Paint Sets

Which type of set to choose

Paint sets differ mainly by the painting technique they are designed for:

• Classic acrylic paints (Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color) offer great coverage and blendability. They are perfect for base coating, layering, and highlighting.
• Contrast paints (Army Painter Speedpaint) are applied over a light base coat to provide color and shading in a single stroke. They save time when painting armies with many models.
• Airbrush paints (Army Painter Warpaints Air) are thinner and ready to use straight in your airbrush.
• Metallic paints (Vallejo True Metallic Metal) mimic metal, armor, and weapons.

Starter set or a large collection

A starter set with fewer shades is enough for your first miniatures and will show you if you enjoy painting. Large sets (Mega Sets, 48-color sets) make sense if you paint regularly and don't want to buy shades one by one. Themed sets are curated for specific armies or games, such as Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, or Dungeons & Dragons.

Dropper bottle or pot

Army Painter, Vallejo, and AK Interactive package their paints in dropper bottles. The paint dries out less, and you can dose it drop by drop onto your palette. You can compare shades from different brands in our hobby paint conversion chart.

What else you'll need

Along with paints, you'll need brushes, a palette, and primer. You can find complete kits for absolute beginners in our Painting for beginners collection, or individual paints in the hobby paints category.

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