Games Workshop just launched a major new paint range, and most of the coverage so far is written for Warhammer players. Warhammer Tone Pro is a range of 150 paints, and if you paint D&D minis you are probably wondering whether it is worth your money or just hobby noise. Here is a plain-English rundown, based on the early hands-on reviews from painters who have already used it.
A quick note on how we did this: The Mini Workshop has not painted with Tone Pro yet. Everything below comes from Games Workshop’s own announcement and early reviews from other hobby sites, linked as we go.
What Is Warhammer Tone Pro?
Warhammer Tone Pro was announced by Games Workshop on September 18 as a new paint system: 30 colors, each sold in 5 numbered tones, for 150 paints in total. Tone 1 is the darkest version of a color and Tone 5 is the lightest.
The number is the whole idea. Instead of remembering that one paint is the base, another is the shade, and a third is the highlight, you just move up and down the numbers within one color family. Games Workshop also launched a Shading Medium (mix it into any Tone Pro paint to make a shade or glaze), a Blending Medium (slows drying so you have more time to blend), and four new drybrushes in sizes XS to L.
This is separate from the rename earlier this year, when Citadel paints became Warhammer Colour. Those are the same paints under a new label. Tone Pro is an entirely new range.
How the Five Tones Work
Here is how one reviewer used a single color family on a flat armor panel: Tabletop Battles basecoated with Tone 3, glazed shadows with Tones 2 and 1, then picked out edges with Tones 4 and 5. That is a full shade-to-highlight recipe from five pots with matching names, and it is why the range appeals to newer painters.
For a D&D mini, the same logic applies to almost anything: a red cloak, a green dragon, a blue wizard robe. Pick a color, start in the middle, and work darker and lighter from there.
What Games Workshop Claims vs. What Early Reviewers Found
Games Workshop says Tone Pro covers well from the first coat (even yellow and white), has very intense pigment, and works for basecoating, layering, highlighting, glazing, and drybrushing. Early reviews mostly back up the headline, with some caveats:
- Coverage: Strong. Reviewers reported that bright colors like pink, orange, and green covered well over dark primer in two to three coats, and the white covered black in about two coats. They considered that impressive for those colors.
- Color: Very saturated. One reviewer found the pink noticeably brighter than the older paints they normally use for the same job.
- Blending: One reviewer found that layering neighboring tones of the same color blended almost on its own, which is the point of the system.
- Airbrushing: A reviewer reported a solid coat in about two passes using standard airbrush thinner.
- Finish: A satin sheen. One reviewer saw tide marks when glazing large flat areas and used a matte varnish to tone it down.
- Drybrushing: Works, but one reviewer did not call it revolutionary.
- Shading Medium: Worked as a wash when mixed with a dark Tone Pro paint, staining about the same as or slightly less than a classic black wash.
- Packaging: Tone Pro comes in pots rather than dropper bottles. One reviewer found leaking or separating pots in both boxes he opened (one supplied by Games Workshop, one from his local store). He put it down to lids not being fully sealed rather than the paint itself, and expected retail quality control to be better.
One thing is still unsettled: whether Tone Pro mixes cleanly with your older Warhammer Colour paints. One reviewer suspected it behaves differently from the older water-based range, while another thinned it with plain water and airbrush thinner without trouble. Until more people report back, do not assume you can freely mix it with your existing paints. Test a small amount first.
What Does Warhammer Tone Pro Cost, and Where Can You Get It?
Retailer listings put the US price at $6.75 per pot (reported as 12 ml), with the mediums at $8.10. In the UK, the reported Tone Pro price is roughly 50 percent above a standard Warhammer Colour pot, so expect a premium here too, and confirm the price at checkout.
Games Workshop says you can try the range in Warhammer Stores and independent hobby stores from September 26 (October 3 in Japan). Online release dates depend on the retailer. For example, one UK shop is listing preorders from October 10 and a full release on October 24. Check with your local store or preferred retailer before planning around a date.
Should D&D Painters Try Warhammer Tone Pro?
This part is our own take, not a tested verdict.
It could be a good fit if you are newer to painting and find shading and highlighting confusing, you like bold, saturated fantasy colors, or you paint a lot of bright things like gold trim, white skeletons, yellow robes, or magical effects, where coverage usually causes headaches.
You can safely skip it if you already have a paint collection you are happy with. You do not need Tone Pro to paint good D&D minis, and the range is not designed to replace what you own. A full range is also a big spend: you would only ever need a few color families. Three families at three tones each is 9 pots, roughly $61 at the reported price. Four families is 12 pots, roughly $81.
If you want to test it cheaply, pick one color family you paint often and buy Tones 2, 3, and 4 for it. That is enough to try the base, shade, and highlight approach on a single mini.
How Does It Compare to Contrast and Speedpaint?
Early commentary places Tone Pro closer to a conventional opaque paint range than to shortcut paints. One Komanders review described it as sitting between Contrast and traditional Layer paints, with more saturation than the old Layer colors. Another Spikey Bits editorial argued that the range looks more like Games Workshop catching up to Army Painter and Pro Acryl than leaping past them.
Shortcut paints like Contrast and Army Painter Speedpaint are built to save time in one step, and they are still great for beginners (see our Speedpaint Markers review). Tone Pro asks for a little more effort but gives you more control over shading and highlights. Which one is better depends on how much time you want to spend per mini.
The Bottom Line
Warhammer Tone Pro looks like a well-organized, high-coverage range that could make shading and highlighting easier for newer painters, at a higher price per pot. The early reviews are mostly positive, with fair questions about packaging and how well it mixes with older paints. If you are curious, start small with one color family. If you are happy with your current paints, there is no rush.
If you want to match colors across brands before you buy anything new, the free Miniature Painting Forge paint converter from our Loot Drop series is a handy place to start.
If you want to look for Tone Pro or similar paints, you can search for Warhammer Tone Pro on Amazon, or try a shortcut option like an Army Painter Speedpaint starter set.
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