Why did I say I’d do consistent content fuck me.

AAAAAAAAAA

Welcome to I wrote this in like 15 mins and posted it right after. On the menu this week we have a review of the Vallejo Model Air (hence referred to as VMA) metallic paints and recipes for whatever mini I yank out of my nearest box cause all my current paint jobs are WIP.

So, these paints: I bought this set of them cause I got VMA Steel a while ago and really liked it: It has great coverage and a better metallic shine (as opposed to the classic sparkly look) then any other hobby metallic I’ve tried, plus great flow cause of it being pre-thinned for airbrushing. So I assumed the rest of the line would be great. Turns out I was semi-right.

In the set you get 8 paints: Black, Gunmetal, Silver, Steel, Arctic Blue, Gold, Bright Brass, and Copper. I’ll break each of them down.

Black: It’s a nice near black dark silver, much darker then Citadel’s Iron Warriors and similar dark steel colours, and possibly the first true black metal colour I’ve seen in mini paints. Coverage is about as good as you’d expect, and it’s generally a solid paint. Didn’t blow my mind as much as Steel did when I first got it, but it’s still good.
Gunmetal: I assumed this would be your classic Leadbelcher adjacent dark silver, but it is slightly brighter then that. Coverage and shine are fine, obviously it won’t have the perfect shine of Steel as it has black pigment added but it’s solid. Metallic paints are always finicky, but so far these are the best I’ve tried, even if they aren’t perfect.
Silver: It’s basically Steel but sliiiightly darker.
Steel: This is the one that made me try this whole range. It’s awesome. Great coverage, perfect shine, awesome flow, definitely the best mini brand metallic paint I’ve tried and still the best of this range.
Arctic Blue: This one surprised me. It’s a dark blue metallic paint, and surprisingly it’s great. Very good coverage, looks actually metallic and not just sparkly, it’s the surprise favourite of the set for me.

Ok, let’s talk about the gold, copper, and brass. They’re awful. Coverage is nonexistent, they just look sparkly and not even remotely metallic, they’re complete trash and possibly the worst metallic paints I’ve ever tried (and I have tried some SHIT).

So, do not buy this set, half of it sucks. Just get the silvers and leave it at that. The silvers are probably the best hobby silvers I’ve used, the darker ones don’t blow my mind but are still better then everything else and the Steel is awesome. There is a flaw, though: If you don’t leave these paints to dry for at least 48 hours (possibly a bit less but I haven’t tested it), metallic flakes will come loose if you wash the metallics and mingle with the wash, potentially ruining other areas of your minis. This is due to these things not having the best film strength. Since metallics dry differently to normal paints, you should always be waiting around this long before washing them anyway (you can get away with less time with some brands), but these VMA metallics are probably the worst I’ve tested in this regard. However, they’re good enough that even this flaw still can’t make me decide not use them.

Anyway, buy these they’re good. At least the silvers are.

Ok, here’s more paint recipes. This is my favourite speed painting bone recipe, on a skeleton from the D&D Castle Ravenloft board game.

I must have painted this thing like 3 or 4 years ago, wow I’m old.

Bone – Basecoat Army Painter Skeleton Bone (Ushabti Bone), wash 1:1 brown and sepia washes, layer with basecoat colour, light drybrush Screaming Skull for a final highlight.
Battered Old Gold Metal – Basecoat Balthasar Gold, wash Agrax Earthshade, light drybrush Retributor Armour, very light scratchy drybrush Necron Compound for a scratched/chipped look.

And that’s a post, there will be a proper big tutorial coming soon, go join the Discord https://discord.gg/tUyMhjAf, BYE.