Check out the new Army Painter Speedpaint line that is better than Games Workshops Contrast and looks amazing with just one actual coat.
The Army Painter is always coming out with some of the coolest hobby products on the market! This time around they are helping us all get our armies and minis done faster but still look great. One of the best things about their paint sets is they always come with great guides, that way if you need help on your scheme, they make it easy.
All of their products are always affordable and high-quality, and we expect this set is no different. This is a preview, but it looks like it will be coming out before too long. The paints basically take what contrast paints do and take it to 11, and knowing Army Painter, all while keeping the price affordable.
Here’s the latest on their new Army Painter Speedpaint!
Review: Army Painter Speedpaint is Better Than Contrast
With 23 colors, this really gives you a serious range for your armies. Each one looks amazing, gives insane contrast, and can be slapped on super fast. If you need to get a lot of minis done, or just want more colors, keep your eyes peeled!
Rob is going to see how to use the new paints, what he thinks about them, and basically all the aspects, that way you can decide if they are worth your hard-earned hobby dollars. Let’s go!
How To Use Army Painter Speedpaint Tutorial & Review
Rob was lucky enough to grab these paints early and he’s been using them a ton. It’s not just because The Army Painter sends him stuff either, he thinks these are possibly the best thing they have ever done in general. It’s basically everything we wanted from contrast, but takes it all to the next level and actually works for what it’s supposed to be.
They are the same size as the rest of the paints, so it’s not like they gave you a small value for the price. If Rob had to guess he would expect they will price these a little higher than the Air Paints, but not too much. Just because of the materials that make it up. Still, they always have tons of value, so we expect these to be one of the best on the market.
To use these paints there are basically two options. First, you can prime something white, or do a Zenithal highlight as a base coat. If you go with the prime option, you can either go with the Matt White or Cadre Grey though the airbrush, OR just use the normal Army Painter white primer.
Since they have such amazing color matches, either will work out pretty much identically.
When doing the Zenithal, you have to go back and drybrush the edges heavily to get a good color. Obviously, the priming takes longer because you have to add a ton of steps.
Army Painter Speedpaint in Action
Rob likes to use a water bottle cap to put the paints in as he does this. It just helps keep things going fast and you don’t have to mess around with a wet palette. He also likes using natural hair brushes because they hold more paint (which Army Painter was quick to point out their brushes are- Rob’s mistake), but if you want you can also use wedge brushes.
If you have a little too much on your brush, just put the rest onto the bottle top.
Then, just go to town and just coat the entire thing. It’s really that simple, just put on one actual coat and it does the work for you. No special primers, no thinning, no bullshit.
Cleaning
Cleaning out your brushes and bottle caps is really easy. Just take a bottleneck water bottle and spray out the cap. Then, if you overdid it on your mini, the paint is super easy to smudge off with a paper towel. Before it dries, just take a paper towel and smudge it, that easy.
Rob’s Favorite Shades
There are a ton of amazing shades but these five might just be Rob’s favorites. There is a brown that’s perfect for popping things like leather. The blue from before obviously. The camo green has so many uses it’s just insane. His new favorite out of all of them is the red, it just pops like wow.
Other Applications
If you thin this out, you can actually even use it to cover vehicles and give them amazing base coats without hardly any effort. If you have nice flat panels it works perfectly. However, if you have a spot with a lot of crevices, it loses some of the pizzaz.
Wait, there’s another angle to go with as well. Rob used it through the airbrush at about 20 psi and it applied amazingly even on all the crevices!
Fully Painted Minis
As you can see, this looks pretty awesome. This was painted with nothing other than a single coat of contrast paints for each color. It’s super easy and if you were painting something like a Beast Snagga. This is all over a white prime coat, so pretty amazing stuff!
For Deadpool Rob started with a Zenithal highlight, so a little more work than the mini above. It will give a little more pop and be worth the work. The only thing on this that wasn’t painted with the Speedpaints were the swords. He did those with thinned down Plate Mail Metal, with the Black speedpaint back over them.
For the rest of the figure, he went with the red, black, and obviously the brown for the straps.
For the bottom, he used gray, sand, and red. One of the best parts about these, if you make a mistake, you can just lick your finger and fix it! Super easy overall.
With these, it only took about an hour and a half for two big minis, and the results are pretty amazing!
Is Army Painter Speedpaint Worth It / Better Than Contrast?
Overall, Rob thinks Speedpaint is some of the best paints to hit the market in a really, really long time. Army Painter Speedpaint is better than Games Workshop Contrast because they do what they say on the tin, cover in one coat, and look great!
Where To Get Army Painter Speedpaint & Pricing:
All of their products are always affordable and high-quality, and we expect this set is to be no different. Rob has been using themaince later 2021 and he loves them!
SPEEDPAINT STARTER SET: $45
The paint goes on really fast, as you would expect from the name. It also looks to avoid some of the common pitfalls of normal contrast paints. Plus, they are more than 2 dollars cheaper for a bottle than another certain company.
This set gives you enough to get started and paint your minis faster than ever before! Let’s hear what they have to say about it:
The all-in-one Warpaint Speedpaint is truly a one-coat painting solution. In the Speedpaint Starter Set you’ll find all the basic colours you need to begin painting beautiful tabletop-quality miniatures in no time. Simply apply one rich coat of Speedpaint directly over a primed miniature and you are done!
SPEEDPAINT MEGA SET: $99
If you just want everything in one buy, this is the way to go! You get an insane number of paints for a really great price.
- Combined with an innovative resin medium solution that flows perfectly over your miniatures creates an unparalleled painting solution to help you get more time for gaming.
- The Speedpaint Mega Set contains our entire range of Speedpaints giving you 24 colours to work your magic with, and get amazing results faster than ever.
If you want some amazing paints at a good price, that will get your minis done fast, then you have to pick these up when they come out!
Click Here to Get Your Army Painter Speedpaint!
Are you excited about the new Speedpaint? Have you used The Army Painter yet?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
