Vallejo True Metallic: Why Hobbyists Love This Paint
If you've been in the hobby for any length of time, you've probably wrestled with metallics. Getting a gold that actually looks like gold, a silver that catches light the right way, or a copper that doesn't just look like brown with glitter — it's harder than it sounds. I've been painting miniatures for 20 years and metallics have always been one of those things that separates a decent paint job from a truly striking one. When Vallejo released their True Metallic Metal range, I paid attention. After putting it through its paces across fantasy models, sci-fi armies, and detailed scenic bases, here's my take.
What is Vallejo TMM?
True Metallic Metal — TMM for short — is a painting technique where you use actual metallic paints to simulate the look of metal, as opposed to NMM (Non-Metallic Metal) where you fake the effect using regular colours and careful shading. Vallejo's TMM range is built specifically around this technique, with paints formulated to give you the most realistic metallic finish possible straight from the bottle.
The range covers all the bases — silvers, golds, coppers, and a solid selection of coloured metallics that open up a lot of creative options. What makes it stand out from generic metallic paints is the particle size and the consistency. The metallic particles are fine enough that you get a smooth, reflective finish without that chunky glitter look that plagues cheaper metallic paints.
Built to Work Together
One thing that sets the TMM range apart from just buying random metallic paints is that it's designed as a cohesive system. Each metal colour comes in a base, shade, and light version — so if you pick up Ruby Red, there's a darker shade version for recesses and a lighter highlight version to bring up the brightest points. You don't have to figure out what to mix or which other paint to grab for highlights — the range does the thinking for you. For painters who are newer to metallics especially, this takes a lot of the guesswork out and helps you get results that look intentional and polished rather than accidental. It's the kind of thoughtful design that makes a range genuinely enjoyable to paint with rather than just technically good.
The Silvers and Grays
Sterling Silver is the workhorse of the range and it earns that title. It's smooth, it covers well, and it has a clean cold tone that works perfectly for blades, armour plating, and anything that needs to look like actual steel. I've used it on everything from Space Marine power swords to fantasy knight armour and it consistently delivers.
If you're doing any kind of zenithal highlighting or OSL on metallic surfaces, the grays in the TMM range give you a level of control that's hard to achieve with standard metallics. You can build up subtle gradients that make armour look like it's actually reflecting light rather than just being painted silver.
The Golds and Coppers
This is where the range really shines for me. Ancient Copper is one of my favourite paints in any range right now — it has a warmth and depth to it that makes it perfect for aged bronze, weathered armour trims, and any kind of antique metal effect. Pair it with a dark wash and some selective highlights and you've got metal that looks like it's been through a hundred battles.
The gold options are similarly impressive. Whether you're painting ornate Space Marine shoulder pads, Age of Sigmar Stormcast armour, or intricate fantasy jewellery, the golds in the TMM range have a richness that cheaper metallics just can't match. They layer beautifully too — you can go from a dark base tone up to bright highlight gold without losing that metallic quality.
The Coloured Metallics
This is the part of the range I wasn't expecting to love as much as I do. Sapphyre Blue, Celestial Violet, Amber Green, Ruby Red — these are coloured metallics that open up options most hobbyists haven't explored. Imagine a deep violet metallic cloak on a chaos sorcerer, or a green-tinged corroded bronze effect on an ancient relic. These paints make effects like that achievable without advanced techniques.
The Ruby Red and Forged Red in particular are worth calling out. Getting reds to look metallic is notoriously tricky — they either go too orange under highlighting or lose their vibrancy. The TMM reds nail it, giving you that deep blood-metal look that works brilliantly on World Eaters, Khorne daemons, or any army with a red armour scheme.
How Does it Compare to Citadel and AK Metallics?
Citadel metallics are fine for tabletop standard but they've always felt a bit thick and gloopy to me. The particle size is larger and you often get uneven coverage if you're not careful. They're convenient and widely available but they're not where I go when I want a showpiece model.
AK Interactive's metallic range is excellent — particularly for weathering effects and realistic military finishes. But for clean, rich fantasy and sci-fi metallics with strong colour variety, the Vallejo TMM range has the edge for me. The two complement each other well — I'll often use AK for weathering and base metal effects and then come in with Vallejo TMM for highlights and coloured metallic details.
Who is This Range For?
Honestly, any painter who wants their metallics to look better than they currently do. The range works for beginners because the paints are well-behaved straight from the dropper bottle — no thinning required for most applications. But it also rewards more experienced painters who want to do proper TMM blending and gradient work.
If you paint Warhammer 40K, Age of Sigmar, fantasy models, or really anything with armour, weapons, or ornate details, there's something in this range for you.
Where to Get It
We stock the full Vallejo TMM range at Wandering Adventures — you can browse everything online at wanderingadventures.ca/collections/vallejo-true-metallic-metal or come into the store in Vaughan and I'm happy to talk you through which colours make sense for your project. If you're not sure where to start, Sterling Silver, Ancient Copper, and one of the coloured metallics like Sapphyre Blue or Ruby Red will give you a solid foundation to work from.
Metallics are one of those things that are worth spending a little more on. The difference between a cheap metallic and a good one shows up immediately on the model — and the Vallejo TMM range is genuinely one of the best on the market right now.
