Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 vs. Vallejo Xpress Color Paints

Speed Painting: Less Time Painting, More Time Gaming

Speed painting is a popular approach among tabletop gaming enthusiasts that emphasizes efficiency and productivity in the miniature painting process. The concept revolves around completing miniatures quickly without sacrificing overall quality. This technique allows hobbyists to spend less time painting and more time enjoying their favorite tabletop games.

The Appeal of Speed Painting:

The primary allure of speed painting lies in its time-saving benefits. In the fast-paced world of tabletop gaming, players often find themselves juggling various responsibilities, making it challenging to allocate ample time for painting miniatures. Speed painting comes to the rescue, enabling hobbyists to achieve satisfactory results in a fraction of the time it would typically take with traditional painting techniques.

Basic Speed Painting Techniques:

Speed painting techniques focus on streamlining the painting process to cover large areas efficiently and quickly. Common strategies include “base coating,” where the main colors are quickly applied to establish the overall color scheme. Dry brushing is another popular technique used in speed painting, involving lightly brushing a contrasting color over raised surfaces to highlight details. Washes, which are thin, watery paints, are also employed to bring out recessed areas and add depth to the miniatures with minimal effort.

Using Speedpainter Brushes for Efficient Results:

Both the Army Painter Vallejo brushes are tailored to support speed painting techniques. Their fine, pointed tips ensure accurate application during base coating and detailing, while the high-quality synthetic bristles make them perfect for dry brushing and washes. By using these specialized brushes, hobbyists can maximize their painting speed without compromising on the quality of their finished miniatures.

Balancing Speed and Quality:

While speed painting emphasizes efficiency, maintaining a balance between speed and quality is essential. By following the principles of speed painting, hobbyists can achieve impressive results quickly, but it’s crucial to acknowledge that some intricate details might be left out.

Speed painting offers an enticing opportunity for tabletop gaming enthusiasts to spend less time painting and more time immersed in their favorite games. By using paint ranges like the Army Painter Speedpainter 2.0 and Vallejo’s XPress Color, hobbyists can efficiently complete their miniatures without compromising on the overall quality.

One-Coat Painting Solution:
Both the Speedpainter 2.0 Paints and Xpress Color Paints offer the convenience of a true one-coat painting solution. Army Painter’s Speedpainter 2.0 boasts an innovative resin medium that flows smoothly over miniatures, providing vibrant saturation, rich shadows, and easy highlights all in a single coat. Likewise, Vallejo’s Xpress Color exhibits excellent capillarity, allowing the color to effortlessly flow over the miniature surface, creating contrasting effects with just one layer of paint. The one-coat feature of both paints saves time, making them ideal choices for painting hordes of miniatures quickly.

Range and Selection:
Army Painter’s Speedpainter 2.0 Paints offer a comprehensive selection of sought-after colors, available in various sets, including the Starter Set, Mega Set 2.0, and Complete Set 2.0. With a range of 90 colors, painters can easily find the perfect shades for their projects, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced hobbyists. On the other hand, Vallejo’s Xpress Color Paints provides fewer colors, that can be more versatile, and that can be mixed together or diluted with Xpress Medium to create new shades and blend transitions seamlessly.

Application and Technique:
Army Painter’s Speedpainter 2.0 Paints excel at providing even coverage, yielding better-looking results. The Speedpaint technique involves applying a generous coat of paint directly over a primed miniature, allowing the pigment to flow into the recesses and details. Vallejo’s Xpress Color, with its excellent capillarity, also ensures easy application, settling on all the reliefs and intensifying in the crevices with a single layer of paint. Both paints offer speed and efficiency in application, making them perfect for quickly transforming grey plastic armies into fully painted forces.

Compatibility and Versatility:
Both Speedpainter 2.0 Paints and Xpress Color Paints can be used with various primed or painted surfaces. Army Painter recommends using their Colour Primer Matt White or Airbrush Matt White Primer for best results, while Vallejo advises applying Xpress Color on a white or grey primed or painted surface. Additionally, the Speedpaint 2.0 range can be complemented with Anti-Shine Matt Varnish Spray or Airbrush Varnish for added protection. Both paints showcase their versatility by being compatible with other colors in their respective ranges, allowing for glazes, filters, and smooth transitions between tones.

When it comes to speed painting, both Army Painter’s Speedpainter 2.0 Paints and Vallejo’s Xpress Color Paints offer compelling solutions for efficiently painting miniatures with vibrant results. The Speedpainter 2.0 excels with its comprehensive color selection, ease of application, and one-coat solution, ideal for beginners and seasoned hobbyists alike. On the other hand, Vallejo’s Xpress Color demonstrates its capillarity advantage, effortlessly creating contrast and shading with just a single layer. Whether you opt for the convenience and control of Speedpainter 2.0 or the quick and easy application of Xpress Color, both paints promise to turn your unpainted armies into captivating, tabletop-ready forces, allowing you to spend less time painting and more time gaming.