GONDOLA Soft Pastel 242 color set Made in Japan

Although renewing my use of soft pastels, I like these. The colors are nice, they are softer than Rembrandt soft pastels but not too soft. The half-sticks are smaller than Sennelier half-sticks (and not as soft & buttery as Sennelier). I think they might make a good plein air/study set due to range of colors; the box is a a bit underwhelming so extra stabilization is needed to travel. Not sure an accomplished or advanced pastelist would value them long-term but for developing skills I like them.

The media could not be loaded. I bought this set because of the wide variety of colors and quality of pastels. I tend to keep them in their box for when I travel. I have a smaller set for carrying around for my plein air painting, but sometimes it's nice to hang out at base camp and paint on a larger painting, and that is what I got this set for. It's put together in a small box perfect for storing in my camper or wall tent, giving me the feel of having a full collection of pastels. I will probably still add in a smaller box of softer pastels for layering purposes. I feel like they are similar to a Holbein pastel. They were packaged with pride and a pleasure to open. I will post an unboxing video on youtube another day. I am not affiliated with them. I just wanted to put out the review because it was difficult to find anything on them, and I felt that I bought them on a gamble. I will put out more info as I work with the pastels and get to know them.