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Working on some Zone Mortalis terrain and the painting part is coming up. I was thinking of trying a metallic base and then putting a contrast paint (like Ratling Grime) over it. I was curious if anyone had done something like that and what they thought of the results.

It's a way of getting metallic colors with Contrast. Here's a droid I did with silver base and a coat of Aggaros Dunes (I think that's the paint I used, it's been a while). There are a few highlights with an actual gold paint, but those have been applied sparingly.



I use a coat of Skeleton Horde to tone down the metals on my Sisters. It's a lighter brown and results in a weathered or aged look more than a metallic look.



I haven't done all that much with this, but I'd say that whatever result you want, you should probably test the effect first before applying it on a large scale. I assume you're looking for a weathered look, given it's terrain? That seems to be a job for a lighter brown that can go thicker in recesses and corners but should be thinner or even diluted on surfaces and mopped up to prevent pooling in order to get a light tint only.

You can pre-shade with dark and light metal and put on the Contrast layer afterwards for a more subdued and integrated effect. Highlighting the traditional way, as I did on the Sister, is something I'd do if you're looking for weathering more than tinting, as it returns some of the untinted original color and gives you starker contrast and some clean surfaces.

I find that stippling and drybrushing work pretty well as a base over which the Contrast paint goes to produce a weathered look, which may benefit you on terrain, if that's what's you're going for.

Here is a GW in the uk that has done testers of all of the contrasts over a range of metallics

https://m.facebook.com/WarhammerChelmsford/photos?psm=default&album=pb.100057631203300.-2207520000..&lst=100028911584979%3A100057631203300%3A1664106574&eav=AfYo1_ilw5YOkwlrHcH_0rzFG-Cg8O63YSVNz0R4t4kvFlfrcG1dlZEP5Q25H-v38sw&paipv=0

 Geifer wrote:
You can pre-shade with dark and light metal and put on the Contrast layer afterwards for a more subdued and integrated effect.

That is essentially what I am thinking. With the metallic base and the contrast over it then some dry brushing and picking out some details, such as screens or keyboards. I want them to be painted but not looking to go into to much of a deep dive on the terrain as the figures are what I want to stand out on the board. I had been thinking of how to test it and realized I should use Necromunda bases and then Flinty posted the link with the different bases and that just settled that as the way to go.

I used the robot from Blackstone Fortress as a test model for Contrast on metallics. Its a bit messy, but it gives an idea of the different look for a variety of contrast paints.

The model was sprayed with Lead Belcher, and some highlights of Stormhost Silver, then painted with Contrast straight from the pot in one coat for each colour:

That green is really nice

Similarly pleasing results with Talassar Blue.

Aash wrote:
I used the robot from Blackstone Fortress as a test model for Contrast on metallics. Its a bit messy, but it gives an idea of the different look for a variety of contrast paints.

The model was sprayed with Lead Belcher, and some highlights of Stormhost Silver, then painted with Contrast straight from the pot in one coat for each colour:

Wouldn't that cause lighting issues? You have the natural metallic highlights, the fake painted ones and then contrast ones. Seems like it would look a mess of conflicting contrasts.

Army painters stuff might work better for this. Its less blotchy on flat surfaces

Yo7 wrote:

Aash wrote:
I used the robot from Blackstone Fortress as a test model for Contrast on metallics. Its a bit messy, but it gives an idea of the different look for a variety of contrast paints.

The model was sprayed with Lead Belcher, and some highlights of Stormhost Silver, then painted with Contrast straight from the pot in one coat for each colour:

Wouldn't that cause lighting issues? You have the natural metallic highlights, the fake painted ones and then contrast ones. Seems like it would look a mess of conflicting contrasts.

Army painters stuff might work better for this. Its less blotchy on flat surfaces

I wasn't sure how much of the metallic effect would be lost when the contrast paint was applied, but from the results I got, I think you are right: additional highlights before applying the contrast aren't necessary for most of the colours.