Water-Based Acrylic Paint

Water-based acrylic paint is the most commonly used paint type in this hobby. It doesn’t have strong odors that require special protection like enamels and other harsh chemicals.

My second favorite brand is Army Painter. I like the dropper bottles that it comes in. They have a lot of different colors and they make primers that match many of the colors of paint. You can find a nice starter set that will give you all of the colors that you might need here.

My second favorite brand is Vallejo paints lately. They also use dropper bottles that allow you to measure out just a few drops of paint to avoid wasting too much. They are available at most of your friendly local gaming stores. They have several lines of paint that are designed for wargamers, historical modelers, and even pre-thinned paint for airbrushers. Check out a solid option for starting here.

My choice if you prefer paint pots has been P3 brand paint. The liquid pigment that they use gives good coverage without getting too chalky when it dries like some of the other brands. They have a good variety of colors, to begin with, so mixing them isn’t that big of a deal. My primary concern with them is that their starter boxes are faction-specific to the studio paint schemes. You have to buy individual bottles for the most part. You can check the current Amazon prices here.

Washes

Citadel Washes are used by just about everyone. They have a wide variety of colors to choose from. Check the prices of the Citadel nuln oil on Amazon here.

Army painter makes some good shades that are used just like washes, their strong shade works well. You can check the price of their shade set here.

The deciding factor for me though is that the Citadel washes come in pots and they are a good consistency for straight out of the pot painting for most applications.

Primers

Ever since getting an airbrush, I have primed almost exclusively with it. I like to use Vallejo’s pre-thinned airbrush primers. These have nice coverage and you also get a lot more paint for your money than you do with typical aerosol primers. You can apply this primer with a brush if you don’t have an airbrush. Check the current price on Amazon here.

When I am using aerosol can primers, I like the color match primers from the army painter. They actually match the colors that they make with the same names really well. I recommend getting these at your friendly local game store. But if they don’t carry them try finding it here.