The Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0: Thunderbird Blue

One Coat, Full Depth

Thunderbird Blue is a rich, saturated blue Speedpaint from The Army Painter's 2.0 formula — a single-coat solution that combines base colour and shading in one pass. Brush it over a white or light grey primer, and the paint flows across raised surfaces while pooling naturally into recesses, creating instant depth and definition without a separate wash step. The 2.0 formula improves on the original with reduced reactivation, meaning you can layer over dried Speedpaint without lifting the coat beneath — a significant improvement for adding highlights or freehand detail after the base coat has set.

Thunderbird Blue reads as a bold mid-tone blue with strong shadow contrast — well-suited to armour plates, robes, scaled skin, energy effects, and any large flat surface that benefits from fast, confident coverage. It works equally well as a primary army colour and as a targeted accent on models painted in other schemes. Pot size is 18ml, consistent with The Army Painter's standard range.

Who This Paint Is For

Speedpaints are the fastest path from grey plastic to a table-ready model, and Thunderbird Blue earns its place in any painter's rotation. New hobbyists building a first palette will find the format forgiving — the paint does the shading work automatically, removing one of the trickier skills from the early learning curve. Experienced painters use Speedpaints for batch work, rank-and-file units, and quick turnaround on large projects where hand-shading every model isn't practical. The improved 2.0 formula makes it safe to apply standard layer paints and highlights on top once cured, so it integrates naturally into more advanced techniques rather than limiting them. This is a versatile staple for any miniature painter working in the blue range.

Specifications