Guide: Ranking & recapping the best miniature paints of 2025
This post is a must-read if you’re passionate about miniature paints or thinking about giving your paint collection a proper update. I’ll be crowning the top five paint releases of 2025, after spending the entire year testing paints for you. Which new paint products offer a genuine leap in quality that you’ll feel in your day-to-day painting; which paint brands are worth their money, and which ones you’re better off skipping – I’ll tell you in this guide.
Review: Green Stuff World “vivid” Metal Colors
Shortly after Vallejo released the True Metallic Metal paints as next-generation metallic paints, Green Stuff World is now expanding its metallic range with five new extra-intense “vivid” paints I was already able to examine the prototypes at the Green Stuff World stand at Spiel 2025 in Essen, and have now tested them more extensively. Whether they can keep up with Vallejo or even surpass them, you’ll find out in this review.
ToP Tip: The best cold & warm silver paints
Today we’re dusting off the silverware: I’ve brought you two colour quartets featuring my favourite silver paints. One with a neutral-cold undertone, and one with a warmer, more oily steel finish. All share perfect flow and high coverage, making them absolutely essential for any paint collection.
Review: Vallejo True Metallic Metal – the next gen of metallic paints?
They say Vallejo’s new True Metallic Metal range is the future of metallic paints – the best aspects of Vallejo’s previous metallic ranges combined, one range to rule them all. But can it be… true? I’ve tested the entire set, all 80 colours, every technique, every finish, every stress test, to see if these paints are truly revolutionary… or just the next product hype cycle.
ToP Tip: The best putty for filling gaps, holes, and seams on models
I’ve been in the hobby for over 20 years, but one thing has always annoyed me: filling holes and seam lines on miniatures. I’ve tried various putties like Liquid Green Stuff or Vallejo Plastic Putty, classic Green Stuff, but nothing has completely convinced me. If you feel the same way, read this post. I’ve now finally found the perfect product for gap filling.
Review: Dark Arts paint set by Two Thin Coats
The fourth wave of Duncan Rhode’s Two Thin Coats paints brings 30 new colours – but this time, everything’s gone grimdark. Dark Arts is the name of the new expansion, and it does quite a few things differently from the regular Two Thin Coats paints. In this video review, I’ll be testing the new acrylics, metallics, and inks, explaining the differences and similarities, and comparing them with The Army Painter’s equally grimdark John Blanche Masterclass paints.
ToP Tip: The best midnight cyan sea blue paints
This weekend sees a host of new Ultramarines models going up for preorder – the perfect opportunity to dig through my paint archive in search of outstanding blue tones. Although, the blue palettes in this post are actually inspired more by the treacherous Night Lords…
Review: Green Stuff World Maxx Formula
A while ago, fellow paint nerd P. Knightwind hosted a big paint ranking on Instagram, and I could hardly believe the results. Apparently, one of the best red paints came from the Green Stuff World’s Maxx Formula line. Makes Green Stuff World the sleeper hit paint range that nobody talks about? For this video review, I got my hands on the entire Green Stuff World paint catalogue – and I must say, the answer isn’t that simple.
ToP Tip: The best Salamanders 30k & 40k green paints
The Salamanders are not only the “poster boy” faction of the current edition of The Horus Heresy, they’ve also recently received a new Combat Patrol and a model for Vulkan He’stan. But like many Legions and Chapters, their heraldic colours have changed over the centuries. In this post, I’m once again rummaging through my paint archive to put together two green palettes for the Salamanders in the 31st and 41st Millennium.
Review: Speedpaint markers by The Army Painter
Painting miniatures is now easier than ever – no brush required, just a single application and done. That’s the promise of the new Speedpaint Markers from The Army Painter. I’ve tested them to see whether they’re the real deal or just another hobby scam. In this review, I’ll also tell you all you need to know to get the best results, how to avoid damaging the tips, and compare them to their predecessors: the Speedpaint Markers from Deep Cut Studios.
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