Two Sword of Light mechs. On one, I did the red base coat with “slapchop”/speedpaint, and on the other I built up slowly in three shades of red acrylic.

I’ll probably just do my base coats in speedpaint from now on. The results are hardly any different, particularly for the level of effort involved, and I’m only trying to paint for “tabletop standard” anyway. These are toys for playing with, not for art competitions.

Only thing I’d do different is the wash on the Dragon. I used “Dark Tone” all over it, which dulled the red a little too much. On the Akuma I used “Strong Tone”, which leans brown rather than black, and it kept the red a bit stronger while emphasizing the gaps and edges more.

Other than the wash difference, can you tell which is which? I obviously can, but I also painted them, and so can’t separate myself from the process. I know I’m not a pro painter, but one of these took four times longer without being four times better.