Review on Pelikan Opaque Watercolor Chinese 720862 by Carla Anderson

I bought these paints for use in Montessori classes. We were looking for higher quality colors that wouldn't break the bank but still had good pigmentation. It was important to us to use quality materials as children get frustrated when they try to develop fine motor skills and then end up using poor quality brushes and paints. The color palette is great. We are currently using them for a geography project where they draw different terrains. The kids love these colors. It doesn't take many brush strokes to get the color you want, and you don't have to constantly tweak your lines to get enough color. The case is also very neat. You press a small button on the side and the lid opens. There is room for a single short-handled brush. We don't use this as we just keep kids brushes in jars. Colors will stain the brushes, of course, and the students are unhappy with that, but that happens with all watercolors, there's nothing to be done about it. The upper ink pan (12) and the lower pan will fall apart. We initially argued between a 12 and 24 cup set but decided the kids would like a wider range of colours. However, I think we'd get along just fine with a 12-pan set, too. The colors harmonize well and I don't think that would be a problem. I feel like the way the top and bottom compartments differ can be awkward for kids. That's not a problem for us, and when they're separated, one tray sits nicely in the lid of the other. But my concern is that young children waste time "assembling" trays and don't always focus on their task. However, this has not been a problem so far and we are here to help and guide the children. Pelikan is generally a quality brand. We used their erasable fountain pen ink (they make an eraser for them) and all of our students use Pelikan Beginner Fountain Pens (Pelikan Jr.). It was a natural step for us to use the same quality materials when we needed paint. I will definitely buy this again. You can buy interchangeable colored pans instead of changing the whole set, which is convenient for us. However, if you get a cheap price, it might be cheaper to simply get a brand new set.