Arcadia SDF-custom premium finish

[Kamina337]

So here’s the thing, I got a hold of a standard release Arcadia SDF-1. The current cost of acquiring a premium is double to triple the standard finish if you can find one. Close-up pictures others had provided online of the premium finish gave me the necessary clues to find matches in glow in the dark paint. Glow-in-the-dark paint finishes that work well are not very diverse. Enough close-up review pictures and coming across a highly phosphorescent paint under the name glow-on let me to an exact color match. Scorched earth toys had wonderful review shots of the premium finish. Notice the grainy texture that others including those on this forum have on their official premium finished figures. Unfortunately the very things that make the paint so phosphorescent make it very grainy in texture.

The paint I am using for the glow in the dark is it glow-on brand “bubblegum red” which dries to more of an orange reddish pinkish color and “yellow” which clothes bright greenish and dries a kind of greenish yellow color. Some of the photos show my online matching of the paint before I ordered it. Close up details of the official premium version are from scorched earth reviews. 
I’m working on much finer applied panel lining as the official was mass produced by hand application of the panel lining and fine detail paints.

I had just discovered this particular form Macross world today. And since I have not officially handled the real premium I had one of my suspicions confirmed. Scorched earth does make the complaint that they decided to frost the windows of the bridge. And someone on the forum had made the case that it actually has a matte topcoat. And this is why the bridge is frosted over. I will be masking my bridge and any other clear parts present. But the topcoat finish likely help to secure the glow-on which does attach and dry very hard but due to it’s grainy bead like nature can be scratched off easy (As I discovered on the shoulder cannons after days of drying not being careful and transformation scraped the dots of paint off the tips and I had to reapply.

 

Also if you own a premium finish but have scratch the glow-in-the-dark paint this should be valuable information to allow you to repair the paint yourself. Glow-on comes in very small vials. But so far I found I’ve added most of the glow in the dark details and still have the majority left by purchasing the medium size which is still a very tiny amount. But for what you have to use it goes along way. It is actually manufactured and mainly advertised as a sight paint for guns

Edited July 7, 2020 by Kamina337
Typos and unfortunately probably more I will see later.

[Kamina337]

[tekering]

8 hours ago, Kamina337 said:

Enough close-up review pictures and coming across a highly phosphorescent paint under the name glow-on let me to an exact color match.

Found it  on Amazon.  

Looks great, Kamina!   

[Lolicon]

Wow! That does look good! Great job! 

[Gabe Q]

Thank you for taking the time to post this. It's very helpful. 

[Vertex]

Thanks for the share -  something to remember when considering getting one.

[Grey728]

Great job! Thanks for posting this. I'll my hand at this as well. I'll have to try some of those phosphorescent paints.

If anyone knows of some good decals that could go well with this please share.

[spacemanspiff]

Here's video I made of the actual Arcadia Premium Edition Glow Effects.  Just so you can compare.  It looks a lot like what you are able to accomplish with the glow paint.  Well done.

 

 

 

[EastwindS2k]

Great work! 

I’m panel lining a standard one and my progress is slow. After seeing yours,  maybe I’ll add glowing paint too.

Do you matte coat before or after applying the glowing paint? Also do glowing paints need thinner?

Edited July 10, 2020 by EastwindS2k

[Kamina337]

The Glow-on paint is water based and does not need thinner. It is a bit gritty because of the phosphoresce. Dip the tip of a toothpick and gently drag the paint where you want it. Keep a blacklight handy to check for mistakes before they dry. It isn’t easy and is very tedious. But doable. I will apply matte after I’m done with lining and paint to help protect my work. But only a light dusting of spray for me. And absolutely no touching for a day at least after. Also I will mask the clear plastic windows and bridge as the premium just blanket frosted everything with matte and I don’t like it on the windows. Look for the glow-on website. Bubblegum red and yellow are the two colors you will need to match.