Home & DIY
How much paint do you need for miniatures?
Millilitres and paint pots for your army — from model count, size and number of colors, with cost estimate.
Quick answer
Army painting is a volume game measured in millilitres, not litres. A basic tabletop scheme on **28 mm infantry** — primer, base coat, wash, highlight — uses roughly **1–1.5 ml of paint per model** in total across all layers (you do not use a full ml of each colour). **10 models** at **1.2 ml** each → about **12 ml** of paint consumed, but you buy **one 18 ml pot per distinct colour** (primer + 3 colours = **4 pots**). At **€4.50** per Citadel-style pot that is **€18** for the squad, not counting brushes or thinner.
Paint needed (total)
12 ml
- Pots to buy
- 4
- Paint cost
- 6.00
Estimate for tabletop miniatures with primer, base coat and one highlight per color — about 1–1.5 ml per 28 mm infantry for a basic scheme, more for vehicles. Citadel-style 18 ml pots are the reference; contrast/speed paints stretch further. Buy one pot per distinct color you cannot mix from primaries.
How it works
Formula for shopping: **pots to buy = number of distinct colours (including primer)**; **ml used ≈ models × ml per model** where ml per model is ~1.2 for infantry, ~2 for vehicles, ~3.5 for large monsters. Contrast paints and speed paints stretch further — budget half the ml if you use a one-coat system. Buy standard 18 ml acrylics unless you are batch-painting a single army colour, then consider 60 ml dropper bottles for bases and metallics.
Frequently asked questions
How many paint pots for a Warhammer squad of 10?+
Plan 4–5 pots for a typical scheme: 1 primer (spray or brush-on), 1 base colour, 1 wash/shade, 1 highlight, optional 1 metallic for weapons. You will not empty any pot on one squad — the calculator counts pots to own, not ml consumed per session.
Is 18 ml or 12 ml the standard pot size?+
Games Workshop pots are 18 ml (Citadel Layer/Base); Army Painter and Vallejo Game Color are often 18 ml dropper bottles; Vallejo Model Color is 17 ml. Enter your actual pot size if you use a different line — the cost scales linearly.
Do I need separate primer?+
Yes for plastic/resin miniatures — primer gives paint something to grip. Spray primer is fastest for batches; brush-on primer counts as one of your colour pots. Metal models may need a different primer than plastic.
How much paint for one large vehicle?+
Budget 2–3 ml of paint layers for a tank or large kit, and 3–4 distinct colours minimum (primer, base, wash, detail). One 18 ml pot per colour still applies — you will have plenty left for other models.
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