JUNE 6, 2008

NEW REAPER PRO PAINTS

Reaper recently reformulated its old Pro Paint line, and I've finally had a chance to test them out over the past few weeks. Pros: they do exactly what they were designed to do. Cons: they do exactly what they were designed to do.

Like Citadel Foundation Paint, this paint is primarily aimed at army painters. It does have better coverage than the Master Series line or Vallejo Model Colour, with two coats on average for full opacity of most colors. (One is possible with some colors, but I'm picky.) Straight from the pot, it's thick but workable, with a creamy consistency. It layers on quickly, and it drybrushes very, very well. I even had some success with wet blending it, and since Marike Reimer could, I'll guess that with practice it would be very good for this application.

On the other hand, it's not great for glazes or washes. Many of the colors separate when diluted, and even some additives didn't seem to help much. I much prefer the Master Series paints for techniques using thinned paint.

The paint base is extremely tough. I've had to scrub this stuff off a porcelain palette even after soaking; it might not even need a sealer. It dries matte, without any of the graininess that plagued so many of the original Pro Paint colors. The new line includes many of the 'classic' Pro Paint colors, with some new ones, including flesh tones and military/historical colors. The Sunburn Flesh and Brutal Purple are fabulous; it's a pity that they don't glaze as well as the MSPs.

Overall, it's a good paint, superior to the original, and more workable and versatile than the Citadel Foundation paints. The paint pots were a little annoying to use after years of dropper bottles, and I'm sure I'll spill at least a couple of open pots this year if I don't transfer them. (At least they're not flip-tops.) I'll definitely be using these for basing, terrain, and base coats on larger pieces.

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