Citadel Contrast vs Speedpaint 2.0: Use-Case Comparison
Neither range wins outright, and the honest answer is a use-case split. Citadel Contrast and Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 are both one-coat acrylic systems that lean on your primer and your model's texture to do the shading, so what actually separates them for you is the primer you already own, how much flat surface your models have, and how you like to adjust a coat after it is down. Games Workshop publishes the most explicit surface-texture warning of the two — its own beginner guidance says Contrast "works better on textured surfaces" and warns against "expansive flat panels". The Army Painter publishes the most explicit preparation instructions — recommended primers, a hard-palette recommendation, and an optional medium for thinning, glazing and tinting. Below is what each manufacturer actually states and a table you can decide from, limited to the pages reviewed.
Quick answer
Three questions separate these two ranges in practice. Answer them for your own bench before you buy into either system.
What primer are you painting over?
Both ranges are built around a light, prepared surface. The Army Painter names its recommended primers outright — Colour Primer Matt White, Brainmatter Beige or Ash Grey "for most vibrant results". Games Workshop's beginner guidance shows Contrast over a Wraithbone spray undercoat.
How much of your model is flat?
Games Workshop's official guidance is unusually direct here: Contrast "works better on textured surfaces" and the article warns "don't use it for expansive flat panels such as those found on tanks!" Plan around the flat areas rather than hoping the paint handles them.
Do you need to thin or glaze?
Both manufacturers sell a matching medium for thinning, glazing and tinting. It is an option for those jobs, not a required purchase to use either range normally: both are sold as one-coat paints that go straight over a primed model. If you only want the standard one-coat result, the medium can wait.
The two ranges, and the versions that matter
Citadel Contrast (Games Workshop)
A one-coat paint range from Games Workshop, applied over a light undercoat. Games Workshop's own beginner guidance describes it as a fast route for beginners to reach effects "that would take much more skill and experience using regular Citadel paints", and shows it used over a Wraithbone spray undercoat, over standard metallics, and thinned with Contrast Medium.
Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 (The Army Painter)
The reformulated generation of The Army Painter's Speedpaint range. The manufacturer's range page calls Speedpaint "the ultimate one-coat painting solution" and gives the method as: "Simply apply one coat of Speedpaint directly over a primed miniature and you are done!"
Speedpaint 2.0 is the reformulated generation, described by the manufacturer as reformulated across the 2.0 sets. Guidance, forum threads and videos written about the original Speedpaint may not describe 2.0. Check which version a tutorial is using before you follow its method.
Side by side: what each manufacturer actually states
Three axes cover most of the published guidance. Each cell states what the reviewed manufacturer page says, and notes where that page is silent on the point.
| The question | Citadel Contrast | Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| What do you put it over? (primer) | Games Workshop's beginner guidance shows Contrast applied over a light undercoat, including a Wraithbone spray undercoat, and warns that it is the undercoat that carries the result. | The Army Painter names its recommended primers directly: Colour Primer Matt White, Brainmatter Beige or Ash Grey "for most vibrant results". Necrotic Flesh, Skeleton Bone and Gun Metal are named as primers to experiment with for different effects. |
| Where does it behave well? (surface texture) | Stated plainly in the official beginner guidance: Contrast "likes to dry darker in recesses and it works better on textured surfaces", and "don't use it for expansive flat panels such as those found on tanks!" | The manufacturer's instruction is to "apply a generous layer, one coat should do it", "allowing the paint to flow into the recesses." The Speedpaint pages reviewed do not single out flat panels the way Games Workshop does. |
| How do you change the consistency? (flow) | Games Workshop's guidance is to thin with Contrast Medium: it shows the paint "thinned a little with Contrast Medium" for clean, polished armour and thinned further for streaks and weathering. | The Army Painter sells Speedpaint Medium, described as "an innovative resin medium solution that allows you to thin your Speedpaints to your desired consistency", making "glazing and tinting" easier. It also states: "A hard palette is recommended for Speedpaint." |
Decision table: start from your situation
Find the row that describes your bench, then do the check in the last column on one model before you commit a squad.
| Your situation | What the manufacturer guidance points to | Check this on your own model |
|---|---|---|
| You already prime in white, bone or light grey | Both ranges are built around a light, prepared surface, so your existing primer is the starting point either way | Paint the same model's cloak with each system and compare the recess shading, not the flat panels |
| Most of your models are large flat panels | Games Workshop warns directly against "expansive flat panels such as those found on tanks!" for Contrast | Keep a conventional acrylic for the flat areas, or follow the flat-surface method Games Workshop describes: dot the recesses and thin for streaks |
| Your models are mostly textured | Both ranges are designed around paint flowing into recesses on textured surfaces | One coat of each on two textured areas of the same model; the difference shows up here, not on flat panels |
| You want to glaze, tint, or thin | Both manufacturers sell a matching medium for these jobs; The Army Painter describes its medium's job as thinning for "glazing and tinting". It is optional, not needed to use either paint normally | If you do thin or glaze, use the medium that matches the range rather than assuming water does the same job |
| You work from a wet palette | The Army Painter states: "A hard palette is recommended for Speedpaint". Its guidance notes that wet-palette moisture may alter the paint and that pigment may stain the foam | Follow the published hard-palette guidance. If you use a wet palette anyway, treat it as a tradeoff to test on a spare model, not the recommended setup |
| You are choosing one system for a whole army | Both are marketed as one-coat systems; results vary with your primer, your models' texture and how much reworking you do | Run one model through the test in the next section. A range decision made from one model is still a decision |
Both ranges are sold as one-coat paints that go over a primed model. A matching medium is useful when you want to thin, glaze or tint, and it is the manufacturer's recommended product for that job. You do not need to buy it before using either paint normally.
Test it yourself on one model
This is the test you run. Nothing on this page is a substitute for it, and no result is claimed for it here.
- 1Pick one model with both textures on it.
A cloak, a fur strip, and a flat shoulder pad or vehicle panel on the same model is ideal. You want one surface each range is designed for, and one that Games Workshop explicitly warns about.
- 2Prime it the way you normally prime.
Follow your primer's own instructions. Use the primer you will actually use for the army. Both ranges are built around a light, prepared surface, and a different primer tests a different system.
- 3Give each range one honest coat on its own textured area.
Use the manufacturer's stated method — a generous layer that is allowed to flow into the recesses. Do not thin either one on this first pass; you are testing the range as sold.
- 4Look at the two things the guidance predicts.
Recess shading on the textured area, and what the coat did anywhere flat. Games Workshop states plainly that Contrast "works better on textured surfaces"; check whether that matches what you see.
- 5Then decide.
If the recess shading on your textured areas is what you want and the flat areas are manageable, the range fits. If the flat areas are the problem, the decision table above sends you back to a conventional acrylic for those surfaces.
Use the manufacturer's own product page and the pot or bottle label for safety and age information. The Army Painter's Speedpaint Medium page states the paint is a non-toxic water-based acrylic, conforms to ASTM D-4236, warns that it may produce an allergic reaction, advises rinsing with running water in case of eye contact, and states it is not suitable for children under 14 years of age. For Citadel paints, read the pot label and Games Workshop's own product pages.
What to check on your own models
This page compares the manufacturer pages linked below. Treat the guidance as a starting point: your paint, primer, thinning, room conditions and model all shape the result, so test on a spare surface or model first.
- Re-coat and reactivation windows depend on the paint, primer, thinning and room conditions. Check the current manufacturer guidance for your exact line and test before recoating a finished area.
- Pigments differ inside a range. A result you get from one colour does not transfer to another colour in the same line.
- Primer, surface texture, thinning and technique all influence the result; changing one at a time makes it easier to see which change helped.
- How a finished model survives play, transport or storage depends on the paint, the number and thickness of coats, the varnish and how the model is handled. Varnish finished models and handle them with that in mind.
- If you are painting a model you cannot replace, test on something else first. A rare or out-of-production model is a bad place to find out how a paint behaves.
FAQ
No. Speedpaint 2.0 is the reformulated generation — The Army Painter describes the 2.0 sets as reformulated, and presents the line as the next generation of the range. That matters when you follow a tutorial: advice written about the original Speedpaint may describe a different formula. Citadel Contrast has the same versioning trap in reverse: treat any guidance older than the range you own as something to verify against Games Workshop's current material.
Games Workshop's own beginner article shows Contrast used more than one way — over a Wraithbone spray undercoat, and over a black undercoat with Base paints applied first and Contrast mixed with Contrast Medium. What the official guidance is built around, though, is a light undercoat: that is what the paint is designed to tint and shade. If you want the range's characteristic recess shading, start light, and treat black as a specific effect rather than the default.
Both are sold as one-coat systems. Which is faster for you will depend on your primer, how much of your model is flat versus textured, and how much reworking you do. Time one model of your own rather than treating either label as a guarantee.
Sources
Manufacturer pages and articles used for every product statement on this page.
- Games Workshop — "Contrast tips for beginners"Games Workshop's own beginner guidance for Citadel Contrast.
- Games Workshop — "Shades and Contrast differences"Official framing of the Contrast range against Shades.
- The Army Painter — Speedpaint range pageManufacturer description of Speedpaint and the 2.0 range.
- The Army Painter — "Speedpaint 2.0: how to use"Source for the hard-palette recommendation and wet-palette cautions.
- The Army Painter — Speedpaint Medium product pageSource for medium description, primers, and safety statements.