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Hello, so I am a new painter with basically zero experience. I have a large-ish collection of Tau that need painting and I am looking to replace the scheme I'd used on some of the models. Here is the colours I am going for:

bolterandchainsword.com/fwsbeta.php?bp=007E87&hdl=007E87&hdr=007E87&viso=007E87&eyt=B81212&eyb=B81212&er=007E87&ca=007E87&nk=787878&ch=007E87&chd=007E87&abs=007E87&bt=007E87&cod=007E87&ull=007E87&lk=007E87&lll=787878&llld=787878&lft=787878&url=007E87&rk=007E87&lrl=787878&rft=787878&slt=007E87&srt=007E87&sri=B81212&slv=787878&lla=007E87&lh=787878&rla=007E87&rh=787878&sept=B81212&gunc=007E87&gunh=000000&gund=FF911C&rb=787878&stra=007E87&bg=FFFFFF&.

Basically I'm not really sure which paints I should be buying. Incubi Darkness and Mephiston Red seems the closest to what I want but I am not sure if I should be getting something else or if I will need to change it at all. Thanks in advance.

GWs Contrast paints do make life a bit easier for new painters. You get a nice shaded effect out of a single coat of a single paint. Certainly worth a look - although they are pricier than the regular paints.

For this colour scheme you'd probably want Terradon Turquoise / Flesh Tearers Red / Basilicanum Grey, then just some black and some orange for the details.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I also have a smaller number of Space Marines I'm looking to make white scars. Will the contrast paints work for white as well?

When working with white, Apothecary White is your friend.

I tend to use it more as a wash, as it comes out a very light bluish grey.

I strongly advise against using Contrast paints on Tau models.

Contrast works best on heavily textured surfaces like fur, they will give a blotchy finish on the smooth panels of the Tau.

The crisis suits should be ok with contrast, reason being that the panels are in segments and should hold the paint unlike the piranha/ manta

 Rybrook wrote:
The crisis suits should be ok with contrast, reason being that the panels are in segments and should hold the paint

It would work better on Crisis Battlesuits than, say, a Rhino tank, but it would still be blotchy in places unless you thinned it and applied it in multiple coats like a glaze. But at that point you lose the advantages of Contrast (time, ease of use, shading).

Don't get me wrong, I use Contrast paints quite a bit these days, but for Tau you cant beat a clean basecoat, pin wash in the recesses and edge highlighting.

 Rybrook wrote:
unlike the piranha/ manta

I love the idea of someone painting a Manta with Contrast paints

The Manta would be a lesson in patience.