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Rafi posted an update in the group
Q/A & Help Group 6 years, 9 months ago Ok, I think I’m in big trouble. Big being the word here. I ordered and got the Neo Zeong off A_Japan on Amazon (not hlj). Should have waited for a restock maybe but it always appears backordered and it takes months for stuff to arrive in Bangladesh… etc. etc.
So… Came with an old and worn out manual as if it was used a million times, plus a lot of parts were broken off the sprues and ended badly scratched all over the place as they rubbed around against the bit they broke off from. Plastic on many outside parts also severely stressed (showing white all the way down to the main part). Given the shipping complications and other stuff, it’s not always feasible to try to return a product, and this thing cost me an arm and a leg to get transported here (plus taxes…).
Actual Query: How can I mitigate severe stress marks on parts? I see whiteness all the way into the main parts themselves so sanding off huge chunks doesn’t seem like the answer. Other thing might be to incorporate battle damage into my kit along those areas and make it work for me, but I wanted to keep it as vanilla as possible. Anything I can do to fix/mitigate how bad it looks short of painting the whole thing?
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Q/A & Help Group
if i remember correctly try heating a bit with hair dryier. But check it first on some other dmged part (for example part of the tree runner)
Thx for the advice! I’ve repaired stuff using the hair dryer before, but it seems to only work on softer parts. Neo Zeong plastic is too hard methinks. 🙁
can u just return the package on amazon im sure theyll let u
Like, I said, a return is possible, but not feasible. I live in Bangladesh. 🙁
if its that bad i feel like returning it is a better option u spent so much money to get it torn up especially since neo zeong costs ten arms and legs to get
Almost USD100 in taxes every time it comes in, not to mention shipping. Like I said, not feasible. Nothing is broken or missing; no guarantee the next box will have everything. I am looking for ways to reduce/remove/recover stressed plastic, short of painting.
Well this might seem abundant, but next time place an order for the tings on backorder regardless. This is also stated on the FAQ on their site…..
With those big pieces they might only order the amount of kits that they got an order from by costumers. In any case, if you place an order for a kit that is in backorder, you won’t have to pay anything until it comes in stock.
Secondly, that seriously sucks for you. IMO the best way to get that kit looking how it should is by painting it, if it has stress marks or not. I mean spending a few hundred bucks on a kit and just snapping it together….?
The Neo Zeong has an odd red color, like brownish red, but with all those stores selling car parts over there, seeing Leepu and Bernie buy there all sorts of stuff, I am sure there will be a store that sells plastic primer and a ton of automotive spray cans which will come close to the color of the kit.
The place the stickers, panel lines and spray a clear coat on top of it and you’ll be ending up with a great kit that you can really call your own and maybe it even is the one that got you into painting your kits 😉
Maybe not the answer/quick fix you where looking for, but this is IMO your best option. Good luck and happy building
Yay, you’re here! \(^__^)/
I always wanted to paint the Neo Zeong. Been practicing and brushing up my painting skills as much as possible for the attempt too for months. However, a few days back I saw a contest post on youtube with a Gundam marker set as a prize; there was a disclaimer saying that Gundam markers may damage ABS plastic! That got me in a conversation with another user there who told me any paint with thinner incorporated damages plastic! That I shouls be ready with superglue to fix problems! Sounds impossible, but is this true?? Q___Q
If the parts are primed, thinning agents won’t effect the plastic. Except for cellulose thinner. That stuff eats trough everything!
Gundam Markers contain Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol). The same as used for the solvent in Mr Hobby Aqueous and Tamiya Acrylic paints.
PE and ABS won’t be effected when exposed to alcohol for a short amount of time. If they are soaked for a longer time (hours) in alcohol they might show signs of cracking or become very stiff.
As alcohol evaporates very quickly, I highly doubt that using a Gundam Marker will cause any damage to your model. However, using the Gundam Marker Eraser pen may cause damage as they are prone to spill a lot of fluid (alcohol). If this flows into the cracks between parts and then flow in the Male-Female connection parts due to capillary action, it might cause (armor) parts falling off as the connections expand and/or crack and then losing their friction, hence using super glue (normal modeling cement won’t “melt” ABS to eachother. One needs special glue or make some yourself, but this is a subject for another time/question).
Be aware, this can also be caused by using other thinning agents. There are numerous reports of modelers using enamel thinners causing Bandai plastics to crack. PE as well as ABS!
Therefor, be sure to use a primer. Modeling primers are especially made to adhere to all types of plastics without damaging them. Depending on the brand of automotive primers, some will not adhere to plastics. Those brands will sell special plastic primers.
Also, Bandai stepped away from using ABS for the inner frame on newer kits as they endorse using Mr. Hobby paints (these are the paints in the color charts in the manuals). These are solvent based (lacquer) based paints. These types of paint may cause some issues with ABS, but only if applied directly to bare plastic. Once primed, there where no issues, at least not to my knowledge.
So, when painting your model and you are not sure if the type of paint will cause damage to the plastic, use a primer. Be aware, Isopropyl Alcohol will eventually eat trough primers and lacquers too!
When planning on painting the Neo Zeong and doing panel lining, please do some research on what to use. Should you not find any useful information or find any contradicting info which brings you in doubt, please drop us (or me in private message) a line so we can help you out. This also goes if this information leaves you with any questions 😉
Hmmm, good to know, thx! 🙂
Are primers/undercoats universal or do you need different types for different paints? I know I won’t get a lot of options here, so might just end up finding undercoats for furniture or something… Will that do? Q__Q
I bougt a Hi Nu from them long ago (Astyle J) and the box was in bad shape, also the manual had the first page torn.
Products from hlj are always pristine.
You can retouch some parts with gundam real markers. You can paint ABS (not everything is ABS, is labeled on the spru), use a light coat of tamiya primer (spry can) and any acrylic paint on top, it wont damage the plastic. If posible sand the ABS (watter sand paper) to improve adhesion. Wash everything with watter an dish soap after painting.
Also, you may not need to paint/retouching everything, only the outside viable parts.
hlj… y u always backordered… Q__Q
Will look for what primers are available here. Are there different types for different paints?
Tamiya primer spray is lacquer-based, you can apply enamels or acrylics over it (acrylics are easy to use and easy to clean). It dries super fast so it won’t damage the plastic. I have used Krylon primer (spray can) but the coat is thicker and the color is darker (also is plastic friendly). Use white primer for white and grey for other colors. Covering it with red color could be tricky as somethimes it turns orange or pink.
Ty! (^__^)b
I’ll see what is available in the local stores then. Very limited selection, so I may end up only finding furniture primers/undercoats; will those do as well? 🙁
Those may not do. Furniture is mostly wood, leather, steel and/or fabric.
There are acrylic, enamel and lacquer based primers. From all those, acrylic is the most weak. Some of these might also bring some trouble in application.
Lacquer based is the strongest.
You can always put a weak paint on top of a stronger type of paint. There are exceptions but assuming you don’t have an airbrush, I wouldn’t go there.
It is indeed true that when not careful a spray can may produce a thick coat. This in itself isn’t a problem, but may become one in fitting parts, doing panel lines and/or articulation.
Therefor try using light coats. hold the spray can far enough away so it doesn’t “drown” the part in paint.
About acrylics are easy to clean, this is only true for water based acrylics like Vallejo. Tamiya is alcohol based and needs to be cleaned with alcohol. This is what I mean, some people want to help and don’t give the right or insufficient information.
Vallejo paints can be cleaned with water, best using a window cleaner that contains ammonia.
Tamiya and such paints need to be cleaned with alcohol or their X20A (which is alcohol).
Enamels can be cleaned with enamel thinner, white spirit, turpentine or lighter fluid.
Lacquer based paints can only be cleaned with cellulose based thinners.
Maybe a bit abundant, but if you should use a brush for hand painting, use a flat on for big surfaces. Dilute the paint as much as possible and apply lots of coats with sufficient drying time between them. The first two coats won’t fully cover the piece in the color. Doing it this way, you will have no brush marks in your paint. There are a few tutorials on youtube about this subject. I strongly recommend watching them if you haven’t already.
If you plan on doing panel lines, Gundam Markers are almost a big No No. Saying almost because you cant make any mistakes as cleaning them up will most likely damage your paint job. Especially using the eraser pen.
After painting, use a gloss clear to protect the paint and getting a smooth surface to place on your decals and doing the panel lines.
If possible try to get your hands on Future. This is an acrylic floor protector. So NOT a polish like some state. They do make a polishing compound and that stuff won’t harden as it is made to polish the clear coat….. The future can be applied with a brush as it has a great self leveling property and won’t leave any brush marks.
Thereafter you can thin down an enamel paint to the consistency of milk, use a pointy brush to lightly dab the paint onto a panel line. Capillary action will make the paint flow trough the panel line. You can clean up any mistakes with the above mentioned thinning agents.
Enamels on acrylics!!!??? I can hear you think. Yes, this is one of the exceptions in the rule. If the acrylic has cured for at least a day you van put a little enamel on top and use enamel thinners to clean afterwards.
I’m almost sure you will have to order 90% of the supplies online. This may get a bit expensive, but most products will last you a very long time. Don’t get overwhelmed in all the types of paint and other products. just plan what you exactly want to do/achieve and get the supplies accordingly.
Be prepared to order some extra paint and primer as the Neo Zeong is a big beast and will eat paint and primer!
There are a few channels on youtube that I would like to recommend as they tackle most problems at hand.
The Modelmaking Guru, Mokanaman, Justinius Builds and The Ghost Of Zeon. Pictures are worth a thousand words 😉
Please let us know if you need any more information!
@teetee580 , thank you! Very informative, and yeah I’m on brushes. Unless there is some kind of manual action airbrushing kit, relying on airbrush is hard here as we have a lot of power outages for lengthy periods of time. 🙁
I am watching some tutorials and thanks for the recommendations! 😀
Sure, anytime 😉
Myself (no trouble with power outages though) use an automotive compressor. It has a huge tank (in comparison with airbrush/hobby compressors), which once full lets me paint for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the pressure I’m working with. Maybe an idea, most have an air pressure regulator and even a water trap build in.
Anyway, lots of luck wished and happy building!