BattleTech Paint Sets - Test Driving the Speedpaints

[ColBosch]

First off: PICTURES COMING LATER. I need to find a new host.

I've been out of work for a couple of months due to medical issues. With all the extra time on my hands - and a growing army of gray 'Mechs - I decided to get back into painting. Lo and behold, there are now two official BattleTech paint sets on the market, and from my old preferred brand, Army Painter. So I've set myself a bit of a challenge: paint a bunch of miniatures using only what's in those two sets, with three exceptions:

1. I can buy more brushes. As it turned out, this was a VERY good idea.
2. I can use rattlecan primer. Both sets come with brush-on primer, but while I have more free time, life is still only so long.
3. I ended up with a bottle of the old Warlock Purple (really a vibrant pink) as a "bonus" item when buying some brushes. I'm going to use it.

While I've done hundreds of miniatures using Army Painter products, I'd never tried the Speedpaints before. One important thing to note is that Army Painter completely revamped their formulations over the past year or so. So the BattleTech paint set from 2022 is pulled from the old Warpaint and Speedpaint 1.0 lines, while the Mercenaries paint set from 2024 uses colors from the new Fanatic and Speedpaint 2.0 lines. I'll be interested to see the difference.

First impressions:

• When using Speedpaints, you're going to need a bigger brush than normal. No, bigger than that. I ended up using a full-size #2 brush meant for oil-on-canvas painting. It was hilarious painting Elementals with it, but it worked.
• Get that brush wet before you start, otherwise the Speedpaints will start to dry in the bristles almost immediately. A little extra water won't hurt the Speedpaint effect.
• Watch out for puddles. Speedpaints are deliberately about halfway between standard paints and washes, and if you let a puddle sit for more than a moment then you're going to have a blotch.
• Surprising omission: Neither paint set includes a standard white nor black. The BattleTech paint set has a watery white primer and the Mercenaries set has a black Speedpaint. You'll want to add normal white and black ASAP.
• Bounty Hunter Green (Speedpaint) is fire over Army Green (aka "St Ives Green" in the Mercenaries set). It's a near-perfect jade green with little effort, just right for the Jade Falcons, House Liao, and (of course) the Bounty Hunter.
• Widow Black is weird. I can't figure out if the Speedpaint effect is working or if it's just a watery, blotchy black. Gonna experiment more.
• Ryoken Gray seems to work well as a base layer for Jumping plumes. I'm going to experiment with drybrushes over it.
• Need to knock out the classic Clan Wolf scheme? Spray white. On the upper half, use Arkab Tan. On the lower half, use Wolf Gray. Done. In fact, Arkab Tan may be one of the standouts of the line; you'll see when I get pictures up.
• You can probably put Hazard Yellow (BattleTech paint set) at the bottom of your painting supplies. It's pretty clearly one of the old, awful yellows that needs about 500 coats. Muster Yellow, from the Mercenaries set, looks to be one of the far-better Fanatic colors. Will test.
• I believe that all the colors you'll need to replicate the pre-painted Orion are in the Mercenaries set. Will try.

[Frabby]

My son bought the first ("starter") paint set at SPIEL Essen '24. And now he’s on fire.

Me, I tried my hand at miniatures painting 30 years ago because everyone did. A few people were really good, down to tiny hand-drawn House and unit insignia and some really great paint schemes. My own attempts came out awful and I haven’t touched a brush in three decades. So I couldn’t be much help for my son beyond directing him to the CSO website.
He’s been busily painting every plastic 'Mech in that I let him have - first a Gargoyle from a Clan Invasion KS random box, then the pair from his Starter Box set, and also a bunch of old soft plastic minis (3rd Ed. BT boxed set). Even the latter ones look decent. He’s going to have a field day (pun) when my Mercenaries Kickstarter arrives.  So yes, I can attest to the Starter Paint Set being a good product to hook absolute beginners. Only the single brush was insufficient, so his little sister’s school set of painting brushes got requisitioned.

From what I can see, there’s a world of difference between these speedpaints and the old Ral Partha paints from the 90s.

Regarding the revamped formula you mentioned for the second (Mercenaries) set, is this mentioned somewhere or are you just inferring that it’s the new paints? Just wondering. It’s probably worth mentioning this on Sarna, and may also be worth watching if the Starter Set colors remain the same.

[Pat Payne]

I'm pretty sure that the new set at least is the 2.0 Speedpaints, as the original 1.0 were reformulated last year due to complaints about them being too easily reactivated and bleeding through when painted over with subsequent layers.

What I'd like to know though:

1. Are they doing new runs of the original set with the reformulated 2.0 paints?
2. Is there anywhere where there's an equivalency chart with the wider Warpaints/Speedpaints range (showing the usual color names rather than the rebranded BattleTech names), so that if there's runthrough of one color faster than the rest, you don't have to plunk down another $85 to get just one bottle of paint?

[ColBosch]

1. Are they doing new runs of the original set with the reformulated 2.0 paints?

I don't know. I assume they won't keep the old paints in production just for one fringe boxed set. I'm going to test painting over the 1.0 Speedpaints soon; I think they'll be fine if given an extended period to dry.

2. Is there anywhere where there's an equivalency chart with the wider Warpaints/Speedpaints range (showing the usual color names rather than the rebranded BattleTech names), so that if there's runthrough of one color faster than the rest, you don't have to plunk down another $85 to get just one bottle of paint?

The bottles themselves list the mainline equivalents. The only "unique" color is the brush-on primer in the original set, but it's just a watery white. But for those curious, here's the breakdown.

BattleTech Paint Set

• Factory Primer - Unique to set, a watery white
• Actuator Metal -> Gun Metal (Warpaints, color still available in Fanatic range)
• Liao Green -> Orc Skin (Speedpaints 1.0, color still available in the 2.0 range)
• Marik Purple -> Purple Alchemy (Speedpaints 1.0, color still available in the 2.0 range)
• Davion Green -> Camo Cloak (Speedpaints 1.0, color still available in the 2.0 range)
• Kurita Red -> Blood Red (Speedpaints 1.0, color still available in the 2.0 range)
• Steiner Blue -> High Lord Blue (Speedpaints 1.0, color still available in the 2.0 range)
• Battlefield Brown -> Leather Brown (Warpaints, color still available in Fanatic range)
• Hazard Yellow -> Babe Blonde (Warpaints, discontinued, Space Dust is closest match)
• PPC Blue -> Voidshield Blue (Warpaints, discontinued, Aegis Aqua is closest match)

Mercenaries Paint Set

• Factory Primer Gray -> Brush-On Primer (Fanatic)
• Parade Chrome -> Shining Silver (Fanatic)
• Combat Wash -> Dark Tone (Fanatic)
• Wolf Gray -> Ashen Stone (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Periphery Brown -> Ruddy Fur (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Arkab Tan -> Bony Matter (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Bounty Hunter Green -> Shamrock Green (Speedpaints 2.0)
• War Grime -> Desolate Brown (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Widow Black -> Grim Black (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Ryuken Gray -> Cloudburst Blue (Speedpaints 2.0)
• Ricol Red -> Pure Red (Fanatic)
• Gray Death -> Ash Gray (Fanatic)
• Avalon Gray -> Brigade Gray (Fanatic)
• Fire Horse Orange -> Burning Ore (Fanatic)
• Rolling Thunder Tan -> Command Khaki (Fanatic)
• Donegal Blue -> Runic Cobalt (Fanatic)
• St. Ives Green -> Army Green (Fanatic)
• Death Commando -> Deep Gray (Fanatic)
• Revenant Bone -> Boney Spikes (Fanatic)
• Muster Yellow -> Inner Light (Fanatic)

Regarding the revamped formula you mentioned for the second (Mercenaries) set, is this mentioned somewhere or are you just inferring that it’s the new paints? Just wondering. It’s probably worth mentioning this on Sarna, and may also be worth watching if the Starter Set colors remain the same.

The CGL sell sheet mentions that it's Speedpaints 2.0 and Fanatic colors. Linked below.

[ColBosch]

Got a couple of pictures to illustrate what I've discovered so far. In the first photo, you can see a Grendel, Locust, and Warhammer. In the second are two Warrior Attack Helicopters.

The Grendel illustrates how well the Arkab Tan above Wolf Gray works. I really think this just needs a few details - some red lines, the cockpit, and weapon ports - to be finished.

The Locust also looks quite good, with just a coat of Bounty Hunter Green over St. Ives Green. Again, this just needs some details and it'll be table-ready. The Speedpaint effect isn't as obvious, but I should note that this miniature has been used for several painting experiments and its surface details are softer than usual.

The Warhammer is iffy. The Widow Black coat looks patchy, with some white holidays visible. I applied this with a smaller brush, and that might have been a mistake. Still, I think with some details and touch-ups it'll be acceptable for the table.

The two Warriors were given a coat of Steiner Blue, which is a Speedpaint 1.0 formulation. I let them dry for over 24 hours before starting to apply Muster Yellow. As you can see from the left-hand Warrior, the yellow is a little patchy and will need another coat, but it did not reactivate the Speedpaint medium. Not related to the Speedpaints, but before doing more painting on the Warriors I removed the rotors. They're in the way. Luckily, it was the work of just a moment with a razor blade to cut them free.

In general I'm impressed with the Speedpaints. If you just want to get some miniatures on the tabletop that look okay, you could do a lot worse. The biggest problem that I can see if that it's harder to touch up little mistakes. You might be just able to see a tiny spot of yellow on the left-hand Warrior's wing. I can't just paint it over with Steiner Blue; I'll need to first use some primer.

[Pat Payne]

I'm almost wondering if a basecoat in a darker grey (like a German Grey, Panzergrau or Eshin Grey) might work better for the Widow Black -- I've got some Grim Black myself, I might try that to see if it works (going off of your suggestion of using the Saint Ives Green as a basecoat for the Bounty Hunter Green Speedpaint). Maybe even a modified "slapchop", with a dark grey and some light grey or white highlights drybrushed over it....

[Daryk]

I think the all blue Warrior looks better, personally... :)

[ColBosch]

I think the all blue Warrior looks better, personally... :)

I agree, but I'm going for a specific scheme.

[Daryk]

More power to you, good sir!  Just glad to have back on the forum! :)

[Grognard]

Excellent work Sir & very glad to have you back at the painting table.

I've also got the large pile of shame and the Mercs paintset and the BT paint set; so I'm absolutely taking notes on your experiences.

[ColBosch]

More pics, showing the rest of the Speedpaints. All were applied over a white spray undercoat. First picture is the Starter set, left to right: Blackjack (Davion Green), Spider (Marik Purple), Vindicator (Liao Green), and Shadow Hawk (Kurita Red). Second picture are the rest of the Mercenaries Speedpaints, again left to right: Clint (Periphery Brown), Raven (War Grime), smoke plume from Highlander (Ryoken Gray).

The colors are quite good, and the Speedpaint effect is obvious. I get most of the names, but Marik Purple is not what I'd expect. It's not the deep violet we associate with the Free Worlds League but instead a pinkish magenta. It would genuinely work better for Rhonda Snord's Highlander or Ace Darwin's Panther.

[Daryk]

That Davion Green looks almost black... still good, though! :)

[ColBosch]

That Davion Green looks almost black... still good, though! :)

It's much more olive green in person. I could stand to improve my lighting in here but, you know, that whole "not working due to medical reasons" thing.

[Daryk]

No worries... I hope you get well soon!

[worktroll]

Those are great photos, Col! Other than the Marik 'purple', they're all good colours.

Interestingly, I'm currently doing slap-chop with Citadel contrasts. That uses a black base, drybrushed grey, light drybrush of white on upper surfaces, then the contrast. And results are similar, in that it depends on the translucence of the colour paint to highlight the edging. The Steiner blue, Capellan green, and the browns do this well - the Kuritan red to me doesn't give as much contrast between the panels and the panel lines, nor did the yellow.

Will be good to see how these go - adding some metallic details will probably help them pop.

And take care of yourself!

[ColBosch]

As Speedpaints are really just thick glazes, I found an easy way to do credible laser lenses. I first painted them Parade Chrome, then once dry added a thin layer of Steiner Blue. The effect is pretty close to the metallic blue lasers on the pre-painted Orion.

[Daryk]

That's brilliant! :)

[ColBosch]

I think this works as a fast way to do large expanses of cockpit glass. I used Actuator Metal with a top layer of Kurita Red.

[Sapphirus]

I think this works as a fast way to do large expanses of cockpit glass. I used Actuator Metal with a top layer of Kurita Red.

That's a brilliant idea!

[ColBosch]

First three miniatures are finished. I'll take more photos for the actual Miniatures subboard later, but here's how I did them.

The Timber Wolf and Executioner were painted the same way. I started with a base spray of Tamiya Fine White. I touched up any holidays with Factory Primer. Their upper torsos and arms were given a coat of Arkab Tan. I used Factory Primer again to clean up any drips or splotches on the hips and legs, then gave those areas a coat of Wolf Gray. The cockpits are Fire Horse Orange, gun barrels are Death Commando, and I did muzzles either with a tiny drop of Widow Black or with Parade Chrome and a drop of Steiner Blue. I finished them with two coats of Apple Barrel Matte Black on the bases.

The Raven also started with a coat of Tamiya Fine White primer. I then gave it a coat of War Grime. I decided to use my go-to method of drybrushing to build highlights, starting with pure St. Ives Green and adding a little more Revenant Bone for each of about four passes. The weapon ports were painted with Gray Death and finished with a little Widow Black. The cockpit was Parade Chrome given a heavy coat of Kurita Red. I decided to pick out the radome on the left shoulder, starting with Rolling Thunder Tan and finishing with Revenant Bone. Two coats of Apple Barrel Matte Black finished the base.

I'll almost certainly go back and add more details to all the pieces later, but these look just fine for play as-is. The Speedpaints absolutely allowed me to knock these out quickly. They look good and I had none of the problems reported, mainly because I let each coat of Speedpaint fully dry overnight before painting over them.

[Sapphirus]

That's a Gladiator (Executioner), not a Man O War (Gargoyle) 
EDIT: Nevermind then.
Looks great though

[ColBosch]

That's a Gladiator (Executioner), not a Man O War (Gargoyle) 

I KNOW.

[Sapphirus]

Sorry, it's the file name that cause the confusion

[worktroll]

I decided to use my go-to method of drybrushing to build highlights
[/quote]

This. Okay, I'm using Citadel contrasts not Army Painter speedpaints, but virtually all contrast paints I've used benefit from a complementary - typically similar but lighter - drybrush layer.

[ColBosch]

This. Okay, I'm using Citadel contrasts not Army Painter speedpaints, but virtually all contrast paints I've used benefit from a complementary - typically similar but lighter - drybrush layer.

Drybrushing is a highly underrated skill, because it doesn't look as good in extreme closeups. But I've found that when I want an army on the tabletop fast and looking good, it can't be beat.

[ColBosch]

Some more shots. The Clan Wolf Nova is finished and looking great, as are the Raven and Shadow Hawk. The final shot are my works-in-progress, namely Grayson Death Carlyle's Marauder, Aidan Pryde's Timber Wolf, and Gray Noton's Rifleman. The MAD-3R was started years ago and is just being finished now with traditional highlighting, so doesn't really count for this thread. Both the Timby and RFL-3N? are pretty much all Speedpaints. Aidan's ride looks quite good, but I'm a little iffy on Noton's. I tried doing area painting, but really I should've painted the whole thing red and then re-primed and -painted the gray sections. That said, it looks much better in person and is fine on the table.

You can also see the next dozen or so pieces I'm working on behind the hero 'Mechs. I'm really excited to wrap up Rhonda Snord's Highlander, but it's going to need several drybrush passes to make the pink pop.

[Hellraiser]

1.  Holy Sheet Batman, I'm loving me that Beta Wolves scheme.   Very nice.

2.  On the downside, I'm not loving the Red-Hawk.
It's not on you, I just don't feel like there is enough contrast between the armor plates & the grooves.
The contrasts don't seem to be, IDK, "shading" w/ enough "contrast"
I feel like a dark wash for those grooves would be very helpful there.

3.  Those legends are all looking pretty sweet!

[ColBosch]

2.  On the downside, I'm not loving the Red-Hawk.
It's not on you, I just don't feel like there is enough contrast between the armor plates & the grooves.
The contrasts don't seem to be, IDK, "shading" w/ enough "contrast"
I feel like a dark wash for those grooves would be very helpful there.

I think that's just my phone's flash and the photo software's tendency to apply a kind of gamma correction to bring up shadows. Here's the same mini in natural light, on distressed wood no less.

[Hellraiser]

I think that's just my phone's flash and the photo software's tendency to apply a kind of gamma correction to bring up shadows. Here's the same mini in natural light, on distressed wood no less.

Maybe, I just think its the red on red on red.
They don't "contrast" enough for me, LOL.

I'm curious, what did it look like before the contrasts?
Primer Color? 
Zenithal shading?

[Daryk]

Nice work all around in my book! :)