The Best Miniature Painting Supplies, Hobby Tools Guide

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Don’t miss our list of the best miniature painting supplies, accessories, and tools for Warhammer and other tabletop games that are great buys!

If you’re into miniature painting, you already know it’s not just a hobby, it’s an art form, a strategy, and, let’s be honest, a great excuse to buy cool tools.

From assembling detailed models to perfecting paint jobs on tiny warriors, having the best miniature painting supplies, tools, and accessories is half the battle (the other half, of course, is not spilling paint everywhere).

Save big and shop our list of the best miniature hobby products, accessories, tools, and painting supplies for models like Warhammer.

You can save even more with our exclusive list of redeemable discount codes from some of the best hobby retailers and miniature manufacturers out there!

Must-Have Miniature Painting Supplies & Tools

Updated on March 12, 2026, by Rob Baer with new information and links to relevant content

Snag your new Hobby Supplies from our handpicked list of retailers, and give us a high-five in support! Every qualifying purchase helps Spikey Bits keep the lights on and the fun going.

Ready to level up your hobby game? Having the right hobby, Warhammer 40k tools, and Warhammer accessories is a game-changer.

Grab your cutting mats and get comfy because we’re about to run down the best Warhammer must-have accessories and miniature painting supplies that’ll make your models shine brighter than freshly polished Space Marine armor. 

Best Paints, Bottles & Miniature Painting Accessories

TUTORIAL: Transferring Citadel Paints to Dropper Bottles: Decant

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Paint Brushes

REVIEW: Bomb Wicks VS Citadel & Winsor Newton Brushes

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• Bomb Wicks & Igniter Paintbrushes for Miniatures are some of the best brushes I’ve ever used, and they’re reasonably priced.
• High-Quality Sable Paint Brushes -If you want to take our game to the next level, the Game Envy Sable Brushes will do just that! They are more expensive than synthetic but are of a much higher quality.
• Artis Opus—Many of the best painters love their brushes. They are expensive but these high high-quality tools are some of the best hobby supplies for painting miniatures around. 
• Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brushes– they have a wide range of brushes for all levels of painters!
• The Army Painter Brushes– They have a huge range of brushes, from beginner sets to expert-level brushes! No matter your painting level, they have something for you.

Airbrushes & Compressors Miniature Painting Accessories 

Airbrushing is a cool technique that uses special hobby tools and accessories to create awesome effects and speed up your technique for painting miniatures. Hobbyists love it, but it does require investing in stuff like an airbrush, special paints, stencils, painting handle, and other gear.

To help you get into airbrushing, we’ve put together a bunch of how-to tutorials. They are designed to walk you through the whole airbrushing process, from choosing the right equipment or tools to mastering the techniques for painting awesome-looking miniatures!

Airbrushes

Harder & Steenbeck Evolution Airbrush (left) and Colani (right)  REVIEW: High-End Airbrushes

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• H&S Colani Airbrush– Amazing quality for the price.
• H&S Ultra Airbrush– is Probably one of the best “starting airbrushes” on the market. 
• H&S Evolution Airbrush (Lightweight Aluminium)

The New H&S Ultra 2024: REVIEW: Best Airbrush For Painting Miniatures Around $100 

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• H&S Evolution Airbrush (Chrome finish) 
• Badger Patriot 105
• Iwata Eclipse Airbrush– An awesome airbrush to get you started.
• GSI Creos .18 Super fine Airbrush Great for the smallest of details.

Airbrush Compressors, Accessories, and Supplies

Tooty No-Name Compressor REVIEW: More Than a Beginner Airbrush Compressor

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• Timbertech Compressor- Compressor and Airbrush Bundle has good reviews at an affordable price.
• Rooty Tooty– A smaller version of the Tooty with a unique external fan and cooling system with good reviews.
• Tooty No-Name Compressor– This is a solid overall compressor that comes with an air reservoir if your airbrush didn’t come with one.
• Sparmax Compressor–  Name Brand Super Heavy duty and quiet.
• Aspire Compressor 

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• Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver  Makes Airbrushing EASY!
• Vallejo Airbrush Thinner  Thinner is great for getting your paints to the right consistency.
• Iwata Airbrush Lube – keep your metals lubed up!
• Grex Airbrush Cleaner – The second you buy an airbrush, you should also invest in some cleaner.
• Goose Neck Bottle for Cleaning AB– Clean your AB from every angle with high-powered water!
• Tamiya Masking Tape For Miniatures: 18mm Large 10mm Medium 6mm Small

REVIEW: Spray Booth With LED Lights  Black Spray Booth (New Product)

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• Masters Airbrush Spray Booth With LED Lights- remove harmful particles from the air, and still be able to see your models!
• Gamer Black Dual Fan Spray Booth – Just like the booth above, but has two fans, and comes in a slick color!
  
• Affordable Spray Booth – One of the cheapest so far, and the one we reviewed above.
• Indoor Filters For Spray Booth– Keeps your hobby airspace clean if you’ll be priming and airbrushing a bunch.

Best Miniature Modeling Supplies & Accessories

• Winsor Newton Cleaner removes dried paint– This cleaner does not play. You will need to use it in metal or glass containers, because it will eat plastic! 
• Jentastic Brush Goop Conditioner after each use– Invented by a lady, but strong enough to protect and condition your brushes!
•  Master’s Brush Soap & Cleaner– A cost-effective solution is a game-changer when it comes to preserving your brushes.

Miniature Painting Accessories

TUTORIAL: how to paint with metallic Sharpies here and save hours on trim!

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• Vallejo Chipping Medium
• Mr. Hobby Multi-Black Weathering–  one of the easiest ways to get great dirty, grimy weathering on your painted models.
• Ground Brown Mr. Hobby Weathering
• Mr. Hobby Weathering Stain Brown
• Refilling Paint Water Pot– If you’re painting with a bunch of different colors, you can save yourself the trips of dumping water with the press of a button.

REVIEW: Exemplar Wet Palette

• Hobby Holder– GW’s handles are great if you buy them all. This product is a one-stop solution for most miniature sizes.
• Wet Pallet (small)– If you’re tired of wasting your paints by watching them dry as you work on your models, it’s time to grab a wet pallet.
• Metallic Sharpie Markers For Painting– Great for quick trimming details on smaller models like shoulder pads/Titanicus

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Best Paint Vortex Mixtures for Miniatures

New Mx-Mini is rated the #1 best seller for Vortex Mixers on Amazon: Best Mixer Shaker for Wargames Miniatures Paints

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• “Vortex” Heavy-duty paint mixer is more fun than it should be. We recently found this cheaper alternative as well that may be worth checking out here, as well as this version.
• STIGMA Mini Vortex Mixer 5200 This is about half the price of the LabGenius one Rob (check out Rob’s video on how it has held up after a year here) has been using for a while now.
• VALUEDEBUT Mini Vortex Mixer We have been using this one for a few months now, and it holds up to use so far! The best part is this vortex mixer shaker for miniatures and wargame paints is almost half the price!

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• Four E’s Scientific Lab Vortex Shaker This has a 5-star rating with over 240 reviews, so you know this is going to work quite well!
• Onilab Vortex Mixer For Miniature Paint At the time of this writing, the Mx-Mini is rated the #1 best seller for Vortex Mixers on Amazon.

Basing & Detailing Miniatures

You know, basing is like giving your miniatures their own little stage to shine on. It’s all about creating a cool setting for your mini to stand on and bring it to life. A killer base can really take your mini to a whole new level, making it more than just a plain ol’ figure on display.

Basing Materials

TUTORIAL: Beginner’s Guide To Making Bases With Pumice

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• Resin Sand– Helps to build up texture around scenic basing bits to flat plastic beveled bases.
• Realistic Leaves for Miniatures Bases and Dioramas– You get five different colors in the set, so you can make it basically any season you want for the bases of your miniatures!
• Gamers Grass- premade tufts and bases for your miniatures come in a ton of varieties, styles, and colors.
• Updated Movement Tray Sizes- perfect for Warhammer: The Old World
• Themed Resin Bases- perfect for Warhammer The Old World

• Square & Rectangle Base Blanks- perfect for Warhammer The Old World
• Base Converters- perfect for Warhammer The Old World
• Pre-cut magnets- these stickers that work great for resin-based miniatures. Squad Marks has them all the way up to 50mm, but generally, you don’t need too much over that size.
• Custom Resin Bases For Miniatures- Don’t miss hundreds of designs available all under one roof from Elrik’s Hobbies.

Miniature Painting Supplies For Your Table & Office

Imagine having all your essential hobby tools and accessories for painting miniatures neatly organized and within arm’s reach, ready to unleash your creative genius. From precision brushes that feel like an extension of your hand to cutting mats that save your desk from a gluey apocalypse, this section covers all the must-haves miniature painting supplies for your tabletop and more!

Supplies For Your Hobby Space

Monument Hobbies EVO GoBag GET 10% OFF  USE CODE: Spikeybits Unboxing & Review Article

• Dx Racer Chair—If you find yourself at the hobby desk, you don’t want to skip out on a good chair. This is what Rob uses himself.
• Gunnar Glasses- Protect From Harmful Blue Light, great for those harsh painting lights and computer monitor
• Purple Pad makes any chair better – hobbying takes a lot out of you, and this pad is great for long hours in the chair.
• >Monument Hobbies EVO GoBag- Has enough room for all your paints and lights and is a portable work surface. Unboxing & Review Article
• Cutting Mat- a great way to protect your working surface.
• Amazon 11×17 Poster Frame 2 Pack works perfectly for Warhammer starter box inserts.
• Mobile Hobby Table- mobile dedicated hobby table you can use anywhere.

Best Lights For Painting & Hobbying

LUCENT: The Shockingly Affordable New Hobby Light For Miniatures (Spikey Bits readers, you can get 10% off this great deal by using the discount code SPIKEY when ordering!)

• Light Halo– Tutorial With Parts List
• Overhead Triple Bright Lamp– I used two of the older model of this on my hobby table. Amazon recommends this brand now, and it has a pretty good rating with over 2,000 reviews.
• Cheap $20 Lamp for Painting & Hobbying on Miniatures- Breaks down and fits in the Mounument Hobbies Go Bag. It has excellent reviews (4.5 stars with over 9,900 reviews), is insanely portable, and can be dimmed.
• Selfie Light for Miniatures– works great for taking pics of your minis for posting to social media.

$20 Hobby Light REVIEW: Lamapat Light Perfect For EVO Bag

Lampat Dimmable LED Desk Lamp, 4 Lighting Modes (Reading/Studying/Relaxation/Bedtime), 5-Level Dimmer, Touch-Sensitive Control Panel, 1-Hour Auto Timer, 5V/1A USB Charging Port, Piano Black

• Four Lighting Modes: Choose from Reading, Studying, Relaxation, and Bedtime modes to suit different activities and moods.
• Five-Level Dimmer: Adjust the brightness across five levels to find the perfect illumination for any task.
• Touch-Sensitive Control Panel: Easily switch between modes and adjust brightness with intuitive touch controls.
• 1-Hour Auto Timer: Set the lamp to turn off automatically after one hour, conserving energy and providing convenience.
• Built-in USB Charging Port: A 5V/1A USB port allows you to charge your devices directly from the lamp, reducing clutter on your desk.

Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2026-07-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• ame Envy LUCENT Art Hobby Light For Miniatures– For a quality hobby light, this is an excellent price and less than Rob paid for his overhead desk lights. Spikey Bits readers, you can get 10% off this great deal by using the discount code SPIKEY when ordering!
• Neatfi XL 2,200 Lumens LED Task Lamp This is Rob’s favorite lamp right now, as it has all the features you could want!

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Storing Your Miniatures: Best Model Accessories

Alright, fellow tabletop generals, let’s talk about the unsung heroes of our hobby: miniature storage products. We all know the pain of tangled miniatures and missing pieces that make you feel like Thanos just snapped half your collection away. But fear not! With the right storage solutions, you can keep your beloved miniatures safe, organized, and ready for action.

Miniature Storage Options

TUTORIAL: Store Your Miniatures Safely For Under $20

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• Monument Hobbies: GoBag EVO From the looks of it, this bag may be the right size to not only carry your paints but give you a place for the hobby as well.
• Collapsible Tournament Push Cart– This thing is MONEY. You can roll up to the tournament, pull out your minis, collapse this thing, and tuck it under the table.
• Clear Case For Miniatures 15″x 17″ 6″ Tall
• Project Cart With 6 Cases for Miniatures 12″x12″ 2″-1/2“

REVIEW: Pack & Roll Foldable Tournament Cart

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• Steel Sheet (For Clear Cases)- use as a base for something to magnetize your minis to.
• 3M Double Sided Mounted Table (For Steel Sheets)
• 25mm-60mm pre-cut magnetized bases from Squad Marks  These work great for standard shapes of flat bottom resin bases.10% OFF Enter Promo Code SPIKEYBITS
• Base Magnets From the Magnet Baron They have all kinds of sizes to choose from. Use coupon code Spikey10 to get 5% off your next order with them!
• 10 Adhesive Magnetic Sheets 8.5″ x 11″ 20 mil Magnet Peel & Stick—This is perfect if you want a peel-off magnet sheet for your minis to stick to.

TUTORIAL: Store Your Larger Miniatures Safely, Too!

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• Sterlite Bins x12 – You can put a metal sheet in the bottom of these and throw your minis with magnetized bases inside!
• Hobby Bags – You can never have enough transportable bags to keep your hobby supplies in one spot

TUTORIAL: How To Magnetize Resin & Plastic Bases For Miniatures

• Large Acid-Free Cases-  Perfect for miniatures like Magnus, Mortarion, Beetle Lady and more.
• LED Set For IKEA Case
• 3 Outlet Remote to control multiple sets of lights, devices, fans, etc…

Restoring & Cleaning Miniatures For Painting

Got a box of old minis collecting dust? Fear not, because this section is all about breathing new life into those beloved models. We’ll guide you through the essential supplies needed to restore your miniatures to their former glory.

Think specialized cleaning solutions, fine-tipped brushes for delicate details, and the best primers to refresh those faded surfaces.

Restoring Models

TUTORIAL: Easy Lift-Off- Great for lifting paint off of minis you want to restore

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• Testors Easy Lift-Off Stripper (ELO)– A must-have if you’re restoring a model or bringing some older ones up to speed.
• Ultrasonic model cleaner. Quickly clean parts and hobby tools for miniatures.
• Smaller Ultrasonic Cleaner Both ultrasonic model cleaners are sweet and save you time with a hands-free way of washing the chemicals off your resin pieces
• Winsor Newton Cleaner removes dried paint– This cleaner does not play. You will need to use it in metal or glass containers, and it will eat plastic! 

TUTORIAL: Cleaning Models With The Ultrasonic Model Cleaner (large)

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• Dettol is a concentrated antiseptic that some people have used for minis. 
• Nail Polish Remover is a common method for many hobbyists. However, it’s far harder than Testors!
• Simple Green is a disinfectant that some people use for stripping minis, but we haven’t tried it yet.
• Castrol Super Clean is an automotive degreaser that can be found quite easily.
• Biostrip 20 is a water-based paint remover made initially for brick.

• Army Painter Primers– some of the best around
• Testors Model Master Spray Primers & Lacquer- Can be used in most conditions but are hard to color match.
• Airbrush Primers- Monument Hobbies has great primers to use in the airbrush if that is your thing, or the weather forces you inside.

TUTORIAL: Vanishing or Sealing Your Miniatures.

Best Marvel Crisis Protocol Accessories

Here is our list of  Marvel Crisis Protocol aides and accessories to take your game from ordinary to extraordinary. Whether you’re organizing your tokens, measuring those crucial movements, or adding a touch of personal flair, these hobby tools will help you play like a pro.

These are also great for games like Star Wars Shatterpoint too!

TUTORIAL: Accessories, Storage & Organization for Marvel Crisis Protocol

ArtBin 6990SO Super Satchel Double Deep Compartment Box - Art Storage with 8 Removable Compartments, Smart Closure for Craft Supplies (Gold - Pack of 1)

• DOUBLE DEEP WITH DIVIDERS: The extra depth of the Super Satchel Double Deep allows for storage of larger, bulkier supplies. Use open core or customize up to 8 compartments for multiple storage options.
• DURABLE LATCHES & HANDLE: This Super Satchel is made with a sturdy, comfortable handle for easy carrying. The 2 snap-tight latches ensure that your supplies say secure during transport.
• SUPER SATCHEL SYSTEM: Fits inside of the ArtBin Super Satchel cube (6855SC). Also accommodates serger thread tray (6901AB), paint tray (6828AG) or marker tray (6939AB). All Super Satchel models are stackable.
• CLEAR PLASTIC DESIGN: ArtBin Super Satchel Double Deep comes in a translucent color so that you can quickly and easily identify the supplies stored inside.
• DETAILS: This art and craft storage case measures 15.25 x 14 x 6.25 inches. Clear body with gold-colored latches and handle. Made in the U.S.A.

Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2026-07-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

• Artbin cases great for all your MCP needs
• Artbin super satchel version perfect for holding basically everything you need
• Artbin double-deep for terrain and models
• Coin collection box for tokens and objectives
• Mats by Mars makes awesome Marvel Crisis Protocol playmats
• CogOTwo for tokens and templates (UK based)
• Muse On Minis for tokens and templates (US based)
• Document Tubes are perfect for storing and transporting the playmats
• Pencil case for rulers and such
• Penny sleeves for character cards

The Magnet Baron: 5% OFF:  Enter Promo Code SPIKEY10

• Resealable bags for team tactics cards & roster builds
• 4×6 hard plastic top loaders for character cards
• Chess clock for game time
• Magnets for the bottom of your bases
• Sheet metal to magnetize your minis in the case
• Double-sided tape to hold the sheet metal down
• Game Mat EU Makes awesome pre-painted terrain

Final Thoughts on The Best Miniature Painting Supplies

Working on miniatures might be small-scale, but it’s a big deal when you have the right tools and hobby supplies. Whether you’re assembling a Warhammer 40k army or painting an elf rogue, investing in the best miniature painting supplies, tools, and accessories will make every step more enjoyable.

Remember to snag those discounts and keep an eye out for the latest deals, your wallet will thank you. 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for after browsing all these products, or maybe you have a hot tip on a product that deserves a future review?

Let us know in the comments below!

🔗 Related Reads:

• More on Airbrushing Miniatures
• Lights & Accessories for Painting Miniatures
• Best Acrylic Paints for Tabletop Miniatures & Models
• Miniature Storage Cases & Transport Options
• Best Tabletop Gaming Terrain For Warhammer 40k & More
• Best Magnet Sizes For Warhammer 40k Models
• Exclusive Hobby Discounts & Coupon Codes
• The Ultimate Guide To Painting Miniatures
• Best Paint Conversion Charts for Miniatures
• Citadel Contrast Paints: How They Look on Miniatures
• How To Transfer Your Citadel Paints Into Dropper Bottles

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