Castle Art SuppliesGold Standard 120 Coloring Pencils Set with Extras, Oil-based Colored Cores Stay Sharper, Tougher Against Breakage, For Adult Artists, Colorists, In Zipper Case

I have had this set for almost a year. I also own the 120 soft (regular wax) colored pencils, watercolor pencils, and the 50 metallic and pastel tint-- all Castle Arts and opted for the zipper case each time. I try to limit my spending on art supplies, as I am not a professional, and mainly use pencils for coloring, which I only do occasionally. So, the fact that I bought every pencil set available in a zipper case speaks to the quality, and amazing presentation of this brand of pencil! They have always come with an instruction booklet, which is individualized for the type of pencil, and is packed with helpful, useful, and informative content (some of it looks to be digitally generated, but I understand that's probably for efficiency purposes and I can overlook that minor issue for the wealth of great tips found in each book). They also have a sample drawing project...with steps to follow...but I haven't tried any of the projects because you'd likely need to be an intermediate artist or better to do those, as steps seem a little vague. Some of the sets came with pads of paper, too.As for these Gold Range pencils, I personally much much prefer the standard, cheaper soft pencil line. That said, I can see why these would be considered the "better" pencil because they're very richly pigmented. You can get some layering and blending effects, but these are like most other pencils labeled as "oil" pencils, they put down a lot of thick color. I feel like I can achieve the subtle, beautiful layering and blending effects with ease using the standard pencils, but really struggle with these. Maybe that's a me problem lol. I am probably doing something wrong, or not willing to venture into chemical solvents or whatever. I do own other "oil" pencils by Marco (Raffine), Shiperr Farben, and Brutfuner/Kalour (f.y.i. Brutfuner a k.a. Kalour et. al. makes the exact same oil pencils and produces them under about a dozen different brand names, so do some research before investing in any of the cheaper, generic pencils if you already own a set, because chances are that you'll just be re-purchading the same pencils). The Castle Arts Gold pencils are comparable if not better than any of these other oil pencils. To clarify, yes oil pencils still have a waxy binder, they just have a different formulation than typical colored pencils. I know what to expect when I open a new package of pencils that are labeled as oil pencils compared to regular pencils. I also wonder why it is that so many of the popular, highly rated generic/ cheap brand pencils are oil pencils lol, but that this set costs more than the other Castle Arts pencils that most people have better results with?As noted, these pencils have very vibrant colors, and lay down well on paper. They have a palette of colors that I like, with more purples and pinks than typical--but I noticed none of the Castle Arts line has really satisfied my needs as far as reds and oranges go. Like there's no good red. Oh well. One last thing I have to say is that I've attempted several coloring book pages with the Gold pencils, even in miniature coloring books, and taken these with me on vacation to try and force myself to use them. I have never finished a page started with these pencils. I've almost always finished the many pages started with the standard Castle Arts pencils!! Just like I almost never use any of the cheaper oil pencils I own. So, if you're on a budget, I recommend getting the other Castle Arts pencils first...or if you already have those, but are unfamiliar with oil pencils, get some of the generic oil pencils like Brutfuner just to be sure that you like this style of pencil before investing in this set. These are good for what they are...just not good for the way I personally know how to color--but, people who don't like muted colored pencils might actually love oil pencils because they lay down richer color!! It's all personal preferences.

Love these pencils. They are richly pigmented. They blend well. And the color selection is great. They do not include lightfast ratings. But in every other way they are wonderful.

Pencils have beautiful and true colors

I received Castle's Gold 72 count color pencil set in a black wallet. I received the set on Dec 2nd, 2024 and when I opened up the case all seemed to be in order till I lifted the first 24 pencils and noticed the TerraCotta Light had a missing point which was not in the wallet. I tried to sharpen it with my several new pencil sharpeners. I know to turn the sharpener, not the pencil but still could not get a point. I ended up losing about 3cm off this pencil. I contacted Castle and after several exchanges, they refunded 10% off the purchase price for the pencil set which was applied to my Amazon Store Card. Even with this action, I am disappointed. But, I have used a number of Castle Products and have been pleased. The vote is still out with me regarding the Castle Gold 72 collection which is why I give the four star rating. I do love their watercolor pencils and have not had a problem with them. Perhaps the Gold set will perform better for me in the near future.

Review Update:After posting this review customer service contacted me again and apparently my last email to them had been lost. They quickly replaced my pencils and this time sent the tin. I am happy to report that all pencils arrived perfect. So as suggested below order the tin and not the case.Amazon shipped these in a poly mailer and because they were in a soft case they arrived with at least 7 broken tips. Amazon wouldn't allow a return so I had to contact Castle Art. At first they basically said they are pencils and I should sharpen them. I then received another message asking if they were broke because of shipping or because of the quality. I told them I thought it was from shipping. They told me if I used them and found that they break more they will replace the broken ones. I have been lucky and used them a few times with nomore breakage. But while I do appreciate the several emails they sent to make sure they didn't have a quality control issue it was very disheartening to have to sharpen so many brand new pencils. I recommend buying them in the tin and buying a case for them separately.

The oil-based Gold Standard Colored Pencils set colors much more evenly & completely without being patchy or blotchy than the original wax-based edition of this set. The manufacturer is right that the lead is more firm & it also lasts a bit longer. This set gives me more even control over the color & it goes where I put it. If the color is too dark or goes where it shouldn't, it quickly picks up with a polymer eraser & without smearing. The wax set did not perform nearly as well on any of these points. So even if you're a beginner like me, or just coloring in books, don't hold back on getting yourself the Gold Standard. It's worth it. You won't have to be a high flying artist to make excellent use of this set.According to the manufacturer, they're even non-toxic, which is good for me, because I have a pet & I worry about trace amounts getting transferred to them over time or them accidentally getting hold of a pencil. I also love that Castle Arts is knowledgeable & happy to answer questions about their product.The book style case is a huge plus & I am beginning to wish that all colored pencils came in cases like this instead of flimsy trays. Some complain about breakage during shipping, but I have had pencils break trays in shipping too.The one suggestion I have is to include graphite drawing pencils with the bundle instead of sketch paper.Recommended not just for fine artists but for all teenagers & adults who are drawn to using this media. I'm just a novice, & I can't put them down. This is a kit that everyone can enjoy.