By Dirty Jon Baber
Battlefront recently sent us some of their new paints for review. With all of the convention activity going on, I am just now getting around to taking a look at them. I had a chance to use the German spray paint and the German armor paint set. The spray can retails for $12 USD.
In looking at the text on the can, it is referred to as 'primer', so I just sprayed it on the models with no undercoat. I was quite happy with the paint, as it went on smooth and only needed two coats to get a nice, deep color. When shaking the can, I was thinking that the paint seemed 'thin', but the coverage was just fine.
Battlefront recently sent us some of their new paints for review. With all of the convention activity going on, I am just now getting around to taking a look at them. I had a chance to use the German spray paint and the German armor paint set. The spray can retails for $12 USD.
In looking at the text on the can, it is referred to as 'primer', so I just sprayed it on the models with no undercoat. I was quite happy with the paint, as it went on smooth and only needed two coats to get a nice, deep color. When shaking the can, I was thinking that the paint seemed 'thin', but the coverage was just fine.
The five paint pots are $15 USD. In the paint set, you get four pots with 12ml each, and one of Panther Yellow with 20ml. For a comparison, the old Vallejo pots are 17ml each. This new system assumes that everyone will purchase the Quartermasters Paint Set, which goes for $30 USD for ten different paints - purchasing just the German Armour Paint Set will NOT get you enough paints to fully paint your tanks.
I found the paint to be a little weird from a consistency standpoint. The only word I can use to describe it is 'gel'. The paint has a very different texture from the Vallejo that I am accustomed to. The coverage was thin, and I did not find it as good as the old stuff - it worked with two coats, but I was not super-excited about it.
The bullet-tops are just stupid. I am guessing they add to the cost of the bottles as well. I DO like the shape of the bottle tips - they seemed to help me aim the paint better when getting it out of the bottle.
The base coat of yellow was quite good and matched the color in the bottle perfectly.
I used the Boot Brown for the camo on the tanks. I did have to use the old Valejo stuff for the green, as that was not included in this paint set.
The shade was not bad at all. I used it straight on the model with no gloss coat. I think it turned out fine. The texture of this shade was also kind of gel-like and it went on a bit thick and required some manipulation, but not much. It is different from what I normally use, but does give a good result. I think these tanks look great, and certainly blend in with my previous efforts.
Conclusion: 2.5 of 5 Panzerfausts
I found the paints to be somewhat thin on coverage. The gel-like consistency was very weird and uneven. It wasn't like I could not apply the paint, but it was two coats, for sure. The bottles are kinda stupid-looking and they are clearly different paints. Only the 20ml bottles are larger and taller than the old ones. If you buy these, your stuff will look fine. You will also be able to follow along with the new guidance in the books, which is a good thing.
If you are a collector of the previous paints, there is really no reason to switch. For me, I like being able to basically buy my paints from Vallejo online and from basically any hobby store. I won't be switching to the new stuff, but I won't be avoiding it either. These paints get the job done for a reasonable value. I will be all over the sprays, as they are terrific.
Paint provided by Battlefront Miniatures.
