Review on Prima Marketing 584252 Watercolor Confections by Rashad Ross

I'm giving this product four stars because while I really love it and think it certainly deserves five stars, I also think there are some caveats that might be of interest to some people . First of all, if your pans slide in a metal mount, don't glue them, put magnets or anything like that. A simple solution is to remove all paint cans and then gently pinch the two sides of the metal guides between your fingers so they touch a little. The pans come wrapped in plastic and small paper sleeves, meaning they require more space to comfortably hold these metal rails than when they are unfolded. By simply squeezing the guides tighter you can achieve a nice snug fit when replacing the trays. So what are the pros and cons of this set? I like the metal can. Based on other prices for similar metal cans at Revain, the can alone is worth the price you pay for it. I love the extra space in this metal can. There's quite a bit of room for more paint or maybe a small street brush. I love all the mixing space in the jar - not just the lid but the collapsible mixing area. I love that this set is purple. Purple seems to be a fairly rare pre-mixed color in these little watercolor tin sets. Violet is very light, well blended and warm/red. You can mix purple, but it looks messy compared to the purple that comes with it. Overall I see it contained as a pro. In general, the colors are pretty strong. I find them opaque rather than translucent and they are slightly chalky. I also have the Windsor and Newton Cotman Pocket Sketcher Set and I find the colors in this set to be more translucent. To be honest, I find pros and cons with both opaque and transparent colors, so I don't necessarily see the opacity of these colors as something entirely negative. I mainly paint with both sets and use them for different purposes and am happy with this set. If you're looking for super transparent colors, you won't find it here. You will find a nice metal can that is easy to fill. You'll also find a nice array of colors to play with. You'll also find a nice array of paints that act a little like gouache and allow you to hide small mistakes you make while painting. I think the most negative thing I can say about this set is that the colors don't mix well with each other and tend to fade quite quickly. This is by no means an artist's paint set and if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. First I would say that I am dissatisfied with the color choice in this set and would like to buy the Tropicals set, but I think this set has a more balanced and broader color palette. Tropical colors include two shades of green and three shades of blue, as well as a handful of other colors that I think make up for the annoying lack of green, yellow, and red options in this set. I think if you're looking to invest in these types of sets, maybe buy this set and the Tropicals set, or buy this and another small travel set like the Windsor & Newton Cotman sets to complement and enhance this set. Overall, however, there's a lot you can do with a set like this, and for less than $20 you can't beat its value.