Faber-CastellTin Of 12 Polychromos Blendable, Lightfast Drawing And Colouring Pencils For Artists, Beginners, Professionals, Students, Crafts, Colouring Books, Artwork, Soft Waterproof Oil Chalk Lead

I am writing this review as a non professional novice colourist, I am a crafter not an artist and it is my opinion only.The following is my review of Faber Castell Polychromos (oil based) coloured pencils. 120 pencil set which is supplied in a metal tin.I very rarely leave reviews because to me something must be outstanding or exceptional in some way for me to do so, I do not believe in leaving reviews on items that are what they are I,e,. I've paid for an item and receive what is expected for that price, and I most certainly don't believe in praising someone or something for simply providing the service or goods for which I've paid.However having said that I feel I have to leave the following review.I have been a chronic insomniac for nearly 30 years due to chronic illness, disability and pain and am constantly looking for ways to relax enough that I can sleep, one of the things suggested/recommended is adult colouring, so I decided to purchase a pile of expensive adult colouring books and some cheap pencils.Needless to say the results were to me, very unsatisfactory, it wasn't the books because they were expensive and the images inside were printed on good quality paper. It was the cheap pencils. At that time, in my ignorance, I believed they are just pencils and a pencil is a pencil is a pencil, right, oh how wrong, naive, misguided and deluded was I. Unfortunately my dissatisfaction with my colouring results annoyed and irritated me so much it made my insomnia worse!I decided at this point to do a search online to see what other non professional amateur colourists were using and recommending. (Quite frankly there is so much info and so may views I was left completely baffled, befuddled and bewildered). However it soon became apparent that there were 2-3 brand names that kept cropping up and were getting consistently favourable reviews.One of those names/brands was faber castell's (oil based) polychromos artist grade colouring pencils, reviewers were saying how vibrant and true the colours were, the pencils were easy to blend, comfortable to hold and overall that they were good quality. I decided that I HAD to have these colouring pencils that everyone was raving about. I told myself that I didn't just want these pencils I actually needed them in my life so I continued to look online at various retailers, unfortunately they are a considered purchase and at that time I couldn't justify going into debt on my credit card just to buy pencils (however fantastic they might be) So I decided to save my pennies over the next few months (or should I say pounds)! And at the same time every so often I would buy different sets of cheapish to mid range pencils but was never satisfied with the results.I should point out that most people would say that I could or even should have bought one of the smaller sets of the FC Polychromos ie,., 12 or 24 piece sets, and I've no doubts they would probably be right, however because of my chronic OCD I am afraid to say that NO I could not do that, unfortunately when I decide to do something I HAVE to go the whole hog, I know myself well enough to know that I would not be happy or satisfied unless I had the complete range of colours.So,Periodically I would continue to look at prices for the pencils on various web sites, then one day I looked, yet again, at amazon's website and found the (complete) 120 piece pencil set of faber castell polychromos on offer from prime and even better they could be delivered by 10-30 pm that night, so I took a deep breath, crossed everything, closed my eyes and pressed buy.I proceeded to spend that day alternating between excitement at the thought of my purchase and feeling quite queasy oh my word what have I done, I've spent all that money on pencils, and then back to excitement. At 6-30pm Amazon delivered my parcel I brought it inside and with trepidation and proceeded to remove the outer cardboard packaging and bubble wrap, inside I found this gorgeous green metal box/tin factory sealed and wrapped in cellophane.I removed the cellophane and proceeded to open the tin. Upon opening it the first thing to hit me was the wonderful smell of wood from the pencils and then I beheld the fantastic array of all those beautiful colours. My OCD brain was positively singing at the sight of all those pencils so neatly lined up, all in their graduating colour order, all with the pencil lead exactly in the centre of the casing, all with the brand/manufacturers name and the colour numbers printed perfectly on the pencils. I was literally humming with pleasure at the sight of such perfection. BUT my cynical, clinical mind started shouting at me that this was too good to be true and there must be something wrong somewhere and actually I shouldn't be getting so excited about the tin and how the pencils look and smell but about the functionality of the pencils.I proceeded to spend the next hour sitting with the tin of pencils on my lap just touching, feeling and yes, I'm not too embarrassed to admit, smelling all those beautiful pencils in their tin, and just appreciating the look of them all. I think I was a bit afraid of being disappointed by the pencils so was hesitating in using them. However I took a very deep breath (or two) and decided to take the bull by the horns and get one of those very expensive colouring books that I had previously bought and proceeded to colour one of the images.Oh my, what a difference, I don't think I truly believed there could be such a marked difference in colouring pencils, but I can honestly say that in my opinion all those positive reviews were well founded and true, I have found that the pencils are smooth to use, comfortable to hold, and as a novice as long as you use the correct paper to give yourself the best chance of success, if you lay down the colour lightly you can build up multiple layers to get deep vibrant colours and they are blendable so long as you lay down the colours lightly from light to dark.As I have already stated I am crafter/hobbyist not a professional artist and so my review is given from the perspective of someone who does not have the foggiest idea of what they are doing so some readers may think I am talking out of my ear or that what I have written is complete bunkum, however I do genuinely believe that as long as you follow a few basic rules and guidelines when using them you should, hopefully get good results. However If you are a Professional artist/colourist you might not find my review very helpful as you probably have different expectations from the use of them.I can safely say I am very happy with my purchase, starting with how easy it was to place my order and pay for it all the way through to the delivery and most importantly, both the tin and the pencils arrived undamaged. I am happy with the quality of the pencils I received, they arrived well packed and in pristine condition. I would hope and expect that anyone purchasing the above from Amazon would have a similar experience and be as happy with their purchase as I am. Because for me on this occasion this has been an excellent buying experience.All of the above is my opinion only but I hope it is helpful.

These are great quality coloured pencils. They are nice and soft, and blend well. There is a good variety of colours and show up well on both dark and light paper. They give a professional finish.They are a high price point product, however you are getting a high quality product. For me, definitely worth the price asked. Would recommend.

Great colouring pencils. Rich in pigment and soft enough to blend. Great value

Good colouring pencils. Great for layering. Each pencils feels a good thickness and weight. Sharpen well, and minimal crumb while colouring. Would recommend

After reading a couple of negative reviews about the box, I was pretty sure they were not reviewing this product. I have noted a few times on Amazon that reviews are not always to do with the product we are looking at. For a kick off, the box is as hard as nails, (the wood, Wenge, is an exotic hardwood), and quite heavy, (hardwoods are strong and heavy!) so when people complained about the quality of the wood, it has to be something other than this they are reviewing.The box is a lot bigger than I visualised even though I did read the measurements. I measured mine and it's, give or take a fraction, 23" x 14.5". It's much larger than the box of Caran Dache : Museum Aquarelle Wooden Box 76 assorted colours (these are wax based) that I had delivered recently. I thought that was beautiful, also of Wenge) but this box by Faber-Castell surpasses even that. While the Aquarelle simply have trays stacked one on top of the other, this Faber-Castell has a lever which elevates the upper tray when the box is opened. There are two dials at the front of the box which you rotate to unlock. When you rotate the dials to lock it, you hear a click. This locking mechanism prevents the box accidentally bursting open when you carry it. The carry handle is a long, strong, metal bar at the back. I tell you, this thing is made to last.As for the pencils, I've had Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils for years (see the picture with my cat, Alfie, who likes to inspect my work). He's such a critic. The pencils are lovely, can be ordered individually if one is worn down to a stub, and using them is simple enough. If you want demos, you'll find plenty on YouTube. As for the quality, a professional artist told me that the pencils would be wax based. I doubted it after using them, and so I emailed Faber-Castell Customer Service and asked. They replied "The Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils are comprised of the highest quality pigments with superior lightfastness characteristics and water-soluble binders – no wax...you can use [these] watercolours with gouache, either as on top or below."