Army Painter Quickshade Dark Tone Dip: 250ml

Depth and Shadow in One Step

A strong base coat gets models table-ready, but it's the shading that makes them look finished. Army Painter Quickshade Dark Tone is a varnish-based dip formula that flows into recesses, deepens shadows, and seals your paint job all in a single application. The result is a model with genuine depth and definition — the kind that would otherwise take multiple wash layers and hours of blending to achieve. For painters who want great-looking armies on the table without sacrificing their entire weekend, Dark Tone is a reliable workhorse product.

How It Works

Quickshade works differently from standard wash paints. Rather than a water-based ink, it's an oil-based varnish tinted to a rich, dark brown-black tone. You apply it by dipping the model or brushing it on generously, let gravity do the work, and it self-levels into crevices and panel lines as it cures. The Dark Tone variant produces deep, high-contrast shadows — well-suited to dark armour, dungeon terrain, undead models, fur, leather, and any miniature that benefits from strong definition. Once fully cured, it leaves a gloss finish, which you can knock back with a matte varnish coat if you prefer a non-reflective result on the tabletop.

The 250ml tin provides excellent coverage across a significant model collection — far more volume than a standard wash pot. This format is especially well-suited to painters batch-coating large units or working through an entire army in one session.

Who It's For

Quickshade Dark Tone earns its place in the collection of painters at every level. New hobbyists finishing their first models will find it dramatically improves results with minimal technique required — apply it and let it work. Experienced painters use it to speed-paint large units efficiently before returning to character models and centrepieces with more time-intensive techniques. It works across miniature wargaming systems — Warhammer, Warmachine, historical models, fantasy skirmish games — any model on any base benefits from a solid shade pass. Note that Quickshade is oil-based, so brushes used for application should be cleaned with white spirit or brush cleaner, not water.