Army Painter Speedpaints: First Impressions

Recently I decided to pick up Army Painters new Speedpaints to see how they worked. The starter set seemed really reasonably priced, and with how much these undercut Contrast Paints, they seemed like a worthwhile option.

The Good

So let’s kick it off with the good. The starter set has a decent range of colours, although a black would have been appreciated. Painting up some minis by Highlands Miniatures, I found the paint to work very much like Contrast Paints.

The first layers went down quickly, and overall the coverage was really impressive. I didn’t need to go back in and do a second coat or anything. The yellow in particular really stood out, but other colours really popped as well.

Perhaps the best thing about the finish is how smooth it looks. On the cloth of my minis, I didn’t get any tide marks, and the overall consistency just looks fantastic.

The Army Painter Speedpaints come in dropper bottles, some people will love this, some will hate them. Personally, I don’t like them for this kind of paint, purely because I always ended up putting too much on my palet. If you’re going to be using them in an airbrush, then this kind of bottle shines, and you don’t have to worry about knocking the pot over and spilling it everywhere.

The Bad

They’re wet! These paints are so much more runny than contrast paints. Granted, this leads to a nice, smooth finish, but you’re going to need more brush control because these paints run all over if you apply too much. I caught myself holding my minis at odd angles to stop the paint from spilling over onto other areas, and all in all, it required a lot more attention during the paint process.

This also led to much longer drying time. With Contrast Paints, I’ve always found that I can move onto the next colour pretty quickly, but that’s not the case here. You’ll need to let each colour dry for a lot longer, or else you’ll blend your colours and make a mess.

Although I didn’t experience it during my first painting session, there are a lot of reports about these paints reactivating. I can definitely believe this after seeing how runny they are, and a workaround is a layer of varnish, but that kind of defeats the speed paint name.

Worth It?

So, are they worth it? Well I really enjoyed using them. They have their faults, but for the most part, they are a cheaper alternative to contrast paints and help hobbyists get their minis painted quickly.

For me, I’ll probably pick up some to replace select Contrast Paints and experiment that way. They are different to contrast paints, giving a nice smooth finish, whereas Contrast Paints excel on organic minis that have a lot of fur and scales.

I’ll continue playing with them and have a full review up soon, but for now, I really like them.

If you want to see the video where I paint up the minis, check it out below.