Energy Weapons get Jeweling, what do you do for autocannons?

[Mechman08]

I’m getting back into painting miniatures after something of a false start seven years ago.  Among the miniatures on my table awaiting their first paint jobs are an Enfield and an older Centurion sculpt.  I have come across plenty of tutorials on jeweling energy weapon emitters, but haven’t seen much info on detailing auto-cannon muzzles.  I’m a little hesitant to just daub some Matte Black in there for the bore.  Y’all have any pointers you could share?

Many thanks!

[Empyrus]

Pretty sure it is almost always just black inside. While a barrel could be chrome lined, that probably would be really visible, though perhaps a slight chrome ring and black center could work. Or gray rather than chrome. Then again, they're probably somewhat sooty so there might not be any other color than black or very dark gray.
I mean, cannons don't glow, unless they're firing, and in this case you'd probably want some kind of muzzle flash/smoke effect part.

That said, i did just get an idea, perhaps yellow-orange-red gradient (center to outside) to suggest the gun's very very hot?

EDIT Looking at what CamoSpecs folks do, autocannons seem to be black basically always.

[CranstonSnord]

I usually do flat black inside the barrel, with some highlights outside, like this pearlescent paint.

[Mechman08]

That said, i did just get an idea, perhaps yellow-orange-red gradient (center to outside) to suggest the gun's very very hot?

I like that idea, and need to practice gradients anyway.  I think I’ll dig out my pin vise and drill out the CN-9A’s barrel a bit for some depth I don’t have to try to paint on, then see how it turns out. 

[dirty harry]

Cannons are not shot until they glow like an afterburner. If your muzzle is that hot, your lockwork will be even hotter, thereby destroying its rigidity resulting in a catastrophic event inside the gun.

Usually i paint muzzles as dark metal with black wash or flat black in the centre. Or the barrel gets drilled out, painted dark metallic and a finalized with a light wash.

[Empyrus]

Cannons are not shot until they glow like an afterburner. If your muzzle is that hot, your lockwork will be even hotter, thereby destroying its rigidity resulting in a catastrophic event inside the gun.

Sure, but paint job doesn't need to be entirely realistic. And strictly speaking most laser lenses and such wouldn't glow with color when not actively emitting laser light either.

[Joel47]

I'm a big fan of drilling out autocannons.

[RazorclawXLS]

I paint barrel interior of the autocannons the same metal color as the exterior, add a bit of wash to the interior and then drybrysh black paint on the exterior near the muzzle, to simulate soot and grime from firing.

[Ghaz]

You can use muzzle flash bits like THESE from Armorcast or you can sculpt your own (personally, I'm not a fan of muzzle flashes on miniatures, but that's just me).

[Psycho]

There are a few things I'll go to depending on the available details and paint scheme. First, if there's a cooling sleeve like on the Marauder, or other pronounced detail, adding more of a bronze/brass colour to it gives the barrel some extra interest. Second, adding some soot around the barrel gives it a used look; I like using a black pigment for this. Third, adding some colour like on exhaust pipes (ie purple into blue) can add a bit of fun to an otherwise bland barrel.

[Xan]

I have had some luck with a really dark blue (Vallejo Dark Titan blue).  Seems to give the barrel a little more depth than pure black does.

[agen2]

Or if you have some cinematic effect.
IMG_20211219_134630 by agen2, su Flickr

[Cazaril]

If you look at the main gun on almost any picture of a tank, you will notice that they are painted just like the tank. I use that as the justification to paint the Autocannon barrels the same paint scheme as the Mech.

You can of course add embellishments like; Joel47's drilling them out, Armorcast's Cinematic Effects, adding a little "soot" to the barrel over the coloring, or just about any other whim that strikes your fancy...

The hobby is about what you like... You will always get someone who says that isn't how they would do it (no matter how perfectly realistic you make it), but it doesn't mean you are wrong...  So do what you like...

Caz

[sounguru]

There are a few things I'll go to depending on the available details and paint scheme. First, if there's a cooling sleeve like on the Marauder, or other pronounced detail, adding more of a bronze/brass colour to it gives the barrel some extra interest. Second, adding some soot around the barrel gives it a used look; I like using a black pigment for this. Third, adding some colour like on exhaust pipes (ie purple into blue) can add a bit of fun to an otherwise bland barrel.

I second this and add a good replacement for pigments is acrylic chalk just remember that when you seal the mini any chalk is gonna look 75% less in color than what you applied so it will take some trial and error to get right. I commonly do a first pass on the chalk seal then repeat as many times as needed to get the effect I want.