Choosing a paint range is one of the most consequential decisions a new miniature painter makes — and one of the most personal. The paint range you start with shapes your technique, your product vocabulary, and which tutorials and guides are most relevant to you. This guide cuts through the noise: here is what actually matters when choosing miniature paints, and which ranges are worth buying for which types of painter.
Quick Pick: Best Miniature Paint Ranges
| Pick | Paint Range / Set | Best For | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Beginner GW Set | Citadel Paints + Tools Set | Starting with Warhammer | Check price → |
| Best Beginner Non-GW | Army Painter Fanatic Starter Set | Any system, great value | Check price → |
| Best for Speed Painting | Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 Starter | Fast armies, beginners | Check price → |
| Best Non-GW Range | Vallejo Game Color Set | Fantasy, quality dropper bottles | Check price → |
| Best Premium Range | Scale75 ScaleColor Essentials | Advanced blending, competition | Check price → |
The Main Miniature Paint Ranges: What You Need to Know
Citadel Colour (Games Workshop)
Citadel is the default choice for Warhammer painters. The range is vast (400+ colours), every Games Workshop tutorial uses Citadel paints by name, and the entire Citadel system is designed to work together: base paints provide opaque coverage in one coat, shades (washes) flow into recesses automatically, and layer paints are pre-thinned for highlighting. Contrast paints — Citadel’s speed-painting range — flow into recesses and leave colour on raised surfaces in a single application, making them useful for quick army painting. The main criticism of Citadel is price: individual pots are more expensive than competitors, and they use flip-top lids that dry out faster than dropper bottles. If you are painting Warhammer and following GW tutorials, Citadel is the path of least resistance.
GW Paints + Tools Set on Amazon →
Vallejo
Vallejo is a Spanish manufacturer producing several ranges relevant to miniature painters: Model Color (historical, muted tones), Game Color (fantasy/sci-fi, brighter saturated tones), and Game Air (thinned for airbrushes). Vallejo paints use dropper bottles rather than pots — you squeeze out exactly the amount you need rather than dipping a brush into a pot. This significantly extends paint life and prevents the contamination that ruins pot paints. Vallejo colours mix cleanly, thin well, and have excellent pigment density. Many experienced painters consider Vallejo Game Color the best non-GW paint range for standard miniature painting. The main limitation: no Citadel equivalent shade (wash) system — Vallejo shades exist but are less central to the range than Citadel shades.
Vallejo Game Color Starter Set on Amazon →
The Army Painter
Army Painter is a Danish company whose products are designed around one goal: getting armies painted quickly. Their Warpaints Fanatic range (the current main range) is a significant upgrade from the original Warpaints formula — better pigment density, improved consistency, and dropper bottles. Speedpaint 2.0 is Army Painter’s answer to Citadel Contrast: a one-coat wonder that shades and highlights simultaneously. Speedpaints are formulated not to reactivate when painted over (the main criticism of the original Speedpaint formula), making them usable as a base layer for further highlighting. For painters who want to table-ready large armies quickly without sacrificing too much quality, Army Painter is the most practical range.
Army Painter Fanatic Starter Set on Amazon → | Speedpaint 2.0 Starter on Amazon →
Scale75
Scale75 is a Spanish manufacturer whose paints are designed for smooth blending and competition-level painting. Their matte finish is more extreme than other ranges, and the pigment density is very high. Scale75 paints blend and feather beautifully, producing smooth gradients that are harder to achieve with Citadel or Vallejo. The trade-off is that they require more thinning and a different application technique than standard paints — they are less forgiving for beginners. Scale75 is not the range for painting 100 infantry models quickly; it is the range for painters who spend hours on individual character models and want paint behaviour that rewards advanced technique.
Scale75 ScaleColor Essentials on Amazon →
Which Paint Range Should You Buy?
- Painting Warhammer for the first time — Citadel Paints + Tools Set. The GW tutorial library is enormous and all uses Citadel by name. Starting with the same range makes following guides straightforward.
- Painting quickly for a large army — Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0. One-coat coverage with built-in shading gets large numbers of models table-ready in minimum time.
- Long-term quality range that is not GW — Vallejo Game Color. Excellent quality, dropper bottles, wide colour range, and good cross-compatibility with other ranges.
- Competition and display painting — Scale75. The blending behaviour and matte finish reward advanced technique.
- Unsure where to start — Army Painter Fanatic Starter Set. Good quality, reasonable price, dropper bottles, system-agnostic colour selection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to thin miniature paints?
For brushwork, yes — almost always. Straight-from-pot paint is typically too thick for smooth coverage and will obscure fine model detail. The standard guideline is to thin to a consistency where paint flows smoothly off the brush without pooling. The amount of thinning required varies by paint range: Citadel layer paints are already thinned; Citadel base paints and Scale75 paints often need more thinning than others. Use water or a dedicated medium (Lahmian Medium for Citadel, Vallejo Airbrush Thinner for Vallejo) rather than excessive water, which can break paint’s binding agents.
Can I mix Citadel and Vallejo paints?
Yes — acrylic miniature paints are chemically compatible across brands and mix freely. Many experienced painters use Citadel shades with Vallejo base paints, or mix colours freely across ranges. The main consideration is consistency: some ranges are thicker than others, so a mix may need additional thinning to achieve the right flow.
Are Contrast paints and Speedpaints the same thing?
No — they are competing products from different manufacturers with similar goals but different formulas. Citadel Contrast paints (GW) and Army Painter Speedpaints both apply colour, shading, and highlighting in a single coat, but their formulas differ: Speedpaint 2.0 is specifically formulated not to reactivate when painted over, which was a significant issue with the original Speedpaint formula. Both ranges work as advertised on their recommended primer colours (Grey Seer for Contrast; any Speedpaint-compatible primer for Speedpaints).
How long do miniature paints last?
Properly stored miniature paints last many years — often a decade or more. The key is preventing the paint from drying out: store in a cool, dark location with lids tightly closed, and add a drop of water or medium if a paint thickens. Dropper-bottle paints (Vallejo, Army Painter Fanatic) typically last longer than pot-lid paints (Citadel) because they seal more reliably between uses.
For more painting essentials, see our best brushes guide, priming guidey best painting lamp guide.