liquitex Gauche in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, White, and Black (Sorry art people: "Primary Blue", "Primary Red", Yellow, Black and White) since I have a background in photography and photo printers and just started mixing all my colors from primaries. I LOVE the Liquitex Gauche! It is super opaque (and fairly thick) unless thinned, but glides on with no effort, can be painted over while still quite wet (probably embedding some bad habits it's so forgiving on this) and it really just feels like the paint is working FOR me. Probably going to pick up a brown and a could skin tones so I don't have to keep mixing those all the time, but loving the paints.

[@Jokreher]

I have a very large collection of acrylics, mostly Vallejo. But I need more working time to do what I want so I’ve switched to oils. Most brands of artist grade oils are consistently similar so there’s no huge issues.

[@matthewcraver9917]

You don't list the painting handle in your tools list. What are you using to hold the minis?

[@tonybennett7145]

Just wanted to say Lyla that you have helped me tremendously not only in my miniature painting but also across my model finishing spectrum. Thank you very much! Great channel lyla, keep it going.

[@nightfire734]

My uni miniature club picked up the Pro Acryl starter paint and found it to be the best starter paint for new painters with the amount you get and introduction to dropper bottles. Wiping the top off does become annoying though. Their metalics are also worth checking out.

[@DevsDice]

Interesting subject Lyla! First off, thanks for putting me off Warcolors since I have thought about them. Guess I should try my Kimera and Pro Acryl more! The little I have I have been impressed so I think this review is right on the money! Thanks for a great video! 👍💙💛💙

[@LylaMev]

Thanks so much, Devs & Dice!

[@Banshun]

Watch Vince Venturella's Warcolours videos. He knows how to use them. They are gel based and you need to learn some new skills, but it is worth it. Warcolours are one of my favourite brands.

[@Strangten]

I agree with Banshun. Painting with Warcolours needs a very different approach than other acrylics, but can be great fun when learn how to handle them. Also, you don’t need an opaque basecoat before starting to paint with them, just a zenithal primer.

[@madmoody100]

Warcolour have a lot of paint options. While Not a great fan of pots I think their best range is the nostalgia 88 paints - not really related to their normal paints - but much more opaque and beginner friendly than their regular lines.

[@davidchenworth1759]

I'm new to painting minis, thanks for sharing your tips, I'm finding them really helpful

[@michaelseeger5869]

Hi, thanks for the video :) the most paints I have are Vallejo paints which are in my opinion pretty good. But I recently bought AK interactive 3rd gen paints an there amazing. Furthermore the Diorama series for basing is awesome to maybe you should check them out. Also army painter speedpaints really nice.

[@galatician8063]

Warcolour - Their crystal sable brushes are now my all time favorite. I got afew paints. I have not learned to use them yet, but plan to. ProAcryl - I went all in. Worth it. Got the dropper tops to replace the twist tops. They can get chalky if you thin them too much but flowaid / medium helps. Still love P3 & Citadel but finally starting to transfer them to dropper bottles. Also still love Reaper & Vallejo. And yes I prefer a matt finish. Shieldwolf is cool, but I wish they were bigger. 32 to 40 is my prefered size.

[@dogeexchange909]

Enjoyed the video. Would love to see you review The Army Painter's colors.

[@littleslappy]

I literally just bought their entire line as a treat to myself. And you can use their transparent with GW contrast medium and make your own contrast paints

[@briane.johnson4235]

Where did you get them? The Basic set is out of stock on their website..

[@littleslappy]

@@briane.johnson4235 from their website. I had ordered them like 2 weeks ago. I remember at some point in time they used to have a build your own set where you just picked out a certain number of bottles and then they would as a discount.

[@briane.johnson4235]

@@littleslappy Thanks for that info! I will see if the "pick and choose" option is still available.

[@TrueCorrel]

Have you tryed AK 3rd generation colors?

[@MRDvaris]

Try out Golden SoFlat line, I just got back into painting and I love these paints.

[@kristophermorgan2302]

Do you have an experience thinning Pro Acrylic for airbrush use?

[@andrewobrigewitsh]

Why does no one review Ammo Mig and AK Interactive for miniature painting? How do these compare to Scale 75?