The Army Painter and Corvus Belli recently announced a new partnership, with the former becoming the official paint range for Corvus Belli’s Infinity game system. To celebrate this new collaboration they have released two new paint sets themed specifically for the JSA and PanOceania factions from the Infinity game.

Sprues and Brews have been sent the new sets to review and being an Infinity fan myself (and currently in the process of putting together a PanOceania Kestrel Colonial Force army) I jumped at the opportunity to test out the paints.

You can check out our review below and remember, If you would like to support the site then why not order your Infinity and other hobby supplies through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too!

Each set contains 10 x 18ml water based acrylic paints created using the Army Painter’s Warpaint Fanatic formula, a painting guide for the relevant faction and an exclusive metal Infinity miniature that is not available outside of these sets (a Fusilier Medic for the PanO and a Keisotsu Paramedic for the JSA). The paints themselves vary between the sets, with colours tailored to that specific faction. These are ‘new’ colours formulated specifically for the respective Infinity faction and do not appear in the main Warpaints Fanatic range.

For the PanOceania set we get a nice selection of cool blues and greens alongside some brown and flesh coloured paints which can be used to replicate that nice bright, almost ice blue colour scheme most associated with the PanO faction. There is a nice “Hyperpower Blue” speedpaint which is used to add definition and shading to the base “PanO Blue” acryllic. There is also a nice Effect paint, “Glory Glow”, a really vibrant, almost fluorescent pink colour, which applies a bit like a glaze and is used here to bring the various consoles and LEDs integrated into the PanOceania’s equipment. Also included are “Matt White” and “Matt Black”, a staple for most paint jobs even outside of your PanO projects and useful regardless of whether you’re painting Infinity miniatures or not.

The JSA set contains only acrylic colours but these again have been specifically formulated to allow you to replicate the JSA ‘boxart’. “Matt White” and “Matt Black” are here again and alongside these we get a nice selection of cool greys and greens and earthy browns and reds. The paints themselves come in same style bottle used in the main Warpaints Fanatic range allowing you to easily dispense the required amount of paint onto your paint palette and helps ensure the paint doesn’t dry up. Each bottle also comes pre-loaded with a mixing ball which rattles inside when you shake the bottle to ensure the contents are mixed consistently.

I put the PanOceania paints to the test (as you’ll see below) and really enjoyed using them. They have a creamy consistency and I found they covered very well, retaining a strong pigment and good coverage when thinned with water. I was especially impressed with the “Matt White” and “Matt Black” – I sometimes find these colours a bit hit and miss but had no trouble with their application here and I was satisfied with the end effect. This was also my first experience with The Army Painter’s Speedpaint (having previously only used Citadel’s Contrast). In my test I used the “Hyperpower Blue” as both a shade and then thinned with water as a glaze to provide some definition and shadow to underlying “PanO Blue” base colour and it worked well enough in both use cases. It felt like it had a slightly thinner consistency that the aforementioned Contrast paint and I found it mixed well with water and left no ‘tide’ marks when applied to the model.

I found the included painting guides to be well presented and easy to follow. The guides provide fairly detailed instructions over the course of ten or so steps. There are close up images of the miniature presented at each step allowing you to follow along easily enough. You only need to use the paints included in the set to follow the guide which makes this a great self contained set for a beginner. You will be asked to mix some of the paints together at various stages but you’re told how much of each paint to use when mixing. You’re also instructed to use shading and glazing at various stages, allowing a beginner to practice these techniques. My only criticism of the guide is it would have been helpful in some stages to have some shots of the model from different angles but this is a small thing really. Overall I found the painting guide to be easy to follow and I was satisfied with the finished miniature.

On that subject, the included miniatures are great! Cast in metal both minis are highly detailed and fit in really well alongside existing PanO and JSA collections. Infinity has some amazing sculpts across it’s range and these are no exceptions. The PanO model, a unique Fusilier Medic sculpt, had a nice mix of textures and details, from cloth and leather to armour paneling and LEDs, to really allow you to test out the various paints included in the set.

Overall then I am impressed with the new sets. The paints themselves are of high quality and I really appreciated the various ‘quality of life’ additions such as the pre-loaded mixing ball and well designed bottle. For a beginner painter just getting started with Infinity the included colours and painting guide provide all you need to replicate the ‘boxart’ scheme for each faction in a nice self-contained package at a very reasonable price too (around £40 give or take). I would have liked to have seen some ‘metallic’ paints in each set which could have been used on weapons and such, providing further value to hobbyists outside of their PanO or JSA projects but this is only a small criticism. Overall I found these sets to be great value and of high quality.

Thank you again to Corvus Belli for sending Sprues and Brews the new paint sets to review.