Being on a uni student budget, I do not have any of the new washes since none of my inks have ran out yet and I haven't heard great reviews for a lot of the washes. Can anyone who has a few tell me if there is much difference between ink and wash? In particular I am painting skinks as test models for my army, will I find much difference between blue ink and asurman blue? I think I will have to invest in devlan mud, that one seems good and everyone uses it for basically everything. Not too sure about the rest unless I specifically need them though.
i got the wash set not too long ago, and in my opinion its all good. its just that some colors will be used a bit less than the others, but they can all be nice. I can post a pick a bit later of a saurus ive painted using multiple washes and ofc normal paint. washes are thinner than inks, and they dont turn out blank/shiny, wich can be a pain. one thing you can do is speed paint a model fully in ice blue and then use asurmen blue on it to add shades, and it will actually turn out quite nice with minimal effort.
The washes are great. (I never used Inks cause they give a shiny finish) You'll need some practice how to use the washes. You don't always have to use a green wash over green basecolor, etc. I tend to paint my models to a pretty high standard, but about a month ago i started using washes on Bretonnian Men at Arms. With the new washes you can really speedpaint. The models on the pictures below where painted in about 3 weeks time. Close up: Washes all the way. Now i only have to find a way how i can use the washes on my Lizardmen and keep a unified look between older and newer painted models.
Washes = subtal shading all over, tends to pool like inks in the corners, good for darking or adding a bit of tone, inks = alot sharper and the make alot more difference to models but can dry shiny if not mixed with water correctly i use both and bought a large stock of inks just before washes came out. i find that washes work alot better if i want to paint a model with alot of shading and tones i use inks for sharp shading on mass regiment units, i would suggest washes over inks in general just for the simple fact that although not a strong in pigment they dont dry shiny
You could always make your own washes. Just buy a cheaper brand of paint, like cermacoat, and go at it.
Surely washes aren't just heavily watered down paint? That would suck.. Thanks for the replies all. I have decided to buy the wash set and try them out, starting with some lizardmen. I actually don't mind the inks finishing shiny, I have got used to it. But we shall see how the washes turn out.
I don't see what else they would include. All the GW paints are acrylic paints, and to create washes with acrylic paints you simply water them down. Really, all it seems you're getting out of the paint is a dedicated pot of perfectly mixed wash. No measurement required, which may or may not be worth the price you pay for them. I bought a Devlan Mud after many people recommended it and it functions and looks exactly the same as my Dark Burnt Umber Ceramcoat wash. Maybe a little lighter, but it's not noticeable. Of course, the biggest point of those washes is that they are designed for the citadel range of paints in mind so the colors match very well.
There is a chemical in washes and inks that makes them flow and pool better then regular paint washes. If you take a large flat primed area and wash it and do another as paint/water you will see that the paint/water one is patchy the wash one will be more of a blob.