The Army Painter Speedpaint: Cloudburst Blue

One Coat. Three Effects. Game-Ready Blue.

Cloudburst Blue is a deep, rich blue that does in one pass what traditional techniques take three steps to achieve. Applied over a white or light grey primer, this Speedpaint flows into the recesses to create natural shadow, saturates the mid-tones with vibrant colour, and leaves a subtle highlight on the raised surfaces — all from a single coat of paint. For anyone painting a model, a unit, or an entire army, that kind of efficiency changes what's possible in an evening at the hobby desk.

How Speedpaint Works

Speedpaint is not a wash and it is not a base coat — it is its own category. The formula combines a highly pigmented acrylic with a flow medium that behaves intelligently on a model's surface. It self-levels into low points to build shadow, holds colour in flat areas, and recedes enough on raised edges to create the illusion of highlighting. The result looks like a basecoat-shade-highlight workflow without the wait time between layers. Cloudburst Blue in particular suits armour panels, robes, cloaks, scaled skin, and any broad surface where a cold, saturated blue reads well on the tabletop. It works equally well on plastic, resin, and metal models from any game system.

Who Should Pick This Up

New painters will find Speedpaints the fastest path from primed plastic to a finished, game-ready model — no colour theory required, no multiple thin coats, no wet blending. Experienced painters use them for batch painting large units quickly or as a foundation they can refine with highlights and detail work afterward. Cloudburst Blue is a strong choice for any blue-heavy army or faction, and it makes an excellent gift alongside a primer and a set of brushes for someone just getting into the hobby. The 18ml pot covers a generous number of models at the quantity Speedpaint is typically applied.

Specifications