Army Painter Speedpaint Markers review — an ambitious product

Paint Markers are nothing new and from what I can see, the variety is only going to grow as the rest of the industry starts to figure out how to leverage this new tool, either with unique tips, colors, brush design, and more.  Earlier this year, AK Interactive sent us both their Real Colors and Playmarker lines, both of which came with positives and negatives. Great coverage, but flow changed per marker, not to mention the tips are a little different per marker. That being said, there’s something real familiar about using a marker. In my reviews, I highlighted that these tools lower the barrier to entry for painters, and make base coating a breeze. But by bringing transparency to the table, Army Painter once again shows up with a solid product that fills a gap, and I’m highly impressed with their new Speedpaint Marker line. Let’s dig in.

The Starter Set comes with 10 markers, including Polished Silver, a paint from their Speedpaint Metallic line, and a tube filled with ten replacement tips, something that other brands do not feature. Seeing this is a starter kit, you get a mixture of colors. Grim Black, Gravelord Grey, Pallid Bone, Magic Blue, Orc Skin, Zealot Yellow, Blood Red, Fire Giant Orange, Hardened Leather, and the aforementioned Silver. The markers themselves are from Deep Cut Studio, and if that sounds familiar, Deep Cut actually released speedpaint markers quietly earlier this year, and it’s obvious they were a test for a much larger release. Smart!As to be expected, the labeling of the markers is excellent. Army Painter has done a great job with putting the actual paint names on the markers, and a metal ball in each marker, so that the paint stays good and mixed. Like other markers, operation is simple. Give it a shake, press the nib into the top of the marker, and wait till the nib is soaked. Once moist, start painting.

These markers paint very cleanly. Exceptionally so. What I really like about these markers over other brands is that they’re taking advantage of the Army Painter Speedpaint line…being translucent means you can use these to tint other colors or blend colors! 

On my Yondu model from Marvel Crisis Protocol, I was very easily able to lay down base tones on top of a white primer, and with the colors supplied, I was able to handle the skin, hair, leathers, and wraps. While the Silver was a little bright, I was still able to paint up Yondu’s shinguards.  And on my Khador models from Warmachine, they were perfect in painting armor panels and weapons.

There are some slight drawbacks. Like other markers, and in fact, all markers, trying to do fine detail work isn’t going to happen. These are going to be best suited for larger space applications, like vehicle panel work, basing, and larger model applications…but remember, this is just another tool. I was able to get into the crevices on Yondu, and when necessary, I was able to place some paint down with the marker, and quickly come in with a moist brush and hit the areas I couldn’t reach.

Also, considering the paint range, I really want more paints and washes to be held in these markers. Where’s Forest Spite, the Pastels, Maggot Skin, Familiar Pink, or Glittering Loot?!

Outside of the paint being translucent, the other 2 defining features of these markers are the replaceable tips and the caps. First, the tips. Let’s say you end up accidentally mixing some colors on the tip (a common issue with all markers), and then your work moving forward ends up being a mix you didn’t want (hello, weird brown silver), or even worse, the tip dries out. No worries, Army Painter provides you with fresh tips! In my test, pulling out the old tip was easy, and replacing it with a fresh one was simple. Then, the cap of the marker also serves as a priming point, where you can press down the nip until it’s full of paint. Effortless. Wear gloves though, as it can get messy changing a tip. 

Lastly, and this is a big point to make that I’ve made in previous reviews, but Paint Markers are a great thing for our hobby. They lower the barrier to entry by providing paint in an easy to use format, and lowering the cost. Instead of buying a palette, brushes, a set of paints, paint cleaner, thinner, etc…you can purchase a set of Army Painter markers, and immediately get moving on painting.

For me, these are an addition to my toolbelt, and they have their specific uses. I’ll be using them in the future to help with army painting, basing, terrain, and vehicles. What will you use markers on? Sound off in the comments! And as always, look to Gaming Trend for all things Army Painter.

Speedpaint Marker – Starter Set

10 colours. Brush-free. Anywhere.9 rich acrylics + 1 metallic in portable Felt-Tech markers. Switch colours in seconds and paint detail or bulk with no brush, palette, or cleanup. Includes: 10 Speedpaint Markers: Magic Blue, Fire Giant Orange, Hardened Leather, Grim Black, Pallid Bone, Orc Skin, Zealot Yellow, Gravelor

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