Night Blue

A blue on the border of black

Night Blue lies so deep that on a small area it reads as a black with a blue cast. That is exactly what it is used for: on the cloaks of night fighters, on the shadows in the folds of dark cloth, on forged armor where a pure black would act dead. A modeler's eye takes a shade like this as a more natural substitute for black, because a pure black does not occur in shadow in nature.

What must be finished first

With a tone this dark the worry is not about covering but about the depth of the detail. Spray it in thin coats, or it will fill the engraved detail and the edges of a figure will merge. It helps to lay the ground in two stages: a dark filler primer underneath and a light brightening from above, so that the blue offers a drawing of its own on the raised places. Anyone who does it the other way round gets a flat silhouette that no amount of drybrushing will save.

The accompanying equipment

A dark surface takes a wash only when a gloss varnish seals it beforehand, or the thinner will eat its way into the paint and leave stains. The same varnish is also necessary under decals. At the end comes a matte overcoat, which rids the area of an unwanted sheen. Get thinner for the airbrush and a cleaner in as a stock; the remains of a dark color in the cup only make themselves known at the moment they dirty the next light spraying.

Gray-blue tones suit lightening it, and violet, on the contrary, deepening it. It can be mixed with the other water-thinnable acrylics of the same brand with no risk of curdling.

Anyone building a night scene will appreciate that the same shade will serve on the surrounding terrain as well. A unified blue veil across the base and the figure binds a scene together more credibly than tinting with light afterwards.