3/15/2023

DBA Polybian Roman army II/33

I tried Vallejo Xpress paints on this army and I am not satisfied. It took me more or less the same time to paint it and the result is far worse that If I had painted it normally. 

Anyway, it is done and ready to roll.

Here you can see the results of these paints as everything except the point of the spears have been painted with Xpress colours. Some of the pigment got eaten by the varnish as the paints are a bit reactive. These units are 3Ax fast for DBA 3.0 and Ps.

I painted the brown horses traditionally as  Vallejo Xpress has only two browns, one for wood (spear staff) and one for leather (reigns).

Here you can see Hastati and Princeps (Bd) and Triarii (Sp) from Essex, good quality-price relation overall, but I wouldn't recommend ordering their plastic DBA bases.

Black colour from Xpress is useless so I painted the plumes with normal paint as well all the metallics.



10 comments:

  1. Thank you for your comments on the (unsatisfactory) experience. The general impression of these units is good: perhaps in some points you can see the effect of a slightly rough wash. On the web we have read good reviews of the GW Contrast paint to do a slow glazing job (exactly the opposite of speed painting) because they are very transparent. Have you tried whether the Vallejo counterparts are suitable for this technique?

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    1. Yes, they also work that way. Actually, I think it is the way to use them correctly, together with other paints, inks and washes but not alone.

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  2. Hi Javier, I think the Express paints / contrast paints are great for "enthusiastic" painters like me, but for talented painters like you not so much.
    I have just used some GW contrast paints and they do a much better job than I would normally be able to do.
    Anyway, your figures look great!

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    1. Well, that's the idea, to get an army painted in no time with an average result, but I expected a bit more from them to be honest. Anyway, like I said to Rodor above, they are OK to work together with other paints.

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  3. I might be doing it wrong, but I have yet to be happy with contrast paints from any brand. I've tried both Citadel contrasts and Army Painter's version. I was very unhappy with both results.

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    1. I've read they are both of better quality than Xpress ones (actually, citadel costs three times Xpress). Also, I may be using them incorrectly as it is my second time using them. Don't get me wrong, some of their colours are good and the overall result is ok, but as I said before I think they work well using then together with other paints but not alone. And it really bugs me colours are washed away with some varnishes (wash and dip). Cheers :)

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  4. I have to say that they still look very good overall. My limited experience has been with the GW contrast paints and I would say the results have been mixed. When they have worked they have done so very well. I suspect I lack the patience to build up the paint a layer at a time though.

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    1. I think they are not good enough to just paint minis with them but they are OK to use them together with standard paints for washes or blends.

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  5. Red and white work together nicely on these!

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    1. Xpress red and white are ok colours. BTW, it seems you finally fixed your problems with blogspot, welcome back! :)

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