Review: The Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Ink Set

On September 21, The Army Painter is updating their Warpaints paint range with four new washes and two new acrylic paints. Also new is the Warpaints Quickshade Ink set, which contains the whole range of Warpaints inks in one handy package. We’ve already reviewed the Soft Tone, Strong Tone and Dark Tone inks, so in this review we focus on the new red, blue, green and purple washes and check how they compare to the old and new Citadel washes/shades.

Contents

The Warpaints Quickshade Ink set comes in a thin cardboard box that contains seven different shades in 18 ml dropper bottles, also included is a painting guide in English that explains how to use the Warpaint inks in combination with other products from The Army Painter. The booklet is a really nice add-on to get you going with the inks, even though the layout of the booklet is often messy and the English is a bit rough.

Just to be clear, even though they’re called inks, Warpaint inks are washes. They are an acrylic based product and totally different from the Quickshade dips that Army Painter are also offering. They follow the same formula like the old Citadel Washes, so we suppose that they are made by the same manufacturer. In comparison to the new Citadel Shades, they are slightly less runny, so you have to push them around with your brush a little bit more. Personally I prefer their end result over the Shades, as I feel the pigment settles better into the recesses, but in the end it’s really up to your personal preference.

All of the following test models have been primed white and the washes have been applied undiluted.

Soft Tone, Strong Tone and Dark Tone

These three inks are available since the launch of Army Painter’s Warpaint range at the beginning of 2012. We’ve already reviewed them and found that these three inks are excellent matches for Gryphonne Sepia, Devlan Mud and Badab Black. Follow the link for some close-up comparisons. So if you miss good old Devlan Mud and its companions, these Army Painter inks are made for you.

Red Tone

Here you can see a comparison between Baal Red (old Citadel Washes), Red Tone Ink and Carroburg Crimson from the new Citadel paint range. Baal Red had the problem that it was so light that the shading became only present on the brightest reds. The Army Painter’s red ink is darker and thus more useful for a wider range of reds, but also not as dark and purple as Carroburg Crimson. All three washes settle quite nicely in the recesses.

Blue Tone

Warpaints’ blue ink and Asurmen Blue from the old Citadel Washes range are pretty close. Asurmen Blue might be a tad more vibrant, but once dry it’s really hard to tell the difference.

Green Tone

Here I compared Warpaints Green Tone Ink with Thraka Green from the old Citadel Washes and Coelia Greenshade from the new Citadel Shades. Please note that my Thraka Green has become a bit thick over the time, so the result comes out darker and more uneven than usual.

In comparison, Green Tone Ink is a more flat green than Thraka Green, kind of like the difference between Goblin Green and Snot Green (or Warboss Green and Warpstone Glow when referring to the new Citadle paint range). Coelia Greenshade is darker and has more blue in it, so Biel-Tan Green would probably be the better fit.

Purple Tone

As you can see, Purple Tone Ink is pretty similar to Leviathan Purple (old Citadel Washes. Both washes provide a nice shading, Purple Ink has had it a bit easier because the primer on the test model wasn’t as thick as on the other one.

Conclusion

Warpaint Inks from The Army Painter provide excellent value. They contain 18 ml for a RRP of 2,75 Euro as opposed to 12 ml for 3,20 Euro Games Workshop is asking for their Shades. So you get 50% more wash but pay less – fantastic. The RRP of the Ink set is 17,50 Euro, so it offers a nice additional discount than buying the inks individually. Most of them are very close matches to the old Citadel Washes, which makes switching very easy. The only thing I’m missing is a proper flesh ink, a reddish brown similar to the old Ogryn Flesh wash or the new Reikland Fleshshade. I think The Army Painter has really dropped the ball here. In the included painting guide they suggest Soft Tone Ink for flesh, but this is more of a sepia shade and makes your skin look yellowish.

The Quickshade Ink set along with the four new inks and two new Warpaints are released on September 21. The Army Painter products are available directly from http://thearmypainter.com or at Wayland Games and Slave to Painting.

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