I'm pretty new to miniature painting, so when I started,

>>44097107
Ciradel paints need to be thinned for best results.

I personally Love Revell Aqua for painting without thinning

>>44097292
Ah, did not know that. Do other brands of paints need to be thinned as well, such as Reaper(My only other paints)?

>>44097343
Depends on thickness. Thin them until they can be used well... more a thing of personal preference

>>44097343
Yes, you will need to thin any paint to the desired consistency for best results. It is always better to thin paint, since you can always add more thin layers, but you can't take part of a thick layer off.

Is Vallejo any good? My friend uses it and his models are fucking amazing. But he has been painting models for close to a decade and a half.

>>44097442

You have to be careful, though, thin it enough and the law of similars and infintesimals will cause it to be an extremely thick paint of the opposite color.

>>44097505
TL;DR
Pretty much every namebrand hobby paint is good.
Big thing is getting the hang of their different thicknesses, flow, etc just a bit a practice.

Vallejo invalidates Citadel since they cover Citadel paints 1:1 for colors and are cheaper. They're also closer to reaper in consistency if you like that.
Reaper can have some issues when drying if you apply it too thick but yes out of the bottle it seems thinner.
Personally I find both dry too glossy for my tastes but that's what varnish is for.

You've already got Citadel paints, just learn to use them. Thinner, flow aid, drying retardant, etc will all affect the behavior. Try dilluted mixtures of rubbing alcohol or ammonia free windex to get the Citadel closer to reaper when you thin it.

>>44099118
Ah, thanks for the advice! I don't have that many citadel paints yet, about 8, so I'm not too heavily invested into their paints. I actually also have 12 of the reaper paints (I bought one of their starter kits because I just felt like having an easy project where I didn't need to worry), so I'm about equally invested.

>>44099118
Do you mayhaps have a GW to Reaper/vajello conversion chart?
Also, are there any GW paints that you'd say are better than the alternatives?

>>44100997
Try this
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

>>44100997
GW's been very good in getting rid of any products I'd like to buy, the one thing I'd still get is their Technical paints for special effect like blood, rust, cracked earth.

>>44100997
I actually really like GW's metal paints, and their special paints like the foundation and washes are really nice.

I use Vallejo 90% of the time though, but to be honest it's not because I think GW's paints are bad, It's just that the Dropper bottles are so much more convenient and economical (keeps paints from drying out and you don't need to scoop it out of the pot)

At the end of the day, the paints aren't the most important thing, reaper, vallejo, GW, P3, they're all great and you're going to have to thin most of them with a little water and use your judgement anyway. If you're new to it, don't obsess about what tools you are using, focus on being neat and learning the right consistency for smooth layers. Any paint no matter what brand looks crappy if you cake it on too thick or in the wrong places.