Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

March 1, 2015

That is looking excellent! Did you say this was your first kit?

Do you want to see any shots of my Skygrasper? I don't want to come off as competitive by just tossing them up (and yours looks easily as good, anyhow). I did paint the canopy,and I agree with Hikuro that it's not as tough as it may appear.

yeah this is my first kit. (i'm a beginner, i build some stuff in 3rd grade and one hg years ago) not at all! definitely put up your sky grasper

(i looked at a youtube vid and just got the tamiya starter kit) wow, pretty necessary for the decals as mike s. said i would tweezers.

this sounds silly, but before i saw the tutorial, i would just snap of the parts off the runners by hand and just build it. lol

Hikuro · March 1, 2015

there's never a wrong way just your way or what you feel comfortable in experimenting well. some years back I'd look at what I'm doing now thinking impossiburu!

now I'm v8 head smacking wondering why I never tried it in the first place!

I'm out helping my dads shop today but I easily whipped out the head and 2 arms for my MG God Gundam....I'm hocked up on caffeine so I may keep going when I get home!

Nekko Basara · March 1, 2015

Here's my Skygrasper. Now I am noticing all the spots where decals run over panel lines and look bad!

mikeszekely · March 1, 2015

The Skygrasper is the only RG (aside from Wing Zero, which I just haven't gotten around to picking up yet) that I haven't built, but like Hikuro it's hard to justify the RG price for an airplane I don't really want (and a launcher striker pack I don't want, and a sword striker pack I do want).

March 1, 2015

nice pics, sorry in the middle of decal-ing wings to reply:) (but have my laptop next to me as i decal)

treatment · March 1, 2015

All I can add is that all Bandai decals are terrible and mightily sucks.

March 1, 2015

damn very small decals: took me a while...

i had a hard time setting them on the tweezers correctly :wacko:

o,k, now i got it...it's so hard to fit these in.... :blink:

after proper placement(took so long), trimmed decal with razor. getting better at it

Done! :wub:

Edited March 1, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

sketchley · March 1, 2015

damn very small decals: took me a while...

o,k, now i got it...it's so hard to fit these in....

Those are sticker type decals, right? Before applying the decals, put a bit of water on the part where you're placing the decal with a Q-tip. When you get it in roughly the right position, gently roll the moist end of a Q-tip over it to soak up the water.

That technique should make placement much, much easier. Just take care not to put too much stress on the decal itself. And if you're using water based ink for panel lining, be extra careful when wiping the excess water from them.

I've also read in places about cutting larger decals into more manageable sizes, and/or scoring parts of the larger decals that are placed on (or around) curved parts to get the best fit (though I haven't tried either techniques)...

March 1, 2015

Those are sticker type decals, right? Before applying the decals, put a bit of water on the part where you're placing the decal with a Q-tip. When you get it in roughly the right position, gently roll the moist end of a Q-tip over it to soak up the water.

That technique should make placement much, much easier. Just take care not to put too much stress on the decal itself. And if you're using water based ink for panel lining, be extra careful when wiping the excess water from them.

I've also read in places about cutting larger decals into more manageable sizes, and/or scoring parts of the larger decals that are placed on (or around) curved parts to get the best fit (though I haven't tried either techniques)...

thanks! i'll try that...

Chas · March 1, 2015

Does anyone have a copy of THIS MAGAZINE ?
There is a particular diorama build I am looking for and I think it is in this issue, but I don't know for sure.
Failing that does anyone know if there are scans of it available online anywhere?

March 2, 2015

Here's my Skygrasper. Now I am noticing all the spots where decals run over panel lines and look bad!

thanks for the photos. helped me see the sticker placement better

March 2, 2015

Those are sticker type decals, right? Before applying the decals, put a bit of water on the part where you're placing the decal with a Q-tip. When you get it in roughly the right position, gently roll the moist end of a Q-tip over it to soak up the water.

Hi, i tried adding a bit of water on the surface area but having trouble w the technique. i may be doing it incorrectly:

put a dab of water on decal placement area

one side of the decal floats but the other end gets stuck so i had to relift and reapply. (i tried adding more water and attempted 3x)

i ended up lifting and reapplying conventional failing several times

cutting the excess edge of decal

any suggestions on how much water to apply?

Edited March 2, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

Hikuro · March 2, 2015

Hi, i tried adding a bit of water on the surface area but having trouble w the technique. i may be doing it incorrectly:

put a dab of water on decal placement area

one side of the decal floats but the other end gets stuck so i had to relift and reapply. (i tried adding more water and attempted 3x)

i ended up lifting and reapplying conventional failing several times

cutting the excess edge of decal

any suggestions on how much water to apply?

Honestly, I've NEVER applied water onto an adhesive decal....that can potentially weaken the decal and leave it susceptible to coming off later due to things like dust and wear.

Then again, I don't use tweezers either unless I'm doing water slides. I just use the tip of my exacto knife and a finger nail to ............nail the sticker in place. I do a pretty good job at it myself.

Stickers in general man, they're just frustrating no matter how you slice it.

mikeszekely · March 2, 2015

Is the knife in the picture the one you're using, David? It looks more like a boxcutter.

I don't know about this water thing, but what I do in similar situations is use the tweezers to pin the decal in place where you want it, then slide the edge of the knife along the edge of the part through the decal. You see how the part isn't exactly like a four-sided box, but corner between the front of the part where you're sticking your decal and the top of the part is sort of a smaller plane? The edge of the knife should follow that plane, like a shaving razor following the contour of a face. If it's pushing the decal instead of cutting it, you can try a gentle sawing motion, but it might be a sign that the blade you're using isn't sharp enough.

March 2, 2015

Honestly, I've NEVER applied water onto an adhesive decal....that can potentially weaken the decal and leave it susceptible to coming off later due to things like dust and wear.

Then again, I don't use tweezers either unless I'm doing water slides. I just use the tip of my exacto knife and a finger nail to ............nail the sticker in place. I do a pretty good job at it myself.

Stickers in general man, they're just frustrating no matter how you slice it.

ok, i need to get an exacto knife. i was just by Michael's arts and crafts.. darn it i need to go it.

Is the knife in the picture the one you're using, David? It looks more like a boxcutter.

I don't know about this water thing, but what I do in similar situations is use the tweezers to pin the decal in place where you want it, then slide the edge of the knife along the edge of the part through the decal. You see how the part isn't exactly like a four-sided box, but corner between the front of the part where you're sticking your decal and the top of the part is sort of a smaller plane? The edge of the knife should follow that plane, like a shaving razor following the contour of a face. If it's pushing the decal instead of cutting it, you can try a gentle sawing motion, but it might be a sign that the blade you're using isn't sharp enough.

yeah it's the one that came with the tamiya kit: it's pretty sharp but i need to get a knife. and that razor illustration you shared is what i'm doing it's working so far...

mikeszekely · March 2, 2015

ok, i need to get an exacto knife. i was just by Michael's arts and crafts.. darn it i need to go it.

yeah it's the one that came with the tamiya kit: it's pretty sharp but i need to get a knife. and that razor illustration you shared is what i'm doing it's working so far...

Ok, I mean, that knife might be sharp enough, I dunno. But I think a hobby knife like an X-acto knife is easier to use. You don't have to go to Michael's; Walmart has your basic #1 style for maybe $5, in the crafts section. Once you have the knife, you can get replacement blades in the same place for $2-3. They have these one kind of blades that have like a goldish coating along the cutting edge. X-acto advertises that they're the sharpest... they are really sharp, but so are the non-coated ones. I can't say that I've really noticed a difference, but the price difference was small.

sketchley · March 2, 2015

Ahhh... the water technique works best for large stickers where its much harder to eyeball placement. That said, try and avoid balls of water.

Nevertheless, those small ones... I always use a blade edge to apply them (the same exacto blade used for cleaning up the sprue marks on the pieces): get a small part of the decal on the sharp edge of the blade, and use that to transfer it from the decal sheet to the kit. Keep the sticker from touching the plastic until your satisfied with the placement, and affix the larger portion onto the plastic (a soft, blunt tool (fingernail?) should do the trick), and gently remove the blade from under the sticker.

EXO · March 2, 2015

I get these Xacto replacements from Amazon or eBay... 12 bucks for 100ct.

http://amzn.com/B0006GBSXG

Nekko Basara · March 2, 2015

I have boring thoughts about hobby knives!

I used the standard #11 X-Acto blades for the longest time. Then, about five years ago, I worked in a call center where nobody minded if I kept my hands busy working on models as long as I answered my calls and didn't bring any nasty substances like glue. I would bring in my kits in (mostly 1/144 aircraft at that time), cut all the bits off the sprues, and clean them up with a hobby knife and sanding sticks. BUT, because it was an office environment, even a #11 blade could raise eyebrows. So I switched to using the #16 blade because it had the smallest edge available, and after a few months of learning how to use that tiny edge to make really precise shaving cuts, I came to greatly prefer it. I realized had hardly ever needed the needle point or long edge of the standard blade.

Then, when I started building Gunpla about a year and a half ago, I picked up the Tamiya basic toolkit (I already had dozens of X-acto knives, tweezers, etc, but I liked how self-contained the kit was). I had never used a snap-blade knife before, but I gave the included one a try... and again, once I got the hang of it, it became my new favorite. In my experience, 90% of what I use a hobby knife for is shaving off sprue nubs, molding flash, and the occasional decal. The snap blade is ideal for that, because it is wickedly sharp (and if it isn't, just snap it off and click up the next bit), has a small, straight edge without an unnecessary needle point to jab things (like my hand), and has a simple shape that makes it easy to judge your angle for shaving cuts. I now own a handful of different snap-blade handles, but generally prefer these blades for their sharpness. If I need a fine point for something like cutting stickers on a sheet, I'll still grab a #11 X-Acto, but I hardly ever use one on a model anymore.

That's just my experience. I'm sure it all has more to do with finding the tool that works best for you and practicing with it. But I encourage folks to try different styles of knives and techniques, because (like me) you could be overlooking something you'd really like.

renegadeleader1 · March 2, 2015

Greetings from New England.

mikeszekely · March 2, 2015

Greetings from New England.

I'm having a hard time believing that GM is in New England... I mean, if that were a 1:1 scale, the snow should be halfway to its knees by now...

Doublepush · March 2, 2015

Help me decide what to do tonight MW! As anyone who's built it knows the Sazabi Ver Ka is quite an undertaking. I've got evenings free with no wife/kids all week so tonight should I A) build the backpack

B) build the weapons

Or C) start on the water slides for the main body? Hoping to have it all done this week but I want to know what kind of pics people want to see tonight

March 3, 2015

Ahhh... the water technique works best for large stickers where its much harder to eyeball placement. That said, try and avoid balls of water.

ok, got it will try it with larger decals in the future

I get these Xacto replacements from Amazon or eBay... 12 bucks for 100ct.

http://amzn.com/B0006GBSXG

thanks, macross world!

generally prefer these blades for their sharpness.

do these fit the the tamiya cutter?

ok, i finally finished sky grasper

all sides:

thank you all for the various help and advice

Edited March 3, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

dizman · March 3, 2015

Looking good for your first kit. Now for the real challenge, the strike gundam!

Hikuro · March 3, 2015

Looking good for your first kit. Now for the real challenge, the strike gundam!

That was a challenge? :blink: I think I finished that with stickers in 4 hours.

March 3, 2015

Looking good for your first kit. Now for the real challenge, the strike gundam!

yeah, i need a break but want ti break out the strike next!

That was a challenge? I think I finished that with stickers in 4 hours.

damn, you built and decal-ed the strike in 4 hours? boy, that's fast...

Hikuro · March 3, 2015

yeah, i need a break but want ti break out the strike next!

damn, you built and decal-ed the strike in 4 hours? boy, that's fast...

when you start seeing the pattern of what goes where you build faster. I practically did a HG nemo with no direction except which poly caps go where.

close313 · March 3, 2015

The skygrasper is awesome! Wished they did an MG version with the same packs for the Strike RM. All we got was a lazy p-bandai repackaged packs.

Edited March 3, 2015 by close313

Nekko Basara · March 3, 2015

yeah, i need a break but want ti break out the strike next!

damn, you built and decal-ed the strike in 4 hours? boy, that's fast...

Don't feel bad, David. RGs are a 20-30 hour project for me. Everybody has their own pace. Besides, if you view building Gunpla as entertainment, then slowpokes are getting the most bang for their buck!

Also, yes, those Olfa blades will fit the Tamiya handle. It's been my experience that snap blades are pretty universal; I've put a variety of makes into handles from the top Japanese and Korean brands as well as dollar-store versions without any significant fit issues. The only thing to be aware of is that there is another blade type with a steeper angle and sharper point that will fit these handles, but the blade isn't exposed properly without the handles made specifically for it. But those blades can be distinguished at a glance.

Hikuro · March 3, 2015

I finished the God Gundam last night....really didn't put a lot of effort into it cause it got blah for me. I mean 30 dollar decade old kit it's not gonna have as much appeal to me as a UC kit would of that age.

All in All it came out fine and as I'd of intended it to be.

now I got 13 other gunpla kits to work on.

March 3, 2015

Don't feel bad, David. RGs are a 20-30 hour project for me. Everybody has their own pace. Besides, if you view building Gunpla as entertainment, then slowpokes are getting the most bang for their buck!

Also, yes, those Olfa blades will fit the Tamiya handle. It's been my experience that snap blades are pretty universal; I've put a variety of makes into handles from the top Japanese and Korean brands as well as dollar-store versions without any significant fit issues. The only thing to be aware of is that there is another blade type with a steeper angle and sharper point that will fit these handles, but the blade isn't exposed properly without the handles made specifically for it. But those blades can be distinguished at a glance.

thanks, for the info on the blade compatibility.

i'm a bit toast from skygrasper, prob need to recharge a bit to get started on the x-105 strike. i'm glad i finished it, it was a sense of confidence. i finally got to use a pencil i ordered from amazon on it. i spend so much time trying to get the panel lines right. MW forum member Lolicon gave me all these tips on weathering and panel lining a year ago but it was way above my head and was too scared to try on my valks. but i dug up his instructions and tried it out.

now i'm going to finish practicing panel lining my vf-1a mass production while peeking over here.

I finished the God Gundam last night....really didn't put a lot of effort into it cause it got blah for me. I mean 30 dollar decade old kit it's not gonna have as much appeal to me as a UC kit would of that age.

very cool!

Edited March 4, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

mikeszekely · March 4, 2015

now I got 13 other gunpla kits to work on

I'm jealous. I got nothing right now. A few unexpected expenses this month are cutting into my spending money, too. I might try to order myself a Hi-Nu V-rabe and an RG Wing Zero soon, though, and hopefully I can still get an order in for then RG G3.

anime52k8 · March 4, 2015

oh my god guys, look how cute these are:

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2794

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2795

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2796

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2793

renegadeleader1 · March 4, 2015

I'm jealous. I got nothing right now. A few unexpected expenses this month are cutting into my spending money, too. I might try to order myself a Hi-Nu V-rabe and an RG Wing Zero soon, though, and hopefully I can still get an order in for then RG G3.

You could always finish those T61 tanks from the land war set.

March 4, 2015

oh my god guys, look how cute these are:

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2794

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2795

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2796

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-2793

are those real grade?

Sign In

Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

Recommended Posts

Guest davidwhangchoi

Hikuro

Nekko Basara

mikeszekely

Guest davidwhangchoi

treatment

Guest davidwhangchoi

sketchley

Guest davidwhangchoi

Chas

Guest davidwhangchoi

Guest davidwhangchoi

Hikuro

mikeszekely

Guest davidwhangchoi

mikeszekely

sketchley

EXO

Nekko Basara

renegadeleader1

mikeszekely

Doublepush

Guest davidwhangchoi

dizman

Hikuro

Guest davidwhangchoi

Hikuro

close313

Nekko Basara

Hikuro

Guest davidwhangchoi

mikeszekely

anime52k8

renegadeleader1

Guest davidwhangchoi

Join the conversation

Activity