Alternatives to Citadel / Games Workshop Paints I haven't been into it for the past 20 years or so, but after finding one of their shops a few weeks back I decided to look at painting Warhammer / Citadel Miniatures again as a hobby.

I was really enthusiastic about it until I saw the price of the (acrylic) paints, and after researching a little, it doesn't seem like their "starter" kits give you all that much for the money either.

So I was wondering if there was any particular range of paints which work in a similar way, for a fraction of the cost.

Like I said, I'm trying to get back into this and therefore not sure if it's going to be a permenant thing or just something I want to try, so this isn't exactly a "I want the product but don't want to pay for it" kind of situation.

Any ideas or advice? Thanks.
Citadel paints are essentially just acrylic paints. If you're not sure you want to make the investment yet, you can use any standard craft-grade acrylic paint while you practice; I'd recommend investing in a flow medium to help prevent obscuring the small details in your miniatures, and not starting with any valued ones. (Dollar store plastic army men are a great way to practice.)

The advantage of Citadel and other paints formulated for miniatures is that they're designed to use on very small, very detailed objects. Basic craft acrylics tend to be designed for use over larger areas on larger objects, and thus tend to be thicker with a coarser pigmentation. Miniature paints use an acrylic medium with a greater flow, and pigments and mica (metallic pigments) with a finer grind, to enhance their appearance on miniatures. This difference in formulation contributes to the difference in price between the small pots of miniature paint and large bottles of craft paint.