I might be a bit late coming to this, but these new Contrast paints from Citadel are absolutely fantastic!

For those of you who haven’t heard of them before (especially those who would normally eschew anything to do with Games Workshop), let me explain why.

Imagine you are painting a hundred 15mm figures who are largely one colour: skeletons, naked warbands, chaps in khaki, robots. Once prepped for painting (including undercoat), my usual method would be to paint in a base colour, wash with Agrax Earthshade, then highlight once, maybe twice. That’s three or four stages.

These new Citadel paints allow you to do those three or four stages in just one go.

Yes: just one go.

It’s like magic…like one of those cartoons where the paint brush paints in multiple colours at the same time.

Let me give you an example, and one involving one of the hardest colour to paint: yellow.

On the painting table I had 18 Phase-Shifter RAL robots for my new Praesentia sci-fi army. I decided to paint them yellow. I then had 48 normal RAL robots that I decided to try and paint what I would call technology-white i.e. a bit like a white iMac.

I undercoated both sets in the recommended (and expensive) Citadel undercoat, let it dry and then opened the yellow Contrast paint. In went the brush and onto the model: low and behold a fully base-coated, washed and highlighted model in one coat. It was incredible. Once the yellow had dried, all I had to do was add some metallic claws and red scanner-eye and that was that.

Virtually the same for the others: one coat of the white Contrast paint and I had an effect like some of these genius painters achieve with their white trousers for French infantry but that I never have. Incredible!

Now I know you all want to see some pictures - the proof being in the pudding - but until my flock arrives (see yesterday’s post) I haven’t got any of the finished models. There are, however, many examples of how these paints can be used on the web: just Google and you’ll see what I mean.

What I am doing, however, is posting a colour chart nicked from someone who had nicked it from the person who originally produced it. When you look at it, just remember that the effect was achieved with JUST ONE COAT OF PAINT!

And there are a lot of colours available!

Oh, a couple of downsides: the Contrast paints are expensive (almost £5 a pot), and I understand (from other posts that I’ve read) that you must deffo varnish your figures, as they are not as hardy as a pure, single-colour acrylic…but then I varnish my figures anyway.

Right: off to start my new Sumerian ancients army: six blocks of 48 spearmen figures means 288 spearmen to paint. Luckily that’s now one coat for the cloak, one coat for the skirt, and one coat for the flesh!

POSTSCRIPT

I’ve now had a chance to flock my first lot of Praesentia: