WIP: 1/100 GMG AMX-041 Gerbera Tetra Part 1

Finally I'm going to start this. Instead of an afterthought of a project like I had originally intended, this will be a full project. I am going to attempt minor weathering with the salt painting technique and some pigments. 
I painted a little today to see how the colors I was planning on using were going to look. I say awesome. I've preshaded using Tamiya's medium blue and added white to get the "shaded" look. Next I'm going to begin the panel line creation. Then I'll probably give plastic plating a try. Just started some prep work for other, more rusted surfaces. First, airbrushed Rust on, then clear coat, then hairspray/salt. It's tough to put on in the way I would like it to. Also, I acquired this handy tool: Tested it out, pretty decent IMO for ~$6. Better than anything I could get in a local shop. So I've figured about 25 steps in all starting from priming to finished for a full weathering. I'm at about step 17 or so in the process on my 2 beta pieces, so bare with me. Dunking the pieces in H2O makes the salt rub off easier, and allows the paint to be 'scratched' a bit more realistically too.

Pieces have been salted, panel lined, decal-ed, metallics painted, and a black wash for oil drips/water drips has been added. Next is the brown wash and real fun work of weathering. I think I am going to go for a really weathered scheme with this guy. In order to effectively use weathering techniques on other kits in the future, it would really help me out to truly understand how each technique is applied in the fullest sense. How it will make this kit turn out, I have no clue. It could look great, or it could look dumb. Hopefully not the latter :D I would really like to know what you think of the weathering - if it is in indeed too much, tasteful, where I could have improved, etc. I took some macro shots to expose my work here and welcome some friendly criticisms. Your words go a long way! Thanks ahead of time. Really.
I will be making a full tutorial now that I have finished these pieces. So far, the technique from Primer to finish takes 25 steps! I think I may have to add a few more too haha.

1/24 SMS Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 5

Almost completed with everything - gluing is going well. Just thought I'd document the LED wiring for those who haven't done it before (I haven't) and want to see what goes into it.

It's relatively easy, just some minor preparation and forethought goes into the process before final assembly to ensure all the wires are long enough and hidden. With a little bit of epoxy glue, I've adhered them to the places where they would fit the best.

1/24 Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 4

I have now added a flat finish, two pieces need white patch-up paint tomorrow, but I believe everything else is in final order. Should be finished here soon. Astronaut was added to add some scale to the kit. Should look pretty neat with the final presentation I'm hoping.

Pics here:








^^The friggin wiring was so small (22 gauge I believe), that when I pulled on it, it came undone. One trip to home depot and 1 hour of re-wiring with 18-gauge wire later, and we are in business!

When I have time I will finish this kit! C&C and criticisms ALWAYS wanted!

1/24 SMS Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 3

Eensy update, got lots done though.

Most parts painted and given a nice glossy shine with Future. Panel lining has begun, and I pre-fit everything to make sure everything will fit well. I'm thinking so.



Things left: Minor painting for parts, decals, flat coat, final gluing and assembly. Yay!

1/24 Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 3

Details, details, details.... LOTS of handpainting, this is sort of the highlight of it, but I've had to handpaint a lot of silver details in.

Once I finish with these last few phases of painting, it's onto clearcoating and decals.

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.

1/24 Hi-Nu Bust WIP - Part 2

Update time.

I recently was asked by Plamo Color if I would be interested in using his paints for this build. I admit, I was curious to see how his paints fared, and it was great that he was a model builder FIRST, and a paint guy second. I was also cool with this because he told me he was merely providing the paint, and he wanted me to be honest in my review. So I will be.

I'm going to be testing his paint vs Mr. Hobby and Tamiya, two of the larger, more widely accepted 'quality' brands.

That said, here are the paints he sent me, and the packaging (which was nice, and came super fast from the UK)



Keep in mind I did not use Photoshop to enhance these colors. I am a huge fan of how vibrant his colors are (I chose these on purpose).

I wanted to delve right into priming, so I used the primer and his thinner at his prescribed ratio (40primer:60thinner).


It sprayed on quite nicely and was very easy to work with. Easier than Mr. Surfacer (which can be a hassle at times), and went on much easier than Mr. Resin Primer Surfacer in my previous experience with it. I will have a full head to head on my next WIP update (probably tomorrow).

The results of the primer speak for themselves: smooth, and this is with one coat in many areas (some requires a minor touch up spray). How it actually adheres to paint will be tested later.




Doing the math, I'm probably going to start using his primer exclusively now - it is cheaper than Mr Hobby and all it's variants per mL, and is at par, if not better than it. I sprayed almost the entire head today and barely used 1/8 of the bigger bottle. I'm officially a fan.

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

Onto my next project!!!

Cleaned and pre-fit and pinned most stuff.

The person I bought this from sold it because he didn't want it (bought it second hand), but a couple pieces were damaged either from his handling or the shipping process.







And here's the broken v-fin. If you have any ideas on how to fix this, please let me know!!!! I have a couple ideas, but I'm interested to see what the pros here have to say haha.



Any ideas you all have on color schemes, please let me know too! I'm considering blue and orange, but still unsure.

1/100 SMS AMS-129 Geara Zulu ver Angelo Sauper - Part 4

Got some more work done. I'm way behind schedule, but I'm ramping up for the finish. Traveling twice a week 2-3 days doesn't really help either. I'm going to start semi-rushing through this process (without sacrificing quality). Finally got my metallic paints in though ;)



^^I've since corrected the minor error and painted a bit more... Just too lazy to take a pic.



Did some panel lining with enamels.




And for the "Work-in-Progress" taken somewhat literally...


Haha, I had to... come on.

And pics of the head:




I have to paint the right front skirt again... I know. I got too excited with the q-tip I guess. I just noticed it as I was assembling too.