MEEDEN Empty Watercolor Paint Palette: Travel Water Color Palette Tin with 12 Half Pans - Portable Metal Palette Tin Box (Colorful)

We are avid collectors of watercolor paints in tubes. We pour half-pans from our collection and assemble travel palettes with them. We've tried a variety of metal tins & palettes specifically for this purpose and several not meant for it. The Meeden palettes are by far the best quality for the money. Watercolor Tin Palettes: Meeden's tin palettes are more durable and better constructed than any other brand we've tried around their price range. Other similar palettes are flimsier, get dinged up and/or bent out of shape and the paint scratches or wears off readily. My teen is not kind (unintentionally) to the things he carries in his art bag. The Meeden palettes fare his daily abuses (love) the best. He doesn't leave home without a palette and small arsenal of art supplies in tow. We've had a Meeden 48 half-pan palette (pictured in blue) in regular circulation for 2 years and it's only suffered a minor ding and some paint scuffing on the corners of the lid. Also, the thumb ring is still firmly attached and stays collapsed when not in use. By comparison, we had another 48 half-pan palette (pictured in black) from a different manufacturer, which we bought for $1-$2 cheaper, but it got bent out of shape, dinged and scratched, and the thumb ring fell off within 6-9 months of regular use. It really wasn't worth the couple $ saved. The enameled mixing wells of the Meeden palette clean up pretty well. The other palettes tended to stain more easily and permanently. The coating on the mixing wells is a bit aquaphobic, but that's common among most enameled and plastic palettes. My understanding is that light scuffing with a scouring pad helps resolve the issue, though we haven't tried it. We haven't experienced any rusting issues with the Meeden palettes, either. On occasion, we've had to fully submerge or hose down a palette due to paint spills (M. Graham paints melt in hot, humid climates), but rust hasn't developed as a result. I haven't detected any rust on other palettes, but I thought others might want the assurance, so I figured it was worth a mention. The Pans: We've bought half-pans from half a dozen sellers on Amazon, and the Meeden pans are the best all-around. They're a great size to fit in practically any palette or tin. They never have any rough edges to file down, as most other brands we've tried. They also have smooth, flat bottoms with a recessed logo which allows adhesives to make good contact when attaching magnetic strips. Many other pans we've tried have raised edges and/or raised logos on the bottoms which don't allow the magnetic strips to stay put even with various glues, glue dots, or tapes. We've had a constant battle with reattaching magnets to pans from other makers. One last plus of the Meeden half-pans and tin palettes combined is the ability to fit more half-pans than other comparably sized & priced palettes. Pictures: The 12 Half-pan Tin fits 19 half-pans total: 7 pans in each row, plus 5 turned sideways down the center* (it's a tight fit in the center). Pack of playing cards shown for size comparison. The 24 Half-pan Tin fits 37 half-pans total: 13 in each row, plus 11 turned sideways down the center* The 48 Half-pan Tin fits 52 half-pans total: 13 side-by-side in each row (or 11 end-to-end per row; if you don't want to carry as many pans or want to remove them more easily). You could also leave a row empty to hold paintbrushes or water brushes. Understand that you may not fit as many half-pans in the Meeden palettes with half-pans from other manufacturers. Some will fit as well and some won't. It's pretty hit and miss! A couple pictures contain a blue Meeden palette and a black look-alike from another manufacturer on Amazon. Both were used regularly for 2 years. The black non-Meeden palette didn't do well by comparison. The blue Meeden palette is still in great shape! *Secured with adhesive magnetic strips on the base of each pan. You may have to push the metal clips out slightly to squeeze everything in and/or make room for the height of the pans with magnets. The clips in the Meeden palettes keep the half-pans in place while closed or held still when open. However, pans can pop out or move around when jostled or dropped if not secured by other means. Temporary glue dots on the bottoms of the pans work well to secure them if you don't want to hassle with magnets. We've recently read that dots of poster/sticky tack also work, however we haven't tested the idea yet. We prefer the magnetic strips because it allows us to pull out the pans we want to use and stick them to the mixing section of the tins/palettes for easier access. For my part, I don't like to contaminate colors next to each other, so being able to pull the pans out and separate them in the mixing area is really handy. You can easily place a folded piece of paper napkin, paper towel or other such cloth under the removable tray that holds the half-pans inside the Meeden palettes and still get the lid closed without a problem. We prefer reusable bamboo paper towels to blot off excess water, clean brushes, etc. When they're full of paint, we just rinse them out until the water runs clear, let them air dry and put them back in our palettes. They're thicker, softer, and more absorbant than regular paper towels. We fold them into 2-3 layers and cut to fit each palette. Using Meeden half-pans in Altoids tins: You can fit 15 half-pans (with magnetic strips attached) in a regular Altoids tin, and 5 half-pans in the small Altoids tins. There is enough height in both tins to accommodate the pans, plus magnetic strips, plus paper towel and/or swatch card and still securely close the lids. However, an elastic hair band or rubber band will help secure a tin with a weak close. Photos included for reference. Finally, if you're looking for a tin that will hold even more half-pans, we highly recommend the Derwent pencil tin (last photo) with the removable tray. You can fit up to 44 Meeden half-pans per tray for a total of 88 half pans (with magnetic strips attached). The lid shuts without a problem but can pop open if dropped. Again, an elastic hair band or rubber band will secure it when not in use. The downside to the Derwent pencil tin is that there are no mixing wells, but the inside of the lid can be used for mixing. Same goes for Altoids tins.

This palette, not only does it offer quality at a reasonable price, but it's also incredibly charming. I opted for the pink one, and it's just adorable. The palette itself is well-constructed and feels durable. It can easily hold 24 half pans, providing ample space for a variety of watercolors. The half pans fit snugly and securely, making it a breeze to organize and access your colors. One standout feature of this palette is the spacious mixing area. There's plenty of room for blending and creating new colors, which is a crucial element for watercolor artists. It's a thoughtful addition that enhances the overall functionality of the palette. I was so thrilled with this palette that I even created an unboxing video on YouTube to showcase its features. If you're interested, you can watch it here: YouTube Unboxing Video. In summary, the "MEEDEN Empty Watercolor Tin Box Palette" exceeded my expectations. It combines quality, charm, affordability, and a spacious mixing area in one delightful package. If you're in the market for a watercolor palette, I highly recommend giving this one a try. It's a gem for both beginners and experienced artists.

Great product. Mine holds the 52 pans and they seem secure to me. Maybe when taken out of the tin they aren’t secure?

It’s great for the money for sure. It’s nice and portable, I could fit all my detail brushes or like 4-5 small/medium brushes inside it. The color is exactly as pictured, the box itself is exceptionally sturdy and it does stay closed. The reason I gave it 4 stars was for two reasons, the half pans fit great and all, but they don’t click into place. Which means they slide back and forth, but they don’t pop out. So not really a problem especially if you keep your pallets full. The panels that fold out for you to mix paint on? The paint beads up horribly on them. I had to spend about two hours sanding them down (magic eraser didn’t work) to get them to a point where my watercolors would puddle and not bead. They still bead a little but it’s better sanded. SECRET FEATURE!!! Not only is the actual metal piece that holds your pans in removable, BUT underneath it there is another even better mixing place! It still needs to be sanded like the rest of them, but total it gives you 3 separate mixing areas for when your on the go or even at home. I have included a picture showing you what I mean. The half pans were all perfect normal quality I received it all very quickly and packaged well! I’d order all my pallets through them unless they come out with one that has a non-beading mixing area. I also included a photo showing you how many brushes fit inside with it still able to close and latch. Don’t mind my stained mixing areas once you sand the shiny white coat off, it stains every use. Keep that in mind if you are OCD, choose wisely between perfectly clean mixing areas or usable paint puddles instead of beads.

Quality product

Smallish size perfect for travel and limited palette

Me encanta. La calidad es muy buena y el diseño me ha gustado mucho.

コンパクトで可愛くて、完璧！

Used for gouache , 14 pannes if sorted correctly fit! ( 14 instead of 12 ) 😀