James Bella takes a look at Warpigs Weathering Pigments, a new line of pigments offered by Modeler's Warehouse.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Thanks for the review James,
I was curious about these.

My pleasure, Dave, hopefully your curiosity was satiated

James this is a nice and thorough review, however price wise they are more expensive than Mig pigments from my current supplier in the UK, so is there anything unique about these that perhaps MIG doesn't have.

Darren, thank you. I just checked the European market and noticed a few things......

Price wise very close to Mig's, I was seeing 2.50 for the Warpigs and 2.52 to 2.80 for Mig's.

Also, the samples sent are apparently the U.S. version, since the Warpigs EU. have a completely different container and go by different name designations...interesting. And too bad, since I like the U.S. style containers. Well, not too bad for the people over here

As far as what's in the bottle, I don't see any difference between Warpigs and Mig's in quality, so in your case I would let price be the determining factor between the two.

Okay you guys, gotta ask this simple noobie question (which I'm sure has been answered SOMEWHERE!): You all "over the pond," non-US, keep saying "WHITE SPIRITS." So, for my fellow modelers, on THIS side of the pond: Is WHITE SPIRITS "Mineral Spirits?" Or is it another variety of thinner?

Sorry for the Duh question, but I had to ask.

Mike

They rubbed off on me Mike, even I call it White Spirits I think it was all the times I watched the Marcus Nicholls video, he used what he called 'white spirits', and the container looked like bottled water. I could see me getting involved in doing some weathering and taking a swig!

Anyway, I use white spirits as a generic term for clear paint thinner, turpentine, turpenoid, mineral spirits,etc.

Mike,

Not a "duh" question at all, as I had the same situation in art stores back in South Africa - I got blank looks from most shop assistants, until one actually looked it up. Apparently it's distilled turpentine - basically a more pure version of pine turps...

HTH

Rudi

Yes Mike, White Spirits are Mineral Spirits. It's milder and lighter than turpentine and now it's all I use, for everything.
James, since you mention it......
Decades ago I used to clean my brushes in an old coffee cup, until one day I dropped my brush in my coffee and took a good healthy mouthful of turpentine!

Thanks guys, appreciate the responses. Figured that "white spirits" were "mineral spirits," just needed to confirm.

James, great review on the pigments...I like how you presented the different applications.

The reason for the question was to confirm the thinner/mixer for both pigments (can't recall the brand I have) and the Windsor and Newton oils I just started getting (thanks Darren).

Mike

Thanks Mike, actually that was a good reminder for me to be more clear with reviews, especially with a worldwide reader base.

I use 'Mona Lisa Odorless Paint Thinner' for everything from pigments, washes, filters, etc. Even on this label (made in USA, by the way) it's called paint thinner, contains 100% mineral spirits and can be used like turpentine. A few different terms for the same product!

I should probably clarify things...

When we started Modelers' Warehouse and Warpigs, we found that the cost of shipping to EU effectively killed any price savings, not to mention that customs were a royal pain.

Warpigs EU is a subsidiary of Mastercasters in the UK, and handle our EU customers, although we'll gladly ship from the U.S. if the customer is willing to cover the shipping.

Warpigs and Warpigs EU use the same pigments, from the same supplier. The packaging is different, but the quantities are the same. Warpigs US has no control over the pricing of Warpigs EU, as the product is packaged in the UK and the production costs are obviously different.

Warpigs will be changing the names of the colors soon to reflect the recommended uses of colors. We wanted to stick with the names given by the art world, since they are fairly universal, but we've had numerous requests for 'North African Sand', etc.

If you live the EU, Warpigs EU are available from Mastercasters in the UK, and I believe that Cammett's also carries the line. In the US, Warpigs are available direct, or through Sprue Brothers.

Thanks,

Jeff Herne
Modelerswarehouse

Thanks for clearing that up, Jeff.

Personally, I'd rather Warpigs stayed with the names they have now. I find it easier to know what color Light Sienna is rather than Egyptian Sand, or whatever. On the other hand, since I tend to mix colors, I just look thru the tops and pick and choose, which is one of the reasons I like these containers.

I picked up some of these from the IPMS Nationals this year, like them very much. Simple to work with, nice containers, wide range of colors, think I paid $6 or $6.50 US for one.

Recently used the 006 - Light Sienna on my finished 251/16, was very pleased with them.

Hope this helps. Cheers -

Tim

Thanks Tim, glad to hear you like them.

Since we're not a huge company, feedback is taken to heart and usually acted upon in one way, shape or form. Perhaps we'll leave the name change debate open for a while longer to see where it finally ends up, or if it matters at all, once Warpigs are common in the marketplace.

We're always looking for new color ideas, too, so if you have a recommendation, please drop us a line and let us know. If we add your color suggestion to the lineup, we'll send you a free jar!

JH

Excellent review James!

I think these pigments are exactly what I need to put the finishing touches on my Char B1 bis. Thanks for the PM as somehow I missed seeing this review. I'm going to take a look and order some of these.

For a first time user of pigments and washes, I was totally satisfied with this product. And with the ease of ordering and paying for them and that they are based here in the states is a win win situation for me. I need to get the rest of their product lineup soon so I am completely set up.

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in there! Nice write up on the review James.

I ordered the "Earth Set" today. I'll be using them to muddy up the flanks of my Char B1 bis so stay tuned.

Thanks for the comments, Jeff and Scott

Looking forward to seeing the finished Char B1, Scott.

The Earth set of Warpigs pigments arrived yesterday!

I'm mapping out my plan of attack and will get the mud applications going tomorrow. I'll post pics in my Char B1 bis build log for those who are interested.

Interested!

Jef just a suggestion but why not retain the current names and add suggested application, IE black (soot) that way everyone is happy.

That's what I'm thinking we're going to do...I'm presently working on a book specifically for the new/intermediate pigment user.

I've developed some interesting and simple techniques to replicate the 'standardized' methods of oils, etc., that I think folks will find useful.

I'm developing the format of the book currently, dedicating a spread to each specific technique, i.e., rusting a muffler, making mud, streaks, exhaust, etc... one side of the spread will have a series of photos, the other side of the spread is a written step-by-step.

We're also debuting the "Piglets", smaller 5-gram jars of our colors, at the IPMS Butch O'Hare (Chicago) show this weekend. These will be sold in sets of 5 colors, MSRP is $12.50 per set.

I'll get a set to James for review early next week.

Thanks for the support guys, I truly appreciate it.

Jeff

i think its good that you have only named the colours as the colours, using Warpigs i would feel more inclined to use a orange oxide for effects other than rusit if you see what i mean?

Understand completely. We've decided to stay with the names given by the art world. We will do 'subject specific' colors in the future, and most likely introduce other 'art world' colors to the line up as well.

Thanks for the feedback guys, we appreciate it!

Jeff