alternative to GW Blood Red

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**varl**

hello dakka,

I'm looking for an alternative to GW's old Blood Red color. working with it is an exercise in frustration. no matter how many layers I put down, thin or thick, patches of the underlying color show through. it feels like I'm trying to paint with a glaze sometimes.

I want a red that goes on more smoothly and has better coverage. doesn't have to be an exact color match, but it needs to be similar (i.e., in the bright red range).

suggestions?

**dkellyj**

Base the model with Mephiston red, wash with Carroburg Crimson, then layer with the old Blood Red (or the new Evil Suns Red).
Red is actually very transparent and needs a solid base coat, especially if you water down or use additives (slo-dri or glaze medium).

**varl**

in my most recent case (just now), I'd already put down a couple layers of the old mechrite red over black. I had a smooth, deep red as a base. I laid down three coats of blood red (thinned about 2:1 with water) over the top of that and I can still see bits of mechrite red through it.

**Ronin**

If all you want was a solid Blood Red, then you're better off doing 1-2 coats over a white-primered model. It's way easier than doing it over black, but I'd only recommend it if the model was mostly going to be red (Blood Angels, etc)

**jonolikespie**

The new GW are actually probably the best for red, it is a problem with the colour, not the guys making it but GWs latest foundation/base line has been really good with its whites/reds/yellows.

**ScootyPuffJunior**

VMA Scarlet Red works great in an airbrush and with a normal brush. As others have mentioned, if you want a nice, bright, and smooth red you have to prime the area white.

**DijnsK**

vallejo game color bloody red is the closest match ever

**varl**

interesting... so even applying over a red base color isn't going to give me good results? I'm better off applying brighter reds over white?

**Holdenstein**

Depends what you want. If you want a bright red (or a bright yellow or orange for that matter) then several coats of blood red over white is just about the only way to go. If you want a deep red then you can go for a base over black, plus blood red/washes over the top and a highlight of vomit brown or orange. You'll never get a really bright red over black.

**oadie**

varl wrote:
interesting... so even applying over a red base color isn't going to give me good results? I'm better off applying brighter reds over white?

Pretty much. Most reds are going to be rather translucent, so even diluted as little as necessary to get good flow, you'll be putting on coat after coat for full opacity. Personally, I find this to work in my favor, as I don't usually want overly bright reds. I can get a decent gradient by applying layers of very dilute VGC Bloody Red directly over GW's old Mechrite Red, whereas I'd almost never use the color at "full strength." If you want them really bright, though, as you seem to, you're probably better off basing white, throwing down a few layers to get a smooth, bright red, then mostly shading down from there, instead of trying to highlight up.

**Destrado**

Look for Ancient Evil's Blood Angels on Warseer. He paints Vallejo Model Colour flat red beautifully, though I think he does it with Black primer -> Army Painter something red -> VMC Flat Red. The red is opaque, not all shiny like GW paint though it is a lot more sensitive to grease (from fingers).

He also highlights it with old rose; I've used the colour over a white primer and I quite like the results, but I think the trick with red might be applying it uniformly (airbrush).

YMMV, it really depends if you want a nice red that doesn't look orange-ish or too pink-ish.

**varl**

I don't suppose you know his username over there? the only ancient evil guy I found was a necron player