I might have a new favorite Warhammer 40k novelty product. Games Workshop has just revealed that it’s launching a novelty paint palette shaped like a grinning servo skull, which will replace its existing range of disposable palette paper. And gosh, am I delighted.
First things first – painting miniatures well absolutely does not need fancy palettes. A disposable plastic plate, spare ceramic tile, or DIY wet palette (a tray, lined with damp kitchen paper or sponge, and covered in greaseproof paper) will all work fine as paint receptacles. I would only advocate buying this palette as an accessory to show your love for Warhammer 40k.
With that said, it honestly looks like a decent design. The servo-skull shape provides 24 separate paint wells of different sizes, allowing you to keep a variety of colors on the palette at once without cross-contamination. It’s made from flexible, highly polished silicone, so acrylic paints for miniatures should not stick. Once your paints have dried out you can flex the palette and peel the dried paint out, which will be soooo satisfying.
If you live somewhere that’s dry or hot, a wet palette will be superior for keeping your paints from drying out, particularly if you want to use very thin glazes, or to keep custom mixed colors fresh between painting sessions. But for getting your Warhammer 40k faction ready for the tabletop, the skull will be more than sufficient.
Games Workshop has made some very silly novelty products over the years. I’m very fond of the bright red, rubber, asymmetrical “dice squigs” released to accompany the Age of Sigmar Gloomspite Gitz army. Profoundly impractical, not to mention imbalanced, these dice actually bounce off the table – they are a perfect representation of the madcap Age of Sigmar army they’re tied to. Youtubers Snipe and Wib’s video on them, below, makes for a great watch.
Digging back really deep into Games Workshop’s catalogue, there’s Games Workshop’s only attempt at making an airbrush for miniatures – a suction-fed, externally mixed airbrush with a plastic casing that vaguely resembled a Space Marine flamer. It was a terrible version of the wrong sort of airbrush for miniature painting, but I admire it as a piece of kitsch branded tat.
With that said, the licensed Warhammer 40k scented candles remain inexplicable to me. And while I’m writing this in the arms of the massive Warhammer 40k gaming chair, I absolutely would not be if it hadn’t been sent it as a review sample: you can see what I think of the enormous thing in this 40k gaming chair feature.
Source: Wargamer
