Can I match miniature paint from a photo?

Yes. Upload box art, a painted miniature photo, or a color scheme reference, click the color you want, and the tool compares that pixel against the paint catalog. Photos are affected by lighting and camera settings, so use the result as a shortlist and test paints on a spare model before committing.

How accurate is a miniature paint color match?

The matcher uses CIEDE2000 Delta-E, which follows how people perceive color differences better than plain RGB distance. A Delta-E under 3 is a strong match, under 5 is close, and above 10 means the colors are visibly different. Real paint can still shift depending on primer, thinning, number of coats, and brush vs. airbrush application.

Which miniature paint brands are included?

The catalog has 8,880 paints from Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter, AK Interactive, AK Real Colors, Scale75, Reaper, P3 Formula, Monument Hobbies, Turbo Dork, Kimera Kolors, Green Stuff World, Warcolours, Creature Caster, Coat d'Armes, Foundry, Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell, Italeri, MIG, Mission Models, Mr. Paint, Two Thin Coats, INSTAR, Rackham, Golden, and Liquitex. Data is sourced from the miniature-paints dataset, krones9000/PaintRangeCompatibility, and SensualLogic spectrophotometer measurements.

Can I find equivalents across brands?

Yes. Pick a color from a Citadel paint pot photo, for example, and the matcher will show the closest paints from all enabled brands. This is useful for finding cheaper alternatives, out-of-stock replacements, or airbrush-ready equivalents for a brush paint you already own.

What about metallic and technical paints?

Metallic, wash, contrast, and technical paints depend on reflectivity, transparency, and layering that a hex code cannot capture. The matcher finds the closest base color, but the real-world effect will differ. Treat those results as starting points and test them on scrap.

How do I match a specific Warhammer color scheme?

Upload the official box art or a Games Workshop paint guide screenshot, then click each color area one at a time. The matcher shows the closest paints for that color. Use the compare feature to save picks side by side, then copy or print your shortlist.

Does this work for Gunpla and scale models?

Yes. The catalog includes Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, Humbrol, Revell, Italeri, MIG, Mission Models, Mr. Paint, and AK Real Colors, which are popular for Gunpla, aircraft, armor, and ship models. Upload a manual color guide, lineart, or a photo of the finished model you want to replicate.

Completely free, no account required. The matcher runs in your browser. Your uploaded images are never sent to a server. You can use it as many times as you want.

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Miniature Paint Matcher

Upload box art, a painted mini, or paste a hex code to find the closest miniature paint from Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter, and 27 more brands. Covers Warhammer, Gunpla, and scale models.

How the miniature paint matcher works

Pick the target color

Click a pixel from box art, a color guide, a photo of a painted miniature, or a reference you want to match. You can also paste a hex code from any design tool or color picker.

Compare by perception

The tool converts your target and every paint in the catalog into Lab color space, then ranks matches with CIEDE2000 Delta-E. Lower scores look closer to the human eye.

Test before painting

Primer color, thinning ratio, number of coats, and airbrush vs. brush application all change the final result. Use the shortlist to narrow candidates, then test on a spare sprue or palette.

What this is good for

If you are matching Warhammer box art, recreating a YouTube paint scheme, finding a cheaper alternative to an out-of-stock Citadel paint, or translating a color guide from one brand to another, this gets you from "what color is that?" to "which paints should I test?" without the guesswork.

It works for Gunpla, aircraft, armor, ships, and any model kit that uses hobby paints. Upload the manual color callout sheet and click each color to get brand-specific matches.

Save paint picks with the rest of your build

Costumary keeps references, material lists, budgets, and build logs in one project workspace.

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Used by makers from r/cosplay, The RPF, Cosplay.com, r/Gunpla, and r/minipainting

Miniature Paint Matcher

Reference image

Miniature paint matches

Dark Gull Grey Fs 36231

Dark Gull Grey Fs 36231 10ml

Dark Gull Grey Fs 36231 10ml

Fs 36293

Codex Grey

Light Ghost Grey FS 36375

Dungeon Stone Grey

Steel Grey

IV-18

Cold Grey

Dark Gull Gray

Medium Grey