The Army Painter Colour Primer Base Spray: Alien Purple

A Bold Foundation for Otherworldly Schemes

Purple armies demand a strong start, and priming in colour is one of the smartest moves a hobbyist can make. The Army Painter Colour Primer in Alien Purple lays down a smooth, even base coat and primer in a single pass — cutting out an entire stage of the painting process and getting your models ready for highlights and details faster than priming grey or black and layering purple on top. The result is a rich, consistent purple undercoat that saturates the sculpt evenly, including recesses that a brush would struggle to reach.

What It Does for Your Hobby Workflow

This is a spray primer, meaning it handles two jobs at once: it bonds to bare plastic, resin, or metal to give subsequent paint layers something to grip, and it lays down the first colour coat simultaneously. Alien Purple reads as a mid-tone violet-purple — deep enough to feel striking on the tabletop, light enough to leave room for shading down into recesses and highlighting up to brighter tones. It works equally well as a straight speed-painting foundation (cover with a shade wash, drybrush a lighter purple, done) or as an undercoat for more advanced blending and layering techniques. The aerosol formula is designed for miniature use — consistent pressure and fine atomisation keep coverage smooth without obscuring fine detail on faces, armour trim, and weapon edges.

Who Reaches for Alien Purple

Any hobbyist painting a purple-dominant army or warband will feel the time savings immediately — what might take two or three brush-applied base coats is handled before you sit down at the painting desk. It suits experienced painters building efficient batch-painting workflows just as well as newer hobbyists who want fewer steps between bare plastic and tabletop-ready. The colour is also a strong choice for practitioners of contrast or speed painting techniques — starting on a coloured primer rather than black or white meaningfully changes how those paints behave. As with all aerosol varnishes and primers, spray in a well-ventilated space, and avoid applying in high humidity or temperatures below 15°C to prevent frosting or uneven coverage.