New from Darkstar Miniatures comes a range of Molten Metals water-based metallic acrylics. The range is very extensive, comprising the following 21 colours (with 3 more to come) in screw-top 17ml pots that feature a handy dropper-style nozzle that makes dispensing accurate quantities easy:

Silver
Old Silver
Baroque
Pewter
Graphite
Steel
Classic Gold
Royal Gold
Regency Gold
Victorian Gold
Pale Gold
Renaissance Gold
Brass
Copper
Blackened Bronze
Tarnished Steel
Bright Steel
Bronze
Platinum
Fine Gold
Imperial Gold

The Airbrush Company kindly sent a pot each of Grphite and Bright Steel to test, and I was immediately impressed that each pot contains a shaker to ensure the paint is properly mixed before use.

I applied the paint undiluted by brush and used a 10:1 mix with tap water to airbrush with an Iwata TR-0. Both methods worked well.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no great brush-painter, but the Molten Metal went on easily and gave quite a nice finish without overly prominent brush marks. I think a second coat (possibly thinned a little) would remove even those. The paint has good covering power and gave ample working time before it started to dry. By airbrush, the finish was obviously smoother, and I found the paint easier to use than some acrylics I've tried. I didn't have any problems with the paint drying on the tip and clean-up afterwards was straightforward.

The paint can be buffed once fully dry, so I left it to cure overnight in a warm cabinet, before getting to work with a cotton swab. I have to say the effect of buffing seemed pretty subtle and I didn't notice any dramatic change - although perhaps it did smooth down my brush-painting somewhat. Not much paint came off on the buffer, so the finish is obviously good and robust.

As with many metallic paints, a limiting factor is the particle size of the pigment, and both Graphite and Bright Steel do have a distinct "grainy glitter". For some finishes you can turn that to your advantage, but don't expect mirror-like shine or something like, for instance, Alclad.

Conclusion

Molten Metals score highly on their ease of use and the robust finish they give. They'll be ideal for brush-painting small details and should work well for spot effects like weathering and scratches - but I wouldn't recommend them for a full n/m aircraft finish on account of the particle size.

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