Every show I do, someone picks up a sample miniature of Turbo Dork, tilts it under the lights to watch the colour change, and asks the same question: "Which one do I buy first?" It's a fair question.

There are 80 paints to choose from, the bottles all look incredible on the shelf, and almost none of that tells you which one belongs on your model. 

So here's how I'd choose, having painted an example model of every paint we sell.

First, there are three ranges

Turbo Dork's paints split into three, and which one you're holding matters more than the colour name on the label.

Turboshift is their colourshift line. The colour changes depending on the angle the light hits it. This is the showy one, and the one most people mean when they say "Turbo Dork".

Zenishift shifts based on what's underneath it. Put the same paint over different undercoats, and you get different colours, which gives you a lot of control once you understand it.

Metallics are exactly that: a range of 40 metallic colours. Less of a party trick, more the workhorses you'll actually reach for again and again.

If you want the bottle that makes someone pick the model up and go, "how did you do that?", start with a Turboshift.

Then, paint thin

Whichever you pick, thin coats are not optional. 

The effect builds over a couple of passes, so the temptation to load the brush and get there in one go is exactly the thing that ruins it. The paint pools, the effect muddies, and you blame the paint when it was the application.

Two or three thin coats, thinned slightly, beats one thick one every time. 

If the paint feels a bit thick, Turbo Dork's own Thinning Medium is what I'd reach for. It's a medium, thinner and flow improver in one bottle, so it keeps the consistency right while you thin it, which is what stops you leaving brush strokes in the finish. 

Undercoat matters more than people expect, and the bottle tells you which to use. 

With Zenishift, the undercoat IS the colour: the same paint over black gives you one colour, over white another. With Turboshift, the prisms in the paint need the right undercoat to land the colour on the label, and most want black. Put a Turboshift over white instead, and it often comes out bronze, which is a nasty shock when you were expecting a purple and green shift. 

Check the bottle, then prime to match.

One more thing that saves grief: keep a separate water pot and brush for any metallic or shift paints you use. Shift and metallic paints carry mica flakes that cling to your brush and water, and they'll contaminate your normal paints if you share. Give the shiny stuff its own kit.

Where it actually looks good

Shift paints are loud, and that's the point. 

They shine on bigger surfaces where the light has room to travel, which makes them a brilliant main colour for armour, not just an accent. Carapace, shells, vehicles, big shoulder pads, full armour panels all show the shift off well.

If you're coming from Citadel or Vallejo and wondering whether the shift is worth it, it is. You can absolutely build a scheme around it rather than dabbing it on as a highlight. A Turboshift paint used on your Tyranids’ carapace will have a huge visual impact on the tabletop and tie your army together.

So, your first bottle

Pick a Turboshift in a colour you'd actually be excited to see on the table. Thin your paint, put it on something with a bit of surface area, and let the build do the talking. Save the Metallics for when you want reliable workhorses, and come to Zenishift when you fancy playing with undercoats.

What are you painting it on? That's the bit that decides the colour, so start there and work back.