The Army Painter Warpaints Air Complete Set - 126 Non-Toxic Water Based Airbrush Paints for Tabletop Roleplaying and Wargames Miniature Model Painting Review (2026)

Who this complete set is built for

This set is aimed at a painter who has moved past brush work and wants a full airbrush color library in one purchase, whether for large armies, terrain, or vehicle models that need smooth zenithal coats. The manufacturer lists the 126 colors as 102 shades arranged in 34 triads plus 18 metallics and 6 fluorescents, so the range covers base, shade and highlight tones for most factions without hunting for individual bottles. Someone who owns a single airbrush and paints the occasional squad will get far more color than they need and better value from a smaller starter set. It fits painters running a club, a commission business, or a personal collection large enough to use dozens of shades across many projects.

What is actually in each 18ml bottle

Every bottle in the range holds 18ml of ultra-filtered, pre-thinned acrylic paint designed to go straight into an airbrush cup without adding extra thinner first, according to the manufacturer's own product page. The 34 triads pair a base color with a lighter highlight, which is meant to make zenithal highlighting more predictable since each pairing is formulated to sit together tonally. The metallic and fluorescent bottles round out the range for weapons, armor trim and glowing effects that plain matte colors cannot reproduce. Two steel mixing balls ship with the set to keep pigment from settling in bottles that will likely sit unused for a while given how many colors are included.

Living with 126 bottles day to day

The sheer bottle count is the main practical issue once the set arrives, since 126 dropper bottles do not fit in a typical paint rack built for a normal starter collection. A dedicated shelf, drawer organizer or multiple racks becomes necessary fairly quickly, and the manufacturer's non-toxic, water-based formula is genuinely more comfortable to store in a shared living space than solvent-based airbrush paint. Because the paints are pre-thinned, day to day use is simpler than a traditional airbrush workflow that requires mixing ratios for every session, though bottles still need a shake before use since pigment and metallic flake settle over time, an issue independent reviewers of the range have also noted.

How it stacks up against smaller airbrush sets

Against rivals in the site's airbrush paint guide, this set sits below The Army Painter's own smaller Warpaints Air Starter Set in score, which offers 12 colors plus a primer for a fraction of the bottle count and suits someone testing airbrushing for the first time. Vallejo's Basic Colors airbrush set takes a similar smaller-format approach with 16 pre-thinned colors, a more manageable starting point than committing to all 126 shades at once. The trade-off is that smaller sets need supplementing sooner, while this complete set removes that concern for years of painting but demands the upfront commitment and storage space in exchange.

Verdict and who should buy something smaller

Buy this set if you already own an airbrush, paint regularly enough to use a wide color range, and want to stop buying individual bottles piecemeal for every new project. It earns a strong features score precisely because it removes future shopping trips for common airbrush colors, metallics included. Choose a smaller starter set instead if you are new to airbrushing, unsure whether the hobby will stick, or only need a handful of colors for one faction's army, since a 126 bottle purchase is wasted money for anyone not painting at real volume.

Frequently asked questions