I was excited about working on the Stormcast Eternals from the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Boxed Set for a couple of reasons; they're really well detailed and secondly it gave me a chance to try out the AK Interactive True Metal Series.

So lets take a look at how these nifty wax-based metallic paints work…

Step 1: Priming & Base Coating

Start off by priming your miniature or model pieces. The True Metals will cover fantastically over all colours of primers but I choose to use the Army Painter Gunmetal Spray as a base as that closely matched the finish I was wanting on my Stormcast Eternals.

Then I applied the true metal Gunmetal using a small round brush. You can apply it in its raw form, which was what I did, or you can thin it with white spirit to build up thinner layers. From my experience I believe that building up several thin layers will give you a better effect and more control over the application.

You can also thin with white spirits and airbrush these paints as well. It will take a little practice to get the mix correct but this will give a very even finish.

Then let it dry for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Polishing

Once the metallics have dried then they can be polished up by simply rubbing them with a cloth, a cotton bud or even your finger.

Depending on what material you use to polish and how long you polish the final effect will vary. So for a more worn finish you can use your finger, for a smooth finish use a cotton bud of cloth.

By polishing certain areas more than others you can create natural highlights and shadows and replicate the natural shine which comes off metal surfaces. The longer you polish the more shine you will get.

If you find that the wax is a little thin in some areas or that you have polished too much off, simply apply some more and polish again.

Step 3: Varnishing

I found that the areas coated with the true metals were a little bit fragile after polishing and became worn easily during handling. Its also very easy to accidentally smudge some of the metallic pigments onto unwanted areas.

So I recommend applying a coat of satin varnish before moving onto painting the rest of the miniature. This will also protect the wax layer from later applications of oil or enamel washes, which use the same solvent as the true metals. On the other hand acrylic washes won't react with the true metals.

Here are some examples of the finishes which I got on my first attempts:

As I continue to work on the rest of the Stormcast eternals I am also experimenting with adding some manual highlights using a brighter shade of True Metal, for instance using Steel and then polishing it up.

For a more detailed look at the AK Interactive True Metal Series check out their tutorial video below.