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Just wondering how you like your space marine finish to look, matt, satin or gloss?

Comparison pictures if possible would be great! and reasons why.

I'll start it off with my finishing being matt, mainly because thats the finish with the army painter system, but I am tempted by satin.

My marines are given a matt finish with lenses given a gloss coat so they shine. My WoC get a satin finish.

I like the idea of gloss on the lenses!

I can tell by the poll results i'm in the minority but I almost always go satin finish for my marines, just to give them a little 'pop'.

My Flames of war stuff and guard stuff definitely go the matte route though.

In the end, paint 3 guys and varnish one with each choice and see what looks good with the colours you chose!

Matte. I could potentially see satin working, if you assume marines have shiny armor, but gloss just doesn't work at scale, in my opinion. With the exception of spot applications, as on gems or wet areas, gloss destroys any attempts to create the illusory effects of light, which is what most of us expend the majority of our painting efforts trying to do. Satin, however, would let painted highlights show through while giving the sense of gloss at a distance appropriate to the scale - consider it atmospheric perspective in a can. Now that I think about it, I may have to do a test model in satin...

I like satin, to make them feel a little fancy. Dull matte finish makes the armor look rougher, I think. I like the factory-fresh finish on my marines.

Hmm, I use a Matte finish but I`m interested in the Satin...