Citadel Ultimate Paint Set: Worth a Try?

October 29, 2012 7 Comments

Games Workshop is gearing up for Christmas. With the latest White Dwarf, they unveiled more new releases than I can count. One that piqued my interest is their Citadel Ultimate Paint Set. 144 different paints. Some new ‘Eavy Metal Edge Paints for final highlights. I haven’t used Games Workshop paints in years. Now I wonder if I should give them a try.

Games Workshop’s Citadel Paints & Me

Back in the days of yore, I made an experience with Citadel paints that might be familiar to others who started out with Games Workshop games in their childhood or teenage years. I got some cool sci-fi soldiers for Warhammer 40K. I needed to paint them. The logical conclusion was to buy some of the Citadel paints from the shelf right next to them.

During those early steps in miniature painting, I blotched them on my miniatures without thinning. I threw away dozens having barely used them, after they dried to a thick brick in their little pots. I spilled the stuff all over my painting desk in thick stains.

It is most probably not even a fault of Citadel Paints, more my clumsiness and lacking care for the paints. Nevertheless, the moment I tried to become more organized about my painting, I moved away from Games Workshop paints (brushes, glues, etc..).

For better or worse, ‘Citadel’ remained my association with those early, excited, but ultimately horrid days of painting. Other brands have been my go-to choice for painting miniatures ever after.

Citadel’s new line of paints was introduced last year, though I didn’t really take much notice. I wonder if I should have.

‘Eavy Metal Edge Paints and the Ultimate Paint Set

Games Workshop Citadel Ultimate Paint Set

It seems to me that Games Workshop put some serious effort into making their new paint-range easy to use to paint miniatures. Professional paint-mixers probably won’t need it. Yet, it does seem like a nice thing to have all the options ready from the paint-pot.

Games Workshop’s new “Edge Paint Set” is a good example. They are a variant set of paints that seem to match their dry-brush colours in shade, but with a different consistency for edge highlights. Again, it’s not a “must-have” thing for painting your miniatures. But it sure sounds like a nice thing to have for convenience.

‘Eavy Metal Edge Paint Set

Which is where the Ultimate Paint Set comes in too. The entire package gives you roughly 15% off from buying the paints individually. And if you buy them from a discounter such as Wayland Games, you will likely find more discounts on top.

Of course, you’re buying a large package with lots of exotic paints. The main complaint I’ve seen is that most people will rarely use the more unusual paints, yet quickly run out of the default colours for their armies; say Dark Angel green for a Dark Angels army.

Ironically, this is part of the appeal to me. Even with double-discounts applied, these paints are still hideously expensive. If I’d wanted to start a Dark Angels army, I’d likely still get my basic greens, red and white elsewhere. Yet the Ultimate Paint sets looks like a tempting box to buy yourself a “paints library” of unusual colours.

Citadel Ultimate Paint Set

Did Games Workshop pique your interest with their new paints, and the Ultimate Paint Set in particular? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Leave a comment below!

http://www.facebook.com/roccoisnotagrue Rocco Davis

To be honest mate, the paints haven’t interested me in a long time. Too much of it and too much is situational at the best. Yes, you get something like 11 pinks. I can’t think of where I could possibly need it in the near future. Furthermore, since the introduction of these paints the standard and quality of any painting guide article has gone so far south it isn’t even funny.
- http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid
  
  Hmm.. by ‘painting guide article’ you mean those by GW I presume?
  
  Heard lots of horrible stuff about their iPad/iPhone Painting guides..
  - http://www.facebook.com/roccoisnotagrue Rocco Davis
    
    Pretty much. Those and the WD guides are gone now. Just 4 photographs, a brush name and a paint name. Gone are the paint mix ratios, the detailed description of techniques and their uses, the very idea of even mixing paints or even the idea of using techniques in a different way.
    - http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid
      
      Well. I guess the entire idea of this huge paint range was to make mixing paints a thing of the past as you have a pot for “every” shade you’d ever want.
      
      But other (basic) techniques gone seems odd.
      - http://twitter.com/belverker belverker
        
        The painting techniques aren’t described in the White Dwarf anymore because they want you to buy their how to Paint Citidel Miniatures book as it describes all of the techniques they mention in those little painting articles. I personally like the new way they are doing the painting articles especially for beginners, before if you followed their guides it seemed to mix a few steps together so if you were new yours wouldn’t look anything like the finished one in the magazine, now you follow the step by step guide and your mini will look close to what they are showing. I fully expect them to bring the master class articles back but I think what they are doing now is better for every issue, and yes the extension of the range was to reduce the amount of mixing required (think it was discussed in the white dwarf when they relaunched the paints)
        
        This is the first time I have actually heard people say they dislike the new painting guides, from beginners and expert painters alike I have heard nothing but praise…maybe I hang around too many fan boys
      - http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid
        
        I just vaguely remember some scathing reviews about the iPad painting ebooks when they first came out.
        
        Given, that might as well have been criticisms directed at the costs of those apps, the presentation, whatever.. not necessarily a “pure” criticism of them as a guide to paint miniatures.
        
        I’ll see if I can dig it up again, but it’s been a while.
      - http://twitter.com/belverker belverker
        
        Fair enough I don’t have an iPad so haven’t looked at their extended digital catalogue. But from what I have heard some of their pricing in that regard is a little weird.