The P3 range of paints for miniatures is nearing the end of a successful Kickstarter campaign, which will see it relaunched with new chemical formulas under new owner Steamforged Games. I’ve been testing early paint samples from the new range on my backlog of Warhammer 40k minis, and I’m happy to report that the new formula P3 paints are better than ever.
The original range of P3 paints for miniatures from Privateer Press has a well deserved reputation for quality: it came well mixed, provided good coverage, and had a slightly longer working time than Citadel or Vallejo paints, making it easier to blend colors while they’re still wet. If it had a significant weakness it was in the metallics, which proved a little prone to separation.
I received 21 paints from the range, all in lidded pots – if you back the Kickstarter campaign before it closes on Friday you’ll also have the option to get dropper bottles. I’ve played with all of the colors I was provided, both on miniatures and on terrain, hard surfaces and organic textures, over white base coats and black.
Sadly I can’t show you everything I’ve painted yet, as my schedule for painting miniatures has been dominated by an as-yet embargoed product I have to keep under wraps. But his Space Marine Phobos Lieutenant from the Warhammer 40k Leviathan box has a good range of different types of material, and I found him very satisfying to paint with P3 paints.
The Imperial Fists yellow armor color is Heartfire yellow over a white basecoat, with a glaze of mixed Heartfire and Khador Red Base for the shading. Straight out of the pot the paint is well mixed but quite thick – thinning it with water it gave smooth and even coverage, or could make translucent glazes. On a black undercoat it provided excellent coverage in two thin coats.
While I’ve experimented with a bit of wet blending with these paints, I’m not that experienced with the technique, so I can’t say authoritatively whether they’re noticeably better for it than the competition. But the new formula does have the same long working time that made the original paints popular with wet blenders.
The coverage with the metallics is particularly good. I’ve used the Solid Gold, the dark iron Boiler Black, and dark copper Deathless Metal all straight over a black undercoat, and the coverage is great with two thin coats. There’s also no sign of the irreparable separation that has marred some of the P3 metallics I’ve used in the past – whether that’s sustained in the long run remains to be seen.
In short, they’re good paints! I’ll call particular attention to Marrow White: it’s a pure white with excellent opacity, even coverage, and which doesn’t separate, which is sheer gold dust for painters.
They’ll be entering my rotation for dealing with my backlog of Warhammer 40k factions. If you want to know more about how I painted this Lieutenant, check out my guide about how to paint Space Marines, which covers all the key techniques.
Source: Wargamer
