Vallejo paints are great and their starters don't cheap out on the size of the pot. You do want Citadel's washes though. The only good wash Vallejo makes is their rust. With that said, color matching vallejo to Citadel doesn't always work out great when following along with the videos. If you are new, you are best off following the videos exactly for the first few projects. Then you can deviate a bit with the cheaper (and better) Vallejo paints. Though you can buy black, white, and german grey.

You best bet is to make the list of paints you need from the videos, Soroastro is real good about listing them, and going to a local game store and buying just what you need for what you are currently painting. Slowly over time you will have a big collection of paints, paints that all get used which you can't always say about some of those bottles in the big paint sets.

One thing to look for is a sale. Some stores may have a 10-20% off or a buy 5 get one free type deal. You can take advantage of that. And yes, painting hobby is expensive.......

I really like the Citadel paints. They apply smooth and not too thick. As for value? Well... while my opinion is pretty high of the quality of Citadel, they are not the overall best value. Army Painter is perhaps the best. There base and layer paints are excellent. I use their washes on terrain as I prefer Citadel washes/glazes/technicals/ and metallics. Vallejo quality is great as well though they are almost as expensive as Citadel - but there paints last a while too.

The biggest issue that I have against Citadel are those confounded "new" style pots. I get the extra lip on the inside of the cap as a place to easily get some paint on your brush, but they are still sub-par with the much better dropper-style of AP and Vallejo. Especially the taller wash pots of Citadel which can spill easier and sometimes the cap is hard to tell if it's secured. The pigment, however, is from the same place as AP gets there's I believe and Vallejo gets there's from the other pigment company. (it's possible I got that the other way around in that Citadel and Vallejo may get there's from the same place... I'm trying to go from memory here).

Something that I find helps a lot is a wet palette.

I just use a small single compartment storage box, then i line the bottom with kitchen towel and put under a running tap until drenched. Squeeze off the excess water and then cover with a piece of baking paper or wax paper.

This will keep the paint from drying out for a long time, so long a time as the various pigments will separate and you'll have to re-mix the paint to restore the colour you were painting. I have had paint last for a day if I keep the lid on overnight.

As far as paints go I have used Vallejo and GW, I find that Vellejo is great where you want a good solid colour, on the other hand GW made for good layering and building up of colours.

I prefer Citadel, I’ve tried P3 they are a little thin for my liking. I would buy individuals though, you really only need about ten or 12 colors for most things

Nearly all of Sorastro's painting videos go through 5 steps. Preparation, Base Coat, Shading, Highlighting and Details and Basing.

I think you can standardise preparation to just a spray of white and paint on watered down black if he recommends darker colours.

Also nearly every video has a list of paints. Copy and paste that list into a text editor.The watch the video and whenever he mentions a paint bold that on the list you created. (Pause the video as to not miss anything.)

Now when you get to the Highlighting and Details - he normally preambles this section of the video with these steps are optional, STOP!

In general you'll have 4-5 paints and 2-3 washes. That is all you need to get some nice, tabletop standard miniatures ready for your games. In general he uses a lot of Nuln Oil and Agrax Eartshade. So you may need only 4-5 paints and over time, you may find some get used again on different models. Painting Bike Riders and Stormtroopers, even the Snowtroopers would be remarkably similar. So the range of colours may be quite small.

I would suggest that you get everything to this standard, then watch a video and aim to do 2-3 steps of the highlighting and details each week.

This way you get the models painted up over a few weeks and get the colours you need gradually over that time.

Once you have the first batch of models to the standard you want, get a can of spray varnish or paint on varnish and apply.

Then add basing, basing can be quite simple or complicated as you like and there are a range of products from flocking, gel mediums, sticks and grass tufts that can all be built up in various layers over time.

12 hours ago, Hidatom said:

an aside to all of these "I've never painted..." threads.

FIND A LOCAL GAME STORE.
we can type out the BEST advice and you can watch youtube videos but your LGS can do even better.

@Jabby where are you located? We can probably point you to a LGS so you don't buy stuff from Amazon.

Yeah, about that. I live in Qatar. They don’t have game stores. (As far as I know, and I’ve lived here for 10 years).

I just started painting after Christmas when I received this kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00NTMC49G&pd_rd_r=W5PNFWJTB74MJVY6Q5S6&pd_rd_w=MfdOZ&pd_rd_wg=4vwwa&psc=1&refRID=W5PNFWJTB74MJVY6Q5S6

I have since bought a ton, some to match Sorastro some to add to my collections. I picked this up a couple of weeks for $77 (out of stock now), I already have some of the colors but for the price I couldn't pass it up. Amazon has it for $95, still a good price.

https://www.gamenerdz.com/warpaints-mega-paint-set-2017

My FLGS resident painter is a huge Reaper fan and I am happy with them, I do like the dropper bottles much better than the pots. I am still using cheaper brushes until I am more confident on not messing them up, I have messed up more than one so far, but it's a $5 not a $20 brush.

@Jabby are you focusing on one side for Legion? That will change the recommended paints.

On 3/4/2018 at 7:57 PM, Jabby said:

Yeah, about that. I live in Qatar. They don’t have game stores. (As far as I know, and I’ve lived here for 10 years).

The dropper style paints like Vallejo or army painter would be best as they won't dry out as easy as citadel paints then. If you have good AC and the paints can be kept at room temperature the whole time, you are still best off buying individual pots of the citadel paints. I am not sure if Amazon has all the colors but should have the most popular ones. I still feel a good Vallejo starter with the colors you'll most likely use is best.

So im thinking I’ll just buy the paints one unit at a time. I probably won’t be getting this game on release since I just blew a lot on a new pc and stellaris. But i will get it eventually, probably around the summer. Thanks for the advice. Just to recap:

1. So vallejo and army painter have more paint in their bottles for the same price?

2. The citadel sets aren’t worth it?

4 minutes ago, Jabby said:

So im thinking I’ll just buy the paints one unit at a time. I probably won’t be getting this game on release since I just blew a lot on a new pc and stellaris. But i will get it eventually, probably around the summer. Thanks for the advice. Just to recap:

1. So vallejo and army painter have more paint in their bottles for the same price?

2. The citadel sets aren’t worth it?

Pretty much, but don't forget that they are still high quality paints. Single colours can be worth it if you really like them. They also have a pretty neat system for highlights, so they do offer something if you want to spend more and find that appealing.

They aren't better than the better value options, but they also aren't strictly worse and offer some advantages.

Still, for better value go with Vallejo or Army Painter.

1 hour ago, Jabby said:

2. The citadel sets aren’t worth it?

Their starter sets are not worth it. They have nice paints, but they are more money for a little less paint and you have a pot vs a dropper bottle which can make measuring paints harder and the pots can dry out quicker. If you stick with the major brands, GW, Vallejo, Reaper, Army Painter, Provateer; you won't be disapointed.

2 hours ago, Jabby said:

So im thinking I’ll just buy the paints one unit at a time. I probably won’t be getting this game on release since I just blew a lot on a new pc and stellaris. But i will get it eventually, probably around the summer. Thanks for the advice. Just to recap:

1. So vallejo and army painter have more paint in their bottles for the same price?

2. The citadel sets aren’t worth it?

I like the citadel washes and their glazes in the technical paint line are very useful. However the Amazon USA price of the Citadel Shade Paint works out to be about the same as picking up the wash by them self at full MSRP. You do get a free brush with them.

On 3/4/2018 at 9:57 PM, Jabby said:

Yeah, about that. I live in Qatar. They don’t have game stores. (As far as I know, and I’ve lived here for 10 years).

If you’re in Qatar, just go with whatever brand is most reasonably priced, accounting for shipping. Citadel, Army Painter, Reaper, the different flavors of Vallejo (model color, game color, etc.), and so on, are all high quality paints and you cannot really go wrong with any of them.

The best paints are the ones you can actually get and use!

What kinds of varnish is recommended

Be warned, the Citadel starter sets usually have tiny 3ml bottles inside ad the price per color is the same as regular 17ml Vallejo or Army Painter.

Read the description very carefully if you plan on buying these.

6 hours ago, Jabby said:

What kinds of varnish is recommended

A matte or satin one, usually. Since you live in a warm region, spray cans may be problematic, with paint partially drying before hitting the model (varnishes are more fickle than primers on that front). Not sure about that, since I live on the other end of the spectrum with too cold/humid climate most of the time.

Brush on varnishes work well as an alternative for those without airbrush. I use gloss varnish (currently Citadel 'ardcoat) and dull that down with Army Painter anti-shine. I paint for boardgame kind of games (Blood Bowl and Shadespire), so my minis need to be durable, for a game like Legion one coat could probably sufficient.

30 minutes ago, Admiral Deathrain said:

A matte or satin one, usually. Since you live in a warm region, spray cans may be problematic, with paint partially drying before hitting the model (varnishes are more fickle than primers on that front). Not sure about that, since I live on the other end of the spectrum with too cold/humid climate most of the time.

Brush on varnishes work well as an alternative for those without airbrush. I use gloss varnish (currently Citadel 'ardcoat) and dull that down with Army Painter anti-shine. I paint for boardgame kind of games (Blood Bowl and Shadespire), so my minis need to be durable, for a game like Legion one coat could probably sufficient.

Oh for me durability is key. Dont have the patience to be constantly repainting. So a brush on gloss varnish or matte?

1 hour ago, Jabby said:

Oh for me durability is key. Dont have the patience to be constantly repainting. So a brush on gloss varnish or matte?

Either, they each do the same thing when it comes to protection, it their light reflection qualities that differ.

9 hours ago, Jabby said:

What kinds of varnish is recommended

I've become a big fan of Testors dull coat two coats of it add a great layer of protection and I haven't had any temp/ humid issue with it.

1 hour ago, Amanal said:

Either, they each do the same thing when it comes to protection, it their light reflection qualities that differ.

And fir that which is better?

While I will agree that Citadel paints are smaller pots and more expensive, I have also found with Army Painter bottles, no matter how much I shake the bottle, it's always seperated a little and I always get some emulsion out of the bottle with no pigment, and then the pigment starts to flow. I end up squeezing more out of the bottle than I am gonna use, because I have to wait for actual paint to start coming out of the bottle.

Also, I have found the Army Painter stuff just doesn't go on as evenly as the Citadel stuff.

3 hours ago, Jabby said:

Oh for me durability is key. Dont have the patience to be constantly repainting. So a brush on gloss varnish or matte?

Gloss varnishes offer a more durable surface, which is why I seal my miniatures with them. On most miniatures the shine looks bad, though, so I follow it up with a matt varnish to preserve the look.

3 minutes ago, Shokupanman said:

While I will agree that Citadel paints are smaller pots and more expensive, I have also found with Army Painter bottles, no matter how much I shake the bottle, it's always seperated a little and I always get some emulsion out of the bottle with no pigment, and then the pigment starts to flow. I end up squeezing more out of the bottle than I am gonna use, because I have to wait for actual paint to start coming out of the bottle.

Also, I have found the Army Painter stuff just doesn't go on as evenly as the Citadel stuff.

Agitator balls or sticks to stirr the paint are mandatory for AP paints, as they tend to get stored for too long and you just can't shake paints up in dropper bottles well enough (their one weakness...) to fix that. Vallejo has the same issues, but they are moving stock fast enough for them not to be common.

31 minutes ago, Admiral Deathrain said:

Agitator balls or sticks to stirr the paint are mandatory for AP paints, as they tend to get stored for too long and you just can't shake paints up in dropper bottles well enough (their one weakness...) to fix that. Vallejo has the same issues, but they are moving stock fast enough for them not to be common.

I've gone through my entire AP set (I splurged and bought it all) and added agitator balls to them. It still takes a bit of shaking if I haven't used the paint in a while (or ever) but they do help.