The Hate Ends Here with Spikey Bits, Juan Hidalgo, and a potential Vallejo content creator conflict of interest controversy surrounding Army Painter Speedpaint.
Editor’s Note:
There have been a lot of opinions floated out there that I am very grateful for. The prevailing constructive criticism is that we wrote our original article adversarially or as a “hit piece” against Juan.
In reflection, I agree that I could have written that article more informationally and less emotionally.
I very much feel let down by the tone of the original article, and I greatly apologize for the way we presented the information there.
That being said, Spikey Bits condemns the direct attacks and threats that we received as a result of this article, along with the unfair banning from r/Warhammer40k, who have in the past shared similar hate-filled attacks directed at those affiliated with us, including our readers and supporters
I can accept criticism and admit when I have taken an issue one step too far, but I stand strongly against bullying and hate speech, especially when it promotes violence or harm to anyone in our beloved community, especially the Spikey Bits staff, including myself.
The hate and bullying over this issue have no place in the hobby whatsoever.
Below is the same article with the facts presented, hopefully, less emotionally and in a more easily digestible format for our readers.
A little Backstory
What we also should have done in the first article was provide a clear timeline of events. Before we do that here, we would like to say the reactivation of Speedpaint is a real issue that has been addressed by The Army Painter.
Early reviewers, such as myself, did not seem to notice as we appear to have used the product as a one-coat paint solution as directed on the bottle.
The first “major” YouTube Content Creator to reveal the issue was, as far as we can tell, Juan Hidalgo in his video from February 20, 2022 (although Stahly wrote a post and made a video shortly before Juan as well).
In his post, Stahly mentions that:
The Army Painter promises that Speedpaint is a real “one coat paint” and provides a consistent feel across the range.
He goes on to address the reactivation issue, saying:
It’s quite annoying because it’s not an issue at all with Games Workshop’s Contrast paints and limits the Speedpaints’ usefulness because the reactivation issue also means that Speedpaints aren’t really suitable for glazing techniques.
At first, the review by Juan seems like a fair take on the paints. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, the timing of his involvement with Xpress paints and this Speedpaint review could be perceived as curious at best, or a potential conflict of interest.
Comments like these can be perceived to discredit content creators who reviewed and liked, Speedpaint. Which we believe to be an unfair criticism.
We at Spikey Bits do our best to give impartial reviews of products by companies in our hobby. While bias is in human nature, we believe as content creators, we hold a responsibility to our readers and viewers to present transparent reviews and information.
Nine Months Later
At the time of writing, Juan released a debut video for Vallejo’s new Xpress paint, which also look pretty effective as a one-coat solution.
Curiously in his latest video from October 2022, in the description, he says he worked on the Vallejo Xpress Color product for more than a year. Four months before his review and subsequent critiques of Speedpaint.
Our intent was to point out that Juan appeared to be working for a competitor to Army Painter on a similar product when he published his video in February of 2022 popularizing the fact that Speedpaint was “defective” because it reactivated.
Credit to Juan, though, because one month prior to announcing his involvement with Xpress Paint, he did publish a video in September of 2022 (eight months after the release of Speedpaint) where he showed how to “fix” Speedpaint.
Here are some of the comments from Juan in that video that piqued our curiosity on the matter, which we felt was important enough to share with hobbyists who, at the end of the day, always vote with their Hobby Dollars…
As you can see, not only is he going after Army Painter in the comments, but he also seems to be saying that no one should use Green Stuff World’s products either.
Lastly, from this comment, one could interpret that the aim of this video by Juan Hidalgo (eight months after the release of Speedpaint) could have been to disparage not just Speedpaint but all competing products while attempting to hype up the new Vallejo Xpress Color line.
If he was indeed (seemingly by his own admission) working for Vallejo and developing a competing product, we feel that he should have notified Army Painter and his viewers of any potential conflict of interest (adhering to any NDAs with Vallejo, etc.) before moving forward with that content.
By accepting copies of Speedpaint early, before they hit the market, Juan Hidalgo not only could affect the opinion of potential Speedpaint customers and its pending release but could also provide material assistance to Vallejo by providing them with the actual paints themselves; giving that company potentially an unfair competitive advantage in developing a competing product.
I Took All of This Too Personally
So once again I would like to say that I should have written this article a little more informationally and less emotionally.
I feel let down by the tone of the original article, and I greatly apologize for the way we presented the information there.
That being said, Spikey Bits condemns the direct attacks and threats that we received as a result of this article, along with the unfair banning from r/Warhammer40k, who have in the past shared similar hate-filled attacks directed at those affiliated with us, including our readers and supporters
I can accept criticism and admit when I have taken an issue one step too far, but I stand strongly against bullying and hate speech, especially when it promotes violence or harm to anyone in our beloved community, especially the Spikey Bits staff, including myself.
I never intended to attack anyone’s character, and I hope that we can all move past this to a better and brighter hobby because the hate and bullying over this issue have no place in the hobby whatsoever.
Thank you for reading this.
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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.
