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Testing Inks, Washes and Speed Paint

Greetings, figurine stainers. A few days ago I began to paint some figures with Army Painter’s SpeedPaint paints, and I was disappointed in the nose. Some colors did not behave well at all. And this happens for not trying things before. So I put the poor bastards aside and set about preparing test subjects to test every ink and wash I’ve got.

Which will be better, contrast or washes? Let´s see!

To do this I took a handful of Cthulhu card game tiles, and made a black primer with a white overhead light, using an airbrush. The idea is that there is a little bit of black “underneath”, but that the overall color is white to make it easier for the inks and washes to do their thing.

Also note that I’ve tried to balance the white level a bit in the photos, but haven’t had much success, so overall the colors look a bit lighter than they do on hand.

all testers for paints

TESTING SPEEDPAINTS BY ARMY PAINTER

Army Painter’s alternative to GW’s Contrast paints, with a similar approach, paint in a single layer and get highlights and shadows without doing anything else. I thought highly of them before trying them, but have been a bit disappointed. Some colors are very intense and fluid (too much, as we will see later) and others are dense, opaque, ugly… And there is the issue of reactivation. I have the basic box of ten colors, and we see them in detail.

Blood Red SpeedPaint

blood red speedpaint army painter testing
Blood Red – Good color, covers evenly and leaves a resounding “red”, not pinkish.

Crusader Skin SpeedPaint

crushader skin testing
Crusader Skin – A thick, slightly fluid color. The finish is uneven, adequate and dark in the deep areas but barely covers the exposed areas.

Zealot Yellow SpeedPaint

zealot yellow speedpaint army painter testing
Leaves orange tones, which may not be what you are looking for when applying yellow. Very fluid, and therefore difficult to control without staining adjoining areas. Good coverage, nice color.

Pallid Bone SpeedPaint

testing pallid bone speed paint
A little yellowish/ochreous where it accumulates, but the dirty bone effect is adequate. If you’re looking for a more whitish bone, look at other options.

Highlord Blue SpeedPaint

highlord blue speedpaint test army painter
Very thick color, but the finish is very good, with a nice dark blue in the shadows and a slightly lighter blue in the highlights. Still the overall color is dark. Good coverage.

Ork Skin SpeedPaint

orc skin speedpaint army painter testing
Good coverage, beautiful, intense color. Leaves good light and shadow effect.

Gravelord Gray SpeedPaint

testing gravelord grey speedpaint
A bit thick to apply, but gives a nice “paint black” effect with just one coat.

Fire Giant Orange SpeedPaint

Fire Giant Orange SpeedPaint testing
Poor coverage over dark areas, where the black color of the primer shows through, but covers well over white and leaves a nice orange.

Hardened Leather SpeedPaint

Hardened Leather SpeedPaint test
 Leaves a nice leather color and covers evenly.

Hive Dweller Purple SpeedPaint

Hive Dweller Purple SpeedPaint
It is the color that made me give up painting the critters and start doing this experiment. Very dense, very thick, like spreading the mini with jam. And the color is so dark that in your hand it looks like you’ve done a very light dry brush of dark purple on black.
The problem with SpeedPaint is reactivation . If you apply another paint, or a thinner, or water… on top of a layer of SpeedPaint paint, you run the risk that the already dry paint will reactivate, and become fluid again, mixing and moving as if it had just been applied.
speedpaint army painter problems

On this miniature I applied Zealot Yellow to the buboes on the back. Over twelve hours later, I used Vallejo Aero Black to cover it up, and went back to Vallejo Aero White. To my surprise, the yellow comes out above the black and white layer, to claim its territory. And as you can see, when I originally applied it, it bled quite a bit out of its zone. And after two layers of color on top, there it is. And by the way, piece mold line in the middle to round the image U_U

Reactivation is prevented by varnishing, for example. Which is very inconvenient if you are painting a mini and you need to “lock” the color layer to continue working the area (or illuminate what has already been painted). On the other hand, if you’re into improvisation and cool fading of colors, paints that don’t sit and remix like crazy can be wonderful for glazes and fades.

VALLEJO INKS

Vallejo inks are a contemporary classic. Although it seems to me that today, they are going to be replaced by the new range of «game» paint, so it will be difficult to find them in the near future. I bought them in a box of 8 colors.

These are inks, not all-in-one painting solutions like SpeedPaint, Dipping (which we will see later) and Contrast. In general, with Vallejo inks the finish is matte, except for a couple of cases where I indicate otherwise.

Red 72086

red 72086 vallejo test
Good coverage overall, but a bit “lightens” in the most exposed areas.

Violet 72087

violet 72087 test
The finish is dark and intense, not like the photo that has been very light.

Green Black 72090

vallejo 72090 test
Good coverage, a nice, dark color. It shades beautifully and works as an all-in-one solution (similar to contrast) if you’re looking for something like that.

Blue 72088

vallejo blue 72088 test
Quite pale in exposed areas, but very dark in areas where it deposits and accumulates. Somewhat glossy finish, unlike other Vallejo inks.

Skin Wash 72093

skin wash 72093 vallejo test
For a “skin” color, it leaves a very orange tone. Somewhat shiny finish where it is deposited.

Yellow 72085

yellow 72085 vallejo test
GREAT, intense color, great coverage, the yellow tone is vibrant and pretty (no washed out yellow). The best of Vallejo inks.

Black 72094

Testing Inks, Washes and Speed Paint 1
Covers evenly in a single coat with the required shade of black, not greyish.

Green 72089

vallejo green 72089 test
A nice ‘grass’ shade of green, it does lighten a bit in some very exposed areas but covers pretty well overall.

AK Interactive Inks

I purchased these inks to complement the third generation AK paints. For some unknown reason, they don’t have yellow ink (or I haven’t been able to find it). AK’s page is obtuse and its search engine absurd, so I had to go through the entire range of paintings until I realized that I couldn’t find it. Adding more drop-down branches to the search engine, for example, discriminating within the third generation paints the inks, metallics, etc… would be very good, instead of having to review the 500 paints that are within the range “acrylic third generation”.

In general, the finish of AK inks is glossy, so you have to take this into account.

Sepia Ink AK11219

testing septia ink AK 1219
The ink is very thick and the finish is pitch black rather than sepia, and it is hard to see a slight dark brown on the black.

Turquoise Ink AK1220

Turquoise Ink AK1220 testing
Beautiful vibrant deep turquoise color, covers perfectly.

Skin Ink AK11221

Skin Ink AK11221
The finish is dark pinkish, a far cry from the “flesh” color indicated by the name. Little coverage capacity, thinning in exposed areas. The glossy finish makes it even more inadvisable as a “flesh ink”, it looks unreal on the “skin”.

Carbon Ink AK11233

Carbon Ink AK11233 test
The result is dark gray rather than black, and with a glossy finish, between graphite and anthracite. At least with the name they have nailed it, it looks like charcoal (and that’s good).
 

Purple Ink AK1224

Purple Ink AK1224 test
Vibrant and intense color, covers well on white but turns to bluish gray on dark areas. The finish is almost matte, unlike other AK inks.

Dark Green Ink AK1226

Dark Green Ink AK1226 test
VERY dark green color, it is very thick but covers well and lightens very little in exposed areas.

Penetrating Red Ink AK11227

Penetrating Red Ink AK11227 TEST
Red with poor coverage, on white it lightens a little and on black it reveals a dark gray. Where it is deposited well, it leaves a correct red, not pinkish.

Night Blue Ink AK11228

Night Blue Ink AK11228 test
Very dark blue that covers perfectly, in the exposed areas it turns a slightly lighter but equally intense blue. If the glossy finish is acceptable, it’s a good blue.

I like the way AK does things and a lot of their products, but these inks need improvement. On the one hand, at the “branding” level, I have plenty of stage names. I prefer that the inks remain red, blue, green… while penetrating red or night blue, they don’t do me much good. In the immense range of colors that they have, I understand, because there are dozens of blues, and reds. But in ink, taking into account that they can get at most two or three of each color, with a red (and in his case, a “dark red”) it was enough for me. On the other hand, there are some whose color is very different from what is expected by their name (sepia and sienna, I look at you).

And why don’t they have yellow ink? ^_^

Glossy finish is another topic, we put up with it in the old days because it was what it was, but nowadays the company that has a great product like “ultra matte varnish” also sells gloss finish inks. It would be nice if in a future development the inks were as good as the paints, and with a matte finish. That if you want shine later, there are varnishes and lacquers to give it.

One thing I forgot about badabaduuu … while other inks and washes “smear” when I put them on a paint palette, making a little puddle, the AK inks “swirl”, like a fat drop, which makes me think that their surface tension is very high, and that must affect their behavior for sure (although not badly, because they spread perfectly on the miniature). In times we used to put a drop of soap in the ink pot to deal with it, and favor the dispersion. I repeat, there is no problem to distribute the ink, but it seems curious to me and that is why I comment it out loud.

Well na, if the people of AK read me, they already have things to discuss about new products. And if they’re not working on it yet, ACRYLIC WASHES! Enamel and oil is fine, but I don’t want another thinner and other brushes for my shit, I want acrylic products to complement my acrylic paints. Take note, gentlemen of AK.

ARMY PAINTER QUICKSHADE WASHES

These Army Painter washes are the acrylic version of their varnish pots for dipping minis, the famous technique that AP’s patented and that is still the usual bitumen, but made easy. I can already tell you that these washes are very good at what they do. These colors bounced into a big color box and I didn’t think I’d use them, having the Quickshade pots. But after trying them, they seem very nice.

Flesh Wash

testing flesh wash
A nice brown flesh color, doesn’t cover much on white but gives just enough color and shades perfectly.

Soft Tone

testing soft tone the army painter
Gives a light brown color, which shades evenly.

Strong Tone

strong tone the army painter test
Gives a dark brown tone, which unfortunately has been “grey” in the image. Like the previous ones, it covers evenly.

Dark Tone

dark tone the army painter test
Leaves a black color with a slight hint of dark brown, shades perfectly and evenly, and works as an all-in-one paint for a dark gray – black look.

GREEN STUFF WORLD DIPPING INK WASHES

This product is a recent novelty, and from the reviews I’ve seen it has very nice colors and pretty MEH colors! I bought four colors, looking for a cheap wash to stain minis. The main feature of this product, what put it in my cart, is that the 60ml bottle costs five arcane leuros (four and a half with a “promotional” price), which makes it the cheapest non-home wash.

It is advertised as other all-in-one paint but works more like a classic wash, staining and shading. The finish is uniform, matte and shades perfectly. At first I got four neutral colors, but in the future I will buy some primaries to test things. This formula does not reactivate once dry, so they can be easily lightened or repainted.

3481 Papyrus DIP Green Stuff

3481 Papyrus Green Stuff testing
The result is dirty yellowish. It is not very good for bone (too yellowish) but it is good for dirtying fabrics or leathers.

3491 Elfwood Brown DIP Green Stuff

3491 Elfwood Brown DIP Green Stuff testing
Dark brown, ideal for old wood or dirty floors.

Black Shadow DIP Green Stuff

Black Shadow DIP Green Stuff testing
This color was supposed to be the ‘black’ of the range, but is actually a dark grey-green. It doesn’t exist now, because they’ve renamed it Green Stone, which helps you not buy it thinking it’s black. They have also released a real black, the 3697 Deep Black. To stain stones and buildings (and other things), I think it’s great.

3492 Skeleton Brown DIP Green Stuff

3492 Skeleton Brown DIP Green Stuff testing
Another color that does not go well for painting bone, no matter how much it is called “skeleton”, but it is ideal for leather, fur… it is a light brown.

I have yet to try more GSW dipping paints, such as black, the red-blue-yellow triad, and some other secondary color (green-orange-purple). And I don’t think they work like “paints.” But as washes, to paint over grisaille, and for quality, quantity and price, I think they are a great option. In fact, right now it is the best option on the market with its 60ml bottles at five and a half euros. If they don’t get greedy, they have a winning product.

VALLEJO WASHES IN LARGE FORMAT

This Vallejo product was quite unknown, however I saw it in a traditional modeling store (not wargames). Let’s just say it’s Vallejo’s alternative to Army Painter’s Quickshade. It is an acrylic wash in a 200 ml bottle, and with two colors, sepia and black. You have to shake it well (it decants and separates the pigment from the solvent, which is outrageous) and after shaking it makes plenty of bubbles. But it works great and has a very nice price of about 10 euros a bottle… if you find them. I think it’s a discontinued line from Vallejo, and you’ll see it in fine arts or modeling stores, but with slow replacement.

These washes work perfectly, and shade beautifully. If I have to put a “but” on them, it is that they have to be moved quite a bit with the brush after applying them, to eliminate bubbles or distribute it well and not affect the result by leaving stains or marks.

Vallejo Game Wash 73301 Black

testing Vallejo Game Wash 73301 Black
Applied “neat”, shades beautifully in black/dark gray tone. I don’t usually use it straight from the bottle because the finish is intense.
Testing Inks, Washes and Speed Paint 2
The same product, but reduced to 50%. I lower it with glass cleaner, but the most judicious thing is to do it with water. I use it diluted because I apply it to almost everything, and on color, the “neat” wash leaves a very intense black patina. With the diluted wash I manage to shade without making too much of a mess.

Vallejo Game Wash 73300 Sepia

Vallejo Game Wash 73300 Sepia testing
The result is a medium brown, not too dark.
Testing Inks, Washes and Speed Paint 3
The same product, but reduced to 50%. I use this for all kinds of colors because being reduced does not dirty as much. I use it mostly on warm colors, where “black” color (even diluted) stains the color a lot. With this one, the color is dirty but not too dirty ^_^

Well this is it. I go back to the painting table, which I have to continue where I left the little monsters.

Hey, to do things. Greetings and paint.

suscribe image miniaure painting

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