Choosing Paints for 28mm Historical Miniatures: A Buyer's Guide

By Victrix Limited 28mm miniatures | Published: 2026-10-16

Category: Buying Guides

A practical buying guide to acrylic paint ranges for 28mm historical armies, covering coverage, color accuracy, pot sizes, and how to build a paint set that suits Ancients, Medieval, and Napoleonic projects.

Quick answer

For most 28mm historical armies, start with a mid-sized acrylic set from a brand that offers historical-specific colors, then add individual pots for uniforms, skin, and metallics as your project demands. Prioritize coverage and finish over a huge color count, because you will thin and mix most colors anyway.

Coverage and pigment load matter more than color count

A paint with high pigment load covers in fewer coats, which saves time across a 16-figure unit. When reading labels or reviews, look for terms like heavy body, high opacity, or single-coat coverage. Lower-pigment paints can still work, but expect to build up two or three thin layers, which is actually ideal for smooth transitions on faces and cloth.

Match the finish to your basing and varnish plan

Matte finishes suit historical miniatures because they mimic wool, linen, and leather. Satin or gloss finishes can look toy-like on 28mm figures unless you plan to varnish over them. If you use a gloss varnish for durability, follow with a matte coat to knock back the shine. Test your paint and varnish combination on a spare figure before committing to a whole unit.

Pot size and dropper vs. flip-top: pick your workflow

Dropper bottles let you dispense consistent drops for mixing and airbrushing, and they resist drying out. Flip-top pots are faster for brush-only work but can accumulate dried paint around the rim. For 28mm historicals, where you often mix small amounts for faces and equipment, droppers usually win. If you paint large batches of one uniform color, a larger flip-top pot may be more economical.

Historical color accuracy: use ranges with dedicated uniform colors

Generic fantasy ranges often lack the specific olive drabs, brick reds, and off-whites needed for Napoleonic British, Roman reds, or Medieval heraldry. A range with named historical colors reduces mixing guesswork. That said, you can mix accurate colors from a well-chosen palette if you are willing to test recipes. For Ancients and Medieval, earth tones, ochres, and muted reds are the backbone.

How many paints do you actually need to start?

A practical starter set for 28mm historicals includes: a mid-brown, a dark brown, a black, a white, an off-white, a flesh tone, a red, a blue, a yellow, a green, a metallic silver, and a metallic gold or bronze. That is 12 to 15 colors. You can expand with specific uniform shades as you start a new army. Buying a large set upfront often leaves half the pots unused.

Transfers and flags: the finishing touch that changes your paint needs

If you use shield transfers or flags, you can skip painting complex designs and focus your paint budget on base colors, faces, and metals. This is common for Roman and Medieval armies where shield patterns are intricate. The trade-off is that transfers require a smooth, gloss-varnished surface to adhere well, so your paint and varnish choices should support that workflow.

Decision rules for buying historical paint

If you are painting a 16-figure unit: Choose a high-pigment acrylic with a matte finish and a dropper bottle for consistent mixing. Buy one pot per main uniform color, not a 50-color set. A focused 12–15 color palette covers most historical units.
If you plan to use shield transfers: Paint base colors and varnish gloss before applying transfers. Skip buying paints for intricate shield patterns. Transfers reduce the number of paints you need for detailed designs.
If you are new to historicals: Start with a starter set that includes flesh, off-white, brown, black, red, blue, yellow, green, and two metallics. Add specific uniform colors as you choose your army. Avoid large sets until you know which colors you actually use.
If you already own a fantasy paint set: Check whether it has muted earth tones and historical reds. If not, supplement with individual historical colors rather than replacing everything. You can mix many historical shades from a good base palette.

Products that support a transfer-friendly paint workflow

EIRA(AV)2: Early Imperial Roman Auxiliary transfer sheet to fit Aventine miniatures superb range of Romans. The transfers are for the shields, Standard bearer and musician bucklers and Vexilum. Ideally used with Avenines 16 figure unit packs. All transfers come un-cut. If you paint Roman Auxiliaries, this sheet lets you skip freehand shield designs and focus your paint selection on base colors, flesh, and metals. The un-cut format means you need a sharp knife and a gloss surface for best adhesion.
REP(AV)5: Please view larger image to see product description. Any images displayed may not be the actual size of the transfer. All transfers come un-cut. This listing does not state a specific unit or scale beyond the category, so check the larger image for design details before buying. Because transfers are un-cut, budget time for trimming and test-fit on a painted shield before committing.

Who should buy which paint approach

Best for

Painters starting a 28mm Ancients or Medieval army who want a focused, cost-effective palette.
Wargamers who use shield transfers and flags and need paints mainly for base colors, flesh, and metals.
Hobbyists who prefer dropper bottles for mixing and airbrushing consistency.

Not for

Painters who want a single set to cover every possible historical period without adding colors.
Hobbyists who prefer large flip-top pots for speed-painting entire units in one uniform color.
Collectors who do not thin paints and expect one-coat coverage from every color.