PG Zaku, to paint or not to paint?
Sharon Hopkins
am wondering whether to paint it or not. We just finished painting
and building the G-Cannon Magna (Silhouette Formula F-91), which
would have looked really lame (white cannons???) but now looks
pretty cool. That was my first try at using spray paints to
cover the whole sprues with the correct colors, and it was much
nicer and easier than I'd expected.
What do you all think about painting the PG models? Anyone done it?
Or do most folks just build them as-is?
If painting, what's a good brand of paints? I usually use Testors,
but their bottled paints range from thin to totally gloopy, and
I'm thinking of looking for something with better consistency.
How does one do shading like they show in the photos, fading from
lighter to darker across the leg parts, for example?
What about finishing? I like painting the parts on the sprues, before
assembly, but are you supposed to spray on dull-cote (or gloss-cote?)
after the model is all finished? Or over the sprues?
What about Future floor polish? Is that glossy? When should it
go on?
Thanks for any and all tips!!!
--Shar N Rauenzahn
sha...@kithrup.com
David Graf
Sharon Hopkins <sha...@kithrup.com> wrote in message
news:G07xH...@kithrup.com...
> What do you all think about painting the PG models? Anyone done it?
> Or do most folks just build them as-is?
>
damn thing already!
> If painting, what's a good brand of paints?
I generally use Testors Model Master enamels (although I don't care for
their acrylics). I airbrush everything but small details, and the Testors
paints work well for me.
> How does one do shading like they show in the photos, fading from
> lighter to darker across the leg parts, for example?
>
That is best done with an airbrush. You can either "pre-shade" (painting a
dark color in the crevices, then painting the base color lightly over it),
or you can pint a darker version of the base color into the darker bits
after applying the base color. You can also use chalk, drybrush and wash
techniques if you don't have an airbrush.
> What about finishing? I like painting the parts on the sprues, before
> assembly, but are you supposed to spray on dull-cote (or gloss-cote?)
> after the model is all finished? Or over the sprues?
>
I usually paint mecha kits in the subassembly stage, so I can fill and sand
any seams before painting, but minimize masking. Dullcote is the last step.
BTW, Dullcote brand isn't the best you can get. I prefer to airbrush Polly
Scale clear flat. It's flatter, and doesn't turn yellow.
> What about Future floor polish? Is that glossy? When should it
> go on?
>
Future is glossy. If you use waterslide decals, they go on best over a
glossy surface, so lots of people apply a clear gloss of some kind before
decals. I don't think the PG kits have decals (dry transfers?), so you
probably don't need to do this. Many people swear by Future, but I've never
had much luck with it. I'm probably just not doing it right. If you want
your Zaku to be shiny, you might try it. The folks in rec.models.scale can
help you more than I can (search deja.com for threads on Future - it's a
frequent topic of discussion).
Dave
>
> --Shar N Rauenzahn
> sha...@kithrup.com
Patrick Moore
(sorry folks, just had my wisdom teeth out and the pain meds are putting a
dent in my normal happy-go-lucky attatude. Pfft), but I figure, youre noew
here, so lets all play nice.
Seems how you got the kit as a gift, you'll have more money to spend on
paints of you so choose. Be aware, that those of us with AMS (advanced
modeller's syndrome) frequently spend more on paint and suppies for each
kit than on the actual styrene (or resin, or metal, or vinyl, or wood,
or...) itself. I don't even want to think about how deep ive gone into the
red on my current project. Anyways, onto you're questions.
First off, I can say that you should avoid, if at all possible, painting a
kit's pieces on the sprue. Unfortunatley, thats probably not possible
unless you have an airbruns *and* a compressor, a sure symptom that the
above mentioned AMS has firmly taken hold in your system. Now, given that
an airbursh and compressor can easilly cost 200 dollars, spray painting
parts on the sprue looks a lot more attractive. So, by all means, go for
it.
Secondly, as for the type of paint, testors *flat* sprays are okay. Gloss
is to be avoided at all costs, both because you are hard pressed to find
any glossy mecha from UC (unless Char is piloting them), and because gloss
sprays take forever and a day to properly dry. And besides, you're
building a *green zaku* here. This is Zions mass produced, GI mecha here,
its not going to get a Rolls-Royce paint job. That said, stick to model
masters FS Flat paints, 2 greens and a few shades of grey should do it.
Incidentally, flat paint also holds oil pastels better. (more on that
later)
*goes off and works on his Sazabi for a while*
Okay, its later.
Now, you mentioned the shading on the Zaku's legs. This was most likley
done with and airbrush and oil pastels (you know those hard-to-clean up
chalk thingies). And aibrush can be made to paint feathered edges,
gradients, the whole shebang if your good at it. A finger dipped in pastel
dust can get similar results. Go to the local art supply store, get a few
suitable colors (black, grey, greens, browns, etc) of pastel, powder them
with sandpaper or on a rough surface, and apply with foam, fingertips,
brushes, paper towels, whatever strikes your fancy. Then when you have the
look you want, seal it with a flat dullcoat to keep the pastel from
rubbing off on whoever next touches the model. I mentioned that flat paint
holds pastel better? This is because flat paint is dul because its
actually a bumpy surface, but you probably already knew that. As such, the
powder sticks to it better.
Now you get to ask yourself: is it worth spending 20 bucks on supplies to
paint and detail a kit thats already al the right colors? Good question.
To most of us here, it is, though painting a PG kit is quite an
undertaking. One could simply flat-clearcoat the plastic to get rid of the
toy-ish look to it (you know that shoddy, bare plastic look) and then
asemble it, apply pastel (maybe), then seal again. Ive never done that,
but I imagine it would work decently.
Now for the other option: brush painting. *shudders at the thought of brus
painting a PG kit*
Yes, this is an option, though not one i'd undertake lightly. If youre
going to do it, once again, stick with flat paints. They're more
realistic, dry faster, and dont show brush marks as badly... Ad for brand
of paints, testors Model Masters come on just about any color you can
imagine, but they need thinner (turpentine-type) to clean up. One can get
a few litres of the stuff at a hardware store no prroblem. A word of
caution though: bring a piece of styrene tree along with you and dip it in
whatever you're planning on using a thinner. Some thinners will literally
melt plastic. Not good. Alternaltey, you can use acrylic paint. Testors
makes a line of acrylic paints (creativley called that 'acryl' line), as
do Citadel (my favorite) Polly-S (some cool colors) and Ral-Partha
(so-so). If youre going to go the acrylic route, you have to prime the
kit. Acrylic paints do not like to adhere to plastic at all. they'll
streak, leave brush marks, and generally ruin your kit if you try to put
them on without primer. They'll also flake off of bare plastic. (which
does haver certian advantaged for the detail obsessed, but I'll spare you
the lecture on simulating chipped paint). For primer, I reccomend white or
grey primer by Armory. Its fast-drying, goes on in a thin, flat coat, and
comes in a big-assed can for pretty cheap. One can will probably last you
a number of kits.
Lastly, you mentioned Future. for this application, don't worry about it.
Its primarily used for creating an even finish for waterslide decals to
stick to (and to overcote them), and as a medium-gloss finish. Its also
very tempermental, and can yellow over time. If you absolutley have to go
for the ultra high-gloss, so-smooth-you-could-use-it-as-a-shaving-mirror
finish, use a gloss clearcote (after applying any decalse) then use car
wax. Nuff said.
Hopefully, you wont have to get that deep into this thing, and can just
experience model building as what it's supposd to be. A relaxing activity
that when fnished, yeilds a result that bers a resembalence to what its
supposed to be a model of. That said, keep posting, and feel free to ask
any more questions.
Patrick Moore
--
General! It appears that the enemy Tai-sho has forsaken his honor, and is
running like a whipped dog!
Shogun: Total War
Dog Thief
to cut off the excess. glue the interior skeleton but dont glue the
armor
On Fri, 1 Sep 2000 23:39:36 GMT, sha...@kithrup.com (Sharon Hopkins)
wrote:
>In article <39B03415...@dcsi.net>,
>Patrick Moore <war...@dcsi.net> wrote:
>>
>> [many incredibly useful things]
>
>Thank you for your excellent reply!
>
>My husband has been looking for an excuse to get an airbrush,
>but for now I think I'll follow your spray can advice, and
>maybe experiment with oil pastels. I've been building Gundams
>on and off for about 8 years, but hadn't painted any for a long
>time (did live in an apartment; now have a house with a backyard
>to paint in), and that was all painfully slow messy brushwork.
>
>Your tips are very helpful. Before attempting the PG Zaku
>(oh wonderous monstrosity), I'm going to practice some
>more on smaller kits, such as the V-Type F-90 that sorely needs
>painting. (I've sprayed flat back on the little leg wing things,
>but haven't touched the blue or white trays yet.) I want to
>do a much better job on joints and seams before starting on
>the big Zaku. (Like figuring out how not to have pock-marks
>wherever I took a part off a sprue. Touch-up paint helps with
>those, but doesn't totally solve the problem. Maybe model putty?
>Does it help to glue the seams instead of just snapping them in?)
>
>Thanks again; I may pester you further when I get far enough to
>have more questions.
>
>--Sharon Hopkins Rauenzahn
> sha...@kithrup.com
Andrew Ryan Chang
>> What do you all think about painting the PG models? Anyone done it?
>> Or do most folks just build them as-is?
>>
>If you don't paint it, it will look like a toy. It was $125 - paint the
>damn thing already!
A *very* tall and heavy toy! Actually, didn't JED say something
about seeing Hobby Japan modellers build PGs with no paint but with
weathering & clear coats?
--
"Democracy proved it could thrive in Bosnia, where an impressive
103-percent voter turnout was reported"
-Dave Watson
X
"Andrew Ryan Chang" <arc...@sfu.ca> wrote:
> >If you don't paint it, it will look like a toy. It was $125 - paint the
> >damn thing already!
>
> A *very* tall and heavy toy! Actually, didn't JED say something
> about seeing Hobby Japan modellers build PGs with no paint but with
> weathering & clear coats?
The September 2000 HJ has a great example of an MG RX-78-2 1.5 built by Max
Watanabe with clear coats and weathering effects. It looks incredible.
zubenelakrab
Wish people would buy me things like that for my birthday...*sigh*
Andrew Ryan Chang
>The September 2000 HJ has a great example of an MG RX-78-2 1.5 built by Max
>Watanabe with clear coats and weathering effects. It looks incredible.
Hmm. Is there any website or book that talks about this
paint-less technique? Do any of the HJs that feature it go into detail
about how it's all done?
--
When crimes are outlawed, only criminals will commit crimes.
Rogue
painting
it was used by the guys who build for HJ to reduce the time to buildup a kit
basically, whatever color the part is, you paint it with the clear of that
color, e.g
red foot = clear red
white and blue parts, u paint with a clear coat
areas where u sand and cleanup, you get marks, so u clean up with the
matching base color
but with clear, e.g sand away a sprue attachment area of blue piece, touchup
the area with clear blue
of course u have to mix the clear blue with other clear colours to get the
exact match
case in point , for yellows, they mix clear yellow and some clear orange
thrown in
the weathering is clear blue and clear red, actually this is purple, but mix
some clear with the mixture
you get a very realistic smoke style color, much more convincing than smoke
they also use this technique for shading, to mix a colour as above e.g for
blue shading, clear blue with
some clear red, to darken it and then you use it to shade edges etc
of course the reason it looks so good is because Max has tons of practise at
perfecting this technique
a few tips can help, for shading, spray with low air pressure, with
preferably a gravity feed airbrush
use lacquer, as they go on thinner and retain their opacity
practise on scrap to get the desired shading technique, e.g how far to pull
back on trigger, what distance
to shoot at, what airpressure to shoot, what type of thinner : paint ratio
mixture
Andrew Ryan Chang <arc...@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:8p24h2$392$1...@morgoth.sfu.ca...
Sharon Hopkins
Dog Thief <nor...@home.com> wrote:
>cut the pieces of the sprues with scissors and then use a hobbyknife
>to cut off the excess. glue the interior skeleton but dont glue the
>armor
Thanks.
--Sharon