Army Painter Mega Paint Set

Well, after several months of waiting, this paint set finally arrived a week ago Tuesday. I have not, as yet, used the paints, nor the sprays which I have purchased over the past few months, I've either been too busy or the low temperature/high humidity have caused me to not want to try to prime...been there, done that, have the ruined figures to prove it.

When I see "Mega Paint Set" I am thinking something more along the lines of the GW set that had one of every color in their line, plus empty bottles, plus brushes, plus terrain flocking and sand, etc.

So, imagine my slight disappointment when I received the above pictured box. Sure, it has more than the typical paint set, coming in at 36 bottles of paints and varnish, plus six paint brushes. The trouble is, I still need some paints...scarlet being one of them.

I do have three of their color primers, black, red, and brown, and a can of strong tone quickshade, so I can shortly begin using the "dip" method and see how it works for me. I have not yet decided whether or not I will try to save the shade material by brushing it on, or use more of it (and adding to wastage) by the dip and flick method. I am back to being impoverished again...but this time, it is for good until I get a paying job. Some readers may quibble with my spending money on this paint set, but I have very few paints with which to paint figures...and since I am hoping to sell some painted models, I had to spend money to try to make money.

Besides, I have sold a few hundred dollars of GW figures from my collection that I never took out of the boxes, so that covered the paint set. If I can sell the rest of my GW stuff, I will be able to buy the new GW mega paint set...and then my paint needs will be sorted!

Ah...back to this critique...

The painting guide that came with the set, but is also available free online, is...nothing I have not really seen before, aside from the detail on using their quickshades. The interesting bit from their line is that the sprays match one of the bottled paints "100%"! Okay, that's...uh...cool. But I just want to make sure the spray paint is 1) good and 2) the right colors for my needs.

For one thing, I am not about to waste expensive spray paint to hold my figures to a piece of cardboard, for priming purposes. Instead, I will use white glue or rubber glue, which is much cheaper and does not add to wasting a product that I can only get from limited outlets. I can buy rubber cement from Target or Wallyworld, but it is at least a week for an Army Painter spray, whether I order it online or from my local FLGS.

The paint brushes from this set may be what sets this apart for me. I have never used this brand before, but I am willing to give them a try out. If they work well, then I will keep them in my toolbox.

Where I was additionally chagrined is when I looked at how the paints were packaged. True, the nice little baggies that hold three bottles each will come in handy for a variety of things, but the haphazard arrangements of the paint inside is what annoys me. I just reached over and grabbed a bag out of the box, as I look at it, I see Goblin Green, Monster Brown, and Strone Tone ink. The very next bag has a metallic, bone, and a blue....

If you're going to sell me a paint set, please put alike with alike. Try to "wow" me with having the metallics together, the inks together, and if you have three shades of a color, put those together. I understand that not everything "fits" together perfectly, but at least go through the motions. The very first thing I did after seeing the contents for the first time was to inventory the paints and make sure I had the right selection. This is where not having 100+ bottles of paint went in my favor.

This is not a "review" of the AP Mega Paint Set, per se, but rather my thoughts on it. Until I actually use the product, I will not be able to review it properly.

I welcome anyone else's comments on this, especially if you HAVE used the AP paints and "dip" method.