I’ve tested the brand-new airbrush paint range from Green Stuff World. The promise? It really doesn’t get much easier than this – just pour the paint straight from the bottle into the airbrush and go. Zero messing around with thinners or mixing ratios. But does it actually hold up in practice? And how do these paints stack up against Vallejo Game Air, Warpaints Air, and Green Stuff World’s own Maxx Formula? I’ll tell you all about it in this video.

### Addressing Green Stuff World’s reputation first

First we need to address the elephant in the room: Green Stuff World is a company with a rather complicated past when it comes to the community. I prefer to keep things constructive on my channel, so you’ll have to Google that yourself. This video is purely about the quality of the new airbrush range, no bias involved. The range covers almost all the Maxx Formula colours plus 8 fluorescent colours, 104 paints in total. It was funded through Kickstarter in spring 2026 and is now available to buy.

For this review I got all 104 colours and prepared three trials: first I test the atomisation and whether these paints are really as clog-free as promised. Second, I compare them against their Maxx Formula counterparts and check the colour match. Third, I put them through their paces for detail work and special effects, including the fluo paints. And at the end, you get my verdict and a comparison with other airbrush-ready paints like Warpaints Air and Vallejo Game Air.

By the way, I’m Stahly from Tale of Painters. On my channel I test all the latest miniature paints, unsponsored and unbiased, so please subscribe to stay up to date. I’ve been painting Warhammer and scale models for over 20 years, and I also maintain the Stahly Swatch System, the only collection of real hand-painted colour swatches covering all major paint ranges.

### Straight from the bottle: the first spray test

For the first test I’m keeping things simple. I have this Terran Marine from the Starcraft TMG by Archon Studios, primed black, and I want to give it a blue basecoat using Imperium Blue. Each bottle contains 17ml of paint and the price is very competitive, as you’d expect from Green Stuff World. They also regularly run site-wide discount promotions with 10 to 20% off. The caps are flip-top dropper caps, which are fine, though you do need to pierce the nozzle before first use. Watch out for splatter when you do that. Some colours can separate in the bottle, but a quick shake by hand is usually enough. I pour the paint straight into my trusty Mr. Hobby PS-289, a solid upper-mid-range airbrush with a 0.3mm nozzle. I set the pressure to around 30 PSI, and it sprays without any issues or additional thinning. A true “shake, pour, and spray” experience. The result is excellent covering power and a soft matte finish. I’ll be adding details and special effects to this Marine later in the video, so stay tuned.

### Testing zenithal highlights and atomisation

But first I want to find out how good the atomisation is and how smooth zenithal gradients can be. This Space Marine Legionary is going to become a Blood Angel. I primed the model in a dark magenta. Colour Forge have unfortunately discontinued that primer, but Barak-Nar Burgundy is similar. In my Maxx Formula review I was really impressed by Green Stuff World’s vivid reds, and now I want to put the airbrush versions to the test. For the first zenithal highlight I apply Cutthroat Red, a medium warm red. Zenithal means spraying at an angle from above with a lighter colour to simulate natural light direction. For super smooth transitions I’d recommend increasing the pressure to 40 or ideally 50 PSI and adding a little thinner if needed, though with the Green Stuff World airbrush paints that isn’t strictly necessary. Then I add zenithal highlights with Red Truth, spraying at an even higher angle. And this red is fantastic. It makes the Blood Angel’s armour really pop. The spray pattern is incredibly fine, and I love that transition from the cool violet through to the warm, vivid red.

Next up, the Slapchop test. I’m starting with this Intercessor, which I’ve sprayed black with Black Stallion, then adding zenithal highlights with Nuclear White. For this I add a little Vallejo thinner and push the pressure up to around 50 PSI, which produces an extremely fine mist, as you can see here. For a water-based acrylic that’s a fantastic result, almost on par with a lacquer-based paint or white ink, and clearly better than Warpaints Air and Warhammer Colour Air. There’s also a comparison with Vallejo Game Air at the end of the video.

### Airbrush vs Maxx Formula: is the colour match accurate?

But how do these paints compare to their Maxx Formula counterparts, and how accurate is the colour match? The Maxx Formula paints already have a high flow consistency and strong covering power, which are good starting conditions for airbrushing. I marked them down in my original review because some of the lighter colours felt a little weak on covering power compared to other modern paint ranges. So I was curious whether Green Stuff World had improved those for the airbrush versions.

To find out, I specifically selected the low-coverage colours for the colour match test, Gengis Khaki aside. Almost all of them look identical in the bottle, with Go Mango being the one exception. I sprayed a few of my Stahly test models with the airbrush versions first. The khaki covers brilliantly. But with the lighter colours, covering power is indeed a little on the weak side, just like the Maxx Formula versions. That said, opacity matters slightly less with airbrush paints than with brush painting, since you can build up multiple thin layers much more quickly through the airbrush. For the right side of the test models I painted the Maxx Formula counterparts for comparison, and yes, the colour match is spot on. Go Mango is identical once dry, even though it looked slightly different in the bottle. The only difference is the finish: the airbrush paints have a fractionally more satin finish than Maxx Formula, which makes them look slightly more intense depending on the light. However, the difference is minimal and disappears after varnishing.

So do watch out for that, and also watch out for Green Stuff World’s colour chart. Many colours look quite different in real life compared to what’s shown, and most colour matching apps and databases have just copied that across. Because I used to get frustrated ordering colours online only for them to look completely different in real life, I started the Stahly Swatch System a few years back. The only colour swatches with real, hand-painted samples, professionally digitised by me. My Green Stuff World swatch covers the complete Maxx Formula range, and in the latest free update I’ve marked all the colours that are also available as airbrush versions. Real hand-painted samples, far more accurate than the official chart, and cross-compatible with my 7-brands-in-1 colour matching document covering over 1,200 colours. Perfect for converting colours from tutorials, for example. My swatches are available for a small donation on my Patreon, and I’d really appreciate your support so I can keep putting out free updates and expansions. Liking or hyping this video is also much appreciated.

### Do you need both the airbrush and Maxx Formula ranges?

So, some of you may already own Maxx Formula paints and are wondering whether you now need to buy everything twice. Well, the airbrush paints also work fine with a brush. They’re a bit thinner and therefore more transparent, but for fixing small mistakes here and there they’re perfectly adequate. And the regular Maxx Formula paints can also be airbrushed without too much trouble. I actually ran a comparison, spraying Manufactorum ruins from the new 40k starter box with the airbrush and regular Maxx Formula acrylics. For the Maxx Formula I used my 80:20 mix of Vallejo thinner and flow improver, and the spray pattern is on the same fine level as the dedicated airbrush paints. So if you’re comfortable with thinning paints, you don’t necessarily need the airbrush versions. But if you’re still starting out or regularly run into clogging issues, dedicated airbrush paints are a very solid recommendation. They take the guesswork out of thinning and help to reduce clogging to an absolute minimum. They were an absolute godsend to me when I was getting into airbrushes, and even now I appreciate the convenience.

### Fine detail work and OSL effects

Especially for detail work, where you need more control. Let me show you that now, using the blue-basecoated Starcraft Marine from earlier.

I switch to my PS-270 with a 0.2mm nozzle and drop the pressure to around 20 PSI. The colour is Summersea Blue, straight from the bottle without thinning. I turn the trigger lock about halfway to restrict the paint flow, get in close to the armour, and place controlled highlights. For the second round I switch to the lighter Zima Blue and close the trigger lock almost completely for even finer work. At this point I notice the paint flow starting to stutter and the paint drying on the needle. For detail work like this I’d add a drop of flow improver or thinner. Vallejo Game Air does seem to have a little more retarder and flow improver built into the formula, which makes it even more resistant to tip dry, though it also takes a bit longer to dry as a result. The Green Stuff World paints still flow very well, though, and are far less prone to clogging than, for example, Warpaints Air. I’ve put the Green Stuff World paints through a lot of testing off-camera too, flushing only with water between colour changes and didn’t get any clogs.

Right, fast forward. The Marine is now fully painted. You’ll find the tutorial for free on my website, Tale of Painters, link below. Now I want to add an OSL glow effect to the transparent effect parts using the fluo paints. I carefully spray Go Mango onto the weapon muzzle using the 0.2mm needle, low pressure, and a little flow improver. For the mineral on the base I want something less bright, so I switch to Flaming Orange and add a touch of it to the shoulder pad as a reflection, too. Then comes Fluo Orange, which I build up in several thin transparent layers to create a transition towards the brighter orange areas. The fluo airbrush paints are quite thin, so I recommend working undiluted at low pressure. And here’s the finished model, after varnishing, painting up the effect parts, and attaching them. I’m no OSL expert and the shoulder reflection might not be 100% plausible, but this was just a demo piece to show you how the fluo paints handle detail work. They’re super neon, especially the yellows, oranges, reds, and pinks, and they spray well. The only thing missing is a fluo turquoise.

### Final verdict: how does it compare to the competition?

Now, what’s also missing is the comparison with other manufacturers and, of course, my verdict.

Look, I know Green Stuff World have a bit of a bad rep in the community. But I have to be honest: these airbrush paints are good. And for the record, no brand pays me for my opinion. These paints really can be used straight from the bottle, and the atomisation is among the best I’ve tested from any acrylic paint. They beat Warpaints Air and Warhammer Colour Air comfortably, even though those are already decent. Comparing directly with Vallejo Game Air, the Green Stuff World spray pattern is slightly smoother, as you can see in this close-up. On the other hand, Game Air has more retarder and flows a little better for detail work at low pressure through a 0.2mm nozzle, and the lighter colours tend to cover slightly better too. But honestly, these are very small differences. Because of that, the Green Stuff World airbrush paints get the same score as Game Air: 8 out of 10. I actually enjoy them even slightly more than the regular Maxx Formula paints, because covering power is less critical when airbrushing than when brush painting. Find out what score I gave Maxx Formula in the video on the right, and make sure to watch that alongside the Game Air review for a full comparison. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying.

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