Vallejo True Metallic Metal is a paint range for building metallic finishes with a Base, Shade and Light workflow. Metallic colors provide the reflection, while controlled shadows and highlights give the surface shape. The range also includes Airbrush versions for spraying basecoats, so check the formulation as well as the color name before choosing a bottle.
Miniature painters, figure artists and diorama builders often want metal that has both shine and depth. Adding highlights and shadows helps a bright armor plate, worn blade or mechanical part read as a solid form. We carry Vallejo paints for models and miniatures, with individual product listings that distinguish Base, Shade, Light and Airbrush options. Those differences matter more than choosing a color from its name alone.
What Is the True Metallic Metal Technique?
True Metallic Metal, or TMM, uses reflective metallic paint to represent metal. The reflection changes as the miniature is turned or the lighting moves. Painting the shadows and highlights still matters, because a reflective coat alone may not make the shape easy to read.
Painting with TMM is not just about applying something shiny. It is about integrating light, shadow and volume to give the piece depth. Vallejo organizes this process around base tones, shades and highlights, helping you build the effect in manageable stages.
Keep the model's scale in mind. A small blade needs a different balance of reflection and contrast from a broad vehicle panel. Start with a clean base, decide where the light should come from and place darker and brighter areas accordingly.
How Is TMM Different from Non-Metallic Metal?
TMM uses reflective paint, while Non-Metallic Metal, or NMM, imitates the appearance of metal with painted light and dark colors. Both approaches can work on gaming miniatures and display pieces. The choice depends on the appearance and painting process you prefer.
TMM's reflections change with the viewing angle. NMM gives the painter control over where the depicted reflections appear, even though the painted pattern itself stays in place. Both methods need practice, and neither is reserved for beginners or competition painters.
| Source of shine | Reflective metallic paint | Highlights and shadows painted with nonmetallic colors |
|---|---|---|
| Response to light | Reflections move with the light and viewing angle | The painted reflection pattern stays in the same position |
| Main painting task | Control the base, shadows and highlights around the reflective finish | Build a convincing reflection pattern through color placement |
| Where it can work | Gaming pieces, armor, vehicles and display models | Gaming pieces, armor, vehicles and display models |
Both techniques can coexist. You can use metallic paint for reflection and reinforce selected shadows or highlights with nonmetallic colors. The result depends on placement and contrast, not simply which label is attached to the method.
How Does Vallejo's Base, Shade and Light System Work?
The BSL system divides the painting process into a base tone, darker shading and brighter highlights. Vallejo's True Metallic Metal range organizes colors into families with separate Base, Shade, Light and Airbrush versions.
What Do the Base Colors Do?
Base colors establish the main metallic tone. Vallejo True Metallic Metal Base: Aged Metal (18ml), Vallejo True Metallic Metal Base: Obsidian Black (18ml) and Vallejo True Metallic Metal Base: Imperial Gold (18ml) provide different starting points for dark metal, steel and gold effects.
Apply a smooth layer without filling fine detail. The Base listings above specify brush application. For a sprayed foundation, choose the corresponding Airbrush formulation instead of assuming every bottle in the range has the same spraying instructions.
Are the Shade Colors Metallic Paints or Washes?
The Shade colors are darker, nonmetallic washes with a satin finish. Vallejo describes them as a way to shade the Base colors while respecting the metallic effect underneath. They do not create their own metallic reflection in the same way as a Base or Light color.
Vallejo True Metallic Metal Shade: Rusty Metal (18ml) and Vallejo True Metallic Metal Shade: Hydra Turquoise (18ml) offer different shadow colors. Apply them with control in recesses or selected shadow areas. A heavy application over the whole surface can change the brightness and color of the underlying metal.
Allow the wash to dry before adding the next step. If you need softer shading, follow the product's dilution guidance and test the effect rather than flooding a finished section.
Where Should You Apply the Light Colors?
Use Light colors on edges, raised details and surfaces facing your chosen light source. These brighter metallics help the shape remain visible from normal viewing distance.
Vallejo True Metallic Metal Light: Sterling Silver (18ml) and Vallejo True Metallic Metal Light: Sapphire Blue (18ml) provide different highlight tones. Keep the brightest marks selective. Covering every surface with the highlight color can remove the contrast you just built.
When Should You Choose the Airbrush Version?
Choose the Airbrush version for a sprayed metallic basecoat or broader color transitions. These formulas are separate from the brush Base colors, even when the color names match.
Examples include Vallejo True Metallic Metal Airbrush Color: Hydra Turquoise (18ml) and Vallejo True Metallic Metal Airbrush Color: Amethyst Purple (18ml). Follow the specific application instructions for the bottle and your equipment. Do not transfer one thinning ratio or pressure setting to every paint in the range.
For a visual reference, the TMM painting demonstration can be viewed alongside the range information.
How Do You Paint a Miniature with TMM Step by Step?
Prepare the surface, apply the base, place the shadows and add highlights after each previous stage has dried. Work on a small area first so you can judge the contrast before repeating it across a whole model.
What Primer Should You Use?
Use a primer suitable for the model material and allow it to dry as instructed. A dark primer is useful for deep shadows, but black is not a requirement for every TMM color. Vallejo describes its Base colors as suitable for coverage over both black and white primers.
Our Badger Stynylrez primer range and Vallejo primer options provide starting points to check against your model and application method. Remove grease, dust and unwanted surface defects before priming. A metallic finish can make texture more noticeable.
How Do You Build the Base, Shadows and Highlights?
- Apply the metallic base color in a smooth, controlled layer. Use the brush Base or Airbrush version appropriate to your tool.
- Once it is dry, apply Shade to recesses and the areas facing away from the chosen light. Keep the brightest surfaces clear where possible.
- Let the shading dry, then restore selected light-facing areas with the base tone if needed.
- Add Light colors to edges and small highlight areas. Check the miniature from its normal viewing distance before adding more.
- Adjust a small area at a time. Stronger shadows and restrained highlights often make the shape clearer than another overall metallic coat.
Additional glazes can introduce color variation for fantasy armor, heat staining or aged effects. Test the actual paint's transparency first. An Airbrush base color is not automatically a transparent glaze just because it sprays well.
Which Color Combinations Can You Try?
Start with a metal style and choose base, shadow and highlight colors that support it. The combinations below are painting suggestions to try on a sample before committing to the final model.
| Aged steel | Aged Metal Base with Rusty Metal Shade | Sterling Silver Light |
|---|---|---|
| Warm gold | Imperial Gold Base with Ancient Copper Shade | Radiant Yellow Light |
| Cool fantasy metal | Obsidian Black Base with Dusken Green Shade | Sapphire Blue Light |
| Dark gothic iron | Aged Metal Base with Obsidian Black Shade | Amethyst Purple Light |
The additional colors in these examples are:
- Vallejo True Metallic Metal Shade: Ancient Copper (18ml)
- Vallejo True Metallic Metal Light: Radiant Yellow (18ml)
- Vallejo True Metallic Metal Shade: Dusken Green (18ml)
- Vallejo True Metallic Metal Shade: Obsidian Black (18ml)
- Vallejo True Metallic Metal Light: Amethyst Purple (18ml).
Paint a spare weapon, armor plate or test piece with the full combination before using it on a finished figure. The color on a screen does not tell you how a reflective paint will behave under your painting lamp or display lighting.
Should You Varnish TMM, and How Do You Keep Its Shine?
Choose varnish according to the protection you need and the finish you want. Matte reduces visible shine, satin softens reflections and gloss changes the overall reflective appearance. Test the varnish over the exact painted layers before coating the miniature.
Avoid assuming that a light satin coat is always enough protection or that gloss will turn every metallic paint into chrome. Follow the varnish's coverage and curing instructions. Heavy layers can alter the finish or soften fine detail, while an inadequate coat may not provide the protection you expected.
Clean the airbrush thoroughly after metallic colors so stray particles do not enter the next nonmetallic paint. Use cleaners and maintenance procedures compatible with the paint and the airbrush. Our Iwata airbrush collection and Harder & Steenbeck airbrush collection provide equipment options, but changing equipment does not replace correct paint preparation and cleaning.
What Should You Check Before Choosing Your TMM Colors?
Check the full name, formulation and role of each bottle. A Base color, a Shade wash and an Airbrush base may share a family name while serving different steps. A small, coordinated selection can be more useful for your first project than several similar colors bought without a plan.
These are hobby paints for appropriate model surfaces, not body paints. Follow the bottle's safety instructions, avoid eye and skin exposure and control spray mist when airbrushing. Water-based paint is not a reason to skip ventilation or respiratory protection appropriate to the material.
Start with one metal family from our Vallejo True Metallic Metal range. Check each bottle's Base, Shade, Light or Airbrush label, then choose the colors needed for your first sample. You can expand the palette after you have seen the finish on your miniature.