Vallejo and Ángel Giráldez launch BSL guide for metallic painting

Vallejo and Ángel Giráldez have produced a dedicated guidebook, Using True Metallic Metal with the BSL System, designed to pair with Vallejo’s True Metallic Metal paint range and teach a repeatable approach to metallic finishes. The package targets painters who want systematic, predictable results for armor, weapons, and TMM-adjacent techniques.

At the heart of the effort is an 80-color True Metallic Metal line organized into Base, Light, Shade, and Airbrush variants. That structure mirrors the guide’s BSL method - Base, Shade, Light - and gives painters matching products for each stage of a metallic workflow. The book bundles color theory and step-by-step workflow examples with QR-linked and online video content so readers can match written instruction with on-model demonstrations.

Practical value is obvious for painters trading on consistency. Matching base, shade, and highlight products removes much of the guesswork when converting a reference color into metallics, and the airbrush variants offer a clear path for smooth transitions and subtle chromatic shifts. For commission painters and competition entrants the payoff is reproducibility: the same BSL steps on the same color family should yield closer results across multiple models and batches.

The guide also serves newer painters learning TMM and related techniques. The color theory sections explain chroma and temperature relationships specific to metallics rather than generic color wheels, while the QR videos let learners pause, rewind, and follow along on a palette or under magnification. Experienced painters will find workflow examples that speed up bench time and reduce wasted paint choices during trial-and-error phases.

Some retailers list the book and paint sets as pre-order items or showing early-January availability, and select listings mention exclusive miniatures or signed bookmarks bundled with pre-orders. That makes this both a practical workflow tool and a collector target for fans of Giráldez’s painting style.

The takeaway? Treat the guide as a lab manual for metallics: pick a small subset of the 80-color range, follow the BSL steps, and use the QR videos to verify brush and airbrush motion. That approach will save paint, cut down on GAS impulse buys, and get your TMM highlights singing in a reliable, repeatable way.