Painting "heated" metal

[IconoclasticScream]

I've been painting minis for a long time now and, despite an almost astounding lack of genuine artistic ability, I've gotten pretty good at it. I know the things I can't do, and most of the neat things I can do I've stumbled upon by accident.

One of the things I've always wanted to be able to do and just haven't been able to is to paint a weapon that looks like it's glowing or heated, something like this. Whatever magic is involved in this, I'm not getting it.

Anyone have an advice, know any online articles demonstrating how it's done?

[Lilith]

Layers are your friend - start with the lightest (white) to darkest (dark red or black). To get the edges like they've got in your sample picture, gently wipe away the darkest layer while it's still wet with a Q-tip to reveal the lighter layers underneath.

[IconoclasticScream]

See, this is where the "I'm so not an artist" thing kicks in. I would have never thought of working in reverse. I've tried painting the "hot" parts on the blade after the other coats were done, and it always looks terrible.

I should stick to painting dragons. I'm good at those.

Thanks, Lil.

[Eryops]

This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it's still a really awesome tutorial for painting fire:

http://hot-lead.org/advance/fire_theory.htm