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Hey all!

Looking to blend a color similar to this mini's back carapace;


It has kinda a black/grey color with a metallic sheen on it. I'm not quite sure how this was achieved. Is it possible to simply mix black and metallic? I have Abaddon Black and Bolgun Metal(or something similar), wanted to make sure it would work before I go mixing precious paints!

Thanks!

that sounds like it would work. probably do some trial and error before you put it on your final product. you can mix in some glaze medium to give it a shinier effect to it....atleast mine does that.

I don't have any pics up in the gallery of it but i did a similar mix of Bolt Gun and Vallejo Black wash and it looks just about like that color.

My mix was 3 drops of BG, 1 drop flow aid, 2 drops black ink. (from dropper bottles)

Vallejo makes a metallic black in their "air" range, but I find (stupidly) that of all their metallics, it has the largest flakes..

Vallejo also makes a metallic (or pearlescent) medium, which you can add to any colour to make it metallic, and you control how much of a metallic effect to add...

Metallic Medium with Chaos Black looks really good. I did all of my Trollblood armour that way.

Alternatively there's just using a standard metal base and working on it with ink. Not as fast as the others, but different to their suggestions.

You could use a metalic medium, like the one from Vallejo and mix it with your desired colour.

Reaper Adamantium Black works nicely. It's about the same color as that model with maybe a little more shine to it. If it's too metallic for your tastes, throw a black glaze over it to cut down the particle reflection and darken it up.

The only one that I've used recently that is similar to that is Wargames Foundry's Blackened barrel 'A'. Think boltgun metal with a lot of black in it.

You could try painting it solid black, and then drybrushing a metallic lightly over the area. If you do it thinly, it'll apply a metallic sheen without covering the base color.

 ZakFaire wrote:
It has kinda a black/grey color with a metallic sheen on it. I'm not quite sure how this was achieved.

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't look metallic, to my eye. I think it's just flat black with a rather dusty application of matte or satin varnish over the top, under very stark lighting. As for how to paint a metallic black, I'll leave that to others.

My tip (as i do):

Have a Black Paint
Have a Silver/Mettalic Paint
Have water and varnish (opaque varnish)

Create som Black Wash (use a recipe of 1:1:2 of Water, Varnish and Black Paint)

Now, basecoat the model black (normal thinned black paint), cover the surface with thinned mettalic silver (not much, keep and eye in the details, try to make it dark)

Wash 1 to 3 times, until you have the tone you desire.

I do it in that way, and it work for other collors, just exchange the collor on the "wash". I use that for all "dork collors" i want to get...

I'm of a mind with oadie, this just looks like slightly satin black under a bright light. Excited to check out some of these paint suggestions though!

I agree with the above. It's just black with a statin finish under a photo booth light.

As a bit of a fun suggestion...

This was the result of a test of mine when I was trying to do exactly what you wanted, but after experimentation with metallic pigments and black paint, it just did not look "right".

That, however, looked striking enough and if you opted to go away from the brighter metallic base could easily be done to make a more "coal iron black".

TBH honest i tend to get that kind of effect from a matt black base and then a very light dry brush of boltgun metal/generic dark silver. When i say very light i mean VERY.

i tend to use a GW large tank brush as the bristles are softer and they dont leave as much paint on the edges.

If you are light enough you get a dusty metallic looking black.

Liquitex has iridescent medium. It gives metallic look to any paint. Try that.

I also was quite successful just mixing Boltgun Metal with Chaos Black.

Testors and other regular model paint companies have dark metallic spray paints. check your local hobby shop (as opposed to a game store).

There is a nice metallic black gloss car paint and a number of darker metallics for painting aircraft.

Tim