Warhammer Tone Pro puts 30 colors in a 5-numbered system, with 150 new paints hitting stores on September 26.
150 paints is a ridiculous amount of paint to drop at once. Most hobbyists already have a rack full of half-used pots, so adding another 150 colors to the line gets your attention before GW even starts talking about what the paint does.
The range was announced during the Big Autumn Preview, confirming the Tone Pro leak we covered earlier. Somebody claimed they’d already bought the paints from an independent store, which sounded awfully convenient at the time, but apparently, they really did have them weeks early.
One part of the leak-era speculation didn’t make the cut, though: dropper bottles. After all the dropper bottle paints talk, the Warhammer Colour rename, and watching other companies in miniature painting move away from this style of packaging, Tone Pro is coming in pots.
Again.
Warhammer Tone Pro is 150 New Paints, And GW Swears It Replaces Nothing
Updated on September 18, 2026, by Rob Baer with the official Warhammer Tone Pro details from GW’s Big Autumn Preview
- The range: 30 colors at 5 numbered tones each, 150 paints total, hitting Warhammer Stores and independent shops on September 26.
- The formulation: GW is showing one-coat coverage with white and yellow, self-leveling paint, a Shading Medium, a Blending Medium, and four new dry brushes.
- The big question: Tone Pro is supposed to sit beside the current Citadel line, not replace it, but 150 extra pots make this a much bigger addition than a handful of new colors.
GW says Tone Pro isn’t replacing the existing range. The current Citadel paints aren’t being retired, and anything you’ve already built a scheme around is supposed to stay supported.
For now, we’ll take GW at its word.
The awkward part now is figuring out where another 150 pots fit in a paint line that’s already huge. Anyone mixing Citadel with other brands knows how quickly paint matching turns into a scavenger hunt, so our paint conversion charts may be getting some extra mileage out of this launch.
Five Numbered Tones Per Color Makes Picking Paints Easier
The numbering system is probably the easiest part of Tone Pro to like.
Each color runs from one through five, darkest to lightest, so you don’t have to remember whether one oddly named blue is supposed to highlight another oddly named blue. Pick the color family, move up or down the numbers, and you’ve got your lighter and darker steps.
Army Painter already uses similar thinking with its triad system, and there’s a reason painters like having those recipes spelled out for them. If you’ve spent time bouncing between the Citadel paint chart and painting guides trying to find the next highlight without throwing the whole scheme off, numbered tones cut out a lot of that guesswork for sure.
Single Coat White and Yellow is a Bold Claim
White and yellow are where Tone Pro could win over a lot of painters fast, though. GW shows both colors covering other paints in one coat, and anyone who’s fought through layer after layer of either knows why that’s so important.
Smooth coverage is usually where the fight starts. Push too hard, and you get chalkiness. Thin it too far, and you’re staring at another coat.
GW says Tone Pro self-levels as it dries and uses one formulation for basecoating, layering, highlights, glazing, and drybrushing. There’s also a Shading Medium that can turn the paints into shades or glazes, plus a Blending Medium for keeping them workable longer.
Those are good claims for the label, but paints earn their reputation on somebody’s actual desk. Citadel Contrast paints and Army Painter Speedpaint both taught hobbyists plenty once people started using them beyond the launch hype. Tone Pro goes into stores next week, so painters won’t have to wait long to see how these behave on their own models.
Four New Dry Brushes Ride Along With The Range
Tone Pro is getting four new dry brushes too, sized from XS through L. GW says they’re designed around the new paint formula to help drybrush without leaving as much of that dusty, chalky finish behind.
Anyone who’s drybrushed a clean armor panel and then gone back over it trying to smooth everything out knows the problem. It’s also the sort of thing our hobby hacks have been trying to avoid for years.
The size spread of these new brushes makes sense too, at least. You’ve got smaller brushes for tighter areas and larger ones for big surfaces like a Knight’s leg armor, rather than trying to make one brush do every job or sacrificing something old from the model paint drawer.
Final Thoughts on Warhammer Tone Pro
September 26 is when this stops being a list of claims and starts becoming a paint range hobbyists can check out in person and eventually on their own desks.
The White and yellow coverage will probably get tested first, and it won’t take long before people figure out whether the self-leveling formula, numbered tones, and new drybrush setup are useful enough to justify making room for more paint that comes in pots instead of dropper bottles.
Related Reads:
- Warhammer Tone Pro Leak: Citadel Dropper Bottle Paints Rumor Looking Real
- GW’s Autumn Preview Reveals: New 40k Codexes, LoTD and More
- Warhammer Colour is the New Name for Citadel Color Paints
- Best Model Paints for Warhammer Miniatures: Ranked By Brand
- The Ultimate Guide to Citadel Contrast Paints and Their Best Alternatives
- Top 4 Paint Conversion Charts for Miniatures
- How to Paint Miniatures: Warhammer and 40k Painting Guide
What do you think of Warhammer Tone Pro, and are the pots a dealbreaker for you?
Droppers suck to begin with. The GW pots also suck, but droppers don’t change anything. They need to bring back the 90s pots, that SOLVED minis paint containers and then everyone went backwards with droppers (which are a downgrade) and the various 2000s GW failures.