Painting discovery: Quick, smooth red.

[Calistarius]

Hey guys, so I was experimenting with some primer and color combinations. I stumbled upon something that has been the fastest method to achieve the deep dark red that I like. I don’t enjoy the Blood Red that the Sons of Sanguinius used to be featured in. I prefer the new age darker red using Mephiston Red. However, I don’t care for the orange appearance it can have. I know. I’m really finicky. Red is easily my favorite color, but my least favorite to paint. This has changed my world.

 

2 step process;

 

1) Prime the model using Army Painter Chaotic Red. This dries into a dark red brown color.

 

2) Spray 2-3 thin coats of Mephiston Red spray. You’re done.

 

 

The model on the right is primed. The one on the left has 2 coats of the red spray. The whole process took less than 15 minutes, including drying times between coats.

 

I don’t have an airbrush. I’m not a confident painter, so I stick to manual brushes. I’ve struggled to find the right consistency to get that even coated appearance. I love how this turned out. It took much less paint to achieve the color I want than spraying over black primer, and it’s darker than going over white or grey. Plus, the red brown almost creates a preshading effect if you’re able to control your coats with the spray.

 

I was stunned with how fast and well this turned out. I had to share.

 

Edit: original image appeared darker than it should due to poor lighting.

[Burias-Drak'shal]

Looks good

[BluejayJunior]

I like it. 

[Brother Crimson]

Mephiston red spray is good. Probably one of the good alternatives to airbrush. Army painter ones are good too but I like the fine finish of the meph red even if it covers a little bit less.

[Calistarius]

Mephiston red spray is good. Probably one of the good alternatives to airbrush. Army painter ones are good too but I like the fine finish of the meph red even if it covers a little bit less.

Agreed. I’ve tried both now, and prefer the Meph sprays finish.

[Xhris the Unpronounceable]

I've just done 3 predators and a stormtalon using Mephiston red spray over a black undercoat, and it certainly gets my vote.

[Calistarius]

I was using black as well, but will switch to this red brown from now on. It cut back 3 coats of the Meph spray...which saves me time and money!

[Xhris the Unpronounceable]

I'll give it a go when my current can of black runs out :)

[Charlo]

The Meph red spray and myself have had some... Issues in the past.

 

Most recently though I've found it to be OKAY.

 

The brown layer really pushed it though!

[Calistarius]

I can totally see what you mean Charlo. If you’re not spraying in absolute ideal conditions it will be an uphill fight. I also noticed if you don’t hold the can level towards the end of its life you will wind up with some splotches. I did another batch last night, but we had some inclement weather and I ended up stripping them back down and resprayed. It’s not a flawless process by any means!

[Silas7]

How do you avoid over spraying? I usually start with a layer of army painter Dragon red then brush on the hard to reach areas and any places that need a layer of two.

[Calistarius]

Honestly, it just takes being careful. Make sure you keep at least 8” away from the model and do short even passes to get a thin layer. Let the layer dry for a couple of minutes while you spray another model before you apply another layer. I’ve messed up a few by being impatient.

[Xenith]

How do you avoid over spraying? I usually start with a layer of army painter Dragon red then brush on the hard to reach areas and any places that need a layer of two.

Army painter sprays are different to GW, the paint is a lot thicker so you have to use from a little further away. It's also more likely to gum up details. If you still need to hit hard to reach areas, prime the model in sub-assemblies.

 

Too much army painter spray will kill a model.

[Brother Crimson]

How do you avoid over spraying? I usually start with a layer of army painter Dragon red then brush on the hard to reach areas and any places that need a layer of two.

Army painter sprays are thicker but covers more than GW sprays. You have to be extra careful with them. I used to love them until I messed up a couple of models.

[Xenith]

 

How do you avoid over spraying? I usually start with a layer of army painter Dragon red then brush on the hard to reach areas and any places that need a layer of two.

Army painter sprays are thicker but covers more than GW sprays. You have to be extra careful with them. I used to love them until I messed up a couple of models.

 

 

Yea, this. I usually only use them for tanks, with large flat surfaces and little 'detail'. That said, overspraying can still pool in corners. 

[Bremon]

I’ve had good luck with the application of army painter primer but the nozzles clog up on me before the can is empty every time. I finally said “enough!” and bought an airbrush.