Vallejo Game Color Range Metallic Colors Set | 8 Bottles x 18 ml Review (2026)

Who needs a dedicated metallic set

This set targets a painter working on tabletop armies with weapons, armor plating or mechanical details that need convincing metal tones beyond a single silver or gold bottle. According to the manufacturer's product listing, the eight colors are Silver, Chainmail, Polished Gold, Glorious Gold, Bright Bronze, Brassy Brass, Hammered Copper and Tinny Tin, giving a painter distinct cool and warm metal tones instead of one generic metallic. Someone painting a single small squad with minimal metal detail may only need one or two bottles rather than the full set, but anyone painting a full army with varied weapons, trim and mechanical parts will use most of these colors across different models and different factions over time.

What is in each 18ml bottle

Each of the eight colors ships in an 18ml dropper bottle as part of Vallejo's Game Color line, which the manufacturer positions specifically for fantasy and wargame miniatures rather than the finer scale modeling work its sister Model Color range targets. The set spreads across a real tonal range, from a bright, reflective Silver and cooler Chainmail through warmer Polished Gold and Glorious Gold, down to Bright Bronze, Brassy Brass and the darker Hammered Copper and Tinny Tin, letting a painter mix metal families for armor versus weapon trim versus mechanical parts without needing to blend from just two or three bottles.

Getting even coverage from metallic paint

Metallic pigment is heavier than the acrylic binder it is suspended in, so these bottles settle more than a flat matte color and need a firm shake before every painting session, a maintenance step common across nearly all metallic acrylic paints regardless of brand. Once mixed, Game Color's metallics go on with reasonably smooth coverage for brush application, though painters chasing a mirror-polish display finish sometimes find dedicated metal-specific paints, like Vallejo's own Metal Color range, lay down a smoother, more reflective coat since that line uses a different binder built purely for metallic shine rather than general miniature use across a whole army.

How it stacks up against other metallic sets

Against rivals in the site's metallic paint guide, this set ranks behind The Army Painter's Warpaints Fanatic Metallics set, which includes ten colors instead of eight for a similar price point, giving that rival slightly broader coverage. It ranks ahead of Vallejo's own Model Color Effects Metallic set and The Army Painter's basic ten-color Metallic Paints set in this particular comparison, reflecting Game Color's specific tuning for fantasy and sci-fi work over general modeling. Painters chasing the smoothest possible metallic finish for display pieces may still want to add a bottle or two from Vallejo's dedicated Metal Color range alongside this set.

Verdict and when to look elsewhere

Buy this set if your armies need a range of silver, gold, bronze and copper tones for weapons, armor and mechanical trim, and you want colors specifically tuned for fantasy and sci-fi miniatures rather than general scale modeling. It earns solid marks across the board because eight colors genuinely cover most tabletop metal needs without excess. Choose a ten-color set like Warpaints Fanatic Metallics instead if you want slightly broader coverage, or add a dedicated Metal Color bottle if you are painting a single display piece and want the smoothest possible metallic shine on a small handful of models.

Frequently asked questions