When It Doesn't Do What It Says On The Tin - Or, Why I Have Fallen Out Of Love With The Army Painter

 There was a time when The Army Painter, seemed to be a seriously good product line. Now, I never went with the whole dipping thing. I'd seen the whole coloured varnish thing in the mid 80s when Military Miniatures used it on their painted armies, and it look then as it does now, lazy and dirty.

But AP had some really interesting inks in their tones and shaders ranges, which really enhanced models with ultra-fine details. 

About 18 months ago, I noticed that the both of these product lines were starting to dry with a high sheen and a rubber-like consistency, I'd never seen before. I put this down to a bad batch, but it's continued.

Now, it's like applying a sugar syrup with a hint of colour, and that colour is far less intense than it used to be. 

Often, what used to be achieved with a single coat, requires two, taking away the benefit of using such a product, and the shiny, rubbery finish needs a matte varnish to give a surface suitable for additional coats of paint. 

This adds yet another layer of thickness that is frankly unacceptable for a product which vaunts itself as high quality material.

I'm now using other traditional artist's materials to do the work of Army Painter, as I can no longer be guaranteed of a consistent finish of the type I had become used to.

Now, I bet you are thinking that it's a bad batch or that my paints are old, but even fresh, new bottles perform like this. Indeed, I have a few older bottles I kept back when I first encountered this change, and they still perform perfectly well.

Indeed, I bought multiples of the same colours from different vendors, at two different shows, and lo and behold, al had the same poor performance issues. I also went to two local gaming stores and got the same results.

So it would be reasonable to now assume that it's a formula change of some sort.

And yes, before you say 'AHA!', I have shaken, stirred and indeed even used a paint shaker, with do differences noted.

So, for me at least, The Army Painter is no longer a contender. I need consistent quality, performance and finish and AP products are not doing what it says on the in anymore.