24 Best Vallejo colors Every Minipainter Should Use

Whether for brushing or airbrushing, when talking about which colors should be in any mini painter kit there are many opinions.

as we know, Vallejo has some of the best colors in the industry. with more than 200 different colors it’s quite easy. when you have so many options, it’s really hard to choose which paints will be used frequently and which will sit down and dry.

I made a list, according to my experience with Vallejo paints, of the best Vallejo colors every painter should own, and that will most definitely won’t go to waste.

Here are 24 Vallejo paints you should always have in your stash. 

All shades of brown, especially cavalry brown 70.982 and leather brown 70.871

If you hate painting wood and leather with the same brown every time, as I do, you need to get all shades of brown, from light browns to dark browns, purplish browns, reddish browns, warm yellowish browns, and Orche brown. These different shades of brown are great base coats for yellows, blacks, and white. 

However, the Calvary 70.982 and leather brown 70.871 are two must-haves. They are both great base colors for dirt and rust.

Flat Flesh 70.955

The Flat Flesh 70.955 is one of the best colors from Vallejo’s Model Air range that helps you paint Caucasian skin tones.

If you have historical figures like the Napoleonic and Middle Age characters you need to paint, they also work perfectly as a basecoat to help you create pale skin tones, especially for faces. 

Basic Skin Tone 70.815

If you want to be happy with your mini’s newly painted skin and faces, you should use Vallejo’s Basic Skin Tone. It helps you highlight raised parts like the biceps,  upper parts of the back, and chest. 

The only downside to this paint is that it is watery and appears nearly translucent. You may have two to three coats to get a perfect skin tone. 

Medium Fleshtone 70.860

This is another color that will make the face and skin tones of your miniature figures pop. 

But, unlike the basic tone, it has darker pigments and will be a fantastic base color to create realistic flesh tones. 

Smokey Ink 72.068

Another color from the Vallejo Model Color range, the Smokey Ink 72.068 gives your miniature a matte and opaque finish. Yet, the most significant advantage is that it dries quickly and self-levels while preserving the smallest details on your figures. 

This is a must-have color for miniature painting because it does a good job of making other colors look rich or dirty, depending on how you use it.

Ice yellow 70.858

If you’re looking for a paint that offers an exceptional matt finish, the Ice yellow 70.858 is an acrylic color from the Model color range you want to choose. 

It comes in a 17ml dropper bottle and has a fast-drying time and ultra-smooth finish. 

Ivory 70.918

Your miniatures will not look so unique without the highlights. 

This ivory color is my go-to final additive for highlights. 

It is a great off-white for lightening tones instead of using straight white.

Dark sea blue 70.898

This color is often my go-to color for shadows of all kinds. 

It is a super saturated dark blue, slightly darker than Panzer Aces Periscopes, and makes for a more interesting highlight up from black instead of grey. 

If your miniature figures need blue-green color schemes like oceanic tones, it’ll be a good shadow color to use. 

Rich Gold 70.793 

Vallejo’s rich Gold color is probably the most brilliant metallic gold color you’ll ever get to highlight your model. 

Made with metal pigments, this color will give you a gold metallic finish for extraordinary realism and permanence. 

It comes in 35ml pots. 

Copper 70.797

Another acrylic metallic color from Vallejo’s lineup and packaged in a 35ml pot, the copper 70.797 will work great on your figures, especially when painting armored parts, swords, and metal surfaces. 

Unlike Vallejo’s typically acrylic lineup, it is alcohol-based, gives a permanent copper metallic finish, and dries fast.

Silver 70.790

Apart from Scale 75 silver metallic, Vallejo’s silver 70.790 is something you always want to have in your stash when painting metal minis. 

It is a high-end metal paint that covers in one single coat. Plus, it is super thin and will dry up fast. When it cures, it dries to a realistic metallic finish.

Transparent red 70.934

This paint is what it is called “clear” paint. It has the typical consistency of the Vallejo paint but is slightly more transparent due to not having anything else mixed in to increase the opacity. 

However, like most clear paints, the transparent red 70.934 won’t give a glossy effect. 

When used on the outside of transparent parts that need to be glossy, like navigation lights, you’ll need to get a separate gloss coat.

Amaranth Red 70.829

If you need red paint but one with a laid-back kind of orange, Vallejo’s Amaranth red is perfect. 

When mixed with Vallejo’s deep yellow, the Amaranth red color helps you create glowing cracks, eyes, and nostrils on figures like dragons, calves, and mythical animals, especially the fire-breathing ones. It will also work great to highlight the hair. 

Dark vermilion 70.947

Reds are usually a pain to paint, but this Vallejo’s dark vermilion is different. 

If you need red paint for mini painting, you’ll find different red colors from Scarlet to Vermillion and Carmine. Scarlett and Carmine are a little too orange and purple-ish for red paint, but the vermillion is a mid-range, purest red from Vallejo, although it has reddish-orange pigments. 

Deck tan 70.986

Vallejo’s deck tan is highly pigmented so that you can easily paint your lead soldiers and figures. 

It looks like copper but is a nice low-key copper tone. Another coat or two would make it pop a bit more. It becomes more opaque as it dries. It will make a nice light gull grey tone for navy miniatures.

Lime green 70.827

If you’re looking for a flashy camouflage color for your Soviet soldiers or general bodywork, this green will be a good choice. 

It gives your miniatures super flashy details so they can pop easily.

Emerald 70.838

This color often looks like bluish green. But, its benefit is that you’ll only need one coat for it to cover well. 

It dries smoothly and quickly, and the result is a durable finish with no brush marks. 

They are great for cockpit details on your mini.

Purple 70.959

This purple will put your alien and zombie fantasy figures in the spotlight. It is one of the best colors in the Model Color range. 

The Vallejo 70.959 is perfect for highlighting alien skin tones, cloaks, and hair and making your minis look gorgeous. 

Blue 70.925

Want to paint your lead soldiers, then Vallejo’s 70.925 Blue is a must-have. 

It has a ligher tone than the 70.930 Dark Blue color. I’ve used them on my Bandai minis, especially the 6” droids. 

Medium Blue 70.963

If you have an ultramarine or are a wargaming fan, you will love this Medium Blue color as the base color for your minis. 

In short, it is a good color for blending and layering effects on your tabletop minis. 

Luftwaffe Blue 71.257

While this color is specifically designed for the camouflage patterns of all Luftwaffe air models during the second world war, Vallejo’s Luftwaffe blue has a vivid blue color like the sky but differs from sky blue. 

It’ll be a good blue tone to use when painting your miniature surface.

Light Sea Grey 70.973

Vallejo’s Light Sea Grey looks more like the plain white color, but it isn’t. They’ll be a perfect substitute for white if you need a main white for highlights. 

However, you can also use the Light Sea Grey can as a base color for your warrior figures. It looks okay for “small” parts – but might look greenish-blue when used on larger panels. 

Fluorescent Yellow 70.730

As the name suggests, Vallejo’s Fluorescent yellow 70.730 makes your minis shine. All you need do is add them as a highlighting color and watch your weapons pop. They naturally attract UV light, so when you use them, they shine bright. 

When dried, they give a glossy effect to highlight small details, so they look real. However, they work well on your fantasy armors and weapons.   

Fluorescent Magenta 70.735

If you have a whole collection of armies to paint, this paint will be worth it. 

When used on your armories and lead soldiers, this paint makes small details pop. Like, your minis actually glow. 

One thing I love about this paint is that it comes off as pink-red under regular light and then bright red under UV. In short, it gives your lead soldiers an interesting effect, unlike many magentas from brands like Citadel and Army painter. 

Conclusion 

Vallejo has an extensive range of paints, even larger than other brands, and their paints are usually high quality. So if there’s any brand color you always need to have in your stash, it should be from the Vallejo lineup. These colors listed here will always be handy when highlighting little details on your minis.

Images of the paints from Vallejo