The new Army Painter miniature paint is here to give James Workshop value for money

For as long as I can remember, The Army Painter products have been rated as a bit hit and miss by those in the painting community. Some colors were just okay, while others were best avoided completely. However, that has all changed in recent years. Now the Denmark-based company is once again a competitor in the space. Both new paint lines give market leader Games Workshop a run for their money, with the latest available to the public for the first time this week.

Army Painter’s fortunes began to turn in 2022 when it launched its line of Speedpaint, specially diluted formulations designed to compete with Games Workshop’s revolutionary line of Citadel Contrast paints. Although the first line had technical issues, the redesigned Speedpaint 2.0 now works consistently and well. It provides a base color in one layer and highlights when applied with a brush, making it a viable alternative to Games Workshop’s Contrast. It also works well with an airbrush, where the particularly thin consistency is excellent for creating subtle tones and shadows.

The big surprise, however, is the Speedpaint 2.0 metallic paints – something Games Workshop can’t compete with.

I’ve been playing with them on and off for a month now, and I’m impressed with the amount of coverage they provide out of the bottle. With Games Workshop metallics I’m used to having to apply two, sometimes even three thin, patchy coats to get the kind of coverage I’m looking for. With Speedpaint 2.0 it is virtually a one-off.

Working with models that have as much bling as the Dark Angels above will really save you time. But you need to be aware of how the color and finish of your undercoat will affect the end result. I found that Speedpaint 2.0 Golden Armor applied over Citadel Caliban Green had a rich, glossy sheen. But when I applied it over Vallego Game Color Heavy Charcoal – a notoriously matte paint often used for creating shadows and contours under details – the finish became noticeably duller. To learn more about how undercoats affect your models, check out competition painter Vince Venturella’s deep dive on Youtube.

Meanwhile, Monday, April 22nd is the street date for the all-new line of standard acrylic paint from The Army Painter called Warpaints fanatic. That means you can find them for sale at your local hobby store for the first time, while supplies available online at places like Amazon can finally be shipped.

While I haven’t had the chance to work with these new Fanatic paints myself yet, initial feedback from YouTube painters has been extremely positive. Check out the preview Goobertown Hobbiestrue miniature painter (en Ph.D. chemist) Brent Amberger paints a handful of models with the new starter set.

The Army Painter’s Warpaints Fanatic sets range from the monstrous, limited edition Complete Set that applies to $759 on its website ($695 on Amazon), to a small starter set for approx $40. The sweet spot, however, is something like the Mega Set which offers 50 paints $199.99 ($180 on Amazon).

For more information on painting miniatures, check out Polygon’s complete guide.