Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[Hikuro]

Hmm... I could see that. Or green.

Since I've only worked with cheapy Walmart paint pens, I decided to try out the Gundam markers. Red, cool (although not as red as the cheapy one?), yellow, perfect, was able to touch up some of the canary paint I'd put on F91. The gray is fine, but still a brush type. Thin, but not sure I want to try panel lining with it. And the black? Well, turns out I grabbed two grays. Not driving an hour one way to exchange it, either.

As for the spray paints... Krylon has a ton of different kinds, and none of them say "matte." The Color Guard stuff was like a buck cheaper, and said flat, but the Fusion stuff says "bonds to plastics." That seems more in line with what I want, so I settled on Fusion. The finish is "Satin". Is that right?

Satin is fine, nothing wrong with that it's just an inbetween of gloss and matte. Flat is also matte, just another term. I have a Gray and a Black pen for panel lining, I use the Gray on white and yellow parts gives it a more natural look. Black I use on Red parts or the face plate's little weird 2 grooves on the front. What I generally do is I just smother the area I want panel lined then I just wipe it off and it usually comes off real clean and easy. Paint markers are a totally different story. They're oil based I think and you gotta get at them really fast if you use them for lining or use some kind of rubbing alcohol I think to get rid of the over flow. If it's just a bit of an overflow I take the sharp end of my blade and just gently scrape away so it's more of an even application.

[Nekko Basara]

Totally agree with Hikuro that the gray and black markers are more like ink pens, while the rest of the markers are actual paint (but can be easily removed with alcohol).

Something I have noticed on many Gundam (paint) markers is that the paints separate, and no reasonable amount of shaking will mix them well. The silver portion of metallic paints and the white portion of light colors settles to the bottom, so if you store the markers tip-up, you will just get a thin, clear laquer-like version of the color when you use them. I notice this a lot with red and yellow. This can actually be handy for painting clear parts, but if I need good coverage in one pass I'll typically store the markers tip-down for 15 minutes before using them. Honestly, I rarely use them as markers; I typically just press the tip down to get a little paint on a glass surface, and then paint it on with a fine brush.

[mikeszekely]

Satin is fine, nothing wrong with that it's just an inbetween of gloss and matte. Flat is also matte, just another term.

Yeah, they didn't have any flat Fusion. Was Fusion the kind of Krylon I should be working with, or would the Color Guard stuff have been ok? Seriously, I've never worked with spray paint before, so I'm a little nervous. When you want a lot of parts to be recolored, what do you guys usually do, paint the whole runner? I know I want to keep it thin, so the molded detail still shows through, but I'm also guessing that if I spray the parts on the runner I'll have to sort of angle it one way, paint some, wait for it to dry, then do it again from a different angle to make sure that the parts are covered. I'm not going to paint with the spray paint until tomorrow sometime, so please feel free to set me straight before I make a huge mess!

For the red parts that I want blue (feet, a panel on the crotch, and the chin) I cut the parts off the runner, trimmed the nubs with my hobby knife, then went over them with a cheapy paint marker. Due to a lack of hobby stores around here, as I mentioned earlier, they're from Walmart. They're simply called Painters"... the brand may be Elmers? They're a tad on the thick side, but mostly I've just been using them for small spots, like the verniers on Victory/V2's legs. I'll have to wait and see how Crossbone Maoh's feet dry, but the color is good.

If it's just a bit of an overflow I take the sharp end of my blade and just gently scrape away so it's more of an even application.

This is pretty much what I've been doing with the verniers on Victory/V2. Even the "ultra fine" Painters aren't particularly fine, so I'll paint the spot as best I can, wait for it to dry up a bit, then gently scrape off the paint that's outside the lines, so to speak.

I have a Gray and a Black pen for panel lining, I use the Gray on white and yellow parts gives it a more natural look. Black I use on Red parts or the face plate's little weird 2 grooves on the front. What I generally do is I just smother the area I want panel lined then I just wipe it off and it usually comes off real clean and easy.

Good to know. I tried the gray on the vents on the sides of my HGUC Nu Gundam's head... not really satisfied with the results, but I might have been to conservative with my application. I do really wish I'd grabbed the black instead of two grays.

Something I have noticed on many Gundam (paint) markers is that the paints separate, and no reasonable amount of shaking will mix them well.

This is good to know, especially since I plan on storing them in the box from one of my models with my other paint markers, nippers, tweezers, and hobby knife. I didn't get any metallic ones, and I don't plan to... I'm still a long way away from doing any fancy metallic finishes! Mostly I'm just interested in touching up unpainted details on some of the HG kits I've bought or plan to buy (I just ordered HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1 and Turn A Gundam;) ). Mostly, those details seem to be red, black, green, yellow, or blue. I have Painters pens for all those colors (plus gray and white), but I did grab red and Yellow Gundam markers. The red seems ok, and I really like the yellow. The paint is thinner but simultaneously less runny, and the tip seems to allow for pretty fine painting.

I typically just press the tip down to get a little paint on a glass surface, and then paint it on with a fine brush.

I've tried that with the Painters pens, and let me tell you, even with the smallest brush I could find I'm horrible at it. I'll get a more even coat if I use the pens, and I'm almost equally likely to not paint all the area I want while getting paint in spots I don't want.

[areaseven]

PG Unicorn Gundam Stolen in Guangzhou

Any bets on who did it? TT Hongli employees?

[Vifam7]

Yeah, they didn't have any flat Fusion. Was Fusion the kind of Krylon I should be working with, or would the Color Guard stuff have been ok? Seriously, I've never worked with spray paint before, so I'm a little nervous. When you want a lot of parts to be recolored, what do you guys usually do, paint the whole runner? I know I want to keep it thin, so the molded detail still shows through, but I'm also guessing that if I spray the parts on the runner I'll have to sort of angle it one way, paint some, wait for it to dry, then do it again from a different angle to make sure that the parts are covered. I'm not going to paint with the spray paint until tomorrow sometime, so please feel free to set me straight before I make a huge mess!

Tips to spraycan painting:

1. Shake the can well. Shake vigorously and for a good amount of time.

2. Use a spraycan gun. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/SafeWorld-International-116504-12-Original-Spray/dp/B004YEBVVU/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1418572954&sr=1-2

3. Spray the paint from a distance. 7-inches or more depending on the spray force.

4. Spray from one empty space to another. In other words, don't start the spray by pointing it directly at the piece.

[Hikuro]

consistent solid sprays, don't go pew pew pew. But do it like in a row so you spray right to left then right to left right to left right to left, or whatever.

I don't think you honestly need a gun : / maybe if you're doing it a lot like every model you buy is a paint job.

Don't do it when the weather is cold. like where I'm at right now it's about 30 degrees and that's not optimal to paint in which sucks cause this is w hat the weather is going to be like until April.

Even though Kyrlon dries in about 10-15 minutes, do not touch it for at least an hour, and do not start assembling until 24 hours. This gives the paint to settle and bond between coats and finally adhere to the surface.

If you're in a tricky spot where it's 1 big molded piece but it has multiple colors which Bandai gives you a sticker for what I do and it's time consuming, get painters tape cover up the area you don't want a certain color and if the tape over laps what you do want colored take your knife and carefully cut the excess amount off. Sometimes I'll take my thumb nail if it's at a panel line and trace it so I see where the panel start and stops then cut right there with knife so it's a nice clear area. That's pretty much what I did for my Mega Grade RX-78-2 to make it look more RG like.

OH! Don't use the Gray pen on vents. Use black, it's more accurate and looks less thinned out. I've tried the Gray on vent parts it just isn't the same. Like the faceplate for instant. Use the gray pen and really just saturate it on the lines that curve on both sides of the faceplate going up and done. Then wipe them away and you'll be REALLY surprised on how cool that looks. Then take your black pen and do the two marks on the middle of the faceplate let it rest for just a few seconds so you know it'll stay on then wipe away any excess amount. Finally on the top of the face plate, normally the area that's red on the Gundam? You'll see there are little panel lines I think 4 of them, 2 on each side. Nail those with the Black, wipe away. BAM, you are litterally done with the head. you don't really need to apply anywhere else.

[anime52k8]

2. Use a spraycan gun. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/SafeWorld-International-116504-12-Original-Spray/dp/B004YEBVVU/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1418572954&sr=1-2

don't waist your money on one of these, they're a pain in the butt, and not worth it at all.

[mikeszekely]

I don't think you honestly need a gun : / maybe if you're doing it a lot like every model you buy is a paint job.

Yeah, I wasn't really planning on it. I'm anal enough to touch up HGs, but this is the first kit I'm attempting to paint almost entirely. It could be the last, too, depending on how much I decide I like this customization thing. Honestly, if Crossbone Maoh's colors didn't seem so off to me, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Don't do it when the weather is cold.

How cold is cold? Here in Pittsburgh it's in the mid 40s today and tomorrow, and possibly into the low 50s on Tuesday. I've been more concerned about the fact that it's a little damp today. I think the only spot I have to actually do the spraying is outside, but if I can paint a whole runner at at time I can bring them inside to dry. It's very dry inside, and I keep the thermostat at 71.

Since I started hand-painting a few parts, I really don't want to wait until April to finish.

Even though Kyrlon dries in about 10-15 minutes, do not touch it for at least an hour, and do not start assembling until 24 hours. This gives the paint to settle and bond between coats and finally adhere to the surface.

How long between passes? I was thinking of going left to right, then a second right to left pass, again of the entire runner. And after the runner is painted, I was thinking 15 minutes to dry, then I could bring it inside by handling the edges of the runners (not the actual parts), wait a day, then start cutting the parts off and assembling. Where an unpainted spot from a sprue mark shows, I can always touch it up with the paint markers, or use painters tape and respray later. Does that sound ok?

If you're in a tricky spot where it's 1 big molded piece but it has multiple colors which Bandai gives you a sticker for what I do and it's time consuming, get painters tape cover up the area you don't want a certain color and if the tape over laps what you do want colored take your knife and carefully cut the excess amount off. Sometimes I'll take my thumb nail if it's at a panel line and trace it so I see where the panel start and stops then cut right there with knife so it's a nice clear area. [/quoted]

Judging by what I'm seeing, there are yellow parts for the collar, shoulder guns, and the vents on the chest and legs, so it looks like it should be pretty much a straightforward panting of the whole part/runner to replace the gray/blue with white/black. The only other color comes from the blue foil stickers on the forearms, shoulders, shins, skirts, and back. Do the Bandai stickers adhere alright to painted plastic? I was sort of expecting to paint the parts, assemble them, then sticker right over the paint.

OH! Don't use the Gray pen on vents. Use black, it's more accurate and looks less thinned out.

Alas, two grays, no black. I'll see about getting a black next time I'm that way. Mind you, it's been like three years since the last time I was there.

[Scyla]

*snip*

OH! Don't use the Gray pen on vents. Use black, it's more accurate and looks less thinned out. I've tried the Gray on vent parts it just isn't the same. Like the faceplate for instant. Use the gray pen and really just saturate it on the lines that curve on both sides of the faceplate going up and done. Then wipe them away and you'll be REALLY surprised on how cool that looks. Then take your black pen and do the two marks on the middle of the faceplate let it rest for just a few seconds so you know it'll stay on then wipe away any excess amount. Finally on the top of the face plate, normally the area that's red on the Gundam? You'll see there are little panel lines I think 4 of them, 2 on each side. Nail those with the Black, wipe away. BAM, you are litterally done with the head. you don't really need to apply anywhere else.

Interesting. I will try this with my MG Hi Nu Ver. Ka.

Some random thoughts about Gunpla. I've built the MG Sazabi Ver. Ka and I really dislike the placement of the runner gates. They are mostly in places where they are visible and when I cut them with the nippers they damage the plastic on the actual part. Of course this could be due to my inexperience with building model kits but I can't remember having this problem before my kit building hiatus or with the other Gunpla kits. It is especially noticeable on the black parts.

After I built four Gunpla kits I really want Bandai to design the hip joints in a way where they can handle the backpack. The friction of the current designs doesn't seem to handle heavier backpacks well. All the suits from the RGs (Strike Freedom and Destiny) to the MGs (Nu Gundam and Sazabi) have this problem. The same goes for the ball joints on the waist skirts on the MG kits. The ball joints just doesn't gut it for me.

Building a PG Unicorn seems like fun but I really dislike the translucent red plastic part. I wonder if I can spray paint them with a red metallic coat (or better in metallic turquoise ) to emulate the look of the Robot Damashii figures.

So that's all I need to start panel lining the Sazabi. On the next RG (the Justice) I will panel line the kit while building it and see what I like better. Panel lining the whole Sazabi seems like a endless task.

[Hikuro]

Interesting. I will try this with my MG Hi Nu Ver. Ka.

Some random thoughts about Gunpla. I've built the MG Sazabi Ver. Ka and I really dislike the placement of the runner gates. They are mostly in places where they are visible and when I cut them with the nippers they damage the plastic on the actual part. Of course this could be due to my inexperience with building model kits but I can't remember having this problem before my kit building hiatus or with the other Gunpla kits. It is especially noticeable on the black parts.

After I built four Gunpla kits I really want Bandai to design the hip joints in a way where they can handle the backpack. The friction of the current designs doesn't seem to handle heavier backpacks well. All the suits from the RGs (Strike Freedom and Destiny) to the MGs (Nu Gundam and Sazabi) have this problem. The same goes for the ball joints on the waist skirts on the MG kits. The ball joints just doesn't gut it for me.

Building a PG Unicorn seems like fun but I really dislike the translucent red plastic part. I wonder if I can spray paint them with a red metallic coat (or better in metallic turquoise ) to emulate the look of the Robot Damashii figures.

So that's all I need to start panel lining the Sazabi. On the next RG (the Justice) I will panel line the kit while building it and see what I like better. Panel lining the whole Sazabi seems like a endless task.

Maybe you can spray the translucent parts, but I'd be worried that'd ruin the effectiveness of the glow.

Now to the best of my knowledge Bandai has always had the gates on the parts themselves, never really doing undergating until I think RG's came out and even then most RG's don't have under gating. I know I've encountered it on the SEED kits and on the Zeta Gundam...but when I built the RX-78-2 for certain there was no under gating so when you're building ANY kind of kit, HG, MG, RG, PG, you either gotta be very careful and cut just a millimeter above the gate and clean it with your hobby knife or a sand stick, or just take a chance.

If I'm doing a kit I'm planning to show off with the Gunpla builder group I'm apart of I shave the excess gate off carefully with my hobby knife. But if I'm just building it quickly or just gonna have it on display I don't really care all that much.

How cold is cold? Here in Pittsburgh it's in the mid 40s today and tomorrow, and possibly into the low 50s on Tuesday. I've been more concerned about the fact that it's a little damp today. I think the only spot I have to actually do the spraying is outside, but if I can paint a whole runner at at time I can bring them inside to dry. It's very dry inside, and I keep the thermostat at 71.

It depends where you do it....I have to do it in the Garage but that's still too cold for me. The can will tell you what is the best temperature for application it should be room temp which is about 70's. Sometimes I'll do the job outside or in the garage and after a minute or two of letting the smell disperse I'll bring it inside. but that means I'm doing it in a specially made box or news paper.

That reminds me, change out your area after each gate. I say this because you can't just spray the top side that shows the armor, you want to get under the gate too....if you don't you'll have 2 different colors of plastic and it'll look junkie. So once you do your first level of spray, flip the gate, spray again. Now depending on how much you just sprayed on the top surface you may need to change out your area so then your parts don't stick to the area and cause debry or unwanted smudges or pull something off the gate.

How long between passes? I was thinking of going left to right, then a second right to left pass, again of the entire runner. And after the runner is painted, I was thinking 15 minutes to dry, then I could bring it inside by handling the edges of the runners (not the actual parts), wait a day, then start cutting the parts off and assembling. Where an unpainted spot from a sprue mark shows, I can always touch it up with the paint markers, or use painters tape and respray later. Does that sound ok?

Should be fine. What I do is before I even paint is I start snipping off gated parts until there's only 1 left connected to the part. and I remove anything that's going to get in the way of the paint spray. So when I do finish my paint job and I cut the part I only have 1 spot per part to touch up, not 4 or 5. This can lead to uneven paint spots.

Now between coats, I'd wait an hour before you apply. But what I do is I spray top surface, leave it alone for an hour, flip it over do the under side, leave it for an hour, flip it back up do top side again at a different angle so it's all applied evenly and should have everything covered. Then flip it downside again after an hour and finish off. Anything still left with original plastic coloring I'll touch up later. I don't wanna over spray, never do more than 2 coats on each side.

http://www.amazon.com/Detail-Micro-Brushes-Paint-Applicators/dp/B00578QW70/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418588457&sr=8-3&keywords=touch+up+fine+brushes+paint I use these little guys when I do small areas of armor or touch ups and details. I wouldn't recommend THIS particular item here listed it's just an example. Hobbytown and model shops carry these in different sizes. The smaller the size the smaller the applicated area. I use these a ton! I ALWAYS buy a couple of packs cause they'll go fast. You can get maybe 20 of these for a few bucks.

Alas, two grays, no black. I'll see about getting a black next time I'm that way. Mind you, it's been like three years since the last time I was there.

Just buy 'em online, they're a few bucks but at least you'll have it coming. I'm going to a model shop today for our last Gunpla Builders get-together for the year, I want to buy a new Gray marker cause mines looking a bit warn after nearly a year of constant use.

[Phyrox]

I will briefly interrupt this discussion for my 90% complete Buster Gundam.

It's the first MG I've ever built, and I really enjoyed it. I have built many HGs, because I'm a stickler for scale, but I wanted a buddy for the MG Turn-X that I had to have.

It was much easier to detail up than the HGUCs I normally build, so I may have to have a two-scale gundam collection.

Yeah, I did some minor customizing with the paint. Which, in my opinion nearly all Gundams need. They come out of the box looking like circus clowns.

[mikeszekely]

Well, I'm a touch over eager to complete my first custom gunpla, so even though I'd probably have been better off waiting until tomorrow, I went ahead and sprayed the runners. The runner I wanted black is in the house to finish setting, and the ones I wanted white are still outside after I just finished what I think should be the second and final coat. It's dark outside, so it's hard to tell for the white ones, but the black parts look pretty good. Honestly, I wish I'd have bought a can of blue now instead of hand-painting the feet. Spray painting takes a little more prep work, but spraying seems to leave a smoother, thinner, and more even finish. I guess I was just intimidated by something I'd never done before.

Big thanks for the tips and advice, everyone!

[SchizophrenicMC]

How cold is cold? Here in Pittsburgh it's in the mid 40s today and tomorrow, and possibly into the low 50s on Tuesday. I've been more concerned about the fact that it's a little damp today. I think the only spot I have to actually do the spraying is outside, but if I can paint a whole runner at at time I can bring them inside to dry. It's very dry inside, and I keep the thermostat at 71.

Since I started hand-painting a few parts, I really don't want to wait until April to finish.

Paint sets up and dries optimally at 70-75 degrees. 40-60 F, and it will dry slowly. 80+ and it will dry quickly. Below 40, paint may not dry and cure at all, and above 100 and you can get contact-flash, where the paint flashes dry on contact with the subject.

Humidity may or may not affect paint, depending on conditions. I haven't had problems with humidity in warm weather, however if moisture is allowed to condense on a cold or cooling part, the condensate can affect the paint.

If you can't paint indoors (even a garage with a space heater) you might be a touch boned.

How long between passes? I was thinking of going left to right, then a second right to left pass, again of the entire runner. And after the runner is painted, I was thinking 15 minutes to dry, then I could bring it inside by handling the edges of the runners (not the actual parts), wait a day, then start cutting the parts off and assembling. Where an unpainted spot from a sprue mark shows, I can always touch it up with the paint markers, or use painters tape and respray later. Does that sound ok?

Alas, two grays, no black. I'll see about getting a black next time I'm that way. Mind you, it's been like three years since the last time I was there.

Under normal conditions, I recommend 10 or so minutes between coats. If it's cold, you may see 15 to 20 minutes before each successive coat is set-up enough. Either way you're going to have to let the paint cure indoors. For touchup, better to decant some of the spray paint into a paint jar and use that, than rough it with paint markers. Just spray the paint into a jar or a paint mixing bowl, or whatever you have available, until you have a small pool of paint, and then use a brush to touch it up.

I always suggest exercising caution with full size cans of aerosol paint. Their nozzles are usually set up for a wide spray pattern, with a coarser atomization of the paint, to make painting large surfaces easier. Modeling spray cans have narrower nozzles with finer atomization, more like an airbrush. It's a lot easier to screw up with a Krylon can.

[mikeszekely]

Screw up how,exactly? I painted all the runners and brought them in to set. They seem good, and I'm quite satisfied with the initial result.

[SchizophrenicMC]

If you take care, as I'm sure you did, you can get good results. But if you're not careful, or if you're less careful than you ought to be, the higher pressure, wider nozzle spray, and larger atomization of a general-use spray paint can are more likely to cause runs, spatter, and overspray, than an airbrush or a hobby spray can.

[mikeszekely]

If you take care, as I'm sure you did, you can get good results. But if you're not careful, or if you're less careful than you ought to be, the higher pressure, wider nozzle spray, and larger atomization of a general-use spray paint can are more likely to cause runs, spatter, and overspray, than an airbrush or a hobby spray can.

I'll keep that in mind.

Generally speaking, hobby type spray cans aren't readily available here. My local Walmart did have a few cans of Testors, by they were all opened and sprayed all over the shelving, and the selection was limited to black and a few metallics... I guess for the model car crowd? Seriously, though, I've done a search, and I'm basically in the middle of a hobby store free zone. Worse, most of what hobby stores there are don't sell gunpla, so I'm seriously left with a Hobbytown USA that's, according to Google Maps, over 30 miles and 50 minutes away (and actually, as it's to the west from downtown Pittsburgh and I'm east, I can pretty much guarantee Parkway traffic and construction will drag that out longer).

[SchizophrenicMC]

Yeah, you're kind of in a bad area for hobby supplies. I'm surrounded by HTUSAs. There's one 5 minutes up the road from me, one in Ft Worth, one in Hurst or NRH (depending on who you ask), one in North Dallas, and one in Plano. And I recall there being another one somewhere else in Dallas, but it may have been closed, and I'm too lazy to search.

Fun fact: HT USA is franchised. There isn't much in the way of corporate leadership, and every store has drastically different stock. The store nearest me has a ton of model railroad, model rocket, model aircraft, and R/C stuff, but next to no paint and supply and hardly any gunpla. The Dallas store has a ton of paint and supply, a sizable selection of gunpla, and almost no aircraft, rockets, or railroad, but they have a lot of airsoft and R/C.

Anyway, look to Amazon. Sometimes you can get paint shipped via domestic carrier. Sometimes. Though you can get all kinds of quality modeling supplies from them too. Prime is so worth it.

[Hikuro]

I just came back from my first Build Group meeting. We call ourselves "The Sleeves" HAH! ............no Zeon kits were present.......

Good amount of us I think 6 or 7 showed up at a fabric store where they got a little class room you can use. I was surprised how many were building a Crossbone Moah 0_O or had a box to build one if time allowed.

But before I went there I went to a hobby shop near by and they stocked up. I DID come across....*sigh* the actual XM-X1 Kinkedo version (crap.....) and even the HGUC version!

What really got me was the fact they had a MG 00 Raiser kit! I have NEVER seen it in person and I had to double check to make sure it had the MG stamp on it after the last time I got fooled....even laughed when it was still cheaper than that stupid ass non grade.

So anyways, went to the group and little surprised I'm a bit more adept than them when it comes to building and customizing. It's not a huge margin and I was glad to help give some insight and discuss stuff. Some of them are first timers who just got into Gunpla back when Build Fighters aired last year. Everyone was pretty much working on something either Build Fighters related or 00 related and were of course Gundams. I was the only one who was building something not even Gundam related and a Base Jabber to go with it. I was also the only one who finished his kits. BUT it was a lot of fun and wanna do it again.

Now some of them are thinking they wanna do a table top game for it 0_o.

[mikeszekely]

Fun fact: HT USA is franchised.

This isn't something I knew, but it also isn't a total surprise, either. They're apparently all over the place (except east of Pittsburgh...), but every one I've been to has seemed like such a low-budget affair and employees that seem like they're in a mom and pop shop. The closest (heh) one to me wasn't too bad, but not great either. They had maybe two RGs, two or three HGs, but a pretty large selection of MGs. Their MGs were a pretty varied selection, too, but they seemed kind of overpriced with several hanging around $100 and close to $200 for an MG EX-S.

Anyway, look to Amazon.

That's where I've been getting my models from. They had all the RGs and a lot of the newer HGs, you just sometimes have to wait awhile for new releases. And while I'm really grateful that there are places like Amazon, GG Infinite, and Gundam Planet around to enable my hobby without a hobby shop, I still wish there was a hobby shop. I guess it's kind of hard to explain, but when I order a kit on Amazon, it's either an RG kit (of which I'm trying to collect them all) or an HG (because scale) of a particular mobile suit that I feel belongs in my collection and is unlikely to get an RG any time soon. It's deliberate. But if I had a local hobby store, I could see myself buying more kits on a whim. For instance, my local Barnes and Noble was carrying a small selection of gunpla. I bought the HGBF Sengoku Astray. Sadly, that B&N only seems to be restocking with old HG Endless Waltz kit (back when they did HGs in both 1/144 and 1/100), and one or two Gundam Wing MGs. And at the HobbyTown I was at, I picked up Crossbone Gundam Maoh on a whim. Then decided I didn't like the colors, prompting my adventure in painting.

I just came back from my first Build Group meeting. We call ourselves "The Sleeves" HAH! ............no Zeon kits were present.......

Good amount of us I think 6 or 7 showed up at a fabric store where they got a little class room you can use.

Sounds like fun. And while you're their, maybe you can pick up some fabric to make the X1's cloak.

Now some of them are thinking they wanna do a table top game for it 0_o.

My one buddy and I have tried using Mekton, BESM, Alternity, Cortex, Silhouette/Jovian Chronicles, and even D20. None of them felt like they actually captured the feel, despite a few that advertised they did and were seemingly created for that purpose. I may see if I can adapt Dungeon World.

Oh, we also ran a few 1-on-1 playtests where we adapted the X-Wing miniatures game's rules, with tokens representing a Gundam and a pair of GMs for the Feddie side and a Gelgoog and two Zakus for the Zeons. For what it was, I thought it was more fun than the actual X-Wing game, but it totally failed to satisfy the roleplaying itch.

Edited December 15, 2014 by mikeszekely

[SchizophrenicMC]

Have you tried Mobile Frame Zero? It's a mecha-based TTRPG, and while it primarily uses Lego, the creators even recommend gunpla as a way to mix it up.

I think the mom-and-pop feel is why HT USA has so little corporate direction, and so much left to the stores themselves. It allows for some big corporate-style profits, but maintains some of the atmosphere that keeps hobbyists coming back to the hobby store. Of course, I still miss Phil's Hobbies in Farmer's Branch (before it went under) and I still try and get out to Wild Bill's in Irving every so often. Big-box stores like HT USA have better stock of supplies, consumables, and newer/more popular kits, to be sure. But there's something about the actual mom-and-pop hobby stores, and some of the more obscure things they carry, that they've had on their shelves for the last 30 years and nobody's bought it.

For me, I'd like to, but I can't justify the markup on gunpla locally. The only time I've impulse-bought a gunpla from a HTUSA was my MG Gundam X, and that was because it'd come out just 5 days earlier and I was surprised to find it on an American store shelf so soon. Even with Japanese shipping, kits are still cheaper from HLJ. (Especially if you leverage Private Warehouse)

[close313]

I will briefly interrupt this discussion for my 90% complete Buster Gundam.

It's the first MG I've ever built, and I really enjoyed it. I have built many HGs, because I'm a stickler for scale, but I wanted a buddy for the MG Turn-X that I had to have.

It was much easier to detail up than the HGUCs I normally build, so I may have to have a two-scale gundam collection.

Yeah, I did some minor customizing with the paint. Which, in my opinion nearly all Gundams need. They come out of the box looking like circus clowns.

I'm digging the colours so far. Please post more when it's done!

[mikeszekely]

Have you tried Mobile Frame Zero? It's a mecha-based TTRPG, and while it primarily uses Lego, the creators even recommend gunpla as a way to mix it up.

I've never heard of it, but I'm going to check it out.

For me, I'd like to, but I can't justify the markup on gunpla locally. The only time I've impulse-bought a gunpla from a HTUSA was my MG Gundam X, and that was because it'd come out just 5 days earlier and I was surprised to find it on an American store shelf so soon. Even with Japanese shipping, kits are still cheaper from HLJ. (Especially if you leverage Private Warehouse)

As I'm possibly the only person an a Macross board that doesn't collect Macross toys (sorry, too pricey), I don't do any business with HLJ. But I've found Amazon's prices on Gunpla to be pretty reasonable. For example, the HGUC F91 lists for ¥1200 ($10.17). HLJ is advertising it at ¥960 ($8.14), but for a February restock. I'm guessing that the shipping from Japan is going to run a couple bucks, and take some time as well. Amazon? $12.59 and free 2 day shipping if you're a Prime member.

[Scyla]

Maybe you can spray the translucent parts, but I'd be worried that'd ruin the effectiveness of the glow.

Now to the best of my knowledge Bandai has always had the gates on the parts themselves, never really doing undergating until I think RG's came out and even then most RG's don't have under gating. I know I've encountered it on the SEED kits and on the Zeta Gundam...but when I built the RX-78-2 for certain there was no under gating so when you're building ANY kind of kit, HG, MG, RG, PG, you either gotta be very careful and cut just a millimeter above the gate and clean it with your hobby knife or a sand stick, or just take a chance.

If I'm doing a kit I'm planning to show off with the Gunpla builder group I'm apart of I shave the excess gate off carefully with my hobby knife. But if I'm just building it quickly or just gonna have it on display I don't really care all that much.

*snip*

See the problem is that I never cut in the part itself. I always cut the gate not the part but some gates are place in a way when I cut them the force will damage the part the gate is attached to. The black gun parts on the Sazabi for example. When I cut the gate the force of cutting it will cause a white stress mark in the black part which will still remain after I cleaned up the gate mark. On some parts the force of cutting even rips out a bit of plastic out of the actual part.

Maybe I should buy some of them fancy Tamiya nippers but the one I have now are from a model building shop so maybe I'm doing something wrong.

[UN_MARINE]

Here's the Ex-S, all stickered & decaled up.

Just a few more things left to do before it's done, the front top half looks decent, but the rest is still a mess!

[SchizophrenicMC]

I've never heard of it, but I'm going to check it out.

As I'm possibly the only person an a Macross board that doesn't collect Macross toys (sorry, too pricey), I don't do any business with HLJ. But I've found Amazon's prices on Gunpla to be pretty reasonable. For example, the HGUC F91 lists for ¥1200 ($10.17). HLJ is advertising it at ¥960 ($8.14), but for a February restock. I'm guessing that the shipping from Japan is going to run a couple bucks, and take some time as well. Amazon? $12.59 and free 2 day shipping if you're a Prime member.

I don't collect a lot of Macross merch (I've only got 2 Yamato 1/48 VF-1s) but I've just found better availability and pricing from HLJ on a lot of the stuff I want. Especially since they have the whole Private Warehouse thing. I can spread purchases out over a couple months, then have one big combined shipping order, which is cheaper than shipping each item separately.

Of course, Amazon is also a good source. I pay that Prime subscription for a reason.

See the problem is that I never cut in the part itself. I always cut the gate not the part but some gates are place in a way when I cut them the force will damage the part the gate is attached to. The black gun parts on the Sazabi for example. When I cut the gate the force of cutting it will cause a white stress mark in the black part which will still remain after I cleaned up the gate mark. On some parts the force of cutting even rips out a bit of plastic out of the actual part.

Maybe I should buy some of them fancy Tamiya nippers but the one I have now are from a model building shop so maybe I'm doing something wrong.

It's my understanding that Tamiya nippers (74035) are super-good, and are much better than Squadron Tools or Xuron. I've noticed the Squadron Tools nippers I've used (I've had 2 sets) just don't get as close a cut as some of the others I've used, and the nippers themselves are too big for a lot of parts. I've got some Tamiya nippers on my christmas list. And some files. And a spinning paint stand, and a new supply drawer, and a measuring scale, and paint jars, and pipettes and tweezers and an Eclipse HP-CS.

I need more gunpla supplies dammit.

[electric indigo]

See the problem is that I never cut in the part itself. I always cut the gate not the part but some gates are place in a way when I cut them the force will damage the part the gate is attached to. The black gun parts on the Sazabi for example. When I cut the gate the force of cutting it will cause a white stress mark in the black part which will still remain after I cleaned up the gate mark. On some parts the force of cutting even rips out a bit of plastic out of the actual part.

I use a small block of wood that I put on the desk, then place the sprues on top in a way that the wood supports the spot where I cut the part. That is especially helpful if you cut clear parts like aircraft canopies.

[Scyla]

Ok, I will try this with my next kit.

[SchizophrenicMC]

In which Syd installs the LEDs into the HobbyLink Japan PG Unicorn.

[mikeszekely]

Well, it's my first extensive custom, so be gentle.

After doing this, I'm torn. On the one hand, I think my custom looks better than a straight build. The Crossbone Gundam Maoh comes off as too purplish. While the black, white, and yellow swings more toward the XM-X1's colors, I'd like to believe that replacing red with blue and retaining Maoh's shiny bits helps give my custom a distinct look.

On the other hand... paint is messy. Once I started building, I found spots where an area of a part maybe didn't get the best coverage, or some areas where the paint was too thick, and occasionally messed with the fit of a part (one the plus side, some of the less adequately painted parts actually made for some nice color separation around the waist). Also, and I don't know if it's a fault of my application, the fact that it was too cold outside (although I did bring them in to dry), the type of paint, or just the fact that I didn't clear coat until after parts were built, but the "satin" finish felt sort of chalky, and if I gripped a part too hard it rubbed off. While I'm sure practice or better supplies or something could deal with all of that, the question for me is why bother? I tend toward straight builds (or small detailing on HGs) of "canon" units (to me, Build Fighters isn't canon Gundam because it's a show about gunpla, if that makes sense). This sort of extensive customization shouldn't be necessary for me most of the time.

In any case, I have to name it. So far I've come up with "Crossbone Gundam Blackjack", but maybe something that references how stabby it is (the cutlass, two knives, blades in the soles of the feet, the bone weapons on the hips, the beam sabers on the backpack arms, and two more beam sabers to use in the hands when its not holding the cutlass, flintlock, or knives). Crossbone Gundam Ripper?

[SchizophrenicMC]

It's probably a mix of factors. Poor surface prep will do that, and rattle cans don't make it any easier.

I still say my airbrush compressor was the best investment I ever made in my modeling hobby. It's made so much possible for me. I prefer a painted build, even if it's just matching straight-build colors, just because of the results I can get from an airbrush. One of my favorite models is my MG Gundam X, which I painted nearly all-straight, except for a few areas where I added some nice color breakup. The overall finish of the kit sharpens up a lot from toylike plastic, to scale replica giant robot, and it covers up that lame whiting you get on dark colored parts when your sprue nippers aren't sharp enough.



I will say, flat finish paint tends to be more brittle than gloss finish. I prefer paint that finishes gloss, and then applying flat clear coat over it. The finish is just a lot stronger that way.

Crossbone The Ripper works. Maybe Crossbone Slasher or Crossbone Swordsman. Depends on what emotion you're trying to evoke with the name.

I haven't done much in the way of full-custom concepts for gunpla. Just my two Unicorn customs- RX-0-4 Twilight and RX-0-7 Pegasus. If HMM Zoids count, throw in the Command Wolf Christiansen Special. For the most part, I just paint my gunpla slightly different colors than the plastic, and run with that. Like you've mentioned, sometimes the plastic is a bit weird in color, and it looks better if painted a slightly different shade.

[Black Valkyrie]

If you're like me, (I built a few HGs years ago then didn't get back into it this summer), i very strongly recommend the Real Grade kits. They're the same scale as the HGs, and reasonably priced (usually between $25-$35 and readily available on Amazon). They're a little more advanced, though (an RG foot might have more parts than an entire HG leg), but they're vastly more detailed. No paint is required because all the parts are molded in the correct color, and they come with a ton of decals, so the finished model looks almost PG good.

That said, buy and build what makes you happy. The joy of Gunpla is that you can do what you want with it.

EDIT: Speaking of customizing... as most of you know, I'm usually into straight builds with just a little paint to get some of the detail on HGs, because I suck pretty bad at the painting thing. I'm certainly not into the paint thing enough to go out and buy a nice airbrush or anything. That said... it might be kind of fun to do a Crossbone Gundam Mike instead of a Crossbone Gundam Maoh.

Have any of you tried the regular plain ol' cans of spraypaint? Like the kind they have at Walmart? I mean, if they say they're for plastic, they ought to work, so I guess the question is how well?

True building Gunpla does give a feel of joy. As for the painting, I used to do on the old HG kits but not anymore, especially painting over those red feet.

[Phyrox]

Here's the completed Buster Gundam. Like I said, it was a pretty straight build with a bit of color swapping to get away from the horrible green/red it comes in stock.

I think it's one of the better looking Gundams in terms of details and proportions, once you get past the colors.

As for "regular ol' sparypaint cans;" I can say that I picked up a white can of Krylon Indoor/Outdoor, and it works great for models. It has covered smoothly, has a great matte finish, and has been more trouble-free than any of the Testor's spray cans I've used in recent memory. Here's an example just after spraying, no topcoat:

[Nekko Basara]

Here's the completed Buster Gundam. Like I said, it was a pretty straight build with a bit of color swapping to get away from the horrible green/red it comes in stock.

I think it's one of the better looking Gundams in terms of details and proportions, once you get past the colors.

Fantastic! I admit, I was checking this kit out myself because I loved the design, but I was really put off by the original colors. You made a dramatic improvement and it really highlights the best features of the suit.

Mike S., I think you've been similarly successful in changing the palette of your Crossbone Maoh to show off the suit's design without some the distractions of the overdone original colors. I especially like the feet. If you had a rough time with the paint, it certainly doesn't show in those photos.

UN_MARINE, can't wait to see some full shots. I know some people feel like panel-lining doesn't look "realistic," but I'd like to show them your work. I feel like the way you've done it really comes across as a hard-working war machine.

SchizophrenicMC, I can't get enough of your Gundam X! I think you're right that even a "straight" paint job makes a big difference between the look of paint versus bare plastic. Personally, it's just more hassle than I've wanted to get into with my builds, but I can't deny the improvement.

Sorry I haven't had a lot of Gunpla to show off lately. I've been building, but mostly other things...

[Black Valkyrie]

Another pic of NT-1,

[Vifam7]

Here's my just completed HGUC Nemo. All I did was change the bright green of the original plastic to something more military-like. I used a Tamiya rattlecan spray.