True reds are fairly uncommon in the Turbo Dork lineup despite a large effort to come up with more. Therefore, this post intends to show off what paints are available in all their feathery glory (yes, the models are birds) while advertising some of the paints that are more reddish-something (orange or purple).
I have chosen to use four metallics (Box Wine, Life on Mars, Redrum, and Spicy Meatball) and five turboshifts (Ground is Lava, Laserface, Lunar Eclipse, Molten Mantle, and Supermassive). All of the paints were applied over a matte black primer. The models are toy parrots except for one cockatoo that came along for the ride.
True Reds
Redrum and Spicy Meatball were introduced early on and are the only true metallic reds in the bunch. However, both the turboshifts, Laserface and Supermassive, have a red phase.
Redrum is a brilliant blood red ready for battle. In the first photo below, the wings are trimmed with Cool Ranch.
In contrast, Spicy Meatball is a warmer color that has been described as being reminiscent of the marinara sauce. It is pictured with Black Ice on the tips of its wings in the second photo.
As shown in the photo of the sole cockatoo below, Laserface is a multi-colored shift. It is described as purple, dark red, and green with a yellow edge. The cockatoo's head is done in Gordian Knot with a Forrest Flux plume.
Supermassive does have a bit of warm red showing through the black. It is very dark, making the transition hard to see. This parrot has a bit of Redrum on the upper portion of the wings to help bring out the red.
Red-Oranges
There are two paints that have a reddish-orange appearance. The parrot shown below (first photo) is painted in Life on Mars with Gold Rush wingtips. It is rusty in color, indicative of the planet for which it was named.
Parrot #2 has been hand-brushed with several coats of Ground is Lava to bring out the transition from bright red through gold to orange --- sort of a volcano all its own. The lower edge of the wings has a touch of Redrum for comparison.
Red-Purples
The reddish purples described here are not your everyday magenta, those are for a future post. The colors described here are much deeper in color. Think red wine which leads to Box Wine. This fairly new metallic is an intense burgundy with a mixture of red and purple. It is complemented in the first photo by a touch of Peachy Keen on the wing tips and head.
The second photo below shows the Lunar Eclipse with its transition from purple through red to orange. The bottom set of feathers on this parrot is painted with People Eater for contrast. The rest of the feathers across the back, neck, and head are pure Lunar Eclipse.
Last, but not least, is Molten Mantle which is often confused with Lunar Eclipse as their colors are similar. Molten Mantle shifts from deep purple through red and orange to yellow. The parrot depicted in the third photo below is sporting Molten Mantle with a band of Two Cents across the wings and at the bottom of the tail.
Conclusion:
While there may not be a lot of brilliant reds in the lineup, there are still several great choices of darker shades of red for your next project.
Squawk! Squawk! or whatever it is that parrots do!