If you've ever stood in front of the Citadel rack and wondered why there are six different kinds of paint, and whether you really need all of them, you're not alone. It's one of the most common questions we get at the counter.
The good news is that the names aren't marketing. Each type is a different kind of paint, made to do one job in the painting process. Once you know what each one is for, the whole rack makes sense.
The Quick Version
| Type | What it is | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Thick, heavily pigmented, strong coverage | Your first solid coat of colour |
| Layer | Thinner, usually brighter | Building up colour and highlights over a Base |
| Shade | Very thin, runs into recesses | Instant shadows and definition |
| Contrast | Translucent, pools dark and thins on raised areas | Colour, shading and highlight in one coat |
| Dry | Thick, almost paste-like | Drybrushing raised detail and texture |
| Technical | Special effects and utility products | Basing textures, blood, rust, varnish, mediums |
| Spray | Aerosol primers and colours | Undercoating before you start |
Base: Your Foundation Coat
Base paints are packed with pigment so they cover well, even over a black undercoat. This is the paint you use to block in the main colours on a model: the armour, the cloth, the skin, the metal.
They're still best applied as two thin coats, not one thick one. Put a little on a palette, add a touch of water, and you'll keep all the detail on the model instead of filling it in.
Names you'll hear a lot: Abaddon Black, Mephiston Red, Macragge Blue, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour.
Layer: Building Up and Highlighting
Layer paints have a thinner consistency and less covering power than Base paints, and that's on purpose. They're designed to go over a Base coat, so they don't need to hide what's underneath. Most of them are lighter and brighter than the matching Base.
You use them to bring a colour back up after shading, and to pick out edges and raised areas so the model reads from across the table. This is also why a Layer paint straight over black primer looks patchy: it's not broken, it's just being asked to do a Base paint's job.
Shade: Shadows in a Pot
Shades are thin washes. Brush one over a basecoated area and it flows off the raised surfaces and settles into the recesses, darkening them and making all the detail stand out. For the effort involved, nothing improves a model faster.
The two everyone ends up owning are Nuln Oil (black) and Agrax Earthshade (brown). Black for metals and cool colours, brown for warm colours, bone, leather and anything that should look a bit grubby.
A couple of tips: don't flood the model, pull away any big pools before they dry on flat panels, and let it dry fully before you touch it again.
Contrast: One Coat, Three Jobs
Contrast paints work differently from everything above. They're translucent and formulated to pool darker in the recesses while staying thinner and lighter on raised areas. Over a light undercoat, one coat gives you a base colour, shading and a hint of highlight all at once.
That light undercoat matters. Contrast is made to go over pale primers like Wraithbone (warm, off-white) or Grey Seer (cool, light grey). Over black it will barely show.
Contrast really shines on textured, organic surfaces such as fur, cloth, skin, scales and bone, and it's the fastest way to get an army painted. It's less forgiving on big flat armour panels, where it can dry blotchy if you overwork it. Put it on, move it where you want it, then leave it alone.
Dry: Made for Drybrushing
Dry paints have a thick, paste-like consistency. Don't add water and don't try to brush them on like normal paint.
To drybrush, pick up a small amount on a stiff brush, wipe most of it off on a paper towel, then flick the brush lightly back and forth over the model. The paint only catches the raised edges and texture. It's brilliant for fur, chainmail, rocks, rubble and terrain, and it's a very quick way to highlight.
Technical: Effects and Problem Solvers
Technical is the catch-all for everything that isn't really a colour. It covers a few groups:
- Texture paints for bases, like Astrogranite and Stirland Mud. Spread them on, let them dry, then shade and drybrush.
- Effects like Blood for the Blood God (wet, glossy blood), Nihilakh Oxide (verdigris), and Typhus Corrosion (gritty rust and grime).
- Mediums like Lahmian Medium and Contrast Medium, for thinning paints without making them watery.
- Varnishes like Ardcoat (gloss) and Stormshield (matt), for protecting finished models.
You don't need these on day one, but a texture paint for your bases makes a finished model look far more complete.
Spray: Where Every Model Starts
Citadel Sprays are the primers and coloured undercoats you put on before any brush paint. Primer gives the paint something to grip, so it doesn't rub off the plastic.
Which one you pick sets up everything after it:
- Chaos Black for darker schemes and metals. Any spot you miss just looks like shadow.
- Wraithbone or Grey Seer if you're using Contrast paints or want bright colours.
- A coloured spray to prime and basecoat in one step when most of the model is a single colour.
One note for our overseas customers: aerosols are classed as dangerous goods, so we can only ship sprays within Australia. The paint pots are fine to send anywhere. There's more on that in our dangerous goods guide.
How They Fit Together
The classic way to paint a miniature uses the ranges in order. Here's blue power armour as an example:
- Spray: undercoat with Chaos Black.
- Base: two thin coats of Macragge Blue.
- Shade: Nuln Oil into the recesses and panel lines.
- Layer: Calgar Blue on the raised edges.
- Layer again: a fine highlight of Fenrisian Grey on the sharpest corners.
- Technical: texture paint on the base, then a drybrush with a Dry paint to finish it.
The Contrast route is shorter: prime in Wraithbone or Grey Seer, apply one coat of Contrast per area, and stop there or add a quick Layer highlight on top.
Neither way is the "right" one. Plenty of painters mix both on the same model, using Contrast for cloaks and skin and the classic method for armour.
What Should You Buy First?
You don't need the whole rack. A sensible starting set looks like this:
- One spray primer
- Three or four Base paints in your army's main colours, plus a metallic
- Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade
- One or two Layer paints for highlights
- A texture paint for your bases
- A couple of decent brushes. Our brush guide covers which type and size to pick.
If speed matters more than anything, swap the Base and Layer paints for a light primer and a handful of Contrast colours.
A Few Common Questions
Can I use a Layer paint as a basecoat? You can, but expect to need more coats, especially over a dark undercoat.
Do I need to thin Citadel paints? Base and Layer, yes, with a little water. Shade, Contrast, Dry and most Technical paints are used straight from the pot.
Can I mix types? Base and Layer mix happily with each other. Contrast should be thinned with Contrast Medium, not water, or it loses the properties that make it work.
Can I airbrush them? Base and Layer paints can be thinned down for an airbrush. We've covered how in our beginner's guide to airbrushing.
Come and Have a Look
We paint with this stuff ourselves, so if you're stuck picking colours for a scheme, bring a photo into the shop at 22 Castlemaine Street, Kirwan, and we'll help you work out what you need. Or browse the full Citadel Colour range online.