PaintWorks review

[KagBB]

A while ago I made a review for Zealot mini’s, about Game décor Paintworks, terrain paint.
They asked me to post it here, so here it is a slightly modified version (learned some more)

To start,
My name is Kay, I am 36 years old and been in the hobby for about 20 years.
I have played Warhammer 40k, Warhammer fantasy, D&D 3nd/3rd/4th, pathfinder, Warhammer quest, and probably some more I forget now 
For painting miniatures I used Citadel paints only (though I am really looking for an alternative), for scenery I used many things, but never found what I was looking for.

Now for the review,
Paintworks made a scenery paint line (for bigger bulkier painting) so I will review it as such.
He hasn’t released a miniature paint line yet

Here goes:

Colors,
He made color kits of 3 or 4 colors each for easy painting (one is even 6 colors).
The kits work rather well I believe and the colors are very nice.
The pallet is good for scenery painting although he lacks some colors that haven’t made it in the Kickstarter (blue’s mostly)
The kits are divided in 1 thin basecoat (the paint is thin, the layer is medium thick), easy to paint on and will reach even deeper parts and 2 or more, thicker buildup colors.
All of the colors I used so far cover very well (I paint mostly a form of plaster of Paris, called dental stone. It sucks in paint like mad so the first layer never really covers, but this paint nearly manages, just have to tough up a little after drying).
With the only exception the copper metallic, but this might be on purpose, because it is a buildup color over a weathered copper green.
The rust set metallic looks really strange when you paint it on (like brownish water with metallic bit in), but when it dries it is very nice, no clue how that works.
As with all metallic you really should paint them over something dark.

Paint thickness,
The under layers are thinner, to paint easier and reach hard to paint places easier
The buildup colors are a lot thicker and mostly used for dry brushing.
The paints can be thinned down with little water just before applying, but an acrylic medium should be used to thin it down in the pot (to be honest, that is the case with all paints out there except maybe for water colors and latex house paint).
But if I have to be honest, his paints have the right thickness right out of the pot. So I really don’t thin it much.
The paint layer thickness is medium, it works very well on scenery but do not try and paint minis with it.

Gloss and durability,
The colors dry very matte, I think that is a big plus.
Also they are really durable, a very big plus for scenery paint.
Had some kids playing with the pieces I made to test it, never chipped or damaged.

Packaging and Labeling,
This needs some work, his big pots (basecoats) with screw caps aren’t practical, if you shake them before opening it will become rather messy, stirring is preferred.
His labels use kit names instead of paint names, he says he is working on that though.

The buildup colors and metallic come in drop pots with a snap lid, seems to work rather well, time will tell if they hold.

Last but not least,
How shall I put this, he is a better paint maker then marketing specialist 
I really like his paints but his marketing and website are a bit of a nightmare.
Again he says this is a work in progress and he had a lot of ill luck with his website.
We’ll have to wait and see, but in his KS he kept all his promises.

Conclusion,
Personally I love his terrain paints, it beats every paint I ever used so far.
His color kits work rather well.
Few cons:
- Only available from his site
- Shipping to anywhere but US is expansive (he really needs a supplier in Europe)
- Big screw pots are not very practical.
- No color chart available (you have to guess if you want to buy separate paints).

He is planning a mini paint Kickstarter, I am rather curious about that one.
Love his terrain paints, but there is not really any competition.
With mini paints there are many good brands, so we will have to wait and see.

Bear in mind this is just my opinion, feel free to disagree.

//Kay

http://gamedecor.com/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/klingbeil/game-decors-paintworks-terrainpaint

[Thantos]

Thanks Kay Is great to hear about this range, for painting scenery, which i hadn't heard of before. Im sure some YOInners will find that info useful

[KagBB]

I haven't the faintest Idea how to post pictures here, but I posted some in the following forum http://hirstarts.yuku.com/topic/7805/master/1/?page=1
you can look at them there.

//Kay