Formula P3 was pulled from wide retail distribution for a stretch after Privateer Press scaled back its paint operation, which is why a lot of painters searching for P3 colors keep hitting empty shelves and dead product pages. The line has since come back under Steamforged Games, who now hold the Privateer Press brand, but stock is patchy compared to Citadel or Vallejo and a lot of hobby shops never restocked it. If you are hunting a specific P3 color and cannot find it, the fastest fix is a same finish match in a brand that is actually on the shelf, not a wait and hope approach.
Why is P3 paint hard to find right now
Availability issues with P3 trace back to a change in who was running Privateer Press day to day, which disrupted manufacturing and distribution for a period. Steamforged Games later took over the Privateer Press catalog, including the Formula P3 paint line, and relaunched it, but retailer pipelines take time to refill after a gap like that. The practical result is the same whether the cause is a factory issue or a distribution gap: your local shop's P3 rack is thin, and online listings show out of stock more often than not for older releases.
What to buy if you cannot find the exact P3 color
Match on finish first. A P3 base color needs another opaque base, and a P3 metallic needs another metallic, never a base standing in for a metallic. The P3 to Citadel conversion chart and the P3 to Vallejo conversion chart both run the full Formula P3 range through the same color distance math used across this site, so you can look up any specific P3 name and see its closest same finish match in either brand.
As an example of how close these can land, P3 Cold Steel sits near AK Interactive French Greyish Blue and Vallejo Steel Grey at a strong match, and Citadel Grey Knights Steel is close behind. P3 Pig Iron pairs closely with Green Stuff World Ranger Green as a color match, though checking the finish and sheen side by side before committing a whole army to the swap is worth the extra five minutes.
| If you painted with | Try instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A P3 base color you cannot restock | The matched Citadel or Vallejo base from the converter | Same opacity, same coverage behavior |
| A P3 metallic | A metallic from Citadel, Vallejo, or AK Interactive | Metallics do not substitute for base colors or vice versa |
| An entire P3-painted army needing touch ups | The single closest match per color, checked on a spare model first | Prevents an obvious color seam on old paint jobs |
Should you stockpile P3 while it is available
If you already run a P3-based scheme and the specific colors are back in stock, buying a spare bottle or two of your core colors is reasonable insurance against another gap. It is not necessary to switch schemes just because the brand had a rough patch. For new projects, or if you cannot find a color at all, building from Vallejo or Citadel as your primary range and using P3 only where a specific converted color is genuinely closer will keep you painting without waiting on a restock.
FAQ
Is Formula P3 discontinued permanently?
No. The line went through an availability gap tied to changes at Privateer Press and has continued under Steamforged Games, but stock levels are inconsistent compared to the larger brands.
Can I still buy P3 paints online?
Some colors are available through hobby retailers and marketplaces, though older or less popular shades are the ones most likely to show as out of stock.
What is the closest brand overall to P3 colors?
No single brand covers every P3 shade best. Citadel and Vallejo both carry strong matches across the range, which is why both conversion charts are worth checking color by color.
Do P3 metallics convert the same way as P3 base colors?
They need their own match against other metallics. A base color match, no matter how close in hue, will not replicate a metallic finish.