Multi-Brand Paint Collection: How to Store Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter Together
Most miniature painters end up with paints from at least two brands—and that means at least two different bottle diameters to store. Practical guide to storing Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter together without compromising visibility or workflow.
Mixed-diameter rack: a modular storage system with slot sections designed to accommodate bottles of different widths—typically combining 26mm slots (Vallejo, Army Painter) with 33mm slots (Citadel) in a single installation. Mixed-diameter racks solve the core challenge of multi-brand collections: keeping bottles of different sizes visible and accessible without segregation.
Cross-brand organization: a storage strategy that transcends individual paint brands, organizing bottles by color family, project, or use case rather than by manufacturer. Effective cross-brand organization requires intentional slot design and clear visual separation to prevent workflow confusion.
WHY PAINTERS ACCUMULATE MULTIPLE BRANDS
The path to a multi-brand paint collection is rarely intentional. It emerges from practical reality and experimentation.
Citadel is the entry point for most Warhammer painters. Games Workshop bundles Citadel paint sets with starter boxes for new armies. A player learning 40K receives a paint set of 5–8 Citadel pots, primed to that color range. As the player deepens their engagement with the hobby, they expand their Citadel collection. Three to six months in, they own 30–50 Citadel pots. At this scale, a dedicated 33mm-slot rack accommodates the entire collection. PROSCALE’s mixed-diameter modular systems bridge this gap, offering configurations with both 33mm slots for Citadel and 26mm slots for other brands in a single unified installation.
Vallejo enters through YouTube tutorials and hobby content. Competitive painters often use Vallejo for speed-painting or specific techniques. A Warhammer painter discovers a painting technique video where an experienced painter uses Vallejo Game Color and Army Painter Warpaints for layering and shading, achieving results faster than pure Citadel. The viewer purchases a small starter set of 8–12 Vallejo bottles, intrigued. Within months, they own 20–40 Vallejo droppers alongside their existing 40–60 Citadel pots.
Army Painter follows a similar pattern. A painter purchases speed-paint washes from Army Painter for panel lining miniatures or experiments with the Warpaints range as a mid-tier alternative to Citadel. After one or two experiments, they own 5–15 Army Painter bottles.
Simultaneously, painters acquire paint through gifts. A gift set might contain a mix of brands. A painting buddy might gift duplicate colors from their collection. Online hobby communities encourage experimentation with different brands to develop personal technique.
The result: a painter with 50 Citadel pots, 30 Vallejo droppers, and 10 Army Painter bottles. This 90-bottle collection is too large to segregate into separate racks. Dedicating one rack to Citadel (50 bottles in a 60-slot 33mm rack) and another to Vallejo/Army Painter (40 bottles in a 40–60 slot 26mm rack) requires significant wall space and creates fragmentation in the workspace. A painter painting a single miniature might need colors from all three brands, requiring reaching to multiple racks.
[IMAGE: workspace showing three separate paint racks—one for Citadel (33mm), one for Vallejo (26mm), one for Army Painter (26mm)—illustrating the inefficiency of brand segregation]
BOTTLE DIAMETER COMPARISON AND MECHANICAL CHALLENGES
The core impediment to mixing brands is dimensional incompatibility.
Citadel pots are 32mm wide—the defining specification of the Games Workshop paint ecosystem. They fit comfortably in 33mm slots (1mm clearance per side). They do not fit in 26mm slots. Attempting to force a Citadel pot into a 26mm slot creates friction. The pot won’t enter the slot, or if forced in, will be stuck and will crush adjacent bottles.
Vallejo droppers and Army Painter Warpaints are both 26mm wide. They fit any standard modular rack designed for 26mm-slot spacing. They do not fit well in 33mm slots. The bottle is too small for the 33mm slot—it sits deeper than intended, and only the rim remains visible above the slot lip. Organization becomes inefficient because most of the label is hidden.
AK Interactive 3rd Generation Acrylics and Real Colors are 26mm wide, identical to Vallejo and Army Painter. No mechanical barrier exists between these brands and 26mm slots.
Tamiya 10ml jars are approximately 28mm wide. Tamiya 23ml pots are approximately 35mm wide. Neither fits either standard (26mm or 33mm) particularly well. Tamiya collections require dedicated wider-slot racks or adjustable configurations. Mixing Tamiya with Citadel, Vallejo, or Army Painter is mechanically complex and rarely attempted by casual painters.
The practical reality: two standard diameters exist—26mm and 33mm—and most multi-brand collections contain paints from both. Solving for these two diameters accommodates 90%+ of multi-brand painter scenarios.
| Brand | Bottle Format | Diameter | Height | Best Slot Width | Compatibility Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel | Flip-top pot | 32mm | 30–38mm (varies by line) | 33mm | Does not fit 26mm slots |
| Vallejo (Game Color) | Dropper | 26mm | 45mm | 26mm | Does not fit well in 33mm slots (sits too deep) |
| Vallejo (Model Air) | Dropper | 26mm | 45mm | 26mm | Same as Game Color |
| Vallejo (72ml airbrush) | Wide-mouth bottle | 39mm | 50mm | 35mm+ | Requires dedicated section or shelf |
| Army Painter (Warpaints) | Dropper | 26mm | 50mm | 26mm | Identical to Vallejo droppers in diameter |
| AK Interactive (3rd Gen) | Dropper | 26mm | 45mm | 26mm | Identical to Vallejo and Army Painter |
| Tamiya (10ml) | Jar | 28mm | 20mm | 30mm | Sits awkwardly in both 26mm and 33mm slots |
The critical insight: Citadel is the incompatible standard. Everything else in the miniature painting ecosystem—Vallejo, Army Painter, AK Interactive—uses 26mm droppers, which form a compatible ecosystem. If a painter mixes these three brands, one 26mm rack solves the storage problem. If a painter mixes any 26mm brand with Citadel, a mixed-diameter rack is essential.
MIXED-DIAMETER RACK SOLUTIONS
Three architectural approaches exist for organizing multi-brand collections in a single modular system.
The segregated multi-rack approach dedicates separate racks to different diameters. A painter with 50 Citadel pots uses a 60-slot 33mm rack. A painter with 40 Vallejo and 10 Army Painter bottles uses a 50–60 slot 26mm rack. Optionally, a third small 26mm rack holds specialty items or future expansion. Separate racks are mechanically clean—each rack is optimized for its bottle format, visibility is excellent, and accidental mixing is impossible.
The disadvantage is workspace friction. A painter at the easel with a partially-painted miniature that needs a Citadel shade and a Vallejo highlight must walk to two different racks. During rapid painting sessions with many color switches, this becomes a significant workflow impediment. For painters who batch-paint (painting one model to completion before switching to the next), the extra reach is manageable. For painters who paint a few brushstrokes on multiple models simultaneously, switching between racks is inefficient.
PROSCALE’s modular mixed-diameter system addresses this by offering configurations with both 26mm and 33mm slots in a single installation. A wall-mounted mixed-diameter system might feature 33mm slots in the bottom section (Citadel pots) and 26mm slots in the upper sections (Vallejo, Army Painter, AK). This creates visual hierarchy—the wider Citadel section grounds the system—while maintaining single-reach access to all bottles. A painter standing at their workspace can access Citadel pots without bending excessively and can reach Vallejo droppers at eye level.
The hybrid approach uses a primary single-diameter rack (usually 26mm, since that’s the more common format) and segregates Citadel bottles separately. This is effective if Citadel represents a minority of the collection (fewer than 30 bottles) and if the painter is willing to make a deliberate reach when accessing Citadel. A painter with 60 Vallejo and Army Painter bottles in a large 26mm rack might store 20 Citadel pots in a small secondary 33mm organizer positioned nearby—within one or two steps but visually distinct.
The challenge of all three approaches is visual and cognitive organization. Different widths mean visual inconsistency in the rack. Bottles of different heights, different cap styles, different label orientations—mixing brands creates visual noise. Successful multi-brand racks mitigate this through intentional organization strategy.
[IMAGE: mixed-diameter PROSCALE rack showing Citadel pots (33mm, bottom section) and Vallejo/Army Painter droppers (26mm, upper sections) with clear visual separation]
ORGANIZATION STRATEGIES FOR MIXED COLLECTIONS
Three distinct organizational frameworks exist for multi-brand collections, each with advantages and limitations.
Organization by brand segregates bottles into distinct sections. All Citadel pots occupy the bottom or one side of the rack. All Vallejo Game Color occupies another section. All Army Painter Warpaints occupy a third section. This approach is mechanically straightforward—each brand gets a zone—and prevents accidental cross-use. It works best when the brands have approximately equal representation (30–40 bottles each) and when the painter works on multi-brand projects where reaching to each brand section is expected.
The disadvantage is that color matching becomes fragmented. A painter wanting a mid-tone gray might reach to Citadel’s gray section, find nothing suitable, then check Vallejo’s gray section, then Army Painter’s grays. The search time increases because grays are not centralized.
Organization by color family transcends brands, clustering all reds together (Citadel reds, Vallejo reds, Army Painter reds), all blues together, all earth tones together. This enables rapid color matching and is the preferred strategy for painters who prioritize speed over brand consistency. A painter doing highlight-shadow matching might source highlight from Vallejo and shadow from Citadel, selecting purely by color family, then applying in sequence.
The disadvantage is workflow confusion. If a painter’s technique is brand-specific—Citadel for basecoating, Vallejo for layering, Army Painter for washes—mixing brands in a color-family organization forces constant conscious choice. Reaching for a “red” bottle requires checking whether it’s Citadel (unsuitable for the intended use) or Vallejo (correct). Mistakes increase.
Organization by project or use case groups bottles for specific miniature projects or specific techniques. A Necrons army might have its own section (Citadel metals, Vallejo teals, Army Painter washes specific to Necrons). A Space Marine army has its own section. This works exceptionally well for painters who build and paint in sequential projects and don’t maintain permanent large collections. A painter with 15 projects in parallel would find project-based organization unwieldy.
Most successful multi-brand painters use a hybrid approach. Primary organization is by brand (Citadel section, Vallejo section, Army Painter section). Within each section, sub-organization is by color family or hue. All Citadel reds together, all Citadel yellows together, et cetera. This preserves brand-specific workflow while enabling color matching within each brand section. It requires slightly more sophistication in rack design but yields the best compromise between organization clarity and color-matching efficiency.
[IMAGE: mixed-brand rack showing sections for each brand, with sub-sections organized by color within each brand zone]
COLLECTION SIZING AND GROWTH PLANNING FOR MULTI-BRAND PAINTERS
Multi-brand collections grow unpredictably because they accumulate from multiple sources and motivations. Planning for growth is more speculative than for single-brand collections.
A painter with initial Collections typically starts with 30–50 Citadel pots (from a Games Workshop starter set) and 5–15 Vallejo droppers (from experimentation or tutorials). This 50-bottle collection doesn’t yet justify a mixed-diameter system. The Citadel portion fits a small 33mm rack, and the Vallejo portion fits a small 26mm rack or even a drawer. Two separate small racks are acceptable at this scale.
A growing multi-brand collection reaches 50–100 bottles—perhaps 50 Citadel, 30 Vallejo, 5 Army Painter. At this scale, two separate racks (one 33mm with 60 slots for Citadel, one 26mm with 60 slots for Vallejo and Army Painter) is the threshold where consolidation becomes tempting. Two racks consume significant wall space and require reaching to both. The decision point: invest in a single larger mixed-diameter system (such as a PROSCALE modular installation with both slot widths) or accept workspace fragmentation.
A substantial multi-brand collection reaches 100–200 bottles—perhaps 70 Citadel, 60 Vallejo, 15 Army Painter. At this scale, a single mixed-diameter wall system is essential. Two separate racks become impractical. A unified installation with 33mm slots for Citadel (section occupying roughly 40% of the wall space) and 26mm slots for Vallejo and Army Painter (occupying 60% of the space) accommodates the collection with growth room and maintains single-reach access.
A completionist multi-brand collection exceeds 200 bottles and typically spans multiple brand ranges. A painter with 80+ Citadel pots (possibly multiple sets across different Citadel lines), 100+ Vallejo droppers (multiple ranges), and 20+ Army Painter bottles requires a large wall system or multiple installations. At this scale, painters often revert to segregation—large dedicated racks for each brand—because the workspace now supports multiple installations and the organizational clarity of brand separation becomes more important than consolidation efficiency.
The key insight: mixed-diameter racks solve the 50–150 bottle range most effectively. Below 50 bottles, separate small racks are adequate. Above 150 bottles, painters often revert to segregation for organizational clarity.
WORKFLOW INTEGRATION AND PAINTING SESSION EFFICIENCY
The practical benefit of consolidating multi-brand collections into a single mixed-diameter system is workflow efficiency during active painting sessions.
A painter with a partially-painted Space Marine needs: a Citadel metallic silver for armor, a Vallejo purple shade for robes, and an Army Painter brown wash for panel lining. If these three bottles occupy three separate racks, the painter makes three reaches: to the Citadel rack (bottom), to the Vallejo rack (left side), to the Army Painter rack (right side). Each reach interrupts focus and paint flow. Over a two-hour painting session with 30–50 color changes, the cumulative interruption is significant.
If the same paints occupy a single mixed-diameter system, all three bottles are within arm’s reach. The painter reaches once to the system, selects three bottles, and returns to the easel. Focus is maintained. Flow is continuous.
This advantage diminishes if the painter uses mostly one brand and occasionally branches to others. A painter who uses Citadel for 85% of their painting and Vallejo or Army Painter for 15% experiences minimal benefit from consolidation—most color reaches hit Citadel, so the second brand’s proximity is irrelevant.
The advantage is maximized for painters who use multiple brands in balanced proportions—30–40% Citadel, 40–50% Vallejo, 10–20% Army Painter. These painters genuinely benefit from single-reach access to all three brands.
[IMAGE: painter standing at workspace with mixed-diameter rack showing all three brands (Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter) within single arm’s reach]
ADDRESSING HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY INCONSISTENCY
Mixed-diameter racks create visual inconsistency because bottles of different widths sit at different heights within their slots.
A 26mm dropper bottle in a 26mm slot sits at the optimal height—the bottle neck and cap are visible, the label is fully exposed. A 32mm Citadel pot in a 33mm slot also sits at optimal height. But when both sit in the same rack side-by-side, the 26mm bottle appears higher because it’s narrower and its narrower base allows it to sit deeper in the standard slot profile.
This height inconsistency can be mitigated through rack design. PROSCALE mixed-diameter systems can use slot profiles that account for diameter differences. A 33mm slot might have a lip or platform that catches the Citadel pot at the same visual height as the 26mm bottle. Alternatively, strategic grouping—placing all 33mm slots on the bottom sections and all 26mm slots on upper sections—creates visual hierarchy and mitigates the sense of visual chaos.
Sub-optimal mitigation is accepting the height inconsistency as part of the mixed-brand aesthetic. The rack is less visually clean than single-brand racks but is functionally superior. Many painters accept this trade-off.
For painters unable to tolerate visual inconsistency, the solution is segregation. One rack for Citadel (uniform height), one or more racks for 26mm brands (uniform height). Visual cleanliness is achieved at the cost of workflow friction.
PRACTICAL STARTING CONFIGURATIONS
For painters planning multi-brand consolidation, PROSCALE offers configurations that balance cost, wall space, and growth runway.
The entry mixed-diameter configuration is a 80-slot modular frame with 60 slots at 26mm (for Vallejo and Army Painter) and 20 slots at 33mm (for Citadel). This accommodates up to 60 Vallejo/Army Painter bottles and 20 Citadel pots—sufficient for a beginner-to-intermediate collection. Cost is moderate, wall space is minimal (suitable for apartment studios), and the system can be expanded vertically or horizontally as the collection grows.
The standard mixed-diameter configuration is a 120-slot frame with 80 slots at 26mm and 40 slots at 33mm. This accommodates up to 80 Vallejo/Army Painter/AK Interactive bottles and 40 Citadel pots. This is the most common target for painters consolidating existing separate racks. Growth runway extends to 150+ bottles, and the system can be expanded by adding additional modules.
The large mixed-diameter configuration is a 160-200 slot frame with mixed-diameter sections in proportion to the painter’s collection. A painter with predominantly Citadel (60 pots) and supplemental Vallejo (40 bottles) might request 60 33mm slots and 100 26mm slots. This is custom-ordered and tailored to specific collection composition.
For painters uncertain whether their collection will grow, starting with a single entry configuration and expanding as needed is more economical than buying large upfront. PROSCALE’s modular design supports incremental expansion without requiring complete replacement.
OPERATIONAL SCENARIO
A miniature painter named James painted exclusively Citadel for 18 months, building a Warhammer 40K Orks army. His collection reached 65 Citadel pots organized in a single 80-slot 33mm rack. His painting style was methodical: basecoat with Citadel, shade with Citadel, layer with Citadel, highlight with Citadel. Every color came from one brand.
After completing his Orks, James watched a tutorial by a competitive painter using mixed brands. The tutorial used Vallejo Game Color for speed-painting the basecoat (much faster dry time), Citadel layers for mid-tones (superior opacity), and Army Painter washes for panel definition. Intrigued, James purchased a small Vallejo starter set (12 colors) and a single Army Painter wash bottle.
Over the next few months, James experimented with mixed-brand techniques. He preferred Vallejo’s speed and control for basecoating. He valued Army Painter washes for speed. But his paint workflow required reaching to three separate locations in his studio: his main Citadel rack, a small drawer for Vallejo, and a shelf for Army Painter bottles. The fragmentation was inefficient.
James purchased a PROSCALE mixed-diameter modular system with 100 26mm slots and 40 33mm slots. He moved all Citadel pots to the 33mm section (organized by paint type: Bases, Layers, Shades, Dries). He moved his Vallejo and Army Painter bottles to the 26mm sections (organized by color family: reds, yellows, blues, earth tones, metallics). The new system fit on a single wall above his painting desk.
For the first time, his entire working paint collection was visible and accessible within one arm’s reach. During his next painting session, he noticed the reduction in interruption—reaching for colors no longer required walking to separate locations. His painting rhythm improved. His lesson: multi-brand collections benefit dramatically from consolidation when the collection reaches sufficient size. Investing in a mixed-diameter system transforms workflow efficiency and workspace satisfaction.
FAQ
What size should my mixed-brand rack be? If your collection is 50% or less Citadel and 50% or more Vallejo/Army Painter, allocate approximately 60–65% of your slots to 26mm (Vallejo/Army Painter) and 35–40% to 33mm (Citadel). A 120-slot frame might be 80 26mm and 40 33mm. For 100 total bottles (60 Citadel, 40 Vallejo), a 100-slot configuration with 60 33mm slots and 40 26mm slots accommodates the collection with growth room.
Can you mix Vallejo and Citadel in the same rack? Mechanically no—Vallejo droppers (26mm) are too small for Citadel’s 33mm slots. However, a mixed-diameter rack with separate 26mm and 33mm slot sections accommodates both brands perfectly. Alternatively, using separate 26mm and 33mm racks is a valid compromise if your collection is small or if you accept workspace fragmentation.
Does Citadel fit in a 26mm slot? No. Citadel pots are 32mm wide—they do not fit in 26mm slots. Forcing them creates friction and risks damage to the bottle and adjacent bottles. Do not attempt to mix Citadel pots with Vallejo droppers in a 26mm slot system.
How do you organize a mixed-brand collection? Three approaches: by brand (all Citadel together, all Vallejo together, all Army Painter together), by color family (all reds regardless of brand, all blues regardless of brand), or hybrid (brands in separate sections, colors organized within each brand section). Hybrid organization balances brand-specific workflow with color-matching speed. For most painters, organizing by brand is most intuitive.
Should you separate Citadel and Vallejo if they’re both in the same rack? Yes, recommended. Use physical sections or visual separators to distinguish brands. This prevents accidental cross-use during rapid painting sessions. If your Citadel section is at the bottom and Vallejo is at eye level, reaching for a color requires conscious choice of which brand you’re accessing.
Can Army Painter and Vallejo share slots? Yes. Army Painter Warpaints and Vallejo droppers are both 26mm diameter and can be stored together in 26mm slots without any mechanical issue. Organize by brand (Army Painter in one section, Vallejo in another) if you’re concerned about workflow confusion, or mix by color family if workflow allows.
If your multi-brand paint collection spans Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter, a modular system with mixed-diameter slot sections keeps all bottles accessible in a single wall installation, reducing workspace fragmentation and workflow interruption. → View the full PROSCALE range →