Xpress Mystic Blue

A blue that does its own shading

Blue is both rewarding and treacherous on figures. Rewarding because it lifts a figure out of a gray-brown background at first glance; treacherous because the drawing is easily lost in it as soon as the painter lays it on over the whole area. A paint that moves into the folds and engraving by itself and stays lighter on the bulges sidesteps that problem with no further step at all.

What else to get with it

This line has five blue tones and they differ mainly in which way they turn in the depths, whether toward a deep indigo or toward a greenish cast. What pays to add to them is other kinds of goods rather than another blue: a light ground coat in a spray, a matte protective varnish and a metallic paint for the fittings. It is exactly these three things that are typically missing from paint sets, and a build cannot do without them.

Where it stands out

Cloaks and dresses, uniform coats, magical discharges and runes, energy shields, space helmets, the surface of the sea on a base and a blue heraldic field. On equipment it suits naval shades and reflections in shadows.

The procedure in five steps

Degrease, prime light, apply a generous coat, let it run its course and once dry add the highlights on the edges. None of that calls for an airbrush or experience with layering.

• The depths are drawn out with no second coat and no glaze
• The drawing of the folds stays legible even after painting over the whole area
• It gives the best result on a light ground coat
• Fittings and buckles are painted separately with an opaque paint
• It thins with water and the surface is matte once dry