One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! or so says Dr. Suez. In this case, there are no red fish and more than two blue ones. However, I cannot seem to get the book title out of my head ever since I watched a baking competition in which they made Dr. Suez-inspired goodies. This post is a belated continuation of the color range series I started well over a year ago. Anyway, it is Blue's turn.
There are a lot of blues in the Turbo Dork lineup but I am concentrating on the blue Metallics of which there are five (Maguro, Blue Steel, Dork, Da Ba Dee, and Cool Ranch). However, in addition, I am also including two Turboshifts where the primary shift color is blue (Blue Raspberry and Crystal Cavern) and a Zenishift (Prism Power).
After painting several additional Turboshift examples I decided to throw back any fish that only had either a hint of blue or for which the blue was dominated by another color. You can see examples of them on the product pages on the Turbo Dork website. Also, there are several Turboshifts that are more turquoise than pure blue. Look for these in a future post.
As always the fish were all primed with matte black unless specifically noted. The photos for this post were all taken under natural light on a phone. The red background in the final photos relates to a lesson from Greg on how to make the color, blues in this case, pop by changing the background.
Blue Steel
Blue Steel is a bright, shiny blue. It is not a true shift, though there is an extra hint of blue on the edges and a little more silver on the front-facing areas. Despite being light in color, this paint only takes on its true steely look when placed over black or another dark color.
Maguro
Maguro, a light metallic blue, was named after the bluefin tuna and is certainly tasty. The photo below shows Maguro over a white primer but it also works well over a light blue base. The light blue base decreases the number of coats of paint that are needed for complete coverage.
Dork
Dork needs no explanation for its name, it is the midrange blue that is based on our logo. It can be used over any undercoat color but is brightest when used over white or a very light blue. The photo below was done using a white primer.
Da Ba Dee
I'm blue
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di
Da ba dee da ba di ...
Da Ba Dee, one of the original paints released by Turbo Dork, is really, really blue, a few shades darker than Dork.
Cool Ranch
Cool Ranch, another OG, is a super-saturated blue metallic that is unmistakable. It is smooth, and creamy, with a bit of kick like ranch dressing, just a whole lot bluer.
Blue Raspberry
Despite the fact that Blue Raspberry, one of the first Turboshifts released, appears white in the bottle there is pigment in there. You just have to have faith and try it over a dark primer. If used over white or a light color, it will appear white.
Blue Raspberry has a blue front-facing color that transitions to a pinky-purple as seen on the face of the fish pictured below. It is one of the most "active" paints in the lineup, showing off the shift effect in almost any lighting situation.
Crystal Cavern
Crystal Cavern is like Blue Raspberry in that it is white in the bottle and needs to be used over a dark base coat in order for the blue and pinkish-purple crystal-like effect to show up.
Crystal Cavern works well with Ice To Never and Wavelength.
Prism Power
As a Zenishift, Prism Power, which was named in honor of Sailor Moon, does a pink/blue flip-flop depending on the base color. It can be used over black, white, or black and white. In the latter case, you need to make sure that the white goes on fairly heavily over the black in order to get a true zenithal look.
When Prism Power is used over white it is a peachy pink with blue highlights (right fish below), when used over black it is medium blue with a slight pink shift (left fish).
Conclusions
This post compares most of the Turbo Dork blues. However, there is still more out there in the sea to explore on your own. Blurp, Blurp (or whatever sound it is that fish make).
