cornixt:
I recently realised that I was going to run out of black paint. I have been using Vallejo paints, but I found that the black leaves a horrible glossy shine, which is bad for something that is supposed to be shady. While in a local craft store I picked up a bottle of Americana “lamp black” paint (what’s the deal with naming black and white paints with anything other than “black” or “white”, you don’t have any shades or tones like you do with every other colour). It was only 75c for 59ml, but I figured I would use it mostly for undercoating so it wouldn’t matter if it was a bit watery like most craft store paints tend to be. I was completely blown away by the results. Not only is it a good consistancy, but it is very matt. Added to that, it is an excellent primer. I have some models where GW and Vallejo paints act like the surface is oil (even after washing), resulting in cracking when you finally manage to coat the surface. The American paint doesn’t care, it goes on like a dream, one coat, no cracking, no loss of detail. If there is one problem with the paint, it is the texture. It is so matt that even a coat of proper miniatures paint over it will retain a bit of the rough texture. But that’s it. I can’t sing its praises enough, and for that price (5% of other miniature paints) I don’t see myself getting any other black paint ever again since I will only use my existing black paint sparingly.
Has anyone tried any other Americana paints? If the other colours are half as good as this then I’ll load up on white and green, but I’m suspecting that only the black has these amazing qualities. My experiences with other budget craft store paints was horrific to say the least - too thin, low pigment count, dries too quickly - but this is the first time I have used Americana brand and I am very impressed.