Colourshift or chameleon paints, which make that amazing iridescent effect that looks so cool on cars or guitars have been on the market for a while. These paints contain tiny glass-like flakes that work like miniature prisms, interfering with the reflected light. Practically, the paint seems to change colour depending on the light and the angle of the light it is viewed under. Finally, these paints are now available for miniature painters too; several manufacturers have launched their colourshift miniature paints.
I used similar products for painting the bodyshells of RC cars and I liked how they worked, so I wanted to try and test them on minis as well. Here is the test methodology that I followed:
- I bought two colours from two manufacturers: Darth Blue and Borealis Green from Green Stuff World , and Sweet Dreams and Ice to Never from Turbo Dork
- I tested these paints over black, grey, white and pre-shaded (black base drybrushed with grey and white) bases
- I tested the paints over silver, red, blue and yellow basecoats
- I tested how the paints work with different varnishes
The general advice from the manufacturers is to shake the paints well before use, to apply them in multiple thin layers and to apply them over a black base coat. The first point is very important, these paints need even more shaking than the metallic paints. Luckily, the paints come in dropper bottles with mixing balls, which is very thoughtful of the manufacturers. The second point is even more important, excessive paint pools in the recesses and dries very quickly into whiteish patches that can’t be corrected with painting them over. The third point… well, I decided to take a creative approach with this.
I used leftover bits for the tests, every piece had four layers of paint.
Test One – black, grey, white and pre-shaded samples:
- Darth Blue from Green Stuff World: In natural light, all the samples clearly show the colourshift effect. The white sample ended up with a very elegant, pearl-like finish, the black one is the most intense and the grey one is somewhat moderate compared to the black one but it’s still interesting. I assumed that the pre-shaded sample would have some highlights and in a way this ended up being the case, but the highlighted areas looked like plain silver, while the rest looked like the grey sample. It was an interesting and plausible looking result, but different than what I expected.
- Borealis Green from Green Stuff World: All the samples show the colourshift effect. The difference is that the pre-shaded sample looked far more interesting than it did in the previous case, while the white one ended up with a red coat and a pearlescent look.
- Ice to Never from Turbodork: even after vigorous shaking and after several attempts to stir, I couldn’t make this paint work, the content was chalky and almost dry. The pictures I saw online looked impressive, but this bottle was dead on arrival. Was it not stored or transported properly? I don’t know and frankly, I don’t care – if I buy something, I expect it to be in a working condition and no, I won’t start calling and emailing to replace something of this value.
- Sweet Dreams from Turbodork: Even after shaking it well, multiple times and vigorously, this paint was much thicker than the paints of Green Stuff World. The four samples look almost identical, I can’t see any difference between them, the colour of the base coats don’t seem to have any impact on the results. They look more like a dark metallic blue, in strong sunlight a colourshift effect is visible, but it’s less intense than the other samples. Online pictures seem to have better results, so most probably they were stored or transported in suboptimal conditions and this might have had a negative effect on them.
Test Two – silver, red, blue and yellow samples:
I continued the tests only with Darth Blue and Borealis Green. This is the point, where I fully deviated from the manufacturer’s recommendation, but I wanted to see how the colourshift paints interact with different base coats.
The results were the same both with Darth Blue and Borealis Green: They worked very well with blue, now they looked like different shades of metallic blue but with a colourshift effect. Red and yellow were less successful, the colourshift still worked but seemed to be less intense and it didn’t go well with the base colours; it looked weird – but again, I did not follow the manufacturer’s recommendations with these basecoats.
I was expecting a mixture of pearlescence and silver, but to much of my surprise, it’s not exactly what happened. Darth Blue gave a red glaze to the silver base and there was no visible shift, while Borealis Green didn’t really change with the sample and only a minimal colourshift was visible from a certain angle.
Test Three – varnishes
Varnishing is the stage where many things can go wrong – it reduces the saturation and the contrast, metallic surfaces become dull, etc… – but since I paint gaming pieces, and not for the showcase, varnishing is a must-have to protect the minis. I tested four options and once again, I was surprised at the results:
- Vallejo Matt Varnish: since these paints look like metallic paints, I was worried that it would completely ruin the sample, but something else happened: it became matted, but remained metallic, and it still had a reduced colourshift effect. I would call this a satin-metal finish. It’s not the optimal choice, but it can be an interesting option for a new effect.
- Citadel Lahmian Medium: this is not a varnish but a paint without pigment. It provides some protection while reducing the saturation only minimally so I often use it as a safe option. The sample still looks metallic but it has lost its sparkles and it looks a bit dull.
- Citadel Gloss Varnish: in my experience, a gloss coat doesn’t do anything good to a metallic surface, so I didn’t have high expectations for this one, but I ended up with a pleasant surprise: the colours became more vivid, contrasts became more defined, and the sample has improved significantly!
- Vallejo Metal Varnish: this one is my go-to solution for all the metallic surfaces and it didn’t let me down this time either. Similar to Citadel Gloss Varnish, the colours and the contrasts improved a lot. It’s hard to decide which one works better, I’m equally happy with both of them.
After these tests, I can tell that yes, colourshift paints for minis do work and they can be varnished, which is very important for wargamers. I’m glad that this option is available but I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about them, due to the following reasons:
- Yes, this is a very interesting effect, but it comes with limitations: it might be useful for sci-fi or fantasy minis but will not work for historical ones.
- It’s remarkably difficult to apply them with a brush, they don’t tolerate mistakes. Probably they work better with airbrushes or with spray cans.
- You can’t add highlights with the traditional methods and you can’t mix them either. If there is a way, I have not managed to figure it out yet.
- These paints need a relatively large, complex or curved surface that reflects light in different angles. Other tests I saw online used either plastic spoons or complete 28mm figures. The effect is less impressive on smaller minis or on simple surfaces.
- The shift effect needs a LOT of light – strong sunlight or multiple light sources are both fine – but it looks like a standard metallic finish in less than optimal lighting conditions. It might be fine for a showcase model, where you can set up the optimal spot with perfect lighting, but these may not be given on a wargaming table. Also, taking good photos of these minis is very difficult.
- It’s not a quick fix for canopies or visors in small scale minis, painting a reasonably good light or reflection effect takes less time and effort, but it works in less than optimal light conditions too.
- Wargaming minis can get damaged even with the best care: paint gets scratched or chipped. Repairing these damages on a mini with such effects might be very difficult.
- There are many more things to experiment with: using different washes and filters, mixing pigments to the paint, matching base colours with the colourshift colours…
- I was also wondering how long will these paints be available. Will they become part of the standard paint ranges or will they disappear soon?
Verdict: yes, these paints do work but they will not be a real game-changer for me, like texture paints, pigments and enamel washes had been. They will more likely remain an interesting option to create a special effect every now and then. Somehow, they make me want to build and paint a nice hot rod or a customised motorbike…