What I'm looking for is a substitute spray which looks as close to wraithbone as possible, or rather produces the same tone after I put on the colours. Unfortunately I've already started painting and spraying stuff with wraithbone, otherwise I would simply go with an alternative which is cheaper and better available. On this handy comparison sheet, I demonstrate several different approaches of applying Citadel Contrast paint, straight from the pot or thinned down with Contrast or Lahmian Medium, as well as comparisons with similar washes and inks: Contrast paints have very vibrant pigments and create a lot of “tonal variety”: recesses are suitable dark, pronounced areas lighter. Therefore, with a single layer of Contrast, you can combine basecoating and shading in a single step and will often end up with some basic highlights as well. Having said that, like washes, Contrast paints work best on models with a lot of texture, organic details like fur, hair, scales, muscles, clothes with a lot of creases, segmented armour and the like.

Contrast paints benefit a lot from a smooth basecoat (as do washes). A coat of varnish might help to smoothen uneven basecoats. Regarding zenithal: I keep reading that it supposedly works very well with Contrast colors. I assume you have to dillute them a bit for that purpose. So it is something I would try with bigger miniatures and bigger surfaces, where Contrasts themselves would seem to be less efficient. Regiments I will probably undercoat with a single color, depending on the miniatures. However, the GW Mechanicus Standard Grey, the Testors Gray and the Rustoleum/Krylon gray primers are quite a bit darker. They are kind of rogues on this list. I wouldn't use them as first choices to use with the Contrasts. Put it this way. The Contrasts weren't TECHNICALLY designed to be put over a gray that dark, but to a certain point you can use gray and it will work. But there's a cutoff point. The three I have on the list are about as dark as you can go with a gray primer and still have the Contrasts actually still be able to be show up on them. Anything darker and it would probably cancel out many if not most of the Contrast colors in the range.For those who don’t know, Corax White Sprayisn’t actually a true white spray, but a very light grey like Corax Whitebase paint.The new White Scar Spray, on the other hand, is a true white. In addition, like Wraithbone and Greyseer, it has been designed with Contrast paints in mind, which means it has a slightly smoother finish, which improves the flow properties of washes and Contrast paints, but also provides slightly less adhesion for regular acrylic paints. White Scar compared to Corax White & the other Contrast primers

Note particularly what he does with the green ink. As I said I don't think that would work with a Contrast because the Contrast would kill most of the Zenithal underneath. The thinness of the ink is what allows the Zenithal to show up. Contrasts might be too strong for this.Also do you have a tip for an easy to achieve (i.e. contrast level of lazyness) piggy/salmon pink? I've tried the lighter contrast pink, but even heavily thinned with contrast medium the tone is way to purple overall and in the recesses. With a wash of fuegan orange over that I've had moderate success. Maybe something over a fleshtone would be better. I'm with you on the "airbrush look", I'm not a fan of it either. I much rather prefer washes and dry brushes over other colors. You can easily paint over Contrast paints to tidy up pooled areas, deepen the shading, or add highlights by layering or drybrushing. I hope my recommendations help you to improve your hobby and take your painting skills to the next level. A lot comes down to personal preference, but the spray paints and primers above have served me excellently over the last few years.