Tutorial: Entomolian Cruiser

Sometimes I use more than three colors to paint a miniature starship.  For example, with the insectoid Entomolians I wanted to go with an iridescent look, like the carapace of a beetle.  It's the same concept as how I paint my Terran ships, but I enjoyed applying additional colors.

Again, I start with a flat black coat of spray paint for a primer:

Then, Americana Blue (or Blue Violet) on the rear half and Anita's Fathom Green for the front:

On top of those go the Folk Art Metallic Periwinkle (back) and Metallic Peridot (front).  It's OK if the colors overlap a little in the middle; that just smooths out the blend and makes it look organic:

Next, Metallic Emerald Green (from Folk Art) on top of the rear colors.  Again, there are no hard borders for any color on these ships:

And Metallic Plum in front--although I might have overdone it a little on this one:

Finally, I highlight the bridge with successive drybrushes of Yellow Ochre, Bright Yellow, and Metallic Inca Gold (all Folk Art except the Bright Yellow, which is Americana):

As seen below, this paint scheme gives the bugs a colorful look without a painstaking effort on my part, and I find it enjoyable to use a greater number of colors:

How do you paint your insectoid aliens' starships?