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Hey all

I'm trying to find some paints to achieve something like the photos below, particularly the last one (but not on those particular models).

I'm guessing their overall colour is in fact just black, even though to me a couple of them have a blue hue to the black. But I'm stuck on the highlight colours.

I've purchased Vallejo Game Colour Ultramarine, Night Blue, Electric Blue and Glacier Blue, I also have Citadel Macragge Blue, Altdorf Guard Blue, Dark Reaper, and Calgar Blue and none of those look right to me.

Please could someone here give me a tip on some out of the bottle paints to use, brand, paint name etc.?

Thanks in advance.

Photos -

Looks like blue with white mixed into it, or light teal.
Wish I could be more help.

A lot of GW's eavy metal paintjobs tend to go for dark reaper > thunderhawk blue for their blue blacks in multiple stages and working up their brightest highlights in the extremities.

I use white, followed by a blue ink. Like a wash, the ink pulls away from the higher points, giving the graduated effect you see below. Can't give you a specific name as the ink I use is from Citadel's first ink set sold in 1987 or 1988. (Yes, they are still good after all these years!) Anyway, artist's inks can be found at art supply stores.

 Tyranid Horde wrote:
A lot of GW's eavy metal paintjobs tend to go for dark reaper > thunderhawk blue for their blue blacks in multiple stages and working up their brightest highlights in the extremities.

Thanks. I've seen that used by Duncan "two thin coats" Rhodes on the Warhammer youtube channel. It tends to turn out looking more grey, rather than like the examples in my OP above. I've got Dark Reaper and it doesn't look right for what I'm trying to achieve.

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:
I use white, followed by a blue ink. Like a wash, the ink pulls away from the higher points, giving the graduated effect you see below. Can't give you a specific name as the ink I use is from Citadel's first ink set sold in 1987 or 1988. (Yes, they are still good after all these years!) Anyway, artist's inks can be found at art supply stores.

Thanks. Can't see anything below though, did you mean in the photos in my OP above?

Coat D'Arms made Citadels paints back then, so I guess their blue ink would be the same as most of their current range still is the same.

Rob Lee wrote:

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:
I use white, followed by a blue ink. Like a wash, the ink pulls away from the higher points, giving the graduated effect you see below. Can't give you a specific name as the ink I use is from Citadel's first ink set sold in 1987 or 1988. (Yes, they are still good after all these years!) Anyway, artist's inks can be found at art supply stores.

Thanks. Can't see anything below though, did you mean in the photos in my OP above?

Coat D'Arms made Citadels paints back then, so I guess their blue ink would be the same as most of their current range still is the same.

Yes, that's right. My mistake: when typing my reply, your OP was below my preview pane.

Are you mixing your paint? Eg the blue into the black? Because that's the key.

I use the old Space Wolf Grey which is a very bright blue.

A similar colour is still available from Coat D'Arms (which did the original paints when the assassin was painted):
https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product/151-lupin-grey/

I think the blue is similar to this one:
https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product/162-nauseous-blue/

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Are you mixing your paint? Eg the blue into the black? Because that's the key.

Yeah I have been. That's another part of the problem I'm having doing this.

I started with using Black (Vallejo), Citadel Macragge and Calgar blues. A base coat of the black. I mixed Macragge blue into the black for the first highlight, it looked like a very dark blue, almost purple, but not right. I carried on, applied a Macragge blue highlight, then mixed in Calgar Blue for a final highlight. Just didn't look at all right.


Haven't yet tried with the Vallejo Game Color blues I mention in my OP though, maybe I've not been using the right blues.


EDIT: Tried with Vallejo Game Color Night Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Electric Blue and Glacier Blue and what I was trying to achieve has turned out better this time.

Army Painter's 'Electric blue' might be close. The only other I can think of from my paint collection is Scale 75 'Tesla Blue' with a Vallejo 'Deep sky blue' highlight with maybe some white edge highlights?

GW Incubi Darkness blended up to... Techlis blue?

Rob Lee wrote:
Hey all

I'm trying to find some paints to achieve something like the photos below, particularly the last one (but not on those particular models).

I'm guessing their overall colour is in fact just black, even though to me a couple of them have a blue hue to the black. But I'm stuck on the highlight colours.

I've purchased Vallejo Game Colour Ultramarine, Night Blue, Electric Blue and Glacier Blue, I also have Citadel Macragge Blue, Altdorf Guard Blue, Dark Reaper, and Calgar Blue and none of those look right to me.

Please could someone here give me a tip on some out of the bottle paints to use, brand, paint name etc.?

Right from the GW Codex when the Witch Hunters first became an army, and the lower photo you show makes an appearance.

Chaos Black basecoat. With an edge highlight of Midnight Blue mixed evenly with Fortress Grey. Just use the Dakka Painting Chart to get the equivalent current colors.



Hope that helps,

CB

Rob Lee wrote:

These models are based in Midnight blue. Highlighted with space wolves grey and then fortress grey.
Space wolves grey is more or less Vallejo Mode Color 943 Grey Blue. Fortress Grey is more or less 907 Pale Grey Blue. Instead of trying to match midnight blue which was a strange sort of purple. I’d suggest either Vallejo Game Color Imperial Blue or Model Color 899 Dark Prussian blue; washed with Leviathan Purple (I’m sure it’s got a new name) and then either Asurman Blue or Badab Black. Depending on your fancy.
OR you could go to something like Liquitex soft body Payne’s Grey; which is really a very dark blue. And shade up.

@Captain Brown and AustonT

Thanks guys. I've nearly finished the model now (I'll stick up a couple of photos when it's properly finished, just a couple of parts to paint and a protective clear coat to apply), using the Vallejo paints I mentioned in my OP, it looks better than before at least (I'm not the greatest painter in the world anyway).

I will probably have another model in the future to paint with the same black with blue highlights method so I'll give all your advice a try.