Citadel's brown lineup covers a wider range than "brown" suggests, running from a near-black leather tone through a warm red-brown, a muddy grey-brown, and a pale sandy dust, plus one single-coat contrast option. Mournfang Brown, Rhinox Hide, Zandri Dust, Steel Legion Drab, and Cygor Brown are the five most-used browns in the Citadel catalog, and each one earns its place by covering ground the others don't.
What are the main Citadel brown paints
| Paint | Undertone | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Mournfang Brown | Deep red-brown | Leather, wood, dried blood |
| Rhinox Hide | Dark neutral brown | Base shadow layer, fur, straps |
| Zandri Dust | Warm sandy tan | Desert armor, bone, wood highlights |
| Steel Legion Drab | Cool olive-brown | Military fatigues, canvas, webbing |
| Cygor Brown | Muted mid brown | Single-coat contrast over a light undercoat |
Mournfang Brown versus Rhinox Hide, what's the actual difference
Mournfang Brown sits redder and lighter than Rhinox Hide, which reads as a much darker, almost black-brown with very little red in it. Painters commonly use Rhinox Hide as the base coat for leather or fur before building up through Mournfang Brown as a midtone, since the jump between the two gives a clean two-step transition without needing a third color. Used alone, Rhinox Hide works well as a dark base for anything you plan to drybrush or highlight upward, while Mournfang Brown reads as finished leather or wood on its own with a wash over the top.
Where does Zandri Dust fit
Zandri Dust is the palest and warmest of the group, closer to a sandy tan than a true brown. It's the standard pick for desert camouflage schemes, aged bone, dry wood, and as a highlight step over darker browns like Rhinox Hide. It reads noticeably yellow next to the other three, so it's rarely used as a base coat on its own for anything meant to look like dark leather or soil.
Is Steel Legion Drab a brown or a green
It sits right on the boundary, with enough olive in the mix that some painters file it under green rather than brown. That cooler, muted undertone is exactly why it's the standard choice for military fatigue and canvas colors rather than leather or wood, where a warmer brown like Mournfang Brown or Zandri Dust reads more naturally.
Do these browns need a wash over them
Most painters run a wash over any of these four before calling the color finished. A brown wash like Agrax Earthshade deepens the recesses and unifies the base coat with very little added time, and it's the most common finishing step across all four of these colors regardless of what they're painted onto.
Buying browns as a set
Rather than buying four bottles separately, a starter paint set that already includes the earth tones covers this ground alongside the rest of a first purchase: Citadel Colour Essentials set(affiliate link). For finishing washes over any of these, a wash and shade set rounds out the browns with the recess-deepening step: wash and shade paint set(affiliate link).
FAQ
What is the closest single brown if I can only buy one
Rhinox Hide is the most flexible single bottle, since it's dark enough to serve as a base you can highlight upward with Mournfang Brown or Zandri Dust, but not so dark it reads as black.
Is Cygor Brown part of this same base range
No. Cygor Brown is a Citadel contrast paint rather than a base color, built to be applied in a single coat over a light undercoat rather than layered like the four base browns above. It's included in this comparison because it solves the same "I need a brown" search, just through a different application method.
How many coats does a Citadel base brown usually need
Two thin coats is standard for full, even coverage on any of these four, applied over a primed surface. A single heavy coat tends to pool in recesses and dry patchy rather than solid.
Do these browns match Vallejo or Army Painter equivalents
Yes, cross-brand matches for each of these exist on the converter. Check the full color converter or the Citadel to Vallejo conversion page for the closest match in another range.