-
GambooWamboo posted an update in the group
Gunpla for beginners 6 years, 11 months ago Hi planning on my first MG kit. “Astray Red Frame Kai”
I have a few questions.
1. Is it advisable to apply decals/panel lining/top coat per build (head/arm/torso), or do you build all first before you apply the said things. (no plans on painting)
2. Is it advisable to use cement to hide gaps when connecting two parts?
Thanks!
Activity
Gunpla for beginners
Hi there.
It is advisable to do panel lining and such per build/limb. It grands you more access especially when doing top coat. I even do decals, panel lining and top coat per part (I paint the armour and frame). It helps if I do want to have a shine metallic like frame and dull weathered armour. When it comes to applying decals, this can be a chore in therms of locating the precies position while comparing it to the instruction manual, please keep that in mind should you plan on going that route.
When building an MG and you don’t paint, there is no problem in using glue to hide seam lines as you don’t need to mask due to the colour separation that isn’t going to be painted. However, you need to sand as joining the two parts with glue in between them leaves acces glue coming out of the gap called a bead. Be careful when sanding as you don’t want to sand down any detail, rissen or recessed. Begin with a 400 grid sandpaper, then a 600, 800 and finally a 1000 grid. This will get rid of any scratches but will remain duller than the non touched plastic. A clear coat will solve that problem for you.
Should you need any more advice, please get back to us. Hope you’ll have lots of fun building your first MG! Please post some pictures when you are done.
Good luck and happy building!
Will probably start by end of April or mid-May.
By Glue you meant the Tamiya Cement right or will regular Glue work(come to think of it it does look the same when it dries) Hehehe…
Yeah I was planning on painting but too scared to try it out, but I may hold the build if I muster the strength to paint the kit. but yes will post WIP-pics. I am loving the community of hobbiest so far, friendly and full of positive criticism.
Thanks,
Any polystyrene glue will do. For getting rid of seam lines, the Tamiya extra thin won’t work as great as it will leave some gaps due to its capillary characteristics. There has to be access glue coming out of the two pieces.
Not to push you in any direction, but there is nothing difficult in painting. The most easy way of painting is spray painting. Painting large surfaces with a brush is a whole other discipline. The paint needs to be thinned down and needs a few layers in order to get rid of brush strokes. Smal details aren’t much of a problem.
I began with an PG and rattle cans. The most difficult for me was ensuring I didn’t spray too much paint on the parts as they can obscure some details, like panel lines or soften the edges of raised detail.
As long as you take care in priming the parts, spray the colour you like and apply a gloss top coat to seal in the paint before the panel lining and decals (after that you can apply a clear coat of you liking) there will be no problem.
For getting a visual idea on how to spray paint, Syd did an episode on that on Gunpla TV way back when. It’s episode 12. He talks about the priming phase too and says primer is only needed when painting a lighter colour on a darker surface. I found that paint chipped of very easy without doing so. After applying a dry transfer, the backing paper stuck to the paint (which it always does a bit) and tore of a big piece of paint, rendering the piece useless and needed to be stripped of paint and obviously painted again (had to buy a new rattle can for one piece with a surface of 2 square inches….)
A dedicated plastic primer is strongly advised.
Vegeta 8259 on YouTube did some tutorials on spray painting too in the past, you may have to dig a bit to find them.
Just give it a try, you can make a kit truly your own by deviating on the colours if you like. You can always make the change and save some money to get an airbrush setup which in the long term saves you money as a bottle of paint goes a longer way then spray cans (which you can decant and get even more mileage out of those) and you can learn some awesome techniques!
Sorry for the rambling, I’m just a bit passionate when it comes to the hobby….
Please keep in mind, wherever there are people whom like to help, there are always some bullies on the lurk. Just don’t pay attention to them. They’ve forgotten they too had to learn at some point and if you want to do things out of the box will shunt you for it….. There is no wrong way when it comes to modeling, except if you do things to your kit which YOU don’t like, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of it. Sometimes I come across a model which has things done to it which I don’t like, but I look at the effort one has putten into it and leave my personal liking out of it.
I hope you come across with all the good people in the hobby and enjoy it as much as you can! Should you need any more advise or tips, please get back with us.
Good luck and happy building!
Thanks for the support!
Excited to start with the kit and share it with the fellow enthusiasts.
You’re welcome 😉