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Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor - Miniature Hobby Supply Review

Pentart acrylic paints from Pentacolor - Miniature Supply ReviewPentart acrylic products from Pentacolor

Article updated: 2020.03.04

The Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor are acrylic paints, primers and varnishes that come in multiple colour that can be used to paint miniature models or other hobby projects. This is my Pentart review.

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Details - Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor

Miniature hobby supply range: Pentart acrylic products

Company: Pentacolor, Production: -2015-2020-

Features: Acrylic Paints - Glossy Acrylic Paint, Matte Acrylic Paints, Metallic Acrylic Paint; Acrylic Varnish (Varnish) - Glossy Varnish, Matte Varnish

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Review - Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor

The Pentart acrylic paints from Pentacolor are a generic purpose acrylic paints. There are three types of Pentart paint - matte, glossy, and metallic.

Why did I choose Pentart paints?

Before 2015 I had mostly basic colours of acrylics and oil based paints, and I've mixed the hues I wanted to achieve. Then I decided to switch to acrylics only, and because I often had gaps of several weeks between the start and finish of a project, I decided to buy a larger selection of colours so I don't have to spend time mixing and matching colours to previously mixed ones. In Hungary, at that time Pentart was the most easily available choice, unless I wanted to order paints through specialist webshops. When I've found a 50% sale of hobby products, I've bought their whole selection of products to try.

Painting miniature figures with Pentart products

They are not created specifically for painting models but they can be used for them. If you've got used to high quality modeling paints it can be a tiresome and frustrating experience to work with Pentart paints. While they work fine to paint terrain and scenery where the detail is not that important, it's hard to paint details with it. You need to be patient and determined to work out how to handle it.

My original review was a bit more negative before the rewrite, but in the past half year I only used Pentart acrylics for painting and I got used to it, even came up with some solutions for my original problems. By the time you've painted ten different minis with Pentart, I think you will have enough experience to master these paints. Then you can repaint those poor minis you've used for practice.

Painting scenery and terrain pieces with Pentart products

When you can paint large surfaces, using Pentart paints work okay. I've used them for several scenery projects. Any irregularities in the paints even out when you have a large surface to cover, and irregularities usually don't matter as much when you paint scenery or terrain pieces.

Packaging

They are sold in a couple of different packages. You can get Pentart products in these variants:

  • Pot: 50 ml/100 ml/230 ml
  • Tube: 60 ml
  • Dropper bottle: 20 ml
  • Bottle: 1.000 ml

All of the matte and glossy paints, and some of the metallics are sold in 20 ml dropper bottles. All of them are sold in 50 ml pots, except the primers. Some of them are sold in 100 ml pots, and the basic matte and metallic colours and primers are sold in 230 ml pots. Only the primers are sold in 1.000 ml bottles.

A smaller variety of colours are sold in tubes. In 2020, there's around 25 matte colours, 25 metallic colours, 35 semi-glossy colours of Pentart paint creamy colours.

The screw tops of the Pentart paint pots get stuck due to the paint that dries into the screw recesses. Because of this, the tops might break because they are rigid. The dropper bottle and the tube is probably a better package due to this, but I've only bought them in 2019, and I don't have much experience using them.

Pentacolor Pentart acrylic paint types

Primer: It works well as a primer. It comes in two colours - white and black. They are sold in 100 ml, and 230 ml ponts. In 2020, I've seen 1,000 ml bottles of primer.

Varnish: It works well as a varnish, especially the glossy one. It comes in two varieties - matte, and glossy. They are sold in 50 ml, 100 ml, and 230 ml ponts. There is also a decoupage varnish & glue variant that is sold in 20 ml dropper bottles, and 1,000 ml bottles beyond the basic volumes.

For more information on the Pentart varnishes, read our Games Nexus article: Pentart acrylic varnish from Pentacolor - Miniature Hobby Supply Review

Acrylic paints: Pentacolor produces a couple of paint types for their Pentart range - glossy paints, matte paints, metallic paints, pearl paints, and chameleon pearl paints.

Glossy paints: They are nice, glossy. I think there's a good variety of them, although I don't use glossy paints. They are sold in 20 ml dropper bottles, and 50 ml pots. In 2020, there are around 40 different glossy colours of Pentart paint.

Matte paints: They are matte. There's a huge variety of them, if you buy them all, you will never need to mix paints again. They are sold in 20 ml dropper bottles, and 50 ml pots. Some of them are sold in 100 ml pots, and the basic matte colours are sold in 230 ml pots. In 2020, there are around 70 different matte colours of Pentart paint.

Metallic paints: The basic colours (gold and silver) are somewhat metallic, but they are glittering instead of shining. It's like there's glitterdust in them. They would fit a Barbie doll better than a gaming miniature. In 2015 there was a basic set of gold, silver, bronze and probably some other metallic colours. In 2016, I've found a better and wider range of metallics. In 2020, there are around 40 different metallic colours of Pentart paint.

Pearl paints: Multicolour paints, with a shine. I've only tried it once, it looks okay. In 2020, there are around 8 different pearl colours of Pentart paint.

Chameleon Pearl paints: Multicolour paints, with a shine. I never used them, but if I understand the description correctly, they have more contrast between the shadows and highlights than normal pearl paints. In 2020, there are around 8 different chameleon pearl colours of Pentart paint.

Painting techniques

Normal paint: It's good for scenery and other hobby projects, but I don't recommend it for miniatures.

  • Painting miniature figures: Unless it's so thick, lumps of paint stick to your brush, never ever dilute it. Even when you think that it's really time to thin it - don't. When I gave in and diluted it, most of the time I regretted that decision, so not diluting will save you the regret (and maybe your paintjob).
  • Painting scenery: When you dilute the paint, be prepared to use multiple layers to cover the surface. If it looks grainy if you use it undiluted, you can sand it after you finish painting. The paint is cheap, you don't need to ration it.

I've recently seen they have a Pentart Pouring Medium that you can use to dilute their paints instead of distilled water or alcohol. I didn't try it yet, and this pouring medium might solve the problems I've run into.

Wash: The paint can be used for mixing washes. You just need to add a really small amount compared to what you got used to while using other paints. As the density of the paint is already low, just a few drop to thin it will be enough.

Glaze: It is also good for glazing. If a layer of glaze dried up, you can check if there is enough pigment on the surface. In case you need more, you could just get another layer on it.

Drybrush: It’s hard to get a good drybrush done with it. The brush most be totally dry, because if you just try to use up the wetness by brushing strokes, by the time the paint is dry enough on the brush, there’s not much pigment left. Sometimes the paint itself is too thin to use it for drybrushing. These times I usually just put small dots on the areas I want to highlight, then I try to smudge them together with another brush or my finger. If you get the paint out of the pot and wait for that to dry up, it can be used almost normally though. You just need some time before you can start.

Filler: As the paint is pretty cheap, I often use it as a coloured filler. The paint is often thick enough that you can just push it into the recesses.

Airbrush: I didn't try them in an airbrush. I've heard people use Pentart paints in an airbrush for hobby projects, so I suppose it can be done. Ive been told it is recommended to use acrylic thinner and retarder to protect your airbrush.

Mixing Pentart paints

Some model painters told the Pentart acrylic paint mixes well with AK Interactive paints.

Problems with the Pentart acrylic paints

Problem 1: The density of the pigment is low. If you dilute it, the paint can change into a wash-like consistency.

Solution 1: Don't dilute Pentart paints. Dip your brush into water to soften it, then dip it into the paint before painting.

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Problem 2: The consistency of the Pentart paint is very random, from normal to thick, creamy. If you dilute the creamy paint, it will become a wash. I’m not sure if it depends on the colour, the date of manufacture, or is it utterly random.

Solution 2: Your painting instincts might tell you that the thick paint will need dilution, but most of the time it really doesn't. Dip your brush into water, dip it into the creamy paint, then smudge it on your palette so the paint spreads over your brush.

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Problem 3: The consistency of the paint can vary during brushstrokes because it's so uneven. First you see that it covers evenly, then you pull up the brush, start to paint again, and the paint runs down from your brush, like a wash, and it ruins your previous work.

Solution 3: Just like the previous solution - smudge it a little, so the consistency will become even.

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Problem 4: The changing consistency of a Pentart paint sometimes tricks you. After you think you have finished painting and let the mini dry, instead of drying normally, it runs down from the painted area like a wash and ruins everything.

Solution 4: This didn't happen recently. I suppose the same uneven consistency was the cause, so smudging the brush to even it solves this too.

Summary

While Pentart paints are cheap and they are sold in several places (at least here in Miskolc, Hungary), I’m still undecided about them. If I’d buy a small pot (18ml) of cheap model paint for the same price, I’m not sure which one would last longer. You lose a lot paint as you can't dilute it. You lose it when smudging it to be even. You also lose a lot when you try to drybrush.

It’s also a pain to use them on miniatures, where the details are important. If you’d like to use them for covering large areas of terrain, they could be useful.

However, while not entirely satisfied, I will still use it, as I have loads of them, and they are not terrible.

Recommendation

Using Pentart paints, primers and varnishes are not the worst choice there is if you are on a budget. You can get used to them with some practice.

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Resources - Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor

Official

Pentart: Acrylic paints (in Hungarian): Official webpage.

Pentart official YouTube channel: Tutorial videos.

pentartvideo: Krémes akrilfesték // Creamy Acrylic Paint: Review video.

Pentart reviews

Lakbear: Pentart list, part 1 (in Hungarian): Review article about the Pentart acrylic paints, primers, matte varnish, glossy varnish, and several other Pentart products, in Hungarian.

English version via Google Translate

Lakbear: Pentart list new releases of 2017-2018 (in Hungarian): Review article about the Pentart creamy acrylic paints, effect paints, pouring medium, and several other Pentart products, in Hungarian.

English version via Google Translate

Lakbear (for Pentart Dekor): New product: Pouring medium and silicone oil for fluid painting (in Hungarian): Review article and tutorial about the Pentart pouring medium, in Hungarian.

English version via Google Translate

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Buying the product - Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor

Price

Depends on the specific product, but they are cheap, compared to more established brands like Citadel or Vallejo.

Where can you buy it?

In Hungary: You can find them in hobby shops around the country.

Worldwide: Apart from Hungary, I've seen a distributor in the United Kingdom that carries Pentart supplies. Outside of these two countries the advantage of the low price could be lost due to the shipping costs.

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Uses on the website - Using Pentart paint and Pentart varnish for miniatures

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Have you tried Pentart acrylic products from Pentacolor? What are your experiences? Do you have any questions about Pentart paints or Pentart varnishes? Tell us in the comments!

 

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