Turbo Dork: Turboshifts Acrylic Paint

hobbypaintTurbo Dork paints are made of powdered pigments and mica particles suspended in an acrylic medium. Like most other acrylic paints, they are fast-drying, water-soluble when wet, and water-resistant when dry.

The first set of Turbo Dork paints was designed for use in an airbrush so the formulation was rather thin. Then, as the paints became more popular and more paints were added to the line, changes to thicken the formulation were made to better accommodate hand brushing. The most recent remix does an excellent job of balancing the needs of both types of painters.

In addition to having a better hand brush feel, these changes have resulted in better coverage with fewer coats, even when airbrushing, and most importantly, the paint is now nearly freeze-proof.

Although like other acrylic paints in many ways, Turbo Dork paints are known for their distinct colors and effects:

Turboshifts are made with tiny glass-like flakes that work like millions of small prisms within the paint. Depending on how the flakes are made, different colors are refracted or reflected in the light. These paints change color depending on the type of light source and the angle with which the light is hitting the painted object.

While the paint in a bottle of some Turboshifts looks like you would expect, many do not. Some are white in the bottle, others red, and a few greyish. Believe us, the right pigment is in the bottle even if the wet paint looks off. Do not freak out, the rainbow will show through when the paint is put to model =).

There is a glass mixing ball inside each bottle, so shake it until you hear the ball rattling around. Then shake some more so that any pigments that have settled to the bottom of the bottle are suspended. The paint should not look thin without any flecks of pigment. The newer bottles allow you to see how well things are mixed inside.

Turboshifts are very dependent on the color of the basecoat. This has to do with what makes a Turboshift a Turboshift. A Turboshift is essentially thousands of tiny prisms suspended in an acrylic medium. These prisms are engineered to show only a particular set of colors. Whatever light gets reflected from the basecoat through the prisms dictates the color you see. Therefore, having a dark background gives the truest color based on the prism’s design. In contrast, a light background can significantly change the final look of most of the Turboshifts (see photo below). Therefore, except for Mother Lode, black or another very dark color is always the color of choice for a Turboshift.

As noted above, Mother Lode is the exception to the black basecoat rule for Turboshifts. To get the mother-of-pearl look for Mother Lode, it should be used over white. That being said, putting it over black gives a green/blue shift that some folks like.