Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Watercolor Paint Set (21 colors)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have 3 young boys who love Melissa & Doug's wooden playsets and I have always been impressed with the quality of these products. We also do a *lot* of watercolor painting and so it seemed only natural to purchase these M&D's paints when they became available.

The case *is* nice and sturdy. That is truly the only positive thing I can say about these paints.

The colors are quite paradoxically pale AND fluorescent. They are utterly lacking in the richness and vibrancy that watercolors need to have to produce satisfying results.

The quality of the brush included with this set is equally atrocious. The bristles (embedded in the plastic handle, joint covered with a token silver plastic ferrule) consist of jagged, poorly trimmed toothbrush-type plastic and will not even bend to allow proper contact with the paper. They are easily hard/sharp enough to accidentally tear through wet watercolor paper.

Additionally, the quantity of paint in each cup is miniscule. I'd say 2-3 mm. of paint. One (very careful) child's painting session is enough to expose the plastic at the bottom of the cup....We hit the blue's bottom before completing one sky... Honestly, I was relieved we wouldn't have to waste any more paper on these paints. All 3 sets we purchased were relegated on day one to my 2 year-old to mix with water and watch it turn brown.

For dry-cup type watercolors, we have always been VERY happy with Colorifics paints. The colors are rich and vibrant, they last on average 10-12 paintings per set - And the brush included is an extremely SOFT, fully tapered natural bristle brush with a metal ferrule. One that you'll be happy to keep around long after the paints are gone. They are cheaper than M&D's too..

Really, I'd love to prevent any disappointment I can by recommending folks seek out better paints for your little ones--They deserve better.

I wish I had read the previous review on this product first. The paints colors are light hues at best. Yes, the case in which the paints come in is very sturdy. There is barely enough paint here for 1 paint session. My baby girl loves to paint so this product is not really worth the money.

We also tried: Melissa & Doug Finger Paint Set 4pc
Don't bother with this one either.

The colors are so bad, it's unbelievable. The petty case is the only nice thing about them.
They are used up in one session, are watery and hard to use.
I wonder why Melissa and Doug hasn't come up with a different recipe to make their colors richer yet!
Maybe they haven't heard that there are watercolors out there that actually work!
I'm so disappointed...don't waste your money on this product.
I grew up in Germany and am used to watercolors from Pelikan ( they can be found at amazon). Those are by far the best colors I've ever used. They last long and are super rich. I used them even in art class all the way up to my teen years. Super great product! A bit more expensive I think $12.- for a set of 12 colors) but it comes with a tube of white, so you can mix pastels yourself which teaches about colors and shades etc. I highly recommend it!

Although these were a BIG hit with my three-year-old, the paints lasted about 10 paintings, or three painting sessions. It was so disappointing for my little guy, as well as for me. I always think of Melissa and Doug as selling high-quality stuff, but these paints are an exception for sure. I've heard that Crayola makes better paints so I plan to try those. Soon!

Unlike other reviewers, I thought the colors were reasonable - but there is so little of them that it's hard to tell. We ran out of yellow on the first piece of paper. Three (large) sheets of paper later there's nothing left. You might expect that kind of quality/quantity if you bought paints at the dollar store, but several dollar Melissa and Doug? The case might be nice, but who cares if you only get to use it twice? Brushes pretty standard poor quality kids ones. Learn from our mistakes, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

I have nothing good to say about this product. Like some other reviewers noted, the colors are very pale. The most disappointing thing, however, is the fact that the case contains hardly any paint at all. My 2 year old spent 15 minutes "painting", and managed to finish several of the colors in that short amount of time. What a complete waste of money.

I love Doug and Melissa toys but the paints really aren't as good as the Crayola watercolors I bought at Target. The colors are not as saturated, and my daughter really didn't enjoy painting with them. No amount of water or pressure or amount of paint on the brush changed the fact that the colors are just really weak. I hope we'll use them up someday, but I went out and bought Crayola watercolors again.

My little girl loves to paint and draw. These paints are very well made and the color variety is nice. The individual paint discs are a good size and the case closes nice and tight. Good stuff!

We LOVE Melissa and Doug, but these paints were terrible. The first day we used them, they were great -- vibrant, pretty colors. After that, they turned into a thick, gummy mess. I've never had watercolors do this before (and we go through a LOT of them at my house). We had to throw them away because my son couldn't paint with the thick mess. These were terrible!