Skull Leader

Water slides are always on a paper backing. Dry transfers are always on a clear piece of plastic.
If you want to paint clear parts, use a clear paint, or a metallic color that isn’t the color of an actual metal(i.e. gold, silver, steel).
I suggest you spray the parts separately if you’re unsure of it. or use a high gloss coat. Of course a high…[Read more]

Adding to what @slater4u said, for most painting I’d take apart a model then coat it in sections. This will also help exposed joints not get sealed by top coat.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend trying to top-coat clear pieces as they can fog up really easily.

Thanks a lot guys, I will be sure to keep all of this in mind while working on my unicorn. I will definitely be using the tips on the clear parts because I want to keep the transparency. And now the thing I was most confused about with decals is now cleared up haha

I don’t have a link to anything as simple as just painting, but I’m sure Youtube has tons of those videos. Try looking up a guy on youtube called GhostofZeon. As for some more advanced stuff, I recommend trying this guy: http://codyscoop.com/models/how-to he does great work, and he makes it rather simple to pick up.

found this with a quick search seems to cover quite a few things http://goodguydangunpla.blogspot.ca/2013/08/building-for-beginners-tips-and-tricks.html That should help you get started even has the tools listed that he uses.

That’s a good way to start there, however i suggest against using an x-acto knife to remove the gate. Once you have your part separated from the tree, use your sidecutters with the flat side facing the part, and trim the gate off as close as you can. This gives you less of a chance of gouging the plastic with the knife, which is a common issue by…[Read more]

oh didn’t even notice he was using that in his tutorials, just found a site with a bunch of tutorials and posted to help out.

Anyways yeah don’t use that, use a modeling knife, with changeable blades. Though I must confess when I started I was using a nail clipper to cut sprues,, would not recommend that either btw lol.

I don’t think Bandai sells dry transfer decals, as they’re moving away from providing them in their kits due to the fact that they’re not very well liked. They look good, but they’re easy to mess up, WAY to easy.

I suggest that if you cannot spray coat the parts yet, to use a good flat brush, like brand new or the best you have, and brush some…[Read more]

whats blotchy? or maybe you top coat matt finish in a cold weather . . .

It’s either the cold weather, or you are spraying too much. Matte paint only need a VERY thin coat to get the desired effect.

Very carefully, If you plan to paint after building i recommend that you trim up the posts to ease in dis-assembly.

you can use something like an exacto blade to pry them apart. they also make part separators of models as well.

there’s probably a guide around but the basics are trimming the posts before assembly as was already mentioned. What the means is simply a 45 degree cut on the peg to make it easier to pull back apart. the other thing is that prying apart, and anything that can slip between the cracks and is sturdy enough will do, so yeah knife blades, though…[Read more]

yea i usually paint them up with some clear red if its pink to make it looks more darker and intimidating but ive tried turning a pink saber into a blue one with some metallic blue paint itll look nice too so whtever u want for a color change from red to whtedver color i suggest using metallics but if u wanna make it darker just use some clear red

If you really want a color change, it’s better to cast them in a different color yourself. You can get a resin casting set for rather cheap, as well as any other supplies you need. You can use that to make clear parts in pretty much any color you want. You can always paint them if you prefer, however painting them even with clear paint doesn’t…[Read more]

I think it’s different for everyone. mostly I think it’s just going about your everyday life when you see something and get to thinking, “hey what if?” and from that “what if” you go about your idea. it’s not really something that’s simple to explain cause it really could be anything. if you like a color maybe you just want to work it in then…[Read more]

personally i just throw some paint on a kit and hope it dosen’t look like crap. My Sazabi Ver Ka is the prime example. Im working on a custom color nu-gundam right now and im thinking about a color scheme for my hi-nu with the HWS. I’m thinking about replacing the purple with a burnt orange but im still in the planning process on that one.

Generally I’ll refrain from a full paint job on my Master grades, as the white plastic generally looks better then any white paint, lol. I will paint certain parts to fill in the areas that are the wrong color.

Other then that, custom paint jobs are related to whatever theme I’m going with. So generally, my kits will see mostly military style…[Read more]

research, for me I look some similar kits with customs paints online then if I’m not satisfied or something pop-up on my mind i will try the color scheme by providing a linework of the kit then photoshop to try the formulated color scheme. If the color scheme is bad on the photoshop, I will not continue the scheme then try another one.

Well after cutting it from the runner, use your cutters to clip off the excess gate. From there you can use a file. always file in one direction, never back and forth, and try to keep the file straight and flat. A few passes should be enough to get the gate down and even with the rest of the part without scraping the rest of the part. from there…[Read more]

As for cleaning the nubs, Slater4u covered this excellent. He tells it how it is. I only suggest finishing sanding with a 1000 grid and use a 800 grid before that and after the 600 grid, since you’re not planning on painting and use Gundam Markers to get rid of the discoloration. A 600 grid still leaves scratch marks.
Also get the 800 and 1000 in…[Read more]

Primer is primaly use as a base so that paint sticks better. Other method is thoroughly was your runner using soap. Other than that is that when you prime all the imperfectness of the surface can be clearly seen and easily sand to get the perfect surface and end result.

for a metallic paint you want to lay down a gloss black before the actual metallic color you want, whether or not you use a primer before this I suppose could be considered optional but I’d do it. When working with gloss paints you can’t really do touch up work, it shows too much, and if you’re doing metallic you’re probably not going to want to…[Read more]

You want to do your panel lines before the stickers. Some of the stickers will cross panel lines.

It is one of the orders you could use. Putting a flat coat on top of the panel lines is possible, but not if you plan to use Gundam Markers and a lacquer based clear coat on top of that. The water based ink from the Gundam markers will be dissolved and start to run. Had this problem once in the past. Made a big mess of the piece. Using a acrylic…[Read more]

http://www.gundamplanet.com/mr-top-coat-spray-88ml-flat.html so since this is water based it wouldnt run the gundam panel line marker (which i belive is oil based)?

I think the right method for Out Of Box(OOB) built is
Snap fit>Panel line>Stickers>Top Coat

If using waterslides I prefer
Snap fit>Water Slide>Gloss Coat>Panel Line>Matte Top Coat

I think (in my own opinion) for the whole process (not painted)
cleaning numb marks>snap fit>clear coat or gloss coat(optional)>panel line>clear coat>decals/stickers>clear coat>final coating if you want shine effect used gloss or clear, but if you like matt effect used flat coats. Gradually apply 2 to 3 thin coats.

Did you allow the gloss coat to completely cure before putting on the flat coat? What kind of gloss and flat did you use (laquer, acrylic?) Did you spray outside in the cold?

mind if I share what I did with my MG Nu Gundam, after painting, I used flat coat first for paint protection. And thats the only thing that I flat coat it. Then panel lining then seal with clear coat (not gloss coat), then decals(water) seal with clear coat then all the way clear coat and it still look flat and I’m satisfied. Also, don’t paint…[Read more]