Finished: 1/48 G-System RX-78-2 Eiyuu Tan version 1.0

Well I started it 9 months ago, but it's now finished. I had started the project with the intent to enroll in a competition, but I put it aside as I got distracted by life (and video games). Now I am just happy I completed it, and despite some minor errors I would say I am overall very pleased.

Cast: G-system-best.com
Paint: White, red - Plamo Colour; Blue: custom mix of Tamiya; all others hand painted with Mr Super Metallics
Challenges: Weight. The legs can support the weight, but the actual joint where the leg meets the hips is weak and needed some modification. Also, where the Bazooka rests directly gets in way of the huge shield.

Painted primarily with Plamo Colour paints, details with Mr Super metallic.


























For size comparison with 1/100 AGX-041


I feel rusty now lol. C&c always welcomed!

1/24 SMS Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 2

During my work in progress, I combined a few of the different brands of paint to compare against the Plamo Color paint line. I've used 4 different white paints so you (and I) can see the difference between paints.

I'll let the pics speak for themselves.








My experience with the Plamo Color primer has been wonderful - I prefer it over the other 2 - Mr. Resin Surfacer comes out very light, and the Mr. Surfacer is nice, but can cobweb with the wrong mixture, and both can be expensive. However, the Mr. Hobby thinner smells nice.

As for the whites, they are all the same. The only major difference being that the acrylic paint doesn't run the risk of thinning the primer underneath.

I am doing a pre-shaded build this time around, and I've got most of the white, blue and red parts done.

So far I have to say, the paints are easy to work with. The only weird thing was that I used the prescribed mixing ratio (1:1), and had issues with it being a bit too thick coming out of my AB. So from then on I just added a little bit more thinner. They paint on nice and smooth and are very consistent throughout. The best part is how big even the 30mL bottles are.

I think I'm going for a fairly standard color scheme, but with a red chin - I think it turned out looking quite neat.






Note: I know there are details to be added to the blue v-fin holder, that will be painted a different color, and details painted accordingly.

As you can tell the colors are vibrant. The 'darker' blue is straight out of the bottle, and the main color is with a bit of white added.

For the yellow parts, I wound up painting a primary layer of white, then yellow. However, it's slightly more greenish than I would like so I may go back and re-do it with a foundational layer of orange or red.



I began to put on some decals and use the Mr Hobby products (Mark Softer and Mark Setter), and holy cow these products are worth every penny. The silver in the picture below was painted with Plamo Color's Silver, it paints on pretty good, but is hard to hand paint I've noticed. I believe it is more for airbrushing.



Also, I began to paint some details. The silver is just a simple silver lacquer from Model Master, and the copper is Mr Metal Color, however the red is the lacquer from Plamo color. It was very easy to paint, self-leveled and is very vibrant to boot. I know I may have made little mistakes, but I plan on going back and touching those up.

Gundam Building 101: Metallic Powders

Using Kosutte Ginsan or MGM Hobby Powder (same thing, different name) - aka Metallic Powders.

I usually use this technique on parts I want to be shiny chrome (i.e. thrusters and the like). The process is quite simple really.


Materials you'll need:

- Model part
- Gloss Black paint
- Kosutte Powder
- Gloves
- Q-Tip
- Paper Towels
- CLEAN WORKSPACE

Tip: The powder I'm using is purchased from gunplasg.com from the vendor MGM Hobby. Others use Kosutte Ginsan, purchased from hlj.com.

Because this process can be messy, I highly recommend you clean your workspace of all parts except those that will actually be receiving the powder.


1. Spray your part in question in Gloss Black (I usually use primer first).

2. Wait at least 24 hours for the paint to cure.



3. With gloves on and paper towels EVERYWHERE, grab a small amount of powder with your q-tip and apply lightly to the surface of your part. It will have a dull sheen.


4. Continue to lightly rub the surface with the q-tip until you see the shine start to come through. Continue to rub the surface.


5. Your part should look complete! Make sure you shake the part free of any remaining dust, then go over with a smooth paper towel to get the last bits of the powder off.

6. You can apply acrylic top coats if you like. You can then spray clear acrylic colored paints for random effects like yellow for gold, etc.

Enjoy!

Gundam Building 101: How to build resin kits

For one reason or another, you've decided: I want to make a resin kit. Either it's a model that you want that Bandai hasn't made yet, or the proportions of the resin model appeal to you. Or maybe you just want to try something different. Resin for me was very intimidating and it seemed like only advanced modelers were making resin kits.

While there is more skill needed, the same basic principles apply: patience, planning, and care. If you apply these to your models whether its plastic or resin, your model will come out better than most and you will learn that really it's not that much harder than the plastic kits.

So you've got your resin kit. Is it a conversion kit? Or is it a standalone full kit? The builds are a bit different, but you'll understand how to make a full kit here. I may add a small conversion kit how-to once I start on one.

Materials needed for doing a resin kit (in general, without mods):

Consumables for this kit
- Your model kit
- Decals
- Paint shades to your liking
- PRIMER! Super important with resin.
- Solid brass rods. Sizes: 1/16", 3/64", and if you have large pieces, 3/32"
- Epoxy Glue (I usually use 5 minute, but it isn't as strong)
- Various grits of Wet Sandpaper (400-1500 grit)
- Masking tape for painting (lots needed)
- Resin cleaning solution (I use purple degreaser)
- Hobby Base Yellow Submarine joints (optional)
- Neodymium magnets (optional)
- Putty for filling holes (semi-optional)

Standard tools
- Nice hobby nippers
- Hobby Knife
- Something to hold painted parts (alligator clips or blu-tack and Kabob sticks, styrofoam)
- Pin Vise
- Paint Brushes
- Paper towels

Optional tools that I find valuable:
- Drill, drill bits corresponding to brass rod size
- Lots of Q-tips
- Multiple tweezers
- Airbrush/compressor (easier than spray cans)
- Sharp, small hobby scissors for cutting decals
- Nice tamiya paint stirrers
- Pipets (indispensable IMO)
- Paint booth
- Breathing mask
- Daylight spectrum light (to see the actual colors)

This step by step is merely meant as a rough guide. This is the method I generally employ, and I am still learning myself. I took great care writing and planning this guide out, but I'm not perfect. Any screw-ups made by you are not my fault :)


1. Inspection. I always inspect the resin quality when I receive a new kit. Are there bubbles? Bad flash spots? Warps? Bad seams from bad casting? I take mental notes and sometimes even mark them with a pencil on the resin if the mistake is something I won't notice without close inspection.


2. Flash (nub) removal. I begin taking the flash off of the pieces. This is a very relaxing process IMO, and you can generally do this while you watch TV. To see the full process and a tutorial, see it here: (tutorial has yet to be made)


3. Wet sanding. Because resin dust is dangerous (it can clog your lungs like asbestos over time), you'll want to use wet sandpaper during this part. It's real easy to use - just cut out a small sheet of sandpaper and dip it in water and sand away. As with all sanding, start with lower grits then work your way to higher ones until you get a clean finish. Sand over imperfections and over the now-removed flash nubs. Make sure to wipe clean your parts after sanding. I also highly recommend wearing a breathing mask as well.


4. Fixing resin. Here is where you will use putty and other techniques you have picked up to remove casting errors. I won't go too much into detail here unfortunately because there are so many possible errors to fix. I may have more tutorials in the future, but for now, I only have 1 up. See my tutorial on how to use putty here: Gundam Building 101: Putty filling for beginners. It really is a great starting place.


5. Cleaning resin. Give your parts a nice dip in purple degreaser to release the molding grease that is on the parts. This helps paint and primer stick better to the piece as the molding agent is slippery and paint won't stick well to the pieces. I use a mixing ratio of 1:12 with water. Sometimes I'll leave it over night if I feel good, but it really only needs ~30 minutes to an hour because the stuff is so powerful. ~$5 at an autoparts store or even Walmart in the auto section.


6. Primer. Paint primer on all of your parts. Some folks use Mr. Surfacer 1000 (I do occasionally, as in the picture above), others use the large Krylon spray cans, and there are a few more good primers out there (i.e. Tamiya, etc).

7. (optional) Check for minor imperfections, fill in putty, sand again, then prime again. Don't be afraid to be obsessive about it.


8. Pinning and modification (including joints and magnets). Really this goes hand in hand with the next step, but they are a bit separate. This is where you will have to study the instructions and figure out where you want what to go. Here is a simple guide for how this process flows in general:


- Joints typically go at big joint areas where you want movement, like the ankle, knees, hips, shoulders and/or head. I usually only go for the ankles - so the model's feet can lay flat when posing in case I screw up a gluing incident - and the head so it can move around. See my joint making tutorial here: (tutorial has yet to be made)
- Magnets typically go where you want to remove items easily for moving the model around, or you want to see inside a part. I will have a magnet tutorial up shortly.
- Pinning is for the rest of the parts. This ensures a good, solid fit between parts, and allows large and heavy parts to be solidly in place. This is where you will be using the brass rods and pin vise (Tutorial has yet to be made)
- Add whatever mods you want now. Thrusters, pla cards, etc etc. Note: if you are adding small metal details, do not add them until after the FINAL top coat if you want to maintain the nice shiny finish of the metal. Just make a hole for it to fit in. The Thruster tutorial is here: Gundam Building 101: Metal Thrusters.


9. Prefitting. Here is a good test to see how your parts come together. After pinning and adding joints/magnets, begin assembling your model using primarily the large pieces. Small pieces that need to be glued in place don't need to be added here. This is to see how well your model fits together and what pose you want to make it in. Always be cautious though, never try to force fit anything! Snapping a part is never fun.

10. (optional) If some of the parts you handled lost some primer because of extensive handling, drilling, etc, go ahead and re-prime.


11. Begin painting your primary color! I have a pre-shading tutorial if you want to do that (always fun, but adds a few more days of painting): Gundam Building 101: Pre-Shading.


12. Taping. Because resin parts come as large pieces, multiple colors need to be painted on one piece. After your primary color is laid down, tape off the parts that need to be painted in other colors. Make sure you tape well - however good you mask here is EXACTLY how it will look after you remove the tape. It is very unforgiving.


13. Finish painting and taping in layers. Pay attention to detail here, and don't be afraid to sand it all off and paint it again if you screw up.


14. Add a gloss layer to your kit. I use future.


15. Panel line. I recommend using a panel wash (tutorial has yet to be made).


16. Decals. Add your decals carefully. To help with seams you can cut closely around the decals.

17. Final top coat. It can be glossy or flat, whatever you choose. I use Future again for this (Flat I mix with Tamiya Flat base - see the afore-mentioned pic with Future)


18. Final assembly. This is tricky, and very scary (for me at least) and fun because so many completed pieces are on your workspace at once. Start with the feet first, and make sure you have your pose in mind. I use epoxy glue for the majority of parts, and super glue for the small ones. Epoxy glue is simple to use - just combine the two parts (epoxy and hardener) on a piece of cardboard with a kabob stick and apply it! It settles quickly, so only make a small batch at a time and make sure your ratios are even! I typically only get 3-7 good glues out of each round. Because I use 5 minute epoxy, I let it set for 5-10 minutes, then move onto other parts of the body for the next round of gluing. If some of the first parts need additional parts glued on, then I go back to them after they have set for at least 20-30 minutes and add other parts. DO NOT apply too much glue. The glue will seep out after you firmly press it in place and it will stick out like a sore thumb. Also note: take care to not get it on your fingers because as you touch other model parts for the next 10 minutes, you will be spreading small bits of glue throughout the model. I also recommend wearing gloves during this part as the glue is susceptible to showing finger prints if you press hard on a part.

Check for any errors and Voila!

Gundam Building 101: Pre-Shading

Preshading is a relatively simple concept that can yield amazing results with enough patience and practice with an airbrush.

The term itself is precisely what you will be doing here - shading before you actually paint in the real color you want the piece/model to be.

Tools you'll need:

- Model
- Airbrush/Compressor
- Primer of choice
- Paint in Color(s) of choice
- White paint
- Gloves (recommended as you'll get paint on your fingers)
- Alligator clips and foam to hold the clips (recommended)


First, make sure your piece is primed. You always want to make sure of this!

Then, there are two ways you can go about pre-shading.

- Paint the whole piece in a darker shade, then fill in with a lighter shade.
- Paint the seams/edges with a wide spray with the darker color, then fill in with a lighter color.

I'm going to show you the latter way, and you can surmise how to do it the first way.

First you choose your paints:

You can pre-shade using quite a few coloring methods:

- Black [darker shadows]
- Gray ['natural' shadows]
- White [Fading effect - not usually recommended]
- A compatible darker shade of your chosen color
- Your chosen color plus gray/black ( then fill in with your normal color)
- Your chosen color (then fill in with your color with white added)


A pic of your piece before it is shaded - make sure you prime! It's just easier.


Now, make your darker color. If you have it as it's own color, just thin it and paint! If you are adding colors to darken the shade, make sure you use caution - don't over or under do it! If it's too dark, your shadows will be more harsh than you expect, and too light, you won't be able to see your hard work!

The trick here is less is more - but you want to be sure that the color is filled in the middle of your spray so that no primer showing.
Just follow along the edges and/or seam lines. Take care choosing which lines you want to shade - not all edges should be shaded (some are part of a larger piece), and only highlighting panel lines can look great too.

The more precise you are, the better. You can fix your mistakes later depending on how you chose your colors, but sometimes the shading can show through your next layer of lighter paint. I've heard on a few youtube videos say that you can be lazy on this part, but I have found this on the contrary. The more precise I am, the easier it is for me on the next part.


Now you create your lighter color. If it is it's own color, just thin it and go. If you need to add white to it, mix accordingly. A great way to test if your shade is too light or not light enough - paint a large square on a white piece of paper using your darker color. Then test your new shade and see how it compares. Remember, if there isn't enough of a difference between the two colors, your hard work of preshading will go unnoticed.

While painting your lighter color, you want to be as precise as possible, and really pay attention to how 'natural' the gradient is between colors. This is where experience and practice really pays off. I suggest using a 'test' piece first. ALWAYS paint starting in the MIDDLE first, then work your way out - this helps you determine how wide your airbrush's spray is.


If you like, you can paint over the darker color to soften the change between colors. I went ahead and did it to my colors because I didn't realize the difference was going to be so drastic. I just lightly painted over everything first, then filled in the middle with the same color with a bit more flat white paint added.

Once complete, you can add more white to your color, and add highlights to certain high areas of a given part. This part is optional, but can really add pizazz to your model, and it's not too difficult once you nail the preshading down. You don't want to do this step too much though - again, less is more here.


And voila! You have wonderful preshaded pieces that look fantastic!

Alternately, over at the fichtenfoo.com forums, user "T1000" posted his method for applying paint, and is a great visual for how to go about preshading. All credit goes to him for this picture:



I hope this helps everyone. Post questions you have or revisions I might have missed in the comments please!

I will have more pics up soon - I realized I may need a few more pics to illustrate some points as I was typing this out.