The fastest way to find which Vallejo paint matches a specific Citadel color is to look the Citadel paint up directly in the converter, which returns every Vallejo color ranked by measured color distance along with its finish type. You do not need to scroll a printed chart or guess between three candidates. Type or select the Citadel paint and the tool does the ranking for you.
Why single-color lookups beat a full chart
A full Citadel to Vallejo chart is useful when you are converting an entire army's paint list at once, which the full conversion chart is built for. But most painters searching for a single match already know the one Citadel color they are trying to replace, usually because a bottle is drying out or a specific shade is out of stock. Scanning a hundred-plus row chart for one paint wastes the time a direct lookup saves. A single-paint match tool is the version of the same data built for that exact moment.
A worked example
Take Citadel Mephiston Red, a Citadel Base paint. Run it through the matcher and the top Vallejo result is Vallejo Carmine Red, a hex based match. It is a strong same-finish candidate, both are opaque base colors, and close enough that most painters would call it a direct swap once thinned to two coats. A close look at the numbers behind that kind of match, and where the small gap in redness shows up once dry, is worth understanding before you buy based on a single top result.
A second example: Citadel Corax White, also a Base paint, matches closely to Vallejo Cold White, another strong same-finish result. Compare that to Citadel Agrax Earthshade, a Shade wash, which matches Vallejo Charred Brown at a noticeably lower percentage because washes are harder to match by color alone, their behavior depends on medium and transparency as much as pigment. That gap is exactly why finish class matters as much as the percentage number.
| Citadel paint | Finish | Closest Vallejo match | What the match tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mephiston Red | Base | Carmine Red | Strong same-finish swap |
| Corax White | Base | Cold White | Strong same-finish swap |
| Agrax Earthshade | Shade (wash) | Charred Brown | Same family, test before committing |
What to check before you buy
Open the Mephiston Red page or any specific paint's page and look at the swatch next to its top matches before ordering. A high percentage on a base-to-base match is usually safe to buy on sight. A wash-to-wash or contrast-to-anything match is worth a closer look, since transparent formulas vary more in how they settle into recesses than their measured color alone will show. If you are matching several colors from the same army at once rather than one paint, working through the shopping list approach keeps every finish class straight instead of buying by color name alone.
Knowing where the two ranges tend to agree and where they diverge also helps set expectations before you start matching individual paints. The Citadel vs Vallejo comparison covers the broader differences between the two ranges, including why some painters keep both on the shelf rather than fully switching.
FAQ
What is the closest Vallejo match to Citadel Mephiston Red?
Vallejo Carmine Red is the closest same-finish Vallejo match by measured color, both being opaque base reds. Check the swatch on the paint page before buying since red tones can shift slightly once fully dry.
Does every Citadel paint have a good Vallejo match?
Most base and layer colors have a strong same-finish Vallejo match. Washes, contrast paints, and technical paints are harder to match well because their color alone does not capture how they behave, so treat those matches as a starting point rather than a guarantee.
Can I convert a whole Citadel scheme to Vallejo at once?
Yes, the full Citadel to Vallejo chart lists matches across the whole range so you can work through a scheme color by color rather than looking each one up individually.
Is Vallejo Model Color or Game Color the better match for Citadel Base paints?
It depends on the specific color, since the two Vallejo lines overlap in coverage but not always in exact shade. The converter checks both lines and returns whichever is the closer measured match for that specific Citadel paint.