Comparing the Old and New Citadel Shades (Plus Weathering The Kratos!)

Comparing the old and new Citadel Shades is quite a hot topic of late. Of course, that’s no surprise. While Citadel’s Shades may only get passing notice in the larger world of scale modeling, when it comes to tabletop – they’re the king. A contested kingship, yes. But they’re well know, often used, and quite reliable.

If you’re not familiar with them, Citadel’s Shades are essentially acrylic washes. They come in a wide range of colors appropriate to Warhammer 40K, but also quite useful in any genre. While their fast drying time negates the blending effects that can be achieved with oils and enamels, they do have their strengths. Once the modeler understands proper and effective application, they’re quite useful – and exceptionally fast drying.

Comparing the Old and New Citadel Shades

Recently Games workshop announced that they were re-formulating the entire range of Shades, making them over to be closer cousins to their now near ubiquitous Contrast Paint range. The goal was to bring the benefits of Contrast paints, namely smoother leveling and fewer tide marks, whist retaining the color, flow, and usefulness of the Shades.

While many videos have done great side-by-side comparisons of the old and new formulas, I tried a slightly different approach. I just used them on an active project. I figure I’d let the product speaks for themselves.

And somewhere along the way, the Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness Kratos Heavy Assault Tank was weathered too. 😉