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MINIATURES

Paint Schemes

How I painted each model: the exact paints, the order they went on, and the finish they gave.

Before you start, and what the technique words mean
Thin your paint
Almost everything here goes on thinner than it comes out of the pot. Neat paint dries thick and fills in the detail you paid for. Add water a drop at a time on a palette until it runs somewhere between milk and heavy cream, depending on the brand, then build the colour up in two or three coats rather than one.
Start on a primed model
Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here begins on a model that has already been primed - paint will not sit properly on bare plastic. Black unless the scheme says otherwise, which is what most of these were painted over.
The same words mean two things
Wash, shade and layer are both things you do and names Citadel puts on pots. The badge on a step is the action. The Type column in the paint list is which range the pot came from. A step badged "layer" is often painted with a Base paint, and that is not a mistake.
basecoat
The first solid colour over primer. Two thin coats beat one thick one.
highlight
A lighter colour on the parts that would catch the light.
layer
A slightly lighter colour over part of the coat below, leaving its edges showing.
wash
Thin, watery paint that runs into the recesses and shades the whole area at once.
edge
A highlight along a sharp edge only, painted with the side of the brush.
shade
Darker paint placed deliberately in the shadows rather than left to flow.
glaze
Heavily thinned paint over dry paint, to tint it and soften the join between two colours.
stipple
Dabbed on with the tip of the brush for a broken, rough, mottled surface.
drybrush
Almost-dry paint dragged across raised texture so it catches only the high points.
blend
Two colours worked into each other while both are wet, so there is no visible line.
special
Anything that is not one of the above. The step note says what it is.

Death Korps of Krieg Infantry + Command Squad

🔗
Astra Militarum40kMarch 2026 · 23 models
FinishCampaign-worn, cohesive
PrimaryFieldgrey and desaturated greens
ContrastRed lenses, muted leathers
TechniqueSoft layering, controlled washes
BASE
PrimeBlack
GREATCOAT
BaseGerman Fieldgrey
HighlightFieldgrey + Sunny Skin Tone (50/50)
TROUSERS
BaseDark Sea Green
HighlightDeck Tan (soft lift)
CLOTH / WRAPS
BaseDeck Tan
WashAgrax
BOOTS / GLOVES
BaseCharcoal
HighlightDark Sea Green (subtle tie-in)
GAS MASK
BaseWolf Grey
LensesMephiston Red
TrimLeadbelcher (edge)
DotBold Titanium
LEATHERS
BaseRhinox Hide
EdgeXV-88
WashAgrax
WOODS
RecipeDark Wood
FINISHING
GrimeAgrax + Earth Brown
Metals (gold)Retributor Armour → Agrax
FACES (if exposed)
RecipeDark Skin
  1. 1
    basecoatElf Skin Tone (72.004)Vallejo
    Base all skin·Artis Opus Series S 3
  2. 2
    layerBarbarian Skin (72.071)Vallejo
    Deep shadows·Artis Opus Series S 3
  3. 3
    highlightSunny Skin Tone (70.845)Vallejo
    Blend in highlights·Artis Opus Series S 3
  4. 4
    layerElfic Flesh (72.098)Vallejo
    Final bright highlights·Artis Opus Series S 3
  1. 1
    basecoatRhinox HideCitadel
    Base all leather·Artis Opus Series S 1
  2. 2
    basecoatAbaddon BlackCitadel + Lahmian MediumCitadel (1:2)
    Shade all leather recesses·Artis Opus Series S 1
  3. 3
    highlightDoombull BrownCitadel
    Chunky·Artis Opus Series S 1
  4. 4
    highlightSkrag BrownCitadel
    Scratchy damage highlight·Artis Opus Series S 1
  5. 5
    edgeXV-88 (Deep Ochre)Citadel
    Shakey - edge and scratch·Artis Opus Series S 00
  6. 6
    highlightUshabti BoneCitadel
    Dot highlight sparingly·Artis Opus Series S 00
Dark Skin
  1. 1
    basecoatDark Flesh Tone (72.044)Vallejo
    Base all felsh·Artis Opus Series S 3
  2. 2
    layerCharred Brown (72.045)Vallejo
    Deepen the shadows·Artis Opus Series S 1
  3. 3
    highlightTan (72.066)Vallejo
    Lighten the highlights·Artis Opus Series S 1
  4. 4
    highlightBugman’s GlowCitadel
    Brightest highlights into the pink tones·Artis Opus Series S 1
Dark Wood
  1. 1
    basecoatDryad BarkCitadel
    Base all wood·Artis Opus Series S 3
  2. 2
    edgeDoombull BrownCitadel
    Ragged edge·Artis Opus Series S 1
  3. 3
    shadeAgrax EarthshadeCitadel
    One or two coats depending how you want to age·Vallejo Detail 2
Greatcoat
  1. 1
    basecoatGerman Field Grey (70.830)Vallejo
    Based with two thin coats·Artis Opus Series S 3
  2. 2
    highlightGerman Field Grey (70.830)Vallejo + Sunny Skin Tone (70.845)Vallejo (2:1)
    Nice light highlight on just the upwards facing creases·Artis Opus Series S 1
  3. 3
    washAgrax EarthshadeCitadel
    Mix with water - bottoms of coat to show wet / damp·Artis Opus Series S 3
  4. 4
    highlightBrown Earth (26.219)Vallejo
    Stipple in mud splash·Artis Opus Series S 3
  1. 1
    basecoatDoombull BrownCitadel
    Base layer·Artis Opus Series S 1
  2. 2
    edgeXV-88 (Deep Ochre)Citadel
    Very light edge·Artis Opus Series S 1
  3. 3
    shadeAgrax EarthshadeCitadel
    Shade to weather·Vallejo Detail 2
German Uniform (70.920)Vallejo⇆Dark Sea Green (70.868)Vallejo⇆Wolf Grey (72.047)Vallejo⇆Nuln OilCitadel⇆Mephiston RedCitadel⇆Deck Tan (70.986)Vallejo⇆Coal BlackPro Acryl⇆Retributor ArmourCitadel⇆Matte BlackPro Acryl⇆Extra Matte VarnishTamiyaLeadbelcherCitadel⇆Bold Titanium WhitePro Acryl⇆

Recipes

Methods I reuse across models - skin, metal, armour, cloth and the rest. Each step is one named paint, one technique and a note. Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here starts on a primed model - the scheme that uses it usually says which colour.

Before you start, and what the technique words mean
Thin your paint
Almost everything here goes on thinner than it comes out of the pot. Neat paint dries thick and fills in the detail you paid for. Add water a drop at a time on a palette until it runs somewhere between milk and heavy cream, depending on the brand, then build the colour up in two or three coats rather than one.
Start on a primed model
Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here begins on a model that has already been primed - paint will not sit properly on bare plastic. Black unless the scheme says otherwise, which is what most of these were painted over.
The same words mean two things
Wash, shade and layer are both things you do and names Citadel puts on pots. The badge on a step is the action. The Type column in the paint list is which range the pot came from. A step badged "layer" is often painted with a Base paint, and that is not a mistake.
basecoat
The first solid colour over primer. Two thin coats beat one thick one.
highlight
A lighter colour on the parts that would catch the light.
layer
A slightly lighter colour over part of the coat below, leaving its edges showing.
wash
Thin, watery paint that runs into the recesses and shades the whole area at once.
edge
A highlight along a sharp edge only, painted with the side of the brush.
shade
Darker paint placed deliberately in the shadows rather than left to flow.
glaze
Heavily thinned paint over dry paint, to tint it and soften the join between two colours.
stipple
Dabbed on with the tip of the brush for a broken, rough, mottled surface.
drybrush
Almost-dry paint dragged across raised texture so it catches only the high points.
blend
Two colours worked into each other while both are wet, so there is no visible line.
special
Anything that is not one of the above. The step note says what it is.

Paint Inventory

The paints I actually own - every pot on my shelf, not a catalogue of what exists. This is what the schemes and recipes are painted with.

PaintBrandTypeHueUsed in

Paint Conversion Chart

Citadel colours matched to their closest Vallejo, Pro Acryl and Two Thin Coats equivalents, by eye, over time. Nothing here is a measured colour match - the dots say how close each one really is.

Still filling this in: 8 of the 108 colours used in the recipes here have no row yet. Mostly Vallejo. A blank means not mapped, not that no equivalent exists.

How close the match is: near identical usable avoid

CitadelVallejoPro AcrylTwo Thin Coats