With the release of Warpaints Historical singles and 22 brand new and unique colours, hobbyists suddenly have even more options when it comes to painting. Containing more than 250 unique colours across the Fanatic, Masterclass, and Historical ranges, you’re definitely spoilt for choice when it comes to painting your minis. However, even with that many paints sometimes there can still be colours near and dear to you that didn’t quite make the cut.
Luckily, Warpaints Historical has cast its net even wider, securing even more matches across competing paint lines, such as Citadel by Games Workshop. Our Social Media Specialist and Studio Painter, Tyler, has taken the new Historical paints and picked some of his personal favourites that resurrect colours from his own painting past, including one he’s particularly eager about.
Tyler: Anyone who has been following me since before I joined The Army Painter knows I was not shy about using Citadel Paints, aka the paint range from Games Workshop, whether that was on Mengel Miniatures, or in the From the Mind of Mengel tutorial series hosted on their own website. While I firmly believe that Warpaints Fanatic, Air, and Speedpaint are head and shoulders better in terms of quality, finish, and paintability, there’s no denying that sometimes, certain colours just have a hold on you. With 216 paints in the main Warpaints Fanatic range, 90 paints in the Speedpaint range, and 126 paints in the Air range, there are a lot of colours to choose from. Even with that vast library of paints, sometimes there’s still not that perfect match for a colour that your heart yearns for.
With the release of the John Blanche Masterclass range and now the Warpaints Historical range, that list of paints has grown even further. When I first cracked open my own sets of Warpaints Historical, alongside all the lovely new colours that I’m putting to great use (Historical paints and Trench Crusade are a great match—who would’ve thought?), I also found a couple that really reached out to me, filling some of those pigmented holes deep within me. Have I finally found super close matches to some of my favourite colours of yesteryear? Colours that were firm staples in my painting process at various points over the decades? One that’s even a match for a colour that is only spoken of in hushed whispers. A hue so legendary that none have been able to match it since, not even Games Workshop themselves? Yes, yes I have.
[Historical] Rifle Brown – Doombull Brown
A slightly reddish, darker, more saturated brown is a useful colour to have in many situations. It’s great for stained wood, a rich leather, or even when you just want to tint your colour palette towards the warmer side. In the Citadel range, Doombull Brown, or Dark Flesh for even older hobbyists like myself, filled this role.
Warpaints Historical Rifle Brown is a lovely shade of brown with a slight red tint. This is perfect for the stained wood furniture of WWII era rifles, as the name suggests, but will find a home in your paint rotation for many a palette. We had previously matched Warpaints Fanatic Dryad Brown to this colour, and while it’s still a close match, we now think that Rifle Brown is an even closer match. Aw, the science of paint colours!
[Historical] Beret Maroon – Khorne Red
Paint for the paint god! The god of war and battle in Games Workshop’s Warhammer universes really, really loves the colour red. While a bright Pure Red or slightly deeper Dragon Red are great fits for the canine-headed Chaos god, both fall slightly askew of the mark of Citadel’s titularly named Khorne Red. You could say this particular shade of red almost falls more into the maroon camp.
Enter Warpaints Historical Beret Maroon! As the name suggests, this maroon paint is a lovely, saturated, deep shade of red, perfectly suited to adorn a cap upon your head, or to display your allegiance to the god of blood and skulls. Sitting close to both Pure Red and Dragon Red, but with a distinct difference, I have no doubt that this paint will enter many a hobbyist’s red rotation.
[Historical] Camo Brown – Skragg Brown
Back before I discovered the majesty of the Warpaints Fanatic Effects Fresh Rust and Dark Rust (don’t forget Grim Rust!), Skragg Brown by Citadel was my go-to rust paint. When sufficiently watered down, this orangish brown hue was perfect for simulating built-up corrosion and streaks of grime. While I don’t think you’ll ever be able to tear the new Fanatic Rust Effects from my grasp now that my eyes have been opened, it’s still nice to have an alternative when needed.
Warpaints Historical Camo Brown is a wonderful orangish-brown colour. Just like how Rifle Brown tints slightly to the colder-warm family, this paint is firmly on the warm side. In fact, I’ve been using it recently to highlight the leather on my Heretic Legion forces for Trench Crusade to give them a pop of warmth against the otherwise cool colour scheme. I highly recommend adding this paint to your repertoire of browns and giving it a shot. This one is slightly darker than its Citadel counterpart, but it still fits the bill nicely.
[Historical] Webbing Green – Deathworld Forest
The Warpaints Fanatic range has no shortage of greens, with 24 different shades to choose from. Deathworld Forest by Citadel, while close to some of the Desaturated Greens, has a bit more yellow to it, a bit more jungle, and something that there hasn’t been a super close match to with the Fanatic range.
Worry no more, the new Warpaints Historical Webbing Green fills this role admirably, with a lovely dark to mid-tone desaturated green hue, with just a hint of yellow to it. If you’re looking to paint up some burly jungle fighters or some sickly Plague Marines, this paint will be more than up to the task. It has a bit more green and a bit less yellow, but is still a very close match.
[Historical] Dark Olive – Charadon Granite
The holy grail to painters of a certain age—the discontinued Charadon Granite by Citadel, has a near mythical status. This colour refuses to play by the rules and is somehow simultaneously grey, brown, and green all at the same time. Back in the day, I found a way to use this colour in almost every painting project that I was working on. Need a rock? Charadon Granite. Need some bandages for my Tomb Kings? Charadon Granite. Need a neutral colour to blend in for shadows? You get the idea. Having disappeared back around 2011, no company, including Citadel, has really succeeded in replicating its unique colour properties, until now!
I don’t know if you can appreciate my glee when I first got my hands on the new Warpaints Historical Dark Olive. My immediate thought was—it’s returned! My precious, my love, my Dark Olive. While not a 100% match, which is nearly impossible across different paint ranges, it is by far the closest paint I’ve seen to the beast that was Charadon Granite. This versatile paint will find its way into numerous situations. I honestly try and find ways to work it in sometimes because it’s just such a great colour. It was a main ingredient in both the skin and bandages of my Golden Demon-winning Tomb King model from this past year. Don’t sleep on this one. In my opinion, if there is only one Warpaints Historical colour that you pick up, it should be Dark Olive.
