There are two grades of paint. The artist grade is more expensive than the student grade. Just go for the artist grade straightaway because they are going to last quite long, even if they are only half pan.
You can always buy the watercolour in tubes to refill your used pans. Watercolour tubes are cheaper. A 5ml tube cost as much as a half pan but can probably refill it about 2-3 times. Comparatively cheaper!
Buy only what you need. Don't buy in advance because you won't know how fast you're going to use them.
So after squeezing the paint out of the tube, you can dry them out so that they don't leak.
That box set is £39.95 and the empty box selling separately is £14.47. So the pans in the box set is roughly about £2.5 each. Better than buying box and paints separately.
I think mixing on metal feels better than on plastic.
There are two grades of paint. The artist grade is more expensive than the student grade. Just go for the artist grade straightaway because they are going to last quite long, even if they are only half pan.
You can always buy the watercolour in tubes to refill your used pans. Watercolour tubes are cheaper. A 5ml tube cost as much as a half pan but can probably refill it about 2-3 times. Comparatively cheaper!
Buy only what you need. Don't buy in advance because you won't know how fast you're going to use them.
So after squeezing the paint out of the tube, you can dry them out so that they don't leak.
You might also want to consider buying empty boxes. Here are some for price reference:
https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-lightweight-metal-tin-watercolour-box...
I would recommend the 12 half pan lightweight metal box:
https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-artists-k12hp-lightweight-box.htm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0018BUV40?tag=parblo-21
That box set is £39.95 and the empty box selling separately is £14.47. So the pans in the box set is roughly about £2.5 each. Better than buying box and paints separately.
I think mixing on metal feels better than on plastic.
Or if you like more colours, consider the 24 half pan box. This one comes with Cotman (student grade).
https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-cotman-metal-sketchers-box-12-x-half-...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001R1EI0O?tag=parblo-21
You can see that the price of that box set is almost the price of an empty box selling separately.
A smaller box is more portable. And 12 colours is a lot for starters. Too much colours can get confusing.