Hello everyone, and welcome back to another product review! Today we are going to discuss the latest paint line from The Army Painter, The Warpaint Fanatic line. This line of hobby paint is The Army Painter’s attempt to create “the perfect miniature paint.” I am very honored that The Army Painter sent me some of their Warpaints Fanatic paint line to try out and give feedback.
In this article, I’ll share my full experience using the Army Painter Fanatic hobby paints, which I purchased from tangibleday.com. As a fairly new, but super-enthuasistic miniature painter, I’m always on the lookout for high-quality miniature paints that can bring my models to life.
Disclaimer: The Army Painter sent me a sample of 3 paint colors from The Fanatic Paint line to demo. Of course, with any product review on Tangible Day, we maintain our liberty to freely express our opinion, good or bad, so you have the best objective information possible to make your own purchasing decision.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Innovative Pigment Concentration and Stabilizer: The Warpaint Fanatic line boasts an impressive 200-700% increase in pigment concentration compared to earlier lines, along with a proprietary stabilizer to prevent pigment separation. This results in vibrant, consistent colors that are ready to use with minimal shaking.
- Flexible Triads for Creative Freedom: The line introduces a unique concept of ‘flexible triads’, where each color within a triad offers variations in shade and saturation. This allows for greater creative flexibility and ease in selecting shadows, mid-tones, and highlights, enhancing the painting process for both beginners and experienced hobbyists.
- High-Quality Finish and Usability: The paints offer smooth, creamy consistency and excellent coverage, requiring potentially just one coat for a complete finish. The simplicity of the naming conventions and the efficient design of the bottles make these paints accessible and enjoyable to use for various projects, from quick tournament preparations to detailed display works.
When it comes to painting miniatures, having the right paint is essential. It can make all the difference in achieving a professional-looking finish and bringing out the true potential of your models. That’s why I was intrigued (and excited) when I heard about the launch of Army Painter’s new line of Fanatic hobby paints.
TOP 3 POPULAR ARMY PAINTER HOBBY PAINT SETS FOR MINIATURE PAINTERS:
- Wargames Delivered The Army Painter Mega Selection (Best Value Comprehensive)
- The Army Painter Paint Set (Highly Popular Standard Bundle)
- The Army Painter Wargames Hobby Starter Paint Set (Casual New Painter)
If you’re just getting started in the hobby of painting miniatures, you may want to start with the Wargames Hobby Starter Paint set to get your feet wet. It comes with 10 core paint colors that are essential for any miniature painting project, including black, white, red, blue, green, and more. This set is perfect for beginners because it provides a good variety of colors while still being affordable.
For those interested in a larger selection or want to go “all-in”, then our recommendation would be to take a closer look at the Wargames Delivered Mega Selection or the community favorite, The Army Painter Paint Set. Both of these sets are huge bundles that not only give you nearly the entire range of colors to choose from, but also include additional tools and brushes. The Mega Selection even includes a carrying case so you can take your paints with you on the go.
Before we delve into the the new Fanatic line, let me share that I have a soft spot for The Army Painter. Their starter set was the first paint set I used when I began painting, and I still use many of their paints and equipment.
Now, let’s explore the Warpaint Fanatic line.
Where did the Fanatic Line come from?
A couple of years ago, The Army Painter CEO, Bo Penstoft, challenged his product development team to create the “perfect miniature paint”. The criteria for the perfect paint was that it had to be a paint that professionals would want to use on their pieces.
Additionally, the paint would have to be reliable and easy enough to use that tabletop gamers would want to use it to quickly paint their armies before tournaments. Overall, the new “perfect” paint would be accessible for any hobbyist of any skill level.
After several years of work, Army Painter developed the Warpaint Fanatic hobby paint line.
I went through The Army Painter’s, YouTube channel and website watching videos and reading articles related to this line of paints. It was clear that they were serious about their claims and goals of creating a professional level paint line that would meet the needs of so many artists and hobbyists. Ultimately, they wanted to destroy the reputation that Army Painter products were strictly for new painters and hobbyists. Their words, not mine.
One key things they kept coming back to is how much more pigment is now placed in each color than their earlier paint lines. In fact, they increased pigment in their Fanatic line by close to 200-700% as compared with their earlier Warpaints line.
Of course, this led to a new paint-engineering problem, color separation!
Fixing Paint Separation in the Fanatic Hobby Line
A paint development problem that the The Army Painter brand has had historically is separation of their medium and pigments. They have been very aware of this and have taken great steps to mitigate this in their Warpaint line. Though not entirely solved, these paints when mixed well before use perform reliably in most applications.
In the process of developing the Fanatics line, Army Painter was aware that addressing the issue of separation beforehand was crucial. The concept of separation has often required miniature painters to vigorously shake their paints, resulting in a decent arm/wrist workout. Moreover, with the addition of 200 to 700% more pigment into each bottle, the occurrence of separation becomes even more pronounced, especially with certain colors that tend to pose challenges in achieving proper mixing.
The Army Painter diligently tackled the challenge of resolving this issue and devised a remarkable solution known as the “stabilizer.” This ingenious addition facilitates a seamless blending of the painting medium and pigments within their Fanatic line.
The stabilizer maintains the homogeneous aspect of the paint pigment (color) with the solution binder. While the exact composition of the stabilizer remains undisclosed, its effectiveness is undeniable. These paints were effortlessly ready for use with just a short shake upon their arrival at my doorstep.
Flexible Triads: A FANATIC FIRST?
Another interesting thing that Army Painter chose to do with the fanatic paint line is to incorporate the concept of “flexible triads”.
What is a flexible triad? It’s rather an ingenious idea of having three colors in a color grouping. The concept of a flexible triad is that each color has some flexibility in its shade and saturation, allowing for multiple variations within the grouping. This creates a cohesive color scheme while also giving room for creativity and customization.
I’ll note here that other paint brands have used triads before in their paint line systems, including those by Reaper Miniatures. Reaper bundles many of their Master Series Paints into triads to assist artists in their color selection. As such, the idea of a triad in colored paint sets is not necessarily new.
Army Painter has combined their Fanatic paints into groups of six. In this flexible color triad system, all six paints have the same foundational color and are adjusted in brightness up and down. Instead of creating just one triad with their paints, they have actually created four distinct triads of shadows, mid tones, and highlights.
What is also helpful is that each bottle has a label showing you exactly where the paint you are using sits within its respective grouping. This allows you to easily know what shades you can use for highlights, mid tones or shadows.
By the way, The Army Painter did something similar to this with their airbrush range. However, in that range, they were strictly three per triad.
In the Fantatic paint line, I think the flexible triad system is a real winner, allowing painters to more easily find their shadow, midtone and highlight colors without running the risk of going from one foundational color to another by accident. It makes choosing colors for a particular project much easier for those of us who are still learning how to combine colors properly.
MY EXPERIENCE Using the FANATIC Paints
The Army Painter sent me three distinct colors, “Imperial Navy” (blue), Greenskin” (Green), and “Burning Ore” (Orange). As new paints, I was excited to see what separated them from other brands that I’ve used before.
I had the perfect model to try out this color combination, A Killaboss from Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Having used The Army Painter’s, green skin from their standard Warpaint line. I immediately noticed the difference. The creamy consistency of the paint when I put it on the pallet was immediately noticeable. Greenskin, is one of the mid tones from the “Deep Greens” flexible triad.
Greenskin Paint
The paint effortlessly flowed from the bottle, ready to grace the model with its vibrant hue. “Greenskin” displayed such impeccable coverage that a single coat may have sufficed. Yet, with a second, delicate layer, it achieved perfection – remarkably opaque and irresistibly smooth. The application of “Greenskin” left me astounded, marveling at its seamless beauty.
Burning Ore
For the transition from the skin to the armor, I opted for the captivating Burning Ore, a darker shade from the “Oranges” triad. Its vibrant and eye-catching nature perfectly suited my vision. I applied Burning Ore as the midtone, generously covering all the pieces of armor. It’s worth noting that this particular paint has a delightfully creamy consistency when poured from the bottle.
I experimented with diluting it using a couple of drops of water, and to my amazement, the armor pieces still achieved remarkable coverage and opacity. For creating highlights, I introduced a touch of “pale yellow” to the burning ore shade, resulting in a seamless and opaque blend. The smoothness and opacity persisted as I applied the highlights.
The latest color I received was called “Imperial Navy,” which happens to be the darkest shade within the “Vivid Blues” Triad. It served as an accent color on the model, specifically for painting the tassels across the armor. However, the blue seemed a bit too formal for a creature inhabiting a swamp. To better align it with its environment, I decided to give the tassels a touch of realism by applying some “mud water.” This simple addition truly brought the entire piece together.
Cost Breakdown: Fanatic Paints
According to The Army Painter, they anticipate pricing the new range of paints at around $4.50 each. Upon quick calculation, assuming 18 ml per bottle, that amounts to approximately $0.25 per ml. In contrast, other brands of comparable quality use 22 ml bottles, e.g., Vallejo or Games Workshop, resulting in a lower average cost of roughly $0.21 per ml.
I have based the cost of individual bottles ($4.40) on prices at my local game store for similar paints in the United States. Please note that your breakdown may vary depending on your locale. Once the paints are officially released, we’ll have a clearer idea of the final cost per bottle. However, I anticipate that over time, the cost will likely decrease as the range becomes more established. The subtle increase in cost of the Fanatic paint line is the only drawback I can find.
Quick Price Comparison Table
| Brand | Bottle Size (ml) | Cost Per Bottle ($) | Cost Per ml ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Army Painter Fanatic Paints | 18 | 4.50 | 0.25 |
| Vallejo Game Color | 22 | 4.50 | 0.21 |
| Games Workshop/Citadel Layer Paint | 22 | 4.50 | 0.21 |
Final Verdict
I love them! They are great right out of the bottle. I greatly appreciate the flexible triad system that they have, as well as the simple naming conventions on the labels. The coverage right out of the bottle is smooth and creamy. The opacity is enough that you could put only one coat on if you are trying to hurry for a tournament. The quality of this new line of paint is such that I feel comfortable doing any sort of display work with it. I look forward to doing just that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Foust is a loving husband, father of twins, and committed Emergency Room Nurse. Balancing his personal and professional life, he finds strength in his faith and enjoys fitness, miniature painting, and tabletop gaming. You can reach Alex who is open to miniature painting commissions via email ([email protected]) and his MARLevel Painting Facebook page.
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Are there specific pros and cons mentioned for “The Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Paint” in the review? Greeting : Telkom University
This is good, except your pricing at the end is way off.
Vallejo game colour paints come in 18ml dropper bottles, while citadel colours typically come in 12ml (!) bottles, making the latter one of the WORST price points on the market. Even at this slightly increased price point (compared to their older paints), Army Painter generally provides one of the highest value/ml paints available.
Pro Acryl is the only upper echelon paint that I’m familiar with that comes in 22ml bottles (it’s outstanding btw), making it an excellent value proposition, slightly hampered by a more limited colour palette.