imho bug pins are bad for color work. The hole they poke isnt large enough to allow the pigment particles to fully settle into the skin so you then have to work the skin more to get the same saturation as you would with say a #12. Textured #12s are even better for color saturation.

As for blending there are two ways to get smooth blends. You can double dip, meaning you start with color A then dip into color B and just keep dipping color B until you are pure color B. I hope that makes sense. The other is the technique I use most of the time and it stems from printing theory. If you look at a magazine picture thru a magnifying glass you will notice there are only 4 colors printed in dots. How those dots overlap and cluster is what determines the color your eye sees. So apply that same idea to tattooing by packing solid color then when you get to the spot you want to start the blend, whip it out like you would in a traditional or black and gray. The take your next color and work it over the top of that whipped area and slightly into the solid pack. wa la insta blend.