Army Painter Warpaints Opinions…

Another little review, I should be working, but it’s hot and I don’t really have any serious time pressures ATM!

The warpaints range has (I think) 150 paints, of which I own just over 100. So this should have some indication of what I think of them.

I started my painting way back and had some of the original round flip top citadel paints. I spent so long using that range, I could mentally paint and deconstruct in citadel colours 😁

Since then I have used:

Rackham, P3, New citadel, Vallejo model color & air, Foundry and artist inks.

My best results have come from New citadel, but considering the obnoxious, in my opinion, prices I can not justify the costs to buy and use them.

I initially started using warpaints a few years ago, using the old mega paint set to paint up my Star Wars Imperial Assault models…

They are screenshots from my Instagram, I’ll try to get better pics later!

As you can see, it’s really not bad paint at all once you get the hang of the handling properties.

I sometimes use a wet pallete but most often I just go with what ever is nearby like a plastic lid or tile.

For best results, shake the damn thing like your life depends on it. Shaking these pots is one of the few ways my pulse exceeds 100bpm!!! Using a suitable agitator really helps with this too 👍

I always thin the paint down. I never used to, mainly I hated the idea of painting more than one coat of a colour. But once I made that transition, well the results speak for themselves:

Hmmmm lots of blue… 🤔🤦

I won’t give you any bs about milk consistency, that has never rang true for me. Just practice and see how different mixes work for you and the colour being painted.

I really like the warpaints range, and I am slowly working my way to a complete collection.

I find the price point from 3rd party retailers to be just right, and I only have issues with one or two colours. Worst for me is the colour Orc Blood, that never seems to mix properly in the bottle, despite the agitator in there.

Theres my entire collection of warpaints.

Not really a review, just bored musings for now 😉

Random Musings About Me!

I have been painting for a few years, nothing like some people who’s blogs I have read, but I have little spurts of enthusiasm before it inevitably tails off again.

The vast majority of my work has been on GW products, but the most fun work has been painting my completed Imperial Assault Wave 1 stuff!

Now I adore the time I spent with the early editions of Warhammer and 40k and I am very partial to the recent Idoneth and Stormcast releases.

I have fond memories of my Skull Pass Dwarves, the first fully painted army I had, and had some cool games with them where their legendary toughness and my uncanny knack for superb cannon shots made my name at my club!

But that was an old life and people sadly no longer in my life.

A bout of personal idiocy, homelessness and a spell in a mental health institute, I am now back to painting and making some effort to complete the projects I start.

I am hoping that regular-ish posts and reviews will help with the quieter patches and if I make a habit of this I can end up with a place to put my thoughts straight.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below 🙂

The Walking Dead – All Out War Unboxing + Thoughts

Hey guys longish absence… I suck at social media quite frankly!

Anyhoo, I had this arrive yesterday:

Ooooh 😂

I have watched up to season 4 or 5 of the TV series but kinda fell out of love with it (no fun watching by yourself). But I enjoyed the stories and knew tangentially it was based on the comic. The game here takes from the comics, so if you are a TV series fan the characters may look really strange.

(Go read the comic, it’s awesome 😉)

Quick disclaimer, I do really like zombies and related media 🧟

So looking for a solo play experience, and something cool to paint, I was initially looking at buying Zombicide Black Plague, but this come up on my radar.

I have a chequered history with Mantic, the creators and publisher of the All Out War game. I had a huge chunk of Dreadball and Deadzone, loved the games but was a little… Meh on the models. I liked them and the designs, but the materials and casts were pretty rough and hard to work with. Didn’t stop me and the price point is excellent compared to the likes of GW and PP.

So here is a little tease… I’ll hit the minis last 😉

The box contains a fair amount of stuff, and the price at £25 including delivery suits my limited budget very well.

This is the rule book. Well presented and I hope it’s going to be easy to read and follow the intro campaign.

The cardboard punch-outs are nice and chunky with that wonderful fabric feel you get in the Fantasy Flight games. My only concern is the separation of the layers of card when you look at the edge of the pieces. I may end up buying the acrylic counters but if anyone reads this I feel it’s important to be upfront on this kind of thing (sorry Mantic).

Also mentioned on a BGG review is the threat tracker (looks like a spinner). The arrow is supposed to go up incrementally but it is very loose, so some padding may be required to stiffen it up.

I do love the ruler that has the necessary measurements marked out 👌

The cards:

So they all suffered from some kind of warping but I believe that is down to how skinny the card is, feels almost half the weight of the Fantasy Flight equivalent. I know this is the second time I have mentioned FF but I have quite a few of their games so its my most regular comparison.

The printing is excellent, fabric finish again, and fits the artwork of the comics very well!

The dice are unique to the game but everyone seems to be doing this, but at least the faces are very easy to read and only the yellow dice contains symbols that will require a reference nearby for the first few plays.

Now… A dice critique… They feel disappointingly light and cheap 🤔 sounds odd but when you are used to dice that have a heft and weight, this feels a little off! But I’m being very nitpicky here 🙄

Ok now for the minis; remember what I was used to from my earlier comments…

I am very pleased with the quality presented here! Hard plastic and very nicely detailed. There wasn’t much in the way of mould lines and for the most part the cleaned up very well.

I’m not sure precisely what plastic Mantic uses, but it doesn’t scrape away like the GW stuff does and I want to try some filing and sanding to see how clean I can get the miniatures. This is more a personal thing and the models are perfectly paintable and useable right from the box.

Here are some closer pics of the figures:

Brian Blake, before he becomes the Governor.

The male walkers, I especially love the one ‘feasting’ 😁

The female walkers. The variety of poses and style are fantastic!

I am so pleased with this box! I’m now itching to get the proper starter set and extras. I love these game lines that tie into a larger universe where there is a great deal to draw from. Lots of inspiration to collect and paint!!

Ok enough exclamation points 😅

A sensible conclusion: great price point with miniatures that exceeded expectations. Some of the materials are a little lacking, but at the amount I paid for this I cannot expect the same standards I would find with Fantasy Flight or Games Workshop.

Quick scale comparison:

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment on my review 😁

Castigators WIP

Hi friends and my apologies for the absence.

Sometimes you just hit that hobby block.

This was my progress last night and I really was not enjoying my work I had done.

It wasn’t until I painted the weapons that it all fell into place and the joy returned!!!!

Once these are done I shall be attempting the Nightgaunt 👍😋

Sequitors WIP

Top pic is the paints used and I have referenced the painting guide for an idea on how I want to paint these.

The plinth is painted ash grey, the surround and rim is dark stone, the comet sigil in weapon bronz and the leaves army green.

The only other feature here is the skull, painted in skeleton bone 😉

Next is dry brush and wash 👍

Sequitors WIP

Ok I’m now ready to start tackling the bases for my Sequitors…

I have removed the models from the base so I can at least make a half decent job on them!

Also I have used little blobs of blue tack to cover the glue points. I have made sure the primer coat is complete. I have used Army Painters Uniform Grey 👍