Paint Propaganda and Patronization

I went into the local GW store (Which is fast becoming the CLGS) because I had a few hours to kill. I brought the CSM Iron Warrior Rhino to seal it (more on that in a later post!) and a few painting projects to kill time with. I brought my own brush because GW store has only crappy brushes for general use. What they have had is paint for use.

So I slide up the painting table and ask if I can paint something. The Black Shirt says that of course I can paint something. I ask where the paints are and he says that they have discontinued that service. I was a little shocked at this but I'll get to that in a bit. I then ask if there are some of the new paints to try out. He says of course there are (I should hope so since the GW Blog said that you could go in and try the paints in the stores. I ask to use those and the Black Shirt (Ayrec maybe) says that I can use them but I can not use them to paint my own minis. I can only use them on test minis they have.

Ok says I. Let's paint a Blood Angel. I was curious to see how the new reds work. He tells me they only have a red Base paint and a red Wash available to try. Not enough to do the full progression on the website. I then ask him if he has the conversion chart printed out to help me navigate the paints. He tells me that they are in the White Dwarf this month. I ask him to look at it and he tells me that I have to buy one if I want the chart.

You can use any paints you see except these.

That part kind of pissed me off but BS company policy can be what it wants. The thing that really sent me off was that the GW employee then sits down to paint with store paints. Granted he was working on terrain for the store but that was a little slap in the face. As if that was not enough, an off the clock Black Shirt sits down to paint right across from me and makes no move to share as I sit there with minis and brush with no paint. To rub salt into my wounds, the off the clock one then goes on a rant about moochers that need to buy their own paint. He buffers it with a "present company excluded" but that did not do much to soften the blow.



Now I get why this is policy. Every time I am in the CLGS, there was a legion of snotty-faced kids clustered around dried out paint pots trying to ream the store for all the free paint they could. They globed paint on models like it was free and why not. It was free to them. They were loud and obnoxious and I am glad to see them gone.

The problem I have with this is that they are eliminating reasons for me to come into the store anymore. I have an awesome paint station at home. The only reason for me to come in and paint was to try out new colors and techniques. Now that is taken away from me, I have no reason to paint there.

I know I should not be too mad that the guys did not offer to let me borrow some paint. I could have asked and didn't. In truth, I am just disappointed in them as people. What really bakes my cookie is the Company. I went in there with the intent of seeing how these new paint handle and am told that I can't use them on anything but the crappy minis they supply.

Now, I am going to buy their paint but now I am only going to do it because I have to. I am seriously entertaining the notion of moving to Acrylicos Vallejo or the PP Paints. GW gets enough of my money and this paint thing is getting my fur up.

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Stacking paint pots. Unlike a boss.

In related news, the GW Blog has a comic relief post up to distract away from Billy Mays trying to sell you paint. It is half humorous and half still trying to tell you how great their paints are in a really oblique way. Apparently the new paints are great because you can put them in a long line? They playfully point out that the new pots do not stack well and this is a point of contention for me. The old pots stacked great. The pots themselves were useful too. You could stick a mini on the bottom with a little yellow tac (as seen in my latest pictures of the Emperor's Children Noise Marine Champion over on CMoN) and avoid touching the wet mini.

These new pots are crappy. You can't put a mini on the bottom. You can't stack them and the tops do not stay open. They drip paint around the rim. Aside from being able to see the paint color on the top (a benefit that is moot because you can see the paint color on the old pots on the bottom), I see no benefit from the new design.