Bright Red is a mid-tone vivid red with a warm undertone. For modelling, drop to Blood Red in the recesses and step up to Nuclear Sunrise on the edges, both The Army Painter paints. This color is somewhat distinctive: 1 brand offers a strong same-finish match, Citadel Gryph-Hound Orange closest at 81 percent. Cross-brand swaps are adjust-on-model territory here, useful as a starting point rather than an exact replacement.
Bright Red equivalents in other ranges
Bright Red is awkward to replace. Treat the matches below as starting points for a mix rather than straight swaps.
Closest Citadel equivalent: Citadel Gryph-Hound Orange, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.8).
From Tamiya: Tamiya Clear Red, only a loose relative (delta E 8.2).
Vallejo's closest color: Vallejo Clear Orange, only a loose relative (delta E 8.5).
Nearest in the AK Interactive catalog: AK Interactive Cadmium Red, a swap nobody spots at arm's length (delta E 2.0), but it is an opaque acrylic so treat it as a color reference, not a swap.
The drift here is spread thinly across hue, lightness and saturation rather than leaning one way, so the mismatch reads as a general haze at delta E 3.8 rather than an obvious shift.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
Citadel
Tamiya
Vallejo
AK Interactive
Monument Pro Acryl
Scale75
Green Stuff World
Humbrol
Two Thin Coats
Revell
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Pairs well with
Try any paint in the scheme toolMatch difficulty
Found in 1 other brand with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to The Army Painter Bright Red?
The closest same-finish match is Citadel Gryph-Hound Orange at 81% color similarity.
Is Bright Red a one-coat paint?
Bright Red is a contrast paint, made to basecoat and shade in a single pass over a light primer. One coat drops color into the recesses and leaves the raised areas brighter; a second coat deepens the tone if you want it richer.
What do I highlight and shade Bright Red with?
Highlight Bright Red toward Nuclear Sunrise and shade it down into Blood Red, both The Army Painter paints in the same finish family.