So, apparently soon you can pre-order the new set of Citadel paints from GW. It has a wide selection of Base colours (previously Foundation, I guess?), new washes (now called Shades), 70 different Layer colours (the old Colours) and then some new stuff like a selection of Dry colours for easy drybrushing, Textures for painting of bases and Glazes whose function I'm unsure. Also, four different Technicals which include medium to create new colours, gloss varnish, primer-in-a-pot and liquid green stuff.

I'm feeling positive as a larger choice of colours is a good thing and my local gaming shop only sells Citadel paints. I don't like the name changes, though. I'm glad that the selection of metallic paints got bigger, as now you have both "base" metals and "layer" metals.

These will probably get some time to get used to, but at the moment I'm optimistic. (Also, as I'm quite new to the whole hobby, I don't have any special attachment to the old colours...)

Your thoughts?

The thing that got me was there is a base gold metallic. So happy! No more gabillion coats of gold to get it right!.

I've just returned from my time with the new paints and thought I would share my thoughts.

First off, I was annoyed that I could not use my own model. I took my own brushes and a white-primed arrer boy with me with the intent of trying a bunch of stuff and then posting some photos when I got home. I was informed I would not be allowed to use my own model.

Instead, I used a black-primed Gandalf - lots of different textures to experiment with. I also used the texture paint on a base on another pre-approved sprue.

The short of it is that the paints I got to use seem...decent.

The white did cover black fairly well on one pass. Then again, my whites often do. The problem I have with white is that it clumps in the jar pretty quickly. We'll see if this new white does that.

I applied the white to half of Gandalf's cloak so I could see the difference between covering white and black with other colors.

The test paints included a Base red and a Base blue along with two Layer blues. The Bases covered well enough, but there was _definitely_ still a difference between the colors over black and over white. I'll be sticking with white primer, thankyouverymuch. There was no yellow to test.

There was also a wash of red and a wash of blue to try. They did go on smoothly and provide instant basic shading. Like the current (for a bit longer yet) washes, these will not replace actual careful shading and highlighting, but if you are a gamer first and a painter second, these will help get your armies on the table faster.

There were a few of the Dry paints to try, including what looks like a medium silver. I opened it to cover the sword I had painted dark silver earlier and was disheartened to see that despite shaking it up, the dryness was too much. It really did feel like paint that had dried out as opposed to a special kind of paint. I gave it a try anyway. It worked fine, but my fear is that if this paint _starts_ this dry, it's going to have a very limited shelf life.

The textured paint worked well enough. Again, it feels like it will serve a need for gamer-first people and not so much for painter-first people. it dried much more slowly than other paints, but did take a drybrushing well when dry.

One other note on the washes. They have a bottle style that differs from the others. I think I liked it.

So, there you go.

I was planning to pick up the entire range as a package deal, but after trying it, I will not. Not because it's not good paint, but rather because I don't see myself using the washes as they seem to intent them to be used, nor do I see myself ever using the Dry or Texture paints. Since the set does not give a break on the paint cost (giving you a carrrying case that I don't need instead), it's just not a good deal for me.

I will probably buy some individual paints as needed, but the idea I contemplated of replacing my disparate paint collection with a unified new range is no longer an option.

Bottom line: Good stuff, but not going to revolutionize the hobby as we know it.

Wow, thanks for your thoughts on hands-on experimentation, Sleboda! Did you get to try those Glaze paints or can you clarify what their purpose is?

Glazing and shading are 2 very different techniques and as such they have 2 different sets of colours for the tasks.

As for the dry paints being dry, they're for drybrushing so heavy in pigment and low in medium.

All in all I've found that they are great if you're inexperienced - intermediate painter who wants an easy step by step introduction to painting armies to get them ready for gaming. Levels above that and there's not anything that's groundbreaking here.

I tried them out and then went back to my independent stockist (I get a discount there ;) ) and bought a load of the current paints so I think that says enough about my thoughts on them.

Also the reason for this change is that the paints are no longer being outsourced and being made by someone for GW, now all the paints etc are produced in-house and all the names have been trademarked.

My thoughts exactly there n1ghtl1fe; the new range with many intermediate colours takes a lot of the mixing out of the process and makes a multiple layered technique quite a bit easier for new/intermediate painters. I feel like its really holding your hand though; but I guess with 40k being the cash-cow and the majority of those players (in my experience) younger wargamers/painters, it will certainly appeal to that demographic.

Personally I was quite impressed with the new dry paints; they were a bit like a mousse in consistency!

As for the name changes, talking to a GW employee its due to them changing company and the previous supplier negotiations broke down and they refused to sell them the rights for the paint names (despite GW owning words like Ultramarine!) so they had to change them all now they are making the paints themselves.

i do think the textures are gonna be pretty sweet but the sleeper hit should be the lahmian medium. thats going to make painting a whole lot easier. I also like the primer in a bottle.

My short reviews from yesterday:

That being said, I went out and picked up a ton of the current washes, as my Tomb Kings depend on this formula and not the new ones!

With everything being different, it effectively seals off and ends any of my old armies, as now nothing will match. However, the range is great for starting a brand new army with new colors...perhaps what they were trying to do? I also disagree with the notion that they are "dumbing down" painting with all of these. Rather, they are giving everyone the ability to make good-looking armies while giving the painting vets so many more tools to experiment with and produce even better looking armies.

Overall, this is my opinion:

Thumbs up:
- Expanded range - 10 new blues, 8 greens, 7 greys, 6 browns, and assorted 3-1 of every other color, plus 3 pinks! Pinks are back, huzzah.

- Glazes are awesome.

- Textured paints will make scenery (not bases) a breeze, as well as vastly improve the look of foam-board or any other flat-surfaced terrain.

- Medium. Dunno what to use it for yet, but I'm sure something will work.

Thumbs down:
- Drys. I can produce the exact same effect with every color; just gotta let it dry out a little.

- The move of some previous Foundations to Layers, and vice versa. I guess it doesn't truly matter, but egh...

GTFO bad ideas:
- Renaming everything, including those that already had GW-trademarked names.

- Reformulating every color so that nothing matches anything previous.

Now I gotta experiment and find out for sure. I only use a handful of GW paints .. but the ones I use are pretty important to me. I will need to make sure they havent changed.

Devlan Mud, Mechrite Red, Boltgun metal. I pray they havent changed.

Repeat after me: they all have changed. Maybe not significantly, but the bare fact is that the entire range is all-new formulas.

You say that like its a bad thing, yea sure the ones we had there equivalents might be slightly diffrent but we got lots more options now for colours.

Sure...but any old schemes that depended on old colors are all out the window ;)

This is the reason I went out and cleared out my local GW and independent stockist on certain colours. I also picked up a pot of Hawk Turquoise even though I don't use it, figured someone might need a pot in a few weeks/months time and I'll have a brand new pot to sell to them lol.