Ask the Bastards #5

Our saga of servitude continues with the following question:

Remember the shiny metallic flake paint job on Hotwheels? Well I'm trying to achieve something like that with armour on my Juggernaughts. I want them dark red with the gold metalic shine to differentiate it from Bloodletter skin. Every mix I've tried just ends up being dark red. 

Rob:
Sounds like a very cool idea which I've never actually tried. However,that won't stop me from bloviating! My first idea would be to paint a metallic gold base coat and go over it several times with red ink until you got the look you were going for. The trick would be to make it look a red yet but transport enough you still see the gold shining through. Second idea would be to use Vallejo metallic medium. I would paint the skin the dark red, fully highlighted, you were going for. Then I would try out a red wash mixed with the metallic medium to gain the metallic look. I would experiment with the mix until you got it just right. Here is a clip on youtube that captures what I'm saying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBsqLLfEPR8

Finally, your best best may be to tap the one resource that knows how to do this better than anyone - the model car builder community.

Rogers:
Interesting question. At first I was going to suggest just simply buying a red metallic paint, but a thorough search of the acrylic paint lines geared towards miniature painters did not seem to yield any results. Do any readers know of one?

I'd suggest a quick rummage through your local craft store paint section for any likely candidates, otherwise your best bet is Tamiya Clear Red. A few coats of this stuff over a silver metallic basecoat looks great. I think a gold base would work just as well.

You could can also get good results with GW washes too. Metallic base + 1 wash Ogryn Flesh + 1 wash Gryphonne Sepia + 5 or more coats of Baal Red to taste will do the trick.