For me, these are some of the paints that I use most often. Keep in mind that most color schemes will require a few certain paints, such as Death Guard Green for the Death Guard, or Blood Angels Red for the Blood Angels. If you can get past that, citadel paints are not this devil's invention many of us here in dakka consider them to be. This extends to the models as well, where I’ll drybrush the lower parts of models with Celestra Grey as well to both blend them with the base in a natural way and also make them feel like a part of the environment. The neat part about sanded tile grout is that it dries fast. In less than an hour, sanded tile grout can take primer and paint. You are painting gaming miniatures from Games Workshop or Privateer Press. Or, you’re a historical tabletop wargamer with a collection of miniatures from the Civil War era. It doesn’t matter, you want your minis to look great on the table.

I base the whole thing in Mechanicus Standard Grey, then wash it unevenly with Agrax Earthshade. From there i heavily drybrush on Dawnstone and then lightly with Terminatus Stone. In addition, I thought the surface of the dried Mordant Earth was just too smooth and shiny for what I had in mind. It was far more pāhoehoe than ʻaʻā. It looked frankly like a hard chocolate coating which just made me need to get some ice cream while I pondered what I was going to do next. What Went Wrong, and How to Do It Better One "Battlefield Mud" Texture Paint (I use Astrogranite, but I prime over my texture paint, so color doesn't matter to me)It was at this point that I was discussing the bases with my brother, and he obnoxiously asked if I’d used straight PVA or watered down. Another variable to consider, another round of samples! That’s the kind of look I was (subconsciously perhaps) going for. And is what urban warfare might look like in the 41st millennium. A forever war nightmare of concrete, steel and skulls.

I threw the last one in there because I thought I should try the old school approach rather than all these fancy technical paints, just to be sure. Although I love what Games Workshop has produced for us hobbyists, I feel like in some cases, there are other ways get the same effect for less investment. The robes are painted the same way as the red fists, and for this first Veteran I also added some heraldry to his badge in the quite simple form of a red stripe in the same colours and a skull from the Imperial Knights transfer sheet (the tiny Adeptus Titanicus version!) AT transfers are a good source for heraldry – Knights have a great variety of badges and a lot of the AT houses are unusual for 40k, so you can steal their iconography quite freely. I did the same for the other two Veterans. The shields are a fun place to play around with different things – I particularly like the Veteran with a night-sky kind of heraldry with a star at the top, and then the symbol of House Makabius re-purposed as his personal crest. In my opinion, Citadel Technical Paints are worth it if you’re looking for a way to add unique effects to your models without having to use complicated techniques or materials. They are fast to use. But, there are three good reason for why Citadel textured products are popular and worth the investment. Simplicity, efficiency, and reliability.

Raf’s Method

Maybe you’re looking to find a cheaper replacement for Stirland Mud or my favorite, Agrellan Badlands. All kinds of variation are possible here but be mindful how your mini goes on the base in the end. I often do the basing last and and do it around the mini. While this approach is slower because you have to carefully spread the paste around the models feet you can more easily create the “scene” around it. Calgar Blue is a blue color that can be used to contrast the neutral gray of Astrogranite Debris with something cool and comforting. This combination can be utilized to add a touch of cold, metallic highlights to your models or to give your paint work a sense of depth and dimension.

Why do I think these are the best alternatives to citadel texture paint? In general, these are easy to find at any arts and crafts store or online. While most of my collection is citadel, by branching out I've found much more user friendly and better paints out there. That being said, citadel do some paints really well and others not so much. Despite our best efforts to split everything, Liam and I did end up with a bit of overlap as there are some things in here that are just too cool not to paint. Liam hopped in and painted up a unit of Eradicators, and I painted up the Judiciar as soon as I’d finished my main commitment. Silent angry dude with a big sword is just too cool not to paint.Citadel Technical Paints are a range of paints from Games Workshop, the makers of the popular miniature wargaming hobby. They are designed to give your miniatures a unique look and texture, with a wide variety of colors and textures available. Popular Citadel texture paints for basing miniatures. Imperial Guard – The Imperial Guard is one of the most iconic factions in the Warhammer 40K universe, and Astrogranite Debris is a great choice for adding weathering and damage to their tanks, guns, and infantry. Personally I didn’t add grass tufts just to underscore the bleakness of the battlefield. But you certainly could add some here and there for variance. Purity seals in Waagh Flesh, Warboss Green, and Skarsnik Green on the wax, with the parchment being Rakarth Flesh and then Ushabti Bone GW's metallics are okay, but I find Vallejo Metal Color to have consistently better coverage and finer flake. The line's mostly silver metallics, but there are ways to get rich golds and such with it.

Because I wanted my flagstones to look old and weathered, I gave them a little extra texture by taking a very small (3mm) and roughly textured stone, and rolling it gently around on the green stuff to create subtle, irregular indentations. The more pressure you apply, the rougher the flagstones will look. Note here, that the brand alternative are from the Vallejo Texture Gel range which also offers an array of textured mediums to add context and thematic interest to your miniatures and models. Take a closer look at Vallejo, if you’re looking to expand beyond Games Workshop offerings. Are Citadel Technical Paints Expensive? That’s all nice and easy! The challenging bit comes after that – the armour. There are a lot of edges to Mk 10 power armour, never mind Gravis, so this takes a fair amount of time. My first layer of highlighting comes from hitting all the edges with Altdorf Guard Blue, and then following up with a thinner highlight of Calgar Blue. This takes forever, but it also makes the edges really sharp. Off again to the internet and I found a video on Warhammer TV suggesting to put down ‘Ardcoat on top of the paint rather than PVA. Same principle I suppose and a good place to start. And should the PVA be above or below the paint? I broke down a number of test scenarios and set about to see what would look best. All of these bases were primed with Wraithbone first, all references to “paint” are a splotched mix of Mephiston Red, Vallejo Light Orange, and Vallejo Flat Yellow. Here’s what I inflicted on each one: The Astrogranite Debris is the same colour and contains apparently the same „sand” but is much denser to the point you definitely need a thin spatula to put it on any surface. It has the consistency of crystallised honey and produces interesting, large lumps.

Liam’s Method

In our How to Paint Everything series, we take a look at different armies of the Warhammer universe, examine their history and heraldry, and look at several different methods for painting them. With the recent release of the Indomitus boxed set, we’re looking at the two factions involved and how to approach painting them. Today, we’re looking at the new Space Marines! Lahmian Medium (Mix your base and layer paints with this to make custom washes, or thin down shades with it) Roads are an integral part of the urban environment and great for showing scale. On some of my larger bases, particularly Chaos Knights, I add torn-up roads to both create more of an urban feel and also give the model a sense of scale. Astrogranite Debris is a great choice for painting Armies of the Imperium in the Warhammer 40K universe, as it can be used to add a touch of realism and damage to a wide range of models. Here are three Armies of the Imperium that can be painted with Astrogranite Debris: Stormhost Silver (you can just mix some Corax White into Leadbelcher, but I think that this paint is worth having for convenience)