Info from Azazel:

I’m not a paint snob, nor a GW/Citadel kissarse. I use painted from a wide variety of manufacturers. I used to love Army Painter’s stuff until they changed to the Gel medium a few years ago (hexagonal pattern on the bottles) Now I find their paints awful, but I still use their washes as my primary go-to. I bought the entire range of Contrast when they came out, and I rarely use them the way you’re “supposed” to, I almost always use them diluted with medium and chances my favourites from the range aren’t the ones that are yours (I rarely use Wyldwood or Black), BUT they are embedded into my workflow alongside regular actylics.

So when Warpaints brought out their range of Not-Contrast, I bought them. They weren’t cheap. They work differently. Really differently. I don’t like them, I rarely use them for anything.

Scale 75 brought their Not-Contrasts out via Kickstarter. With a KS, it was easy to take a “Wait and See”, so I did. Reviews aren’t exactly glowing, so I skipped ’em.

Now Army Painter have brought their Speedpaints out. I was keen, and ready to hit the “buy” button for the full set if the reviews panned out. They have absolutely saturated the YouTube space with free paints, and most YouTubers have gobbled up the advance product for those free clicks with glowing reviews. Why bite the hand that feeds? There was one review however, that was a little different. Stahly from Tale of Painters. Actually, it was his First Look that triggered the alarm bells. One word. Reactivation.

On Dakka, Stahly wrote: “I’ve reached out to my contacts at The Army Painter and they said the reactivating is a side effect of the medium they use, but it would only tend to happen with Speedpaints containg yellow pigments – so yellow, orange, red, and some of the greens, but I’ll have to try for myself.”  

I’d mentioned “It’s an issue no other review has pointed out so far, at least the ones I watched”

Stahly’s response: “maybe because Games Workshop and Contrast bashing generates more clicks on YouTube? 😉 “

So here we are. A full review of them.

Stahly: So, here is my final review & comparison. And yes, Speedpaints reactivate when you paint over them. All of them. Doesn’t matter how long you let them dry. It’s not the end of the world, but you need to think about how you want to use them. (Azazel’s added emphasis).

For me this is a dealbreaker. I’m not (fucking) varnishing my models between coats, nor am I going to never ever be able to not accidentally make a mistake with paint, so these are not going to be useful for my painting. I’m thankful that Stahly’s honesty has saved me a bloody big wad of cash.

I’m not saying don’t buy them. I’m saying be aware. And also be aware of all of the “reputable” Hobby YouTubers who didn’t think this was even worth mentioning, and remember them next time they’re previewing or reviewing something.

Now – Stahly’s review: