Suggestions on painting a valkyrie?

[Shizuka the Cat]

Hello,

I am totally inexperienced at this, so I could definitely use some advice.

I have a Yamato 1/60 v2 VF-1A TV Max that I got from eBay. It is yellowed in parts. It also has some incomplete and a little bit messed up panel lining. 

I kind of want to repaint this valkyrie, but don't know what kind of paint I should buy. I would appreciate any advice on what is the appropriate paint to buy, tools I might need, things to be careful of, etc.  

Thanks!

[tekering]

Stick to Japanese modeling materials.  Having grown up in Canada with Testers, Humbrol and the like, I can tell you that Mr. Color and Tamiya brand paints are much higher quality (and considerably easier to use) than what's readily available in your neck of the woods...

Unless you know your way around an airbrush, spray cans and masking tape is the way to go.  

This is what I managed to achieve this week, without the aid of an airbrush:

[levzloi]

That's a gorgeous Cavaliers paint job, could you tell me what specific paint products and colors you used for that look?

 

[tekering]

39 minutes ago, levzloi said:

could you tell me what specific paint products and colors you used for that look?

[Mog]

Plan, plan, plan.

Figure out how your color scheme will look in all three modes.  

Are you doing a full repaint, or just repainting a few key areas?

If you do a full repaint, will you use decals or stickers for the key markings?

Going with custom markings?  Understand unless it’s going on a white part of the Valk, it may not show up very well. (Plus, no more ALPS printers means your options for white-backed custom stickers/decals is limited.)

If doing a full repaint, it’s probably better to disassemble the Valk completely, then spray paint.  Make sure you keep track of all the parts and screws you take out;  the screws are NOT always the same size.

There’s also the issue of sanding the parts down and adding clearcoat after painting (to prevent the paint from rubbing off when you transform the Valk).

So to put it mildly, plan, PREP, and give yourself a TON of time to work on your custom.  Patience and prep can save you heartaches later on.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Mog

[Mog]

Regarding panel-lining, I’m a fan of using micron pens to fill them in.  You can use the standard black or go with light gray for a more subtle line.

Plus, it’s easy to wipe off with water, sweat, or spit, if you fudge the line a little.

[no3Ljm]

For more advises and step by steps, there's a lot of pinned threads in the Workshop section. Hope it helps on your custom job, Shizuka-chan. Looking forward to it. 

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/forum/23-the-workshop/ 

 

[Saburo]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Stick to Japanese modeling materials.  Having grown up in Canada with Testers, Humbrol and the like, I can tell you that Mr. Color and Tamiya brand paints are much higher quality (and considerably easier to use) than what's readily available in your neck of the woods...

Unless you know your way around an airbrush, spray cans and masking tape is the way to go.  

This is what I managed to achieve this week, without the aid of an airbrush:

@tekering, without airbrush.. wow that is great work!

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Stick to Japanese modeling materials.  Having grown up in Canada with Testers, Humbrol and the like, I can tell you that Mr. Color and Tamiya brand paints are much higher quality (and considerably easier to use) than what's readily available in your neck of the woods...

Unless you know your way around an airbrush, spray cans and masking tape is the way to go.  

This is what I managed to achieve this week, without the aid of an airbrush:

That looks great!

[derex3592]

To be perfeclty honest, don't expect perfection for your 1st time out out trying to paint or repaint a 1:60 Ver2.  Honestly, I would say pick what mode you want to display it in, and then mask it and paint it once in that mode.   The repainted parts more than likely won't survive transformation because all the tolerances are SO tight. I did a Kaki back when they were $80 to make an Alaskan Base Valk. It looks great in battroid, but I wouldn't ever try to transform it.   Have fun though!  With spray paint, practice, practice, prcatice!  LIGHT COATS one at a time.  Tamiya TS sprays are great.  Come over to the modeling forums!  We have cookies! 

Edited April 1, 2019 by derex3592

[levzloi]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Thanks Tekering, I'm thinking of painting some super parts up for a Cavaliers custom, this should help quite a bit

[Shizuka the Cat]

Maybe I should outsource this paint job.

I wonder if anyone here with experience painting valkyries would be interested in a job.

[Xigfrid]

3 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Maybe I should outsource this paint job.

I wonder if anyone here with experience painting valkyries would be interested in a job.

You probably can browse a war hammer forum and ask a custom paint job there.

[Bishop]

Practice on a junker toy before ex. dollar store. And use primer... it cost more to do so, but the result is so much better. 

[mickyg]

I'd love an excuse to do another one of these Shizuka but the shipping to and from Oz would destroy any chance at it being affordable.  There are bound to be quite a few options closer to your neck of the woods.  Good luck!

[Lolicon]

7 hours ago, tekering said:

Stick to Japanese modeling materials.  Having grown up in Canada with Testers, Humbrol and the like, I can tell you that Mr. Color and Tamiya brand paints are much higher quality (and considerably easier to use) than what's readily available in your neck of the woods...

Unless you know your way around an airbrush, spray cans and masking tape is the way to go.  

This is what I managed to achieve this week, without the aid of an airbrush:

I want that valkyrie! 

[Pulltoeject]

Shizuka, try asking on a plastic model kit building forum. You can ask there if there are any builders in Your area, and ask for a quote. If You want to save money, try de yellowing it first and removing the panel lines if Your'e up to it, it's not that hard. 

Good luck !

[F360]

With the time and effort needed to clean and especially paint (lots of time, and some material cost) , it would be cheaper for you to just sell the Yamato 1/60 v2 VF-1A TV Max and buy another one in better condition.   I think you should preorder the 1/48 Dx TV max.  

[Bolt]

Just how bad is it?? Picture?

Removing "incomplete and a little bit messed up panel lining" dose not seem too difficult. There's also some great info in the -You're yellow! VF-25F turning all sorts of colors- thread.

As far as repainting it, yes practice on other models or cheap Valk's ( if you're really determined to do this) it's an acquired skill for most of us mere mortals.

[Shizuka the Cat]

52 minutes ago, Pulltoeject said:

Shizuka, try asking on a plastic model kit building forum. You can ask there if there are any builders in Your area, and ask for a quote. If You want to save money, try de yellowing it first and removing the panel lines if Your'e up to it, it's not that hard. 

Good luck !

How do you remove panel lines?  

[Shizuka the Cat]

46 minutes ago, F360 said:

With the time and effort needed to clean and especially paint (lots of time, and some material cost) , it would be cheaper for you to just sell the Yamato 1/60 v2 VF-1A TV Max and buy another one in better condition.   I think you should preorder the 1/48 Dx TV max.  

Do you think there are people out there who would even want to buy a yellowing and semi-panel lined valkyrie?

Besides me, I mean.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Shizuka the Cat

[Shizuka the Cat]

22 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Just how bad is it?? Picture?

Removing "incomplete and a little bit messed up panel lining" dose not seem too difficult. There's also some great info in the -You're yellow! VF-25F turning all sorts of colors- thread.

As far as repainting it, yes practice on other models or cheap Valk's ( if you're really determined to do this) it's an acquired skill for most of us mere mortals.

I will try snapping some photos after school and put them up for you to see.

[Bolt]

2 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Do you think there are people out there who would even want to buy a yellowing and semi-panel lined valkyrie?

Besides me, I mean.

Only if i was going to repaint it! LOL

[F360]

12 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Do you think there are people out there who would even want to buy a yellowing and semi-panel lined valkyrie?

Besides me, I mean.

well, there are always people that want to do a custom paint job but don't want to paint for a new valk just to do it. 

You can try posting it up in the For/sale forum and go from there.  

To remove some yellowing you can try, hydrogen peroxide, and or  developer 40 hair gel cream.,, 

more info is located in this thread, 

 

 

 

[mickyg]

2 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

How do you remove panel lines?  

Depends on what the colour is.  I had a few second hand ones I bought that had some lines I wanted to remove and I had really good luck with Gundam eraser, which I think is mostly alcohol based.  So you could try a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol.  If that doesn't work, you just sort of up your solvent aggressiveness until you find something that works.  Just bear in mind that the the paints on the Yamato and Arcadia valks aren't indestructible.  It's worth testing whatever you try on a painted part first, just to make sure you don't remove the panel line colour along with the paint!

[Pulltoeject]

Hey Shizuka, buy a bottle of tamiya thinner,  dip a q-tip in and squeeze the excess off with a paper towel, You want a barely moist tip, not fully saturated. With a little elbow grease, You want to rub into the offending panel lines till they are gone. If a tampoed  section is panel lined, that is a bit more difficult without knowing what was used to panel line in the first place.

For the de-yellowing.... chemical methods are pita if You dont know what You are doing. I would recommend buying some extremely fine grit hobby sandpaper, the kind You wet first, and basically buff the yellow off the plastic  being careful not to take off any paint/tampo on the valk. This does not scratch or marr the surface. Take Your time and go SLOWLY.

Youtube has lots of vids on how to use the sandpaper, and the thinner and sandpaper will probably set You back perhaps 15 dollars. 

I hope this helps, and try to post pics of the patient! 

 

[Shizuka the Cat]

Pictures of the patient....

[Pulltoeject]

Hmmmm....looks like the messy parts were not finished, say, not cleaned up to leave the clean panel line look. Try the qtip thingie and wipe away the excess paint first along those parts and see if you like the end result, the over all panel lining does not look bad. If not satisfied, go full mister clean and strip it all off. As for the yellowing, I would go the sandpaper route.

The scratches on the canopy might be buffed out with an old tshirt and WHITE colgate. Moisten the tshirt with some water, dab a little paste on it and rub in tiny circular motions.

Try doing that now, it'll take you about 15 min. 

Ps, be careful with the black canopy frame !

Edited April 3, 2019 by Pulltoeject

[CHAVAKAISER]

 

Yellowish? Try using peroxide to whiten

 

[Mog]

Thanks for the pics!

So, the million dollar question remains:  what do you want to do with the yellowed bird? 

Custom repaint or restore it to pristine white?

By the way, that's some really uneven, sloppy panel-lining.  Don't know what the person was thinking, trying to panel-line the grey vent on the chest too.

Personally, I prefer using a lighter grey pen to fill in panel lines on the white parts;  it's subtle but can still pop.  Here's a pic of my Yammie 1/48 grey panel-lined on the left side and middle but left untouched on the right side.

Panel-lining fully done up (used black micron pen on the blue parts):

[mickyg]

Ah, that helps a LOT.

 

Not to disparage Pulltoeject's great advice but I notice a couple of things right off the bat that could use some further comment.

Firstly, those aren't scratches, but Shizuka, you probably already knew that.  That's Yamato's rainbow tint, disintegrating away on the inside of the canopy the way only their tinting can. It's common.  And I'm fairly certain it's something you can fully strip off with alcohol.

Second, it looks like the panel lining on the kite along the fuselage was done with something that reacted with the red paint.  I'm also tipping it was an alcohol based product.

In short, the Tamiya thinner might work, but I'd still start with good old Isopropyl first.  Pulltoeject's advice about using it basically dampened is definitely recommended.  I'd start on the side of that nosecone where it's just a white plastic background.  If the black starts to come off, you're in good shape to tackle the rest.  That kite though... That's almost assuredly going to require something special not to make it look worse.  Probably best to try and avoid it altogether.

Edited April 3, 2019 by mickyg

[tekering]

1 hour ago, Pulltoeject said:

I would recommend buying some extremely fine grit hobby sandpaper, the kind You wet first, and basically buff the yellow off the plastic  being careful not to take off any paint/tampo on the valk. This does not scratch or marr the surface. Take Your time and go SLOWLY.

That yellowing is much too pronounced (and much too widespread) to make it worth the effort.  Unless it can be done with chemicals, I don't think that Max is worth salvaging.  It's a mess.  

Better to repaint with a unique color scheme... something like this, maybe?

[Bolt]

Gosh darn! That’ll do!

[Pulltoeject]

I work as a flight attendant for Latam and have flights to Jfk, Mia and Lax. If You are willing, You could ship it to my hotel in one of those cities, and I will gladly give it a go. 

I know this might seem risky to You Shizuka, but I assure you I will make Max's old ride even Napoleon proud.

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Pulltoeject

[DewPoint]

I caution buffing clear plastic with toothpaste.  Unless you know for a fact that the grit on it is really, really fine.  Using toothpaste you run the risk of turning your clear plastic into opaque plastic from all the scratches you could create from the toothpaste grit.  Use NOVUS Plastic Polish or something similar.  I had to repair a plastic motorcycle helmet visor for a coworker that my other coworker screwed up using toothpaste to polish out a few scratches..

 

As far as hydrogen peroxide, read the forum topic that F360 linked.  The hair paste seems to work best, but you can easily go too far with it or end up with a patchy result.  Research, research, research!

Edited April 3, 2019 by DewPoint
Typo!