Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I think these Prima confections sets are great for anyone trying to get a watercolor set going. * The color tests in the photo were not done on watercolor paper, sorry! But you should be able to see how vibrant they are. Don't mind the weird textures you may see on some colors, that is not the paints' fault. Pros: - this is a very reasonable price for 12 watercolor pans & the tin palette case - colors are very very vibrant - colors are easy to re-wet & activate with a little bit of water on the brush - The colors dried very evenly and nicely - colors mix well, no problems - the pans snap very securely onto the plate (you should be bending the little metal flaps a bit toward the middle) - there is enough space in the middle for you to add 6-7 more half pans - The flap part of the palette have rolled edges, so you do not have to worry about water overflowing the edge (see photo compared to my other flat palette) - the ring on bottom of case is useful when holding case in hand Cons: (these are not terrible at all in my opinion, but I will list anything that could possibly be considered negative) - as in attached photo, the metal plate that holds the 12 spaces for the pans is not a "perfect fit" into the tin case. There is some space so yes, the plate will slide up and down slightly if you tilt the case if you do not secure with an adhesive of sort - the choice of colors in these sets are themed (thus "tropical) so if this is the only watercolor set you own, you may find yourself looking for some other colors for a more general & variety of possible color mixes. This is not the typical beginning set of colors so depending on your needs, this set may not be the one. Other misc. things I might want to point out: - the Winsor&Newton half pans are slightly smaller than usual, so with mixing those and the prima ones, I was able to fit 7 each on top/bottom row, and barely 7 on middle row (with using only the prima pans, only 6 will fit in each row) - the pans in the middle row will have to be secured somehow if you do decide to add some (with adhesive) - I know there are a lot of similar looking tin palettes out there using this kind of format. I attached a photo with my no-brand tin case and you can see that the Prima case is a bit fatter. - when you run out of a color, you can refill the empty pans with any tube color you may own +I forgot to mention the opacity. I think about half of the colors are semi-opaque to opaque. I personally prefer transparent but this is can be pro or con for some Update: -okay so since the 7 pans in the middle row have to be snuggly fit, it looks like after a few uses, there will be no need for a separate adhesive to keep them on the plate. Some of the paint and water during use will leak through the spaces in between so once they dry, the pans will naturally be somewhat stuck on. It is perfect. I've tested flipping it upside down and it seems all 3 rows of pans will stay on just fine unless you drop them on the ground accidentally. -As for the plate itself being smaller than the case and allowing room for sliding, if you do decide to fill in all 3 rows, the weight of the pans will prevent the plate from sliding too easily -I think the two side metal flaps (in middle row) can prevent the metal plate from falling out of the case if adjusted well