Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[David Hingtgen]

Simple----never use black on white.  Too stark.   Only use black on grey/blue parts.  

[kajnrig]

Eh, black lining on white parts is fine... if you're going for a particular look. It's easier to use other, lighter colors so that there isn't quite so much contrast, but the wonderful thing about black-on-white IS the absolute contrast; you have a broader range of "shading" available to you, so you can thin certain areas of panel lines to achieve certain effects. Mainly this is useful for simulating the uneven visibility of panel lines; if you look at real-world machines, their "panel lines" vary greatly in terms of visibility.

You can do the same with an easier gray/brown panel wash, but just to a lesser degree.

And sometimes the stark contrast is precisely what you're going for. See any "cel-shaded" model kit build for an example of what I'm talking about.

[slaginpit]

On 9/22/2017 at 12:36 AM, davidwhangchoi said:

 

you might be region locked out 

Not if you use VPN

 

Man good gawd that finish on the armor on the wing gundam. DAM I want mine now

[Raptor One]

Holy crap, PG Exia!

 

Slightly disappointed though because I was hoping for an MG Dynames for the 10th anniversary

Edited October 6, 2017 by Raptor One

[Salamander]

On 9/29/2017 at 9:05 PM, Kelsain said:

It'd be good for laying down base colors, though. I barely ever get past that stage, because handbrushing large areas like shields sucks - especially with Tamiya. I sometimes do rattle cans, but you have almost 0 control there.

Just add lots of X20A thinner until the paint flows freely (like thin milk), but not too much. If the paint starts to look transparent you likely added too much thinner...

[kajnrig]

Anyone know how to contact a seller on YJA? I'm looking at some auctions from the same seller through From Japan and I don't know if they'll combine won auctions for shipping. The auction pages don't say, though the fixed-price (500 yen) shipping method (non-standard mail) suggests not. Thankfully the auction's not over for a while yet, so I sent From Japan an email asking if they could inquire, but if that should fail, anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, kajnrig said:

Anyone know how to contact a seller on YJA? I'm looking at some auctions from the same seller through From Japan and I don't know if they'll combine won auctions for shipping. The auction pages don't say, though the fixed-price (500 yen) shipping method (non-standard mail) suggests not. Thankfully the auction's not over for a while yet, so I sent From Japan an email asking if they could inquire, but if that should fail, anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

FromJapan Q&A:

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/qanda#qacid_3

Quote

Q: If I purchase multiple items from the same seller, can the plan fee, payment fee and domestic delivery be combined?

A: This is possible if your items meet the conditions below:

 

1. Items won must be from the same seller

2. Items must be won on the same day

3. The seller must also agree to our request

 

* For Yahoo! Auctions, a "day" does not end at 00:00 midnight (JST), but rather at 18:00, starting a new day until 17:59 the next evening.

* In addition, if some of your items have been won within our business hours, and others outside of our business hours, we normally do not combine the shipping for them even if they are won from the same seller on the same day. If you wish to combine such items into a single domestic shipment, please be sure to inform us after winning the item with the earliest ending time. 

* Items won under different IDs cannot be combined even if they meet the requirements. Generally the same ID is used for bidding, however there may be cases where your bid is placed with a different ID for the following reasons:

 ・Another FROM JAPAN user is also bidding on the same auction.

 ・An ID has become unusable on Yahoo! Auctions.

 

[kajnrig]

Thanks, Noel, but I'd like to know BEFORE putting down four, five bids and having to risk paying the same fees four, five times. The last time I ordered multiple items from the same person/store, I didn't realize it was the same person and it was only through luck that I saved ~3,000 yen in fees and domestic shipping. (Usually the auction page will let you know if the seller does combined shipping, but in this past case and this current one, there's no such statement stating either way.)

[no3Ljm]

8 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Thanks, Noel, but I'd like to know BEFORE putting down four, five bids and having to risk paying the same fees four, five times. The last time I ordered multiple items from the same person/store, I didn't realize it was the same person and it was only through luck that I saved ~3,000 yen in fees and domestic shipping. (Usually the auction page will let you know if the seller does combined shipping, but in this past case and this current one, there's no such statement stating either way.)

Does his item more on buy now or thru bidding? Coz I think it's much easier if it's buy now atleast you can message the seller via his info on YJA instead of thru FJ. I'm just speculating here since I really don't know how to do it. Is there no info at FJ YJA page if you want to contact the seller or something like that? I haven't used FJ for awhile so I'm not sure if there is.

 

[kajnrig]

It's a personal seller, and it's all through bidding. FJ doesn't have any info about contacting sellers except for what you posted above - they'll contact the seller if multiple auctions have been won and ask to consolidate it. No forms, no methods, to pass questions from a third party (me) through them to sellers.

On the one hand, it's a bit of a bummer. But on the other, I wouldn't implement such a system if I were them, either. Oh well.

Thanks for helping work through this.

[Duymon]

Just a heads up if anyone still wants an MG GM Sniper II in the US, many Barnes and Noble stores are unloading them at $25 before tax. Great Deal

[Valkyrie Driver]

This came the other day. Now all I need is to get a Gundam model. Got some new techniques for weathering that might make my project worthwhile. A little bit of salt and hairspray weathering, 

[no3Ljm]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie Driver said:

This came the other day. Now all I need is to get a Gundam model. Got some new techniques for weathering that might make my project worthwhile. A little bit of salt and hairspray weathering, 

Hmmm... Salt weathering. I sense a 1/60 VF-0D weathering version coming up?  

 

[Valkyrie Driver]

16 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Hmmm... Salt weathering. I sense a 1/60 VF-0D weathering version coming up?  

I wish. If I could Afford a regular VF-0D, and if Arcadia release a blank version, then sure. Also, If I had the cash for something like that. Now, if there was a 1/72 transforming model kit of it, I'd do that in a heartbeat. 

But yeah, Hairspray and salt, the hairspray acts as an adhesive for the salt grains, and also prevents paint from bonding to the undercoat (so you'd base the part in a natural metal finish, or paint rust effects as the undercoat, or both) then after it dries, you hit it with the hairspray (you could just get the pump style bottle, and use your airbrush to aerosolize it, use the airbrush because it gives you more control), let it get tacky then sprinkle the salt where you want the weathering to be. Then paint the actual color over top. When that dries, you take a soft brush and warm water and go over the salted areas, and with a bit of patience the salt will dissolve and flake off, taking tiny chinks of paint with it. Use it to create splash damage, or spotty surface rust effects around paint chips. You can then use a harder bristle brush to remove some of the actual paint to reveal the undercoat.

Works really well for creating paint wear on aircraft, especially when the idea is to convey a field expedient paint job, since those don't survive multiple trips past the Mach. It's a really neat technique, and I've seen it applied to many a Warhammer 40k vehicle.

Examples:

I know it's not Gunpla, but this just shows what you could do to that Ultra realistic Universal Century Ground Mobile Suit build you might want to do (I'm of course talking about me).

*These photos are not my own work, I found these images, this is a technique I have witnessed, I've not yet tried it*

[David Hingtgen]

Got my HiRM Wing Zero---so far just checking the inner-frame----no wrong parts, no frozen joints (so far!).   But----the thumbs are the loosest I've ever had on any toy/figure ever.  They pop out if you look at them funny.   Trying nail polish, hope that's enough.  Noticed stress marks at base of the "socket" on both---something somewhere is spreading the "upper hand" apart, causing the super-loose thumbs.   

[Duymon]

If anyone's wonder how Vallejo mecha color line is it's pretty darned good.

Colors look to be pretty on-point and they are pre-thinned so can be given a good shake and then dripped straight into the airbrush from the dropper bottles.

As soon as I run to the store and replenish my pledge / future gonna gloss coat this custom MG RX-78 Origins - Titans ver and then do the panel lining and decals hehe

 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Duymon

[dragonstar1982]

Just wondering if any has gotten and finished the wing zero hi resolution model ? I have it on preorder and wanted some feedback.

[kajnrig]

The couple or so reviews of it I saw claimed it's a real looker that falls to pieces in your hand. The hands don't hold the rifles especially well (not surprising, given its redesign), and getting it into its iconic shooting pose is a nightmare. They also expressed some issues with the frame and parts fit, something about the frame being made in China while the armor parts were made in Japan so the quality control of the two halves don't quite match up 100% of the time.

That's all hearsay, though. Best to look at some video reviews.

EDIT:

Actually, I remember seeing someone with it in the recent purchases thread. You might want to look there a couple pages back and see if you can find who it is.

Edited October 18, 2017 by kajnrig

[anime52k8]

I've only got mine about a third of the way built, seems ok so far, but I've still got a lot of building to do.

[dizman]

On 10/16/2017 at 4:49 AM, Duymon said:

If anyone's wonder how Vallejo mecha color line is it's pretty darned good.

Colors look to be pretty on-point and they are pre-thinned so can be given a good shake and then dripped straight into the airbrush from the dropper bottles.

As soon as I run to the store and replenish my pledge / future gonna gloss coat this custom MG RX-78 Origins - Titans ver and then do the panel lining and decals hehe

 

I'm a sucker for anything in Titans colors and that fits the Origin Gundam so well, great job!

[Scyla]

Finished my triptych of Ver. Ka Gundams:

Not sure if all the panel lyning was worth it. 

Next up on the workbench: ZZ and Sinanju Ver. Ka.

[Golden Arms]

Very Nice!!  You sir have very good taste in MG's.  Both the Hi V and Szabi are in my future  builds Queue. I just snapped together the MG destiny and finished off my MG Sinanju and PG Strike.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Golden Arms

[arbit]

On 10/21/2017 at 5:37 PM, Scyla said:

Finished my triptych of Ver. Ka Gundams:

Nice paint jobs!

[renegadeleader1]

I just finished helping my 9 year old nephew build his first kit! A Petitgguy chocolate version.

[Scyla]

5 hours ago, Golden Arms said:

Very Nice!!  You sir have very good taste in MG's.  Both the Hi V and Szabi are in my future  builds Queue. I just snapped together the MG destiny and finished off my MG Sinanju and PG Strike.

I was kinda surprised that the Hi-Nu is so small but that seems to be accurate to the tech specs. 

[dizman]

2 hours ago, renegadeleader1 said:

I just finished helping my 9 year old nephew build his first kit! A Petitgguy chocolate version.

Gotta start em on that plastic crack addiction young 

[dizman]

New releases on the horizon! 

MG GM Command! Not P-Bandai!

 

HG Origin Act Zaku, also not P-Bandai!

[chyll2]

Lol it is refreshing to see something not P-bandai

[Big s]

Really surprised that neither are web exclusive.

[kanedaestes]

Finally getting a good A.E.U.G team in MG scale with good to amazing articulation. 

[dragonstar1982]

Almost done. The kit fits really well together minus 1 piece. All i have left is the wings.

[dragonstar1982]

Hi res wing zero done

[David Hingtgen]

9 hours ago, dragonstar1982 said:

Almost done. The kit fits really well together minus 1 piece. All i have left is the wings.

 

What's the one piece with issues?

[dragonstar1982]

3 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

What's the one piece with issues?

It's the bottom blue chest piece under the zero system, it doesn't stay on very well. I also noticed the the clips that hold the hands are already showing stress marks.

[David Hingtgen]

Thanks, I'll watch for that.  Also, please don't take this the wrong way---but your pics make me certain that opening up the chest and re-doing the main green chest crystal was the right thing to do.  Just way too dark as-is.  

PS to everybody---anyone have experience/tips for panel-lining the "hi-gloss" plastic?   I don't want to clear-coat it at all, that'd kinda ruin the point.  Will wash-type stuff "run too much"?  I'd like a quite subtle look.