The foundation of the Citadel system. Base paints are heavily pigmented for strong coverage in one or two coats — the starting point for every colour on your model. The 57 colours in the range span every faction in the Warhammer universe: army-specific shades like Macragge Blue (Ultramarines), Khorne Red (World Eaters & Khorne worshippers), Death Guard Green, and Thousand Sons Blue sit alongside general purpose tones for skin, leather, bone, and metals. Most official GW painting guides begin with a named Base paint, making this the essential first purchase for any new army project.

Shade paints are thin, flow-enhancing washes that flood into recesses, panel lines, and surface texture to create instant depth and shadow. Apply them over a dried Base coat and they do the work of shading for you. Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil are two of the most-used paints in the entire hobby — universal shaders for brown/leather and dark metal respectively. The 19 Shade colours cover every army need: Reikland Fleshshade for skin, Drakenhof Nightshade for armour, Biel-Tan Green for Ork flesh, and Druchii Violet for Slaanesh and Eldar models.

The largest line in the range with 93 colours. Layer paints are semi-opaque and formulated for building highlights on raised surfaces — applied after the Shade has dried, working progressively lighter toward the edges and highest points of a model. Each colour is keyed to specific factions and painting steps: Warboss Green and Moot Green for Ork skin progressions, Calgar Blue and Alaitoc Blue for Ultramarines highlights, Mournfang Brown through Skrag Brown for Khorne Berserker leathers. The metallics — Ironbreaker, Runefang Steel, Stormhost Silver — are essential for bringing steel and armour to life after a Nuln Oil shade.

Dry paints have a thick, paste-like consistency with reduced medium — load a stiff-bristle drybrush, wipe off almost all the paint on a tissue, then lightly drag across raised edges and textured surfaces to catch highlights. The 31 colours cover every drybrushing need in the Warhammer hobby: Necron Compound and Stormhost Silver for Necron and metallic armour, Praxeti White for extreme highlights, Nurgling Green for corroded Death Guard and Nurgle daemon surfaces, and a full range of bone, stone, and earth tones for basing and terrain.

Contrast paints combine basecoat colour and shading in a single application. Their high-flow medium pulls paint towards recesses and thins it over raised areas, producing automatic shading and highlight variation from one coat. Apply over Wraithbone (warm) or Grey Seer (cool) primer for best results — the 61-colour range covers nearly every army in the game with named faction shades: Blood Angels Red, Dark Angels Green, Space Wolves Grey, Black Templar, Ultramarines Blue, Iyanden Yellow (Imperial Fists), and Plaguebearer Flesh for Nurgle daemons. Contrast paints are also excellent glazes and tints when mixed with Contrast Medium.

Specialist effect paints used at the finishing stage of a model or base. The 24 Technical paints cover an enormous range: texture pastes (Stirland Mud, Astrogranite, Armageddon Dust, Valhallan Blizzard) for fast, realistic basing; crackle effects (Agrellan Earth, Mordant Earth) for cracked desert or wasteland terrain; and iconic finishing effects — Blood for the Blood God (glistening gore), Nihilakh Oxide (verdigris on copper), Typhus Corrosion (rust and grime), Nurgle's Rot (slime and decay), and Waystone Green and Spiritstone Red for gemstone effects on Eldar and fantasy models.

Citadel Spray cans double as primer and base coat in a single application — they bond to plastic, resin, and metal, and are colour-matched exactly to the pot equivalent for a seamless transition to brush work. The five sprays in stock cover the most commonly used primer colours: Chaos Black (universal dark primer), Wraithbone (warm off-white, the standard base for Contrast paints), Grey Seer (cool white, the alternative Contrast primer), Mechanicus Standard Grey (dark grey, ideal for silver and metallic armies), and White Scar (pure white for light schemes and vibrant Contrast results). Separate heavy-armour sprays — Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, Mephiston Red, Macragge Blue, Zandri Dust, Deathguard Green — are stocked for army-specific basecoating.

Browse and purchase all Citadel Colour paints directly in our online store.