Today I went to the new GW Store in Raleigh, and they had six Paint Stations set up for us to try out the new paint line. They had sprues of space marines primed black, as well as dwarf and goblin figs primed white. They had the same paint selection at each station, and some cards lying out that gave suggestions for color selections for standard armies/figures. As an aside, for those conspiracy theorists out there, the paints available to try out included most of the ones for the Ultramarines, but only one or two of the ones needed to paint Dark Angels. So, I painted my first Smurf. For a quick breakdown of the new types, here we go:

1. Base - I first used the Ceramite White on the helmet to see how it covered over the black primer. With only two coats I had a solid white cover that would take a wash and highlight very well. Probably the best white I ever used. I then used Macragge Blue on the body so that I could test out the rest of the types. Both Base paints had very good coverage as well as a very smooth flow.

2. Shade - Drakenhof Nightshade was the suggested shade for the Ultramarines, so I used it on half of the model, figuring it would take a while to dry. It has a heavy flow to it, leaving some uneven patches on relatively flat areas such as legs and shoulder pads. Thinned a bit with water it flowed much better. These are very similar to the former GW Washes.

3. Dry - The Dry paints are a very strange consistency, actually a paste instead of a liquid. I used the Etherium Blue that was suggested, and these are far and away my least favorite of all the types. With such thick paint on the brush, its even harder to get much of it off of the brush and back into the pot before using the paper towel, which wastes it. Drybrushing already wastes a lot of paint, and this seems to make that even worse. After removing most of the paint from the brush, I drybrushed the other half of the model since the shade still wasn't completely dry. I didn't get as good of a pattern as I do using standard paints, and did get a lot of dusting onto the other half of the model.

4. Layer - Personally, I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference between the Base and Layer paints. The Layers seemed a bit smoother, and may not cover quite as well, but since they are designed to lay over a similar color, they don't really need to. They did a good job for what they were made to do. I should have tried them straight on the black primer to check the coverage compared to the Bases, but I didn't. Sorry, take it off of my check.

5. Glaze - I liked the Glaze. There wasn't any of the color for the Ultramarines out on the tables, so I had to extemporize. What I did have was that lovely white veteran's helmet, and a pot of Waywatcher Green. Oh well. The Glaze went on very nicely, with a low surface tension that allowed a wonderfully smooth coverage . It didn't turn the white into a green, but gave it a color like it would get reflecting a green light. It's kind of hard to describe. Anyway, it also filled into the recesses nicely, and would really bring out the depth of a nice green base.

6. Texture - I said that I liked the Drys the least by far. The reason the the Textures aren't in the running is because they are simply stupid. People, seriously, if you want paint with sand in it, buy paint and put sand in it. Don't pay for less paint because someone else put sand in it. Go buy a bottle of Delta Ceramcoat or Apple Barrel or whatever, pour half of it out, and add playground sand until its the consistency you want. You'll still get twice as much paint for half of the price, and you don't need some fancy paint to use on your bases.

I tried the Textures as well today. On the top of the base (which is already textured by the way), it worked OK. On the smooth rim, not so much. The brush kept pulling the texture off leaving only the paint behind. To get the textured effect, I really had to glob it on. If you want a sand-textured base, paint PVA glue on, dip it in sand, let it dry, then paint it.

Over all, the new line has some stars as well as some black holes. I like the Bases, Shades, and Glazes, and the Layers I need to try out a little more. I would be willing to try any of these on a new color scheme. GW can keep the Drys and Textures.