FW Iron Hands: why Rub n' Buff?

[Ovidius Incertus]

I'm going to set about trying the FW Iron Hands recipe, which calls for undercoating black, then drybrushing Rub n' Buff Pewter before moving onto colors.

 

Now, I understand the how/why of all the other colors, but what is the advantage or use of the wax-based paste here?  If you're going to drybrush the metallic on, why not just use any of the myriad acrylic metallics out there?  Does the wax interact with the sprayed on shades or the Tamyia clear or smoke in some way?

 

Just curious because, although it's a small monetary investment, I've exhausted my local options for finding Rub n' Buff and want to know if I could use any other metallic silver paint in my arsenal already before ordering online.

[DarkMark]

A bit late to the party, but AK Interactive now offer 2 new lines for metallics; the Truemetal range being a rub&buff type, and Xtreme metal a spray. I can see both would produce interesting results, but not having used them myself yet I can't vouch for the products.

Anyways, some links to check out;

Xtreme metal demo, Usuage pdf, Truemetal Vs Xtreme metal pdf, and Youtube guy testing on a couple of marines.

My local scale model shop has recently got the Truemetal range in so I may give them a swirl some time in the future.

[EdT]

If it helps, I recently got some of the AK True Metal, and I'm a real convert. The advantage it has over acryllic metals is that it has very much better coverage, so a little goes a very long way indeed; a tube willl last you a hell of a lot longer than a pot of GW paint.

 

I personally prefer the end result too, which can be a bit less 'cartoony' than the alternative but has a sort of reassuring solidity. Having bought a couple of shades, I use them pretty much as I'd do acryllic metallics; base colour, wash, base colour again then highlight. Once that's done, you can also polish it using a bit of cloth or a bit of cotton wool to get a really shiny finish.

 

I also find that it works wonderfully for weathering; somehow when you drybrush it on some paintwork to show wear and tear it looks an awful lot more realistic than doing the same with an acryllic paint.

 

The downsides? It's wax based, so it takes a bit longer to dry than acryllic; you also need to use thinners to wash your brush rather than water. 

 

Not sure about Rub'n'buff, but I'd certainly recommend buying a tube of the AK True Metal and giving it a go; I don't think it entirely replaces acryllic metallics in all circumstances but I've found it a really useful addition to my paint box.

 

Here's an Iron Warrior I did using it; he's quite weathered but hopefully you get a sense of the effect.

 

[Ovidius Incertus]

Good info.  I had ordered the Rub n' Buff, so it's sitting on my table now.  It will be a while until I get to some of these Iron Hands, but I will probably try it out on a Rapier first, since the effects should be more evident on that mini.  If it works nicely, I may try using it for some weathering on my Castigator project.

 

How and where did you apply your weathering touches on that Iron Warrior, EdT?  Looks excellent.

[Anvilarium]

I've painted over 100 Iron Hands marines now using the FW scheme, plus three Predators, three Medusas and an Achilles-Alpha Landraider, and I have stopped using Rub'n'Buff. Instead, I drybrush on a layer of Vallejo Model Colour Oily Steel.

 

Once you have airbrushed on all the layers of Tamiya Smoke/Green and GW Druchii Violet, you honestly can't tell the difference.

[EdT]

 

How and where did you apply your weathering touches on that Iron Warrior, EdT?  Looks excellent.

 

There's a lot of weathering on there really! I don't have a photo of that model before the weathering went on, but I've attached a before/after shot of one of his comrades. Basically, I started off by doing various downwards streaks of dirt, starting with Typhus Corrosion, followed by some of the Modelmates weathering washes. I can particularly recommend the rust one, which is astonishingly good.

 

With that done, I then got some of the AK Interactive true metal and drybrushed it on areas where there might be wear, especially on visible damage and on the hazard striping, which really dulled it down. I then loaded up a toothbrush with some Blood for the Blood God and flicked it on to create a splatter effect. Finally, I drybrushed the lower legs with the same mixture I used for the basing, to make him nice and muddy. Hope that helps!