I recently bought the Army Painter Speed Paints (SPs) starter set of 10 colours to give them a go as I am currently painting up some 28mm Italian Wars anf Franco-Prussian War figures, and these are coming along nicely. However I have two 6mm projects waiting in the wings - Franco-Austrian War 1859 and the Pony Wars- which will also need to be completed quickly, so I decided to have a go with the SPs on some Austrian infantry to start with. Here are my thoughts so far on this paint system.

1. It is quick to apply and relatively easy, but currently there are only the 10 colours available (more to come later this month). Conseuently I started with a Vallejo light grey primer, which is very light, then used Army Painter white acrylic to paint the Kittel. From this point I was able to use the SPs - trousers Highlord Blue, shako cover Gravelord Grey, musket, pack and 50% of the hair Hardened Leather, the other 50% Pallid Bone, faces Crusader Skin. At this point I had to stop, but I was pleasantly pleased especially with the skin and the shako covers.

2. The blue seems too dark for the trousers of 1859, 64 or 66, so I will dry brush these and in future will use Army Painter Blue Tone wash for those.

3. A problem mentioned on line, which I have also experienced with the Zealot Yellow, is that the SPs are indeed quick to apply but take a while to fully set. This can lead to paints being applied over the top being bled through by the SP. A fix was also mentioned for this on line, i.e. leave the paint to set for a few days, then varnish before applying highlights or other colours. I have yet to try this and will report back on results. This method means that it is best to work with batches of figures on a production line basis, so armies will still be completed quickly.

4. As previously mentioned not all colours are currently available and there is no mention of any metals being developed for this system, so it seems that paint, dry thoroughly, varnish then add other colours will have to prevail unless Army Painter are able to solve the initial problem. Interestingly this problem does not exist with the Army Painter shading tones and so far I have found blue, green and purple to give a less garish result. However I really like the effect of the SP skin, hardened leather and bone, as they do actually give the one off result. For this Austrian army I am looking forward to the SP Holy White being released.

Overall, yes I like these paints. They were clearly produced for use with 28mm figures, but I will have uses for them with 6mm.

Thanks for posting.   I use these for my 28mm and I rather like them, although you need to be aware of the issues mentioned.   

I just got the new Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 set, which has an expanded colour range and also (apparently) does not have the reactivation problem that you mention in your point (3).   I will try for my GNW Swedes in the next days.

Anyone else tried these paints on their 6mm figures ?

Should the above read does have or does not have?

Hah.  Yes, missing the "not", now edited   Good catch.

I use GW Contrast on 6mm WotR and Adler ACW it wirks great for me.

The various sped paints, such as Contrast and Express, unfortunately are not working that well for me below 10mm, thus it's back to acrylic blocking followed by a wash on 6mm.

Sounds epic, look great!


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@ dourpuritan - what problems did you come across.  I am pretty happy with them so far.

I almost exclusively use the GW contrast paints to do my 6mm figures now, with things like hat lace, bases, and metallics done with traditional paints. The nature of them really helps to bring out the detail of the sculpts I think, and lets the figures stand on their own under close scrutiny, and be nice and bright on a table.

This is an example of some of my Saxons under way, using 'Creed Camo' for the facings. 

My paints were the originals which bled into each other. Consequently I now use Contrast and Vallejo Express, but TBH I would only use them now on horses. Everything else is too small for my shaky hands, thus block and wash for most stuff.