The ultimate hobby paint guide 1.4

This Patreon exclusive guide will help you find the best acrylic paints, primers, and varnishes. It will be a living document that I will expand over the next weeks and months, with more detailed reviews and more paint ranges, including my favourite paints from each range (and paints you should better avoid). Aspect Warrior tier patrons will also have access to a bonus section for spray primers and varnishes.

Over the years, I bought (and got sent) over 700 or 800 paints from almost all manufacturers out there. So the ultimate question is: Which paint range did I like most? I’d say Citadel is probably the best allround paint range. They’re the most expensive, but the quality is solid, the’ve got the largest range, and they’re easy to find.

However, my recommendation has always been to mix and match the best colours from all manufacturers out there. Each range has fantastic colours with excellent coverage and smooth application, but also a few stinkers with low pigmentation or a bad consistency. If you have a problem with a specific colour, there is a good chance another manufacturer does it better. Different brands have different properties, and with some experimentation, you might find a brand that complimentd your painting style better than plain old Citadel paints.

This guide will help you along the way.

Version 1.4 - Last update: May 19th 2021

Latest update: Favourite Warpaints colours added
Updates before: Favourite Model Color and Mecha Colors added, favourite Citadel paints list completed

CITADEL COLOURS (current range)

Come in: 12 ml flip-top-bottles (18ml for Contrast / 24 ml for Shades)
Mattness level: semi-matte to satin

+

• largest miniature paint range
• constantly expanding
• introduced innovative concepts like Washes/Shades, Dry, Contrast or Technical Paints
• most Base paints and the more expensive metallic Base paints are highly pigmented and cover very well
• most colours are available in matching triads or quartets

-

• most expensive miniature paint (per ml) by far
• Flip-top-bottles that clog up easily
• most Layer paints have only average pigmentation
• some Base and metallic paints tend to get cloggy over time
• most metallic paints separate easily and need a lot of shaking and stirring
• Dry paints… just avoid them, they dry up easily and you can drybrush with regular paints just fine if not better
• some paints got discontinued like glazes

My favourite paints:

Most Base paints are very good, though they tend to get a bit lumpy over time and need good shaking and a drop of water every now and then. My favourite one is probably Corax White. It requires a lot of shaking and thinning, but for an almost white grey, the coverage is unbelievable as it often takes only two thin coats. It also matches the spray primer very well, and can also be used as an undercoat for Contrast Paints.

Mephiston Red is the best medium red paint out there IMO, it's deep and vibrant and has a very good coverage for a red. In fact, all their reds, yellows and oranges are pretty good and have in fact replaced my Game Color ones. Wazdakka Red has a more mediocre opacity, but I really like its unique magenta hue that works well with Khorne Red and Pink Horror. Speaking of pink, purple and burgundy paints, they're all very solid, the only colour I don't like is Genestealer Purple, it's very thin and the coverage isn't great.

Blue and turquoise paints are also pretty solid, my personal standouts are Alaitoc and Hoeth Blue because of their more muted denim like colour. Incubi Darkness is one of my favourite all-time paints, I just love this deep petrol. It's a versatile colour that can be highlighted with jade green colours like Kabalite Green to emphasize its hint of green, or you can bring it into a more petrol like direction with colours like Dark Reaper and Thunderhawk Blue.

I found that most green paints from Citadel, especially the Layer ones, have a rather weak opacity. I only use Waaagh! Flesh, Warboss Green, Skarsnik Green, as well as Lupercal Green and Sons of Horus Green because I like their hues. Caliban Green is also alright. But for everything else I'd recommend looking at Vallejo Game Colours, which have greens with very nice coverage. For the muted green and olive colours, the Base paint ones like Catachan Green or Death Guard Green are alright, but I'd recommend looking at Vallejo Model Color or The Army Painter for olive greens.

The brown and bone colours are all pretty good. I use Steel Legion Drab a lot, as it is a perfect match for old Graveyard Earth coloured base trims, with an improved opacity. XV-88 is a nice tan colour, Morghast / Ushabti Bone / Screaming Skull / Wraithbone are nice classic bone colours that can be layered from dark to light. I also use Rakarth Flesh a lot, it's a nice warm grey with a lot of versatility, you can use it for linen but also for ghoulish skin. Pallid Wych Flesh is also a super versatile colour, it's a very light cream colour, compared to Wraithbone it's less yellowish and a bit more red, great as a final highlight for Caucasian skin or to lighten up colours when mixed in.

Speaking of skin tones, I really like the new darker skin colours, especially Knight-Questor Flesh, it's a muted reddish brown that also works well for highlighting dark leather, with a base paint level of opacity. For Caucasian skin, I honestly prefer Reaper Master Series and The Army Painter. Cadian Fleshtone needs a lot of layers for an even coverage, Kislev Flesh is alright, but Flayed One Flesh is too yellowish for my taste.

For greycale paints, I can only recommend Mechanicus Standard Grey, Dawnstone, Celestra Grey, and Greyseer. Everything else is only average in opacity, Vallejo Model Color and The Army Painter have much stronger pigmented greys, blacks, and whites.

When it comes to metallics, in general, all the more expensive paints with the white caps are pretty good in terms of coverage and finish, but, like all Citadel metallic paints, they seperate very quickly and will require a lot of shaking. I can recommend Retributor Armour, Runelord Brass, Fulgurite Copper, as well as Brass Scorpion and Canoptek Alloy from the Layer range. I also like the hue of Liberator Gold, but it separates very badly (at least my pot). For everything else I wouldn't bother and look at other paint ranges' metallics.

Washes (Shades) are all very good, though I prefer Dark Tone Wash from The Army Painter over Nuln Oil, it's also much cheaper per ml. The Gloss washes are very interesting options as they have a much higher surface tension, I really like to mix them 1:1 with their non-gloss counterparts for more even results over metallic basecoats. Both Lahmian Medium and Contrast Medium are must-haves for thinning down washes and Contrast paints or for creating your own washes by mixing them with regular paints. One of my favourite technique is that to use two coats of washes or Contrast paints thinned 1:1 with Lahmian or Contrast Medium instead of applying a single thick coat. This way you'll get much more even results with less pooling.

Speaking of Contrast paints, I really like them. Some are better than others, some of the darker ones tend to dry a bit unevenl when not thinned with Contrast Medium. My favourite ones are Iyanden Yellow, Gryph-hound Orange, Blood Angels Red, Flesh Tearers Red, Magos Purple, Volupus Pink, Skeleton Bone, Darkoath Flesh, Snakebite Leather,  Aethermatic Blue, Talassar Blue, Space Wolves Grey, Gryph-Charger Grey, Apothecary White, Basilicanum Grey. Also make sure to check out our lenghty review on the blog: https://taleofpainters.com/2019/06/review-citadel-contrast-paints/

Technical paints are all pretty good, especially Blood for the Blood God and Nihilakh Oxide, Texture paints are ok, but you can have similar texture pastes from brands like Vallejo in much bigger pots for much cheaper.

Vallejo Game Color

Come in: 18 ml dropper bottles
Mattness level: semi-matte to satin

+

• solid paint range with colours modelled after the old Citadel paint range
• dropper bottles
• 18 ml per bottle (50% more paint than Citadel for much cheaper!)
• a lot of really nice, vibrant colours
• range of colour-matching spray primers
• range of colour-matching airbrush paints

-

• Washes are so-so
• more hit and miss than Citadel (sometimes you get a colour with a thin consistency that’s prone to separating)
• smaller paint range than Citadel
• most colours come close to their counterparts from the old Citadel range, but are rarely perfect matches
• same colours can have minor discrepancies from batch to batch (happens in any paint range, but with Vallejo I experienced it more often)

My favourite paints:

Most of VGC greens are fantastic and have much better opacity than their Citadel counterparts. Sick Green and Escorpena Green cover much better than  Warpstone Glow and Moot Green and are very similar to them,  Goblin Green is also great and closes the gap between Warboss Green and Skarsnik Green. Scurvy, Jade and Foul Green are more vibrant than Kabalite and Sybarite Green and cover very well, especially Jade and Foul Green. Wolf Grey is a blueish grey perfect for highlighting Fenrisian Grey, and Ghost Grey is an almost white grey and can be used for highlighting Wolf Grey or as a basecoat for a cool white.

Squid Pink is a very vibrant pink, more intense and less pastel than Fulgrim Pink and has much better opacity, great for highlighting Emperor's Children. Warlord Purple is similar to old Warlock Purple and a great colour to close the gap between Screamer Pink and Emperors Children. Hexed Lichen is a nice warm dark violet and perfect to close the gap between Naggaroth Nightmare and Genestealer Purple, and it also has a great opacity.

Glorious Gold was my favourite gold before Retributor Armour was released. It's very similar, just a nuance warmer, the coverage is decent compared to most other gold paints though not as good as Retributor Armour. Polished Gold is very similar to Auric Armour Gold but has a slightly better opacity. Hammered Copper is a great darker copper colour with decent coverage, I prefer it over GW's coppers which are too orange for my taste. Brassy Brass is my favourite brass colour, its similar to Brass Scorpion or Balthasar Gold but again a bit less orange, and Bright Brass is a nice colour to highlight it with.

Vallejo Model Colour

Come in: 18 ml dropper bottles
Mattness level: matte

+

• very large paint range with a lot of muted “historic” colours such as greys, olives, and petrol, but also bright colours, too
• more matt formula with a thicker consistency which is rich in pigments and covers well
• 18 ml per bottle (50% more paint than Citadel for much cheaper)
• range of colour-matching spray primers
• range of colour-matching airbrush paints

-

• thicker consistency requires thinning (might not be a bad thing)
• matt finish isn't as durable and makes the paint more prone to chipping and rubbing off
• metallics are so-so
• slightly confusing range as there are a lot of seemingly similar colours

My favourite paints:

I really love all the white, grey, and black paints from the Model Color range, they cover very well, much better than their GW (Layer) counterparts. Matt Black is the black with the best coverage I know, though it is very matt and prone to rubbing off. Matt White is my favourite white, and I also use Dark Grey as an Eshin Grey replacement.

Apart from that, I don't own that many Model Colors, as I tend to prefer brighter more vibrant colours, but a few I found useful are Dark Blue Pale and Pale Blue for highlighting Thunderhawk Blue, these are pale greenish greys, similar to Fenrisian Grey but more greenish. German Orange is an interesting coral orange/pink, can be highlighted with Lugganath Orange or Flat Flesh from the Model Color range. Black Red is a very dark red similar to Gal Vorbak Red but a bit more of a brownish red, Sunset Red is a bright magenta closing the gap between Screamer Pink and Emperors Children (has a bit of a weak consistency though).

The metallics I tried so far where alright, I tend to like the Game Color and Mecha Color ones a bit better, but Old Gold and Brass are interesting muted gold and brass colours with a hint of green if you are looking for more realistic gold colours.

Vallejo Mecha Color

Come in: 18 ml dropper bottles
Mattness level: satin

+

• very nice metallics with fine metallic flakes that cover well and dry super smooth
• designed to airbrush well
• colours are designed to match typical Gunpla/Gundam colours

-

• apart from the metallics, the consistency is too thin for brush painting

My favourite paints:

All the metallics, especially Dark Steel - Steel - Light Steel, which are a perfect replacement for Leadbelcher - Ironbreaker - Runelord Steel / Stormhost Silver. The thin consistency makes these paints go on very smooth, yet the coverage is very good und just needs one or two coats. I found the non-metallic paints not to be suitable for brush painting though, as the consistency is too thin and formulated for airbrushing.

The Army Painter Warpaints

Come in: 18 ml dropper bottles
Mattness level: semi-matte to satin

+

• most paints are very rich in pigments (think Base paint like)
• range of colour-matching spray primers
• solid range that covers all bases plus a few colours you don’t find in Citadel Colours
• metallic colours such as red, green, blue, violet...
• great washes
• 18 ml per bottle (50% more paint than Citadel for much cheaper!)

-

• a few paints tend to separate with the pigment settling at the bottom and only transparent medium coming out; can be fixed with a lot of shaking and stirring but it can be a chore
• smaller paint range than Citadel
• the brush-on varnishes are great, but the other effect paints aren’t as good as their Citadel Technical counterparts
• some colours changed when they expanded their paint range a few years ago and switched to the hexagon design labels (most noticeable change are the metallics, they used to be great, going on smoothly with very fine metallic flakes, but their new formula is more on a Citadel Layer level)

Please note: The Army Painter also does a lot of “branded” paint ranges for D&D, Zombicide, and others. These are the same formulas as their regular Warpaints. Some of these ranges have a few exclusive colours, but most are just renamed core Warpaints. On each label you’ll find a small note with the corresponding Warpaint. There is also a list to download: https://admin.thearmypainter.com/files/downloads/pdf/WarpaintsVsLicensedNameList.pdf Not very straight-forward, but it is what it is.

My favourite paints:

I wrote a lengthy two-part review of the Warpaints range, covering all colours in detail, so here I'll only pick my absolute favourites. The Warpaints range has a lot of great colours, most of them with a slightly thicker, heavily pigmented formula similar to Citadel Base paints. However, the quality can be a bit hit-and-miss. Most paints I got lately were excellent and a pleasure to work with, but sometimes you get a paint that isn't properly mixed and will require a lot of shaking and stirring to be restored.

Matt Black and Matt White are nice black and whites, I slightly prefer the Model Color ones but these are fine and better than their Citadel counterparts, too. Uniform Grey is similar to Dawnstone but a nuance cooler, I like to use it with Dark Reaper for highlighting black with a cool tone. Ash Grey is very similar to Administratum Grey, but with much better coverage. Spaceship Exterior is a very nice almost white grey, similar to Corax White but a nuance warmer.

For reds, oranges, and yellows, I prefer the Citadel ones in general, but a few noteworthy ones are Chaotic Red and Abomination Gore, which are dark reds with a brownish hue, great for dried blood. Daemonic Yellow is a good yellow, very similar to Flash Gitz Yellow. I also like Moon Dust, a light yellow that closes the gap between Flash Gitz Yellow and Dorn Yellow.

Blues are all very nice and of high opacity, my favourite ones are Griffon Blue, which is similar to Hoeth Blue but a nuance more denim-coloured and with better coverage, Electric Blue, which is similar to Calgar Blue but a bit lighter, and Gorgon Hide, which is an almost white greyish blue that can be used as an extreme highlight for blues or Russ / Fenrisian Grey. Wolf and Fog Grey are great blue greys, but they are very similar to Russ and Fenrisian Grey respectively. Turquoise paints are all quite nice, my standout is Toxic Mist, which is even brighter than Baharroth Blue.

Some of the light vibrant greens can be weak in opacity, but I really like Greenskin and Goblin Green to fill the gaps between Warboss and Skarsnik Green, as well as Scaly Hide, which is a light pale green not as yellowish or olive as Ogryn Camo or Death Guard Green, perfect for highlighting Skarsnik Green, and also has great opacity for such a light colour. Wizards Orb is a fantastic jade green to fill the gap between Kabalite and Sybarite Green, and Kraken Skin is a very bright, almost neon light cool green, a great colour to highlight Sybarite Green if you don't want to get as pale as Gauss Blaster Green. I also love Grung Green from their D&D range, is very similar to Kraken Skin but a bit warmer and yellowish, still with almost neon brightness, great for highlighting colours such as Moot Green or VGC Escorpena Green for an almost neon finish. The Army Painter also has a few nice olive greens, some of them are similar to the Citadel ones, but my favourite is Combat Fatigues, which is similar to Nurgling Green but with better coverage.

My favourite brown paints are Werewolf Fur, which is very similar to Gorthor Brown, Leather Brown, which is similar to XV-88 but warmer and less yellowish, Monster Brown, a nice latte macchiato brown similar to Baneblade Brown but much warmer and less muted, and Banshee Brown, a super versatile cream colour that is similar to Karak Stone. Skeleton Bone is very close to Ushabti Bone, Mummy Robes almost the same as Pallid Wych Flesh, Brainmatter Beige is a nice yellowish off-white, even lighter than Wraithbone or Screaming Skull. For caucasian skintones it's worth picking up Kobold Skin, which is very similar to Kislev Flesh but a nuance less yellowish, and Corpse Pale, which is very similar to Flayed One Flesh but more natural and less yellowish, or Tanned Flesh and Barbarian Flesh for a very reddish tanned fleshtone, similar to old Dwarf Flesh from Citadel.

Make also sure to check out my more detailed review of their acrylic range here: https://taleofpainters.com/2019/03/review-army-painters-complete-warpaints-2/

Metallics – they're all very workable, it's just that they changed the formula (at least for their silver paints) a couple of years ago and the old ones were better. One colour I really though is Bright Gold, it's very similar to Auric Armour Gold but with slightly better coverage. I also recommend check out The Army Painter's new metallic paint set, which has a lot of unsual metallic colours: https://taleofpainters.com/2021/01/review-warpaints-metallic-colours-set-by-the-army-painter/

I really love The Army Painter's washes, especially Dark Tone Wash, which is 1:1 old Badab Black wash and superior to Nuln Oil in my opinion. Strong Tone Wash is a bit glossy, but very similar to old Devlan Mud wash, a darker brown wash than Agrax Earthshade. Purple Wash is 1:1 Leviathan Purple, Blue Wash is very close to old Asurmen Blue. Red Wash is a bit lighter than Carroburg Crimson, Green Wash more muted than Biel-Tan Green. I also really like Military Shader, which is a muted dark green wash, not as olive as Althonian Camoshade, and Flesh Wash, which is not as reddish as Reikland Fleshshade.

Last but not least, the Effect paints. They all aren't as good as their Citadel counterparts, as they're mostly just glossy paints. However, I really like the brush-on Anti-Shine Matt Varnish and Gloss Varnish. They don't yellow as some Vallejo brush-on varnishes and are cheaper than Stormshield and Ardcoat.

I also did a more detailed review of the metallics, washes, and effect paints on the blog: https://taleofpainters.com/2019/04/review-army-painters-complete-warpaints/

Privateer Press Formula P3

Come in: 18 ml flip-top pots
mattness level: semi-matte to satin

+

• same manufacturer as Citadel Colours, so if you’re familiar with them, you’ll know what to expect
• solid range that covers all bases plus a few colours you don’t find in Citadel Colours
• 18 ml bottles, so 50% more content for a similar price as Citadel

-

• washes and metallics are so/so, some metallics tend to separate quickly (similar to Citadel metallics as the formula is almost identical)
• oldschool flip top bottles that are even more prone to clogging and breaking than Citadel
• smaller paint range than Citadel
• formula changed around 2012, before they had a more "Citadel Base paint" like formula, now they have more of a slightly thinner "Layer paint" formula, also a lot of colours changed slightly but noticeable back then

Reaper Master Series

Come in: 14.78 ml dropper bottles
Mattness level: matte to semi-matte

+

• very large paint range with a a good selection of vibrant and muted colours
• additional “Bones” range (formerly MSP HD) with higher pigmentation
• almost all paints come in matching triads
• dropper bottles with added agitator balls
• cheaper than Citadel per ml
• formula works well for blending
• nice metallics with fine metallic pigments and solid coverage
• their washes are heavier than most other washes on the market and in fact very similar to Contrast paints

-

• most paints have “only” a Layer level of pigmentation and opacity (though there are also a lot of colours that cover really nicely)
• colours/triads get discontinued from time to time
• availability is often limited but can be ordered directly from Reaper Miniatures from the US / UK / Europe

Coming soon:

List of my favourite paints for every range
Scale 75*
AK Interactive*
Greenstuff World*
Primers
Varnishes*

*Aspect Warrior tier exclusive

Please feel free to share your experiences and favourite manufacturers and paints in the comment section below :)