Welcome to the second part of my journey painting Star Wars: Shatterpoint. In order to paint up my core box, painting and hobby accessories company, Green Stuff World, sent me a box of their paints. I’ve been using these, in conjunction with my own collection, and I’m very happy with the results. (For part 1, focusing on the Green Stuff World speed paint range, click here.)
What’s so Good About Green Stuff World Paints?
1) Dropper Bottles: It’s a small thing, but the paints come in dropper bottles. Most of their competitors use them too, but market leader Games Workshop does not. For me, this already puts GSW one up.
2) Lovely consistency: The thing I most like about the Green Stuff World paints is their consistency. The “two thin coats” line is so axiomatic that Duncan Rhodes (formerly of Games Workshop fame) called his own paint range by the same name. More often than not with paints you have to add a couple of drops of water to thin them down. Not so GSW, they flow freely out of the bottles. I guess technically this means you end up using more paint than if you thin it yourself, but I don’t see this as a massive loss. It does mean, that for the lighter colors, you most likely will need to apply two coats, but that’s just good practice anyway!
3) Bright vibrant colors. I’ve used a lot of paint ranges, and each has its strength. Green Stuff World’s is definitely their vibrancy. Whilst I said above that you’ll probably need two coats, most of the colors are so strong, you can get away with only using one. (Whether that is good practice is another question). The colors I was sent contained some amazing blues, brilliant reds, and striking yellows. I painted my Clan Saxon Mandolorians using GSW paints, and whilst I didn’t end up with the muted tones found in the Clone Wars cartoons, my end product really stands out on the tabletop. I’m absolutely thrilled with it. Similarly, the red markings on the face of Darth Maul, really pop with only a single color layer.
4) Smooth Metallics. I haven’t used lots of metallics on the Shatterpoint models, preferring to use some rudimentary non-metallic metals as outlined in master painter Sorastro’s videos. I have, however, used them on the bases and on some Warhammer 40,000 models I’ve been painting alongside. The dark gunmetal “anthrax metal” is great as a metal base coat.
5) Great for Lightsabers. The vibrant tones of the solid paints are great for lightsabers. They also sent me some bottles of fluorescent paints, which act more like a glaze. Whilst the fluor paints do a quick one-coat finish, I actually prefer the effect I got with a little wet blending of some white into a vibrant blue (like Lapizlazuli) or some orange (Go Mango) into the extremely bright red (Red Truth). Most paint ranges seem to get red right (which I assume is due to some technical reason to do with the pigments). Nevertheless, the Green Stuff World reds that I was sent stand out as top tier.
6) They have a Built-in Agitator. Perhaps a small thing, but a nice touch. The bottles have an agitator built in, meaning they mix very nicely when you shake them, and you don’t risk pulling a muscle before you’ve laid brush to model. (I’m looking at you, Scale 75).
What’s Not So Good?
No paint range can be perfect. There are a couple of things I have noticed that are less good about the paints. Or, at least offer something to consider.
Thinned paint has its issues. I feel a bit bad mentioning this as I do love the consistency of the paint. As mentioned above it’s a dream to paint onto your models. It does have a couple of drawbacks though, all, I think, due to the thinner nature of the paint.
It dries out quickly. It’s summer here in the UK, and whilst it hasn’t been that warm, I have noticed that I have to use my wet palette a lot more with these paints. Some might not consider that a bad thing, but I often prefer a traditional palette for my painting, and these GSW paints have been drying up quickly, meaning it’s best to have an ongoing source of moisture. It also means if you accidentally get paint on the wrong area of your model, you have less time to swoop in with some water to wash it away.
Another problem is that the pots are always clogged when I return to them. I’m guessing again because the thinner paint is drying quickly, blocking the nozzle. Most dropper bottles clog at some point, and I’m used to having a bent paperclip on hand to remove the blockage, but with these paints, I’ve needed it every time, which has been a little wearing. Nevertheless, it’s not nearly as annoying as Games Workshop’s paint pots and their infuriatingly bad seals.
The Verdict.
Somewhat predictably, I cannot say, “Throw out all your paints and replace them with Green Stuff World.” Like most paint ranges they offer further choice to expand your array of tools for creating certain effects. They have some of the brightest shades I have seen, so if that’s what drives your creativity I would definitely consider getting some.
The yellow shades are particularly good. Yellow is a notoriously difficult color to work with, but with a base coat of peach flesh, the vibrant Cyber Yellow went over the top to produce a great finish on my Clan Saxon Mandalorians. Arguably, they’ve come out looking like they’ve been sponsored by McDonalds but that’s my fault, not the paint!
I’ve also been impressed with the black and white. White can be a particularly troublesome paint, but the Green Stuff World white is bright and not at all lumpy like some whites can be. It’s currently my go-to white. Similarly the black. It’s particularly good for filling things like visors of Clone Trooper helmets because it flows so nicely, but dries before it can flow out again. I’ve also had good results with the black for doing base edges.
Whilst I haven’t been sent classic bone color, I like both the Deck Grey and Parchment shades. I’ve used these on all the bases of my Shatterpoint minis, to good effect, but the pair work really well together for faded bone or tired cloth. This is going to be my go-to combination for such things for the foreseeable future.
The dipping ink range that I reviewed in part 1, offers good value for money over Games Workshop’s contrast range, though it does have fewer colors to choose from. I haven’t used the dipping inks that much to paint minis, though the black is very good for Star Wars weapons. Where I have used it a lot, since writing the first part of my review, is painting scenery. I wasn’t sure at first, the skeleton brown has quite a distinctive color, but actually, it worked very well, especially after the addition of some distress.
My first piece of ‘Shatterpoint’ scenery painted entirely using Green Stuff World paints (over a wraithbone undercoat)
All in all, then, I’ve been impressed with my Green Stuff World adventure, and will definitely continue using them as I paint my new Shatterpoint additions (of which there are many.). I’ll also be incorporating their vibrancy into other games I play, such as Warhammer Underworlds and Warhammer 40,000.
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
