In addition to the Color Match Tool, which allows you to deal with one color at a time, I have also included the Full Line Tool. Using this, you are able to select two different paint lines and get a list of paints which are matches - or close to it. The first drop down box contains the source color line that you want to be able to get replacements for. The second drop down box is the color line which will be used to replace those colors.

When you look at the results set, the first column of colors are complete source color line. Following that you may or may not have up to three additional colors. These colors are the matches from the second color line and are ordered by their spatial difference in the CIE Lab colorspace from the source color. The bottom number in each cell is that colorspace distance. Don't worry - that just means that the one closest to the left should be the closest match. Mathematically it is.

So, how about a practical example for this. Well, obviously if your local hobby store stocks paints for models or model railroading it will be a lot easier to get paints from those paint lines. However, you might still want to follow painting guidelines which you find online or in books that often reference a manufacturers specific paint line (Citadel Colour for example). No problems. Select GW Citadel Colours for your source paints line and then select one of the paint lines which you can get at the local store. Click the Submit Button and barring some unfortunate chain of events - you should be presented with a list of colors that will work for you.

Another thing which I use this for a lot is when switching between brush-on paints, airbrush paints and larger terrain type paints. For terrain I tend to use a lot of craft paints. You get a lot for a small amount of money. When I am airbrushing I tend to use paints that are designed for airbrushing as opposed to trying to thin down normal paints. And of course, when doing up the little minis - I use mini paints.

But now and then, I need to do all three with the same color. Maybe a bunker, a hover tank and a mini all painted in the same colors to show unity. By starting with a base color line (again, lets stick with GW just for simplicity) in just a few seconds time I can get matches in Badger's ModelFLEX (for airbrushing) and Plaid's FolkArt paints. With those in hand, I can now quickly move on to painting (or ordering paints if I need to).

You might be wondering why the tool is returning three results for each paint. Well, perfect matches and statistically perfect matches are great...but they don't always happen. If you were to take a look at the above example of GW Citadel Colour and Badger ModelFLEX you can see some of what I am talking about. If you scroll down to take a look at Rotting Flesh you will see the matches that are returned for it are Flat Gull Gray, Camouflage Gray and Tug Light Gray. Now according to the math - the closest match is Flat Gull Gray, however visually it is Camouflage gray. By seeing the closest three when you have them available, you can narrow in on the best matches without having to deal with the whole line of paints. There are also situations where you may already have a paint that is close enough to work.

Still not enough that it can do? Not done yet - trust me. Let's say you want to get some paints from one of the larger paint lines like Vallejo Model Color or Reaper Master Series. Which paints should you get first? Both have over 200 paints to choose from. By using the same color line for both the source line and the matching line you can see which colors are comparable within the paint line and which colors are entirely unique. By using that information you can add to your paint arsenal slowly without having to worry about getting three or four shades of sky blue.