Citadel vs Vallejo vs AK Interactive: My take

Over the past little while we've had a lot of new painters walk through our doors at Wandering Adventures, which has been amazing to see. The hobby is growing and it's genuinely exciting to watch people pick up a brush for the first time. But one question comes up almost every single time — "which paints should I buy?" After answering that question more times than I can count, I figured it was time to write it all down. What follows is the same advice I give every new painter who comes into the store: an honest breakdown of the three main brands you'll encounter, based on 20 years of painting everything from grimdark sci-fi to fantasy warbands to detailed scenic bases. No fluff, just what I've actually learned from using all of them.

Citadel: The Gateway Drug

Most painters start with Citadel, and for good reason. Games Workshop has built an ecosystem around their paints that's hard to beat for beginners — every pot is named after something that sounds cool, the app tells you exactly which colours to use for your Space Marines, and the range is enormous. But after two decades, I've developed some strong opinions.

The Contrast paints are genuinely brilliant. If you haven't tried them, they're a game changer for getting fast, striking results on models — one coat over a light primer and you've got shading and basecoat done simultaneously. I reach for them constantly, especially on infantry where I need to batch paint efficiently. The Shades (washes) are equally indispensable — Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil live permanently on my desk and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Where Citadel loses me is white. Their white paints have always been inconsistent — chalky, grainy, prone to clogging. I stopped buying them years ago and haven't looked back. If you need white, there are better options elsewhere.

Vallejo: The Unsung Hero for Colours

Vallejo doesn't get talked about as much as Citadel online, but serious painters know how good they are. The dropper bottles alone make them worth considering — no dried crusty rims, no accidentally knocking a pot over and watching $$/ paint spread across your desk.

Where Vallejo truly shines is their greens. I don't know what they put in them but the greens in the Game Color and Model Color ranges are some of the most vibrant, well-pigmented colours I've ever used. Whether I'm painting forest bases, ork skin, or elvish robes, Vallejo green is almost always my starting point. The coverage is excellent and they layer beautifully without becoming muddy.

Their flesh tones are also solid, and the Game Air range is fantastic if you work with an airbrush. The consistency across the range is reliable — you know what you're getting pot to pot, which matters when you're mid-project and need to restock.

AK Interactive: My Personal Favourite

I'll be upfront — AK Interactive is my go-to brand, and has been for a while now. What won me over initially was their approach to realistic, muted tones. Their neutral colours — the browns, the grays, the earthy tones — are simply unmatched for painting realistic textures. Whether I'm painting weathered armour, muddy boots, rocky bases, or aged wood, AK's neutrals give results that just look right in a way that brighter hobby ranges sometimes don't.

The brown and gray ranges in particular are incredibly well thought out. There are warm browns, cool browns, desaturated mid-tones that work perfectly as zenithal highlights — the kind of nuance that makes a model look like it actually exists in a physical world rather than a cartoon.

But the thing that genuinely surprised me was their red gradient range. Getting smooth, rich reds has always been one of the harder things in miniature painting — they're notoriously hard to highlight without going chalky or orange. AK's reds have a depth and richness that I haven't found anywhere else, and the gradient range makes smooth blending far more approachable. Whether it's blood angels armour, daemon skin, or a dramatic cloak, I reach for AK reds every single time now.

The 3rd Generation acrylics also have excellent flow straight out of the bottle, which means less fiddling with medium and more actual painting.

So Which Should You Buy?

Honestly? All three — but strategically. Here's how I think about it:

• Citadel for Contrast paints, Shades, and technical paints. Their ecosystem is unbeatable for those specific products. Avoid the whites.
• Vallejo when you need rich, consistent colours — especially greens and flesh tones. Great all-rounder for traditional layering.
• AK Interactive for realistic neutrals, browns, grays, and the best reds in the hobby. If you paint gritty, realistic, or heavily weathered models, AK should be your primary range.

After 20 years the honest answer is that no single brand does everything perfectly. The painters I respect most all mix and match — and so do I. But if I had to pick one brand to keep if the others disappeared tomorrow, it would be AK Interactive without hesitation.

All three brands are available at Wandering Adventures in Vaughan — come in and ask us anything, we're always happy to talk paint.