Colored metallics are one of the coolest effects in all of miniature painting, but you might think that you need an airbrush or other specialised tech to achieve this look. That’s not the case! This mini guide explains how you can easily paint colored metallics with a brush and readily available paints, using the World Eaters from Warhammer 40,000 as an example.
Wargamer’s main guide on how to paint miniatures goes over the essentials for anyone who is new to this part of the Warhammer 40k hobby. I developed this paint scheme while working on the World Eaters Codex review for the site and got the bug to paint a whole army. This scheme will let you paint a lot of models quickly, easily, and to a very satisfying finish.
You will need:
- Metallic spray primer: Runelord Brass, or Color Forge Siege Armor
- For touch-ups: Citadel Runelord Brass
- EITHER Slaughter Red and Poppy Red Speed Paint from Army Painter
- OR Flesh Tearers Red and Blood Angels Red Contrast Paint from Citadel
- Layer brush / size 1 brush
Optional:
- Black spray primer: Citadel Chaos Black, Army Painter Matt Black, Color Forge Matt Black
- Dark green Contrast or Speed Paint
- Agrax Earthshade /Army Painter Strong Tone Wash / Two Thin Coats Battle Mud Wash
Basecoat
Basecoat the models with Runelord Brass spray paint, or Color Forge’s Siege Armor. This makes a great base layer for both metallic red and the brass armor trim of the models. Once this is dry, make sure that all the armor and metallic trim is fully covered with the paint. Cover up any patches where the spray is thin with liquid Runelord Brass.
Layers
For the next stage you will use a translucent red paint. I used Army Painter Speed Paint, but Games Workshop’s Contrast Paint also works fine. Because these paints are translucent, light passes through and bounces off the Runelord Brass base layer, giving the armor its metallic lustre.
A great property of Contrast and Speed paint is that, at the right consistency, it flows from the brush but has good surface tension. This is great for painting around the fiddly armor trim that many Warhammer 40k factions have, particularly Chaos Space Marines and Space Marine chapters. Well shaken Speed Paint has the right consistency right out of the pot. Contrast Paint needs to be thinned 50/50 with Contrast Medium.
For this deep metallic red, I used two layers of Slaughter Red, and one layer of Poppy Red. If you’re using Contrast, use two thinned layers of Flesh Tearers Red, and one thinned layer of Blood Angels Red. Leave each layer to dry before applying the next.
You could skip the second or third layer and the mini would still look good. I find Speed Paint a little quicker to paint with than regular acrylics so it was no hassle to add the third layers to give the color a real sense of depth.
Shading
You don’t really need to apply shading in this method, as the Contrast paint takes care of that for you! But there are options to modify the technique if you want more pronounced shadows. The easiest is to shade the model normally using Agrax Earthshade. It kills off the reflectiveness of the model anywhere you put it, as you can see on the shoulder pad of the model above.
You can also add shadows without reducing reflectiveness by using a translucent green underlayer. Apply a translucent dark green paint onto the Runelord Brass basecoat anywhere you want to shade it, and leave it to dry before applying the red coats. This is less useful as a speed painting technique, since it’s a subtle effect that can be lost under multiple layers of Contrast paint – but you can use it to put shading anywhere on the model, not just in the recesses.
FAQs
Do I need to use a black primer?
Runelord Brass is a metallic primer with good adhesion to bare plastic, so you don’t need to use black primer for this technique. However, spraying Runelord Brass on top of a black undercoat will make any patches where the Runelord Brass is too thin very obvious, and that’s very useful. It’s an option but not essential.
How can I vary the colours?
As well as changing which color of Contrast paints you use, you can get different results by using different metallic base coats. The more silver the base coat, the closer your finish will be match the color of the Contrast paints. The more gold the base coat, the more yellow will be introduced to the color, adding warmth. The brighter the metallic paint, the brighter the finish.
Will this technique work on vehicles?
This technique is not well suited to large vehicles. Due to the way Contrast Paints contract as they cure, they have an uneven finish when applied over large surfaces.
But you can create metallic red without an airbrush on larger models with Tamiya’s Clear Red spray. It is a much brighter red than the one in this article, so to get a similar finish you need to use a duller metallic base coat to compensate.
Site Editor Alex is the real Contrast aficionado at Wargamer: check out this article about how he fell in love with Contrast and speed painting.
Want to share your own World Eaters, or talk painting techniques with fellow nerds? Come and join us in the active Wargamer Discord server!
Source: Wargamer
