Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

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Nightcall
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Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Nightcall »

I've been having a few problems with the new GW paints, namely, some of the mixtures have been very thick, and even thinning down with water leaves a mini's surface looking streaky at best, or at worst, pitted. A smooth surface for a base and mid-tone doesn't seem to be happening with this new system. This results in issues such as dry brushed faces looking chalky, or that the mini has a case of the pox!

I've been advised to get some Coat D'Arms paints, as these are rumoured to be the company that made the GW paints before the range before this range! ... if that makes any sense. !lol! http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=21_39&sort=0a&page=1&osCsid=a358c67bdac0b5a8cc967479035defb3

Has anyone else used these? Thoughts please.
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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faeli-n
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by faeli-n »

This is completely in the opposite direction, but when I asked this question I was recommended the Vallejo Game Colour, so I swapped to some of those and have found them great.
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by taggart »

From my very limited experiance i would say Vallejo as well , the game colour and model air range brush paint very well . They have got a vast aray of colours in those two ranges and also the standard model range . ( Lot of ranges there :? )

If you are not buying local i would suggest Element Games , they hold good stocks and the delivery is very fast . Avoid Wayland Games at all costs , waited three weeks for an order to turn up , gave up and got my money refunded in the end .
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Nuriochi_sol »

With what little painting I do, I find P3 to be a very good range. It has a high pigment count, covers very well, and thins well. However, I'd say if you're a more-advanced painter, you'd probably want Vallejo - I'm just impatient and want good, fast coverage. So P3 is a gamer's paint, imo. Worth a try. Their new metals are fantastic (black label, not white) and the skin tones are smooth.

Tl;dr I'm not an expert painter. P3 is great for me. YMMV.
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Enkiel
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Enkiel »

I use Vallejo Model Air. Consistency is nearly perfect for brush uses. Also use GW's Citadel, but with alot of medium.
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Dyvim tvar »

I use P3 and think it is a great range, but the colors are not directly equivalent to GW. As a result, it can be hard to work P3 paints in to your process piecemeal as your GW paints run out.
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by MangoPunch »

I use a 1:1:2 mix of Matte Medium : FLow Improver : Water. With it I have no issue (other than my lack of skill) with even super diluted GW or Vallejo paints. I found the recipe on some painting blog, but can't remember which. These are the products I use:

Matte Medium

Flow Improver

For like $14 you can make your GW paints usable at any consistency including wash or glaze... no need to spend tons of money on all new paints.
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Nightcall
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Nightcall »

Thanks for the advice, feedback, and comments.

I'm at a point whereby I'm about to start a couple of armies from scratch, so am looking around for some new paints to invest in. We have a load of the old Citadel paints at home which I adore, but a lot of these are drying out now due to old age, and no amount of water and shaking the contents of these post will save them.
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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Sarathalu
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Sarathalu »

The other brand you may want to try is Army Painter. Generally speaking I find that a lot of their colors are similar to GW's. They have some pretty good specialty sprays and (conveniently enough) have bottled versions of the same colors so that you can touch up anything that you missed with the can. I've tried their Dragon Red (for my Word Bearers and World Eaters), and Angels Green (for my Dark Angels) and have been pretty happy with the outcome of each.
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Khaelakh Nightblade
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Khaelakh Nightblade »

Nightcall,

I have both the Coat D'Arms and Privateer Press' P3 paints, and they are essentially the same. If it's easier to obtain P3 in your area, you may want to test them to see how you like - they should give you a good indication as to how the CDA paints will work or not for you (however, I assume since you're in England, CDA are probably easier to obtain for you than P3).

Having said that, since there might be more online painting articles or reviews for P3 than CDA, I'd say reading those should give you an idea of what to expect from the Coat D'Arms range.

Some background: Mike McVey is the man responsible for designing the P3 paint line. He was also responsible for designing the Games Workshop Citadel paint line that the Coat D'Arms fantasy paint range is based off of. All three of these paint lines (CDA, P3, classic GW) are manufactured by the same British company, HMG Paints (who also supply the Foundry Paints line, in case you've any experience with them).

The standard (non-metallic, non-inks) colors essentially match. Some of the P3 equivalents appear slightly darker, but the difference is negligible and (to me) not noticeable unless you hold the bottles side by side. The P3 metallics are a bit more different, especially after they were reformulated a couple years ago (the new formula metals are in black-label bottles), but as far as I can tell both range's metals are close enough to make any P3 review you see a reliable guide for CDA's as well.

Also, depending on how old your GW paint range is, there's also eBay. I wouldn't trust any of the paints from the "bolter shell bottle" era - these seem to dry out regardless of care or lack of opening. If your paints are from the older P3 style bottle (or similar hexagonal bottle), a lot of these (used or still sealed) are routinely available from eBay sellers. You'll pay more, but it's an option.
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Amboadine »

Firstly welcome. Nice first post.
Some good helpful advice and the background lesson is appreciated.
Good to have paint options and this thread is becoming useful to me too as I have just unboxed my paints from storage and they are not looking good. Time for a new set.
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Nightcall
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Nightcall »

Thanks again for the recommendations. Khaelakh, that is very interesting indeed. I've discovered a hobby shop in the next city to us, and rumour has it that they sell both of these, and Vallejo. My best bet is to go up there and see them in the flesh. I am always wary of buying my materials by mail order, unless it is a tried and trusted item. Otherwise it can be an expensive mistake.

It would be wonderful to get my hands on a pot of the old Citadel type Shining Gold again. The new ones are far too brassy for my liking.
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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Khaelakh Nightblade
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Khaelakh Nightblade »

Nightcall,

I don't know if it's bad form to directly link to another forum, so I won't, but DakkaDakka has a "Paint Range Compatibility Chart" (should be easy to Google) that shows the nearest equivalencies across new and old Citadel, Vallejo, Reaper, P3, and Coat d'Arms.

For Shining Gold, it recommends Vallejo's Polished Gold, Coat d'Arms' Bright Gold (which should be a pretty close match), P3's Solid Gold, and if you can find it, Reaper's Antique Gold.

Obviously it's a matter of personal taste as to whether any of those are a close enough match to work for you, but hopefully at least one of them might fit your tastes.

Amboadine, thanks for the kind words!
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Nightcall
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Re: Coat D'Arms Paints - Verdict Please

Post by Nightcall »

Thanks again! I have taken the plunge and invested in Vallejo. I bought my first 24 pots of paint two days ago. I will give them a whirl with my Blood Vestals and see how I get on.
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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