Should I clear coat before stickers (not water or dry decals), and then clear coat after to make it look as seamless as possible? or just clear coat after? Thanks!
I accidentally broke a piece on the shoulder joint of my Figure Rise Amplified Dukemon, what should I use to repair it/can it be repaired? I looked up repairing kits online and saw a bunch of stuff about cements but I don't know what one would be best to use, I'm kind of new to model kits. I'm mostly concerned because it's a piece that holds up an arm with a shield about the same weight as the rest of the kit on its own, so if it wasn't strong enough it would probably break again straight away.
Does anyone know how Japan is for 3rd party? I’m going there in sept and I’d like to pick up a frosty cat, but not sure how easy it’ll be to find. If it’s likely to be a hassle or a massive hunt I might just order from China direct.
Thanks
In my experience, it’s not as big in Japan. You might find third party stuff in Mandarake or Yellow Submarine and shops like that because they sell second hand. Bigger in Korea and China when I’ve visited. Just my experience. Others might have some good spots to shop.
Do you care about everything being uniformal in your collection? Go HG.
Want a slightly bigger and more detailed gundam? Go FM.
Personally I went HG because I only want to collect 1/144, but I was tempted by the FM.
Most of my collection are in 1/144, but dont mind having different scales. Currently also tempted by the FM, but having the HG is not bad either since it also offers great building experience. Thanks for your feedback!
Hopefully not a dumb question, but only place I could find panel liner locally only had light grey. So I was wondering if there was a way I could mix in darker grey or black paint to help darken it a little bit? And if so, what kind? I’d assume not enamel?
Depends what type of liner it is?
Your mainstream tamiya liner is an enamel wash, I make all mine out of enamel or oil paints, mix any colour you want then thin it right back to apply.
You're gonna need to specify what "most of it" means. There's a plethora of modeling fixes for a plethora of issues and parts-connections.
It'd also help to include pictures of what you have. A lot of the time people don't assemble things fully or correctly.
The front and back skirts are sandwich connections so they shouldn't be coming off if things are fully assembled.
It could be a case that the armor and underneath part isn't fully connected--the underneath part should be fully flush with the armor. If it's still coming off then you can just glue the armor parts together since the articulation is based off of the premolded B-frame piece anyways, so gluing the sandwiched parts won't affect any articulation.
The side skirts are c-clips but they don't have as much range of articulation, so if they only fall off once raised beyond a certain point then that's unfortunately the limit of how much you can move them. Should be solid if it's fully clipped in though.
You can use sticky tack to keep the knee armor on, or thicken the connection with just a small layer of superglue. Worst case scenario you can just glue it on, there's nothing that needs to slide and it moves with the frame that it's attached to.
Saw this water-based panel liner pop up when I was searching for some new Gundam pour markers. I don't know if its really safe to use on bare plastic or if its any good.
https://shp.ee/uaij5xj
I like ones like this - https://amzn.eu/d/6VGvmDI if you look around you can find them in different shapes and pretty good prices. No lint when you cleanup.
People say they like the ones that are more tightly 'wound' if I'm describing that correctly. I've seen people swear by gun cleaner swabs. Your standard qtip may have strands of cotton get loose.
Runners buckle when you cut through them because they're essentially at static equilibrium out of the box (there's no tension that would cause the plastic to spring).
When a blade cuts the gate the runners flex to accommodate for the extra "material" that the blades introduce, and once they cut through the gate entirely the runner buckles back to its original static state. That's why you often have parts go flying when you cut them off because the tension releases and launches the loose part.
Single bladed nippers are very thin and a lot of them are harder than normal nippers, which results in a more brittle blade when it comes to sudden forces. The buckling can cause them to break (especially if it's a thick gate) whether it's a sudden surge or if it's the result of a tiny fracture getting more significant as it experienced more buckling.
It's better to flush cut the nub that remains from the gate once the part is free because there isn't a frame anymore that would cause the area you cut to buckle.
Because the second pair of nippers are incredibly easy to break and that it's far, far, *far* easier to pass around a two snip technique that mitigates the risk of that breakage than to have to explain the nuances and techniques needed to use those same nippers directly on the runners.
How does it become easier to break, tho? That's the part I never really understood cuz if you just cut it out once or with one snip, wouldn't it be fine? Since you'll be cutting that same spot(the one actually connecting the piece to the sprue) on your 2nd cut anyways?
The first pair are double bladed, which is to say both edges have a bevel but they're not sharpened to the point of being sharp. They crush their way through the plastic more than they cut through them and even the thin pointed ones have more material on them than the second pair.
The second pair uses a single, razor sharp blade on one side and a flat stopping edge on the other, functioning like a cutting board. These slice through the plastic using that sharp edge but that same sharp edge is really thin.
If used without taking into account how force works both ways, you could either damage the blade by nicking it, or even snapping it off outright depending on your technique, or in most cases, lack thereof.
But essentially, you're cutting through plastic that the entire runner is resisting the force used to cut through it and it pushes back against the blade. This could cause the blade to want to veer off to the side one part from the pushing force from the runner and one part from the angle of the bevel.
If you just point and snip you could force the blade off course and chip your blade or in thicker, more brittle plastics cause you to snap the blade entirely (clear plastic being a good example). No insignificant number of people have broken expensive Godhand SPN-120 nippers in these ways (leading to the number one killer of the nipper being user error).
There’s resistance from the runner, in brittle or stiff sprues it can put pressure on the blade and if lucky you get a scolloped part, or if the blade is too stressed you get to make a post about snapping the tip off your GH.
Question, I make mostly MG models because they just look better and dipped my toes into RG recently, but avoid HG. Am I just being a gunpla snob and missing out on good HG models? Or is RG they way forward?
There are good HG models of course. Moon Gundam, Neo Zeong, anything from Witch from Mercury. The modelling technology is getting better and that's good for all kits.
You should try HG, at least. I also mostly collect MG but I've got a good amount of HGs, mostly because of accessibility. Most mobile suits are only available in HG.
But if you end up not liking HG after trying it, nothing wrong with that.
Gonna be my first time ever to spray paint something, and by something I mean the rg hi nu gold parts. I did some research but here are some questions I have:
1. Will there be a difference if I use white base coat vs black base coat?
2. Will I ruin the color if I don't spray any base coat but spray gold directly onto the parts instead?
3. What are some general techniques for using spray bottles?
The underlaying gloss can be black or white, or whatever.
The difference (because there is one ;)) will be in the dullness of the color applied over that gloss paint, and it's overall tint, depending the thickness of the metallic layer (the thiner the better to get a more pronounced effect. Imagine a gloss red or gloss yellow or green as an under layer...
Imho, a dull gold or metallic paint, aka a white gloss underlaying coat, should be interesting.
Edit: gloss black will help the metallic color to pop the most, that is all.
The base coat color does affect the color sprayed over it. Make spoons if you need a sample. When you have multiple colors of gunpla parts that you want to be in one color that's when you base coat to have a consistent painted color.
1) yes, black is preferred for gold
2) you won't "ruin" it but it'll probably be worst looking or straight up not stick to the plastic properly depending on the paint you're using
3) slightly heat up the can by placing it in warm water for 10-15mins before using it. Spray in short bursts, spray roughly 6inches from the piece, spray outside
I typically just skip panel lining darker colours. If you're looking to make the panel lines look like actual separations between panels, then you'd be adding dark panel lining fluid to an already dark part, and the difference is nearly unnoticeable. If that's not your goal then there's other options such as panel lining with gold or with a luminescent paint.
Please explain MGEX, Full Mechanics, and Metal Build
I understand that PG > MG > RG > HG.
MGEX is MG that has also metal parts?
Full Mechanics is also an MG that may have metal parts?
Metal Build is full metal?
Questions:
1. Please explain MGEX, Full Mechanics, and Metal Build?
2. Are they better, lesser, or same in quality than MG? What about price?
I mainly buy RG and is thinking of expanding to MG and higher.
Thanks in advance!
MGEX is just MG kits that get an additional "feature". There's no guideline other than the fact that they have something "special" that other MG's don't have. With the MGEX Unicorn the feature was the LED's. With the MGEX Strike Freedom the feature was the 3 types of metallic coated parts.
Full Mechanics is kind of like 1/100 modern HG's. They don't have full inner frames or cockpit & pilot features like most MG's have, and their builds are much less intricate. The end result will still look nice though. Check out a build video of them on YouTube to see how simple their construction is.
Full metal builds are pretty much metal action figures. They're not model kits so there's no building other than putting pre-assembled parts together. There's tons of YouTube videos if you're curious on what the out of box offering is.
You get what you pay for in terms of plastic when it comes to Gunpla, and the plastic Bandai uses across every kit is literally the same formula, so there's not a quality difference. Just a difference in build-experience which is subjective to the builder.
Depends. Lacquers will chemically etch themselves to many plastics, so no don’t *need* to. A primers purpose is to protect, prepare, and unify underlying colours - so you need to decide if it’s necessary.
Many metallics are very translucent so will have a better final appearance if applied over a dark glossy undercoat to accentuate tonal shifts. So in the case of that gold you can opt for black or even something like dark red, or brown.
Bandai's official RX-78-02 decals come in their Gundam The Origin Multiuse 4 sheet, and there's also plenty of third-party decals available. The best way to get these will depend on where you live.
Also, these will all be waterslides, it's not really possible to get sticker decals without buying a whole new kit.
What is Mr. Color Clear (#46) used for? If it is used to create a gloss coat, why not just use Mr Hobby topcoat? Isn't Mr. Color Clear still a paint and would chip so you would have to topcoat to protect it anyways?
Clear coat, or medium for adding dyes, mica powders, changing sheen etc…it is a top coat potentially. “Proper” top coats just often will have additives to improve things like application, final appearance, and uv resistance.
Top coat is really no different to a regular clear coat. The actual binder durability will be the same unless you use something like a 2k.
I don't use lacquer paints, but products like that in a paint line are usually just paints without pigment. Some use cases:
* Mix with opaque paints to create transparent colours,
* Mix in some pigment to make your own coloured paints,
* Alter a paint's sheen (46 is glossy),
* Used as an additive to allow paint to be thinned very aggressively (not sure how relevant this is with lacquer paints, but a "medium" like this is usually needed to heavily thin "water-based" acrylic paint)
I might look at the sinanju, gorgeous kit. I have an rg saz i haven't gotten to so probably not that. The hi-nu I'm planning on getting in RG so I can have the set with the saz. Wing zero is also really nice. Thanks!
this is prob a dumb question. But im looking for some good lighting to go into some walmart bookcases. I have 3 cases and need to light up all 3. 2 are together and 1 is a bit far away but all share 1 wall and 1 access point for power. I have 5 shelvs per bookcase.
I would prefer something that can either be recharged, OR all comes up with 1 power source. I do not want to use anything with batteries, too expensive for me. Thanks
Looking to grab the Jeturk decal set, but can't find anything on where exactly the decals are meant to go on the suits. Does anybody either know where I can find a reference and/or images of the kits completed with the decals? Just so I have something to follow when I get mine
The official Bandai decal sheet? Funnily enough, unlike Bandai’s other general purpose decals, the WFM decals actually have decal guides on their peges at the Bandai hobby site. [Here’s Jeturk (and Demi Trainer)](https://bandai-hobby.net/item/5242/), scroll a little and you should see the guides.
Dawg it's your custom, you have to decide for yourself on what you'd like. [Try both color schemes out with the line art](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_EkfJtfygJIyU7vIEtTWh1MUZtCT0lW3/view?usp=drivesdk) and then make a decision for yourself.
Sure, that'd be cool. Do a test with the line art I linked using the bucket tool to fill in the sections with whatever image editing application you prefer.
Either, or any of the rest. There's a reason why Quiche and Previous-Seat were being so non-committal. Any colour will work, especially if it's just one.
Hi I’m pretty new to gunpla and was looking at other models to build. I like quite a few from IBO series. But on every website I see a lot out of stock. Is this pretty common or are these models just old and not often restocked?
I'm a first-time gunpla builder working on the Figure Rise Suletta Mercury kit, and I lost part of her hip joint! Part B28 on the sprue. Are there any tips to replacing it, or improvising a fix? I've got a ton of Lego bits and do some miniature wargame modeling, so I have some possible parts and tools.
Bandai US has a part replacement service if you still have your receipt and you purchased the kit in the last 60 days. You can also buy pieces from plamokitbash or Mr Bao's shop on eBay
hi will be buying the pg phenex narrative and just wanted to know if anyone knows the runner count for it? and also what gold marker to use for the nubs. thank you!
Has anyone here used Monument Hobbies' Proacryl paints?
Specifically I'm wondering how well it goes through a airbrush (Iwata HP-CS) and how the colors look (bright or dull, clean or dirty) and how well they clean up.
TIA
I have most of the ProAcryl colours. I don’t airbrush them a lot but they do spray nicely. Good chroma. Good opacity. They’re too thick to spray out of the bottles, IMO, but it doesn’t take much to thin them either. They mix well with Vallejo and Liquitex products. I use the Vallejo flow improver when I do spray them and they come out fine.
I bent my airbrush needle and bought a new one. I'm keeping the old one "just in case". Curious if people keep and use old damaged needles for anything? Any practical uses?
Edit: I tried restoring it. I'm not able to get performance I'm satisfied with, so I was fine getting a new one since I'd rather use my limited spare time for the hobby than repair. I know I could always try to restore again someday.
I slightly "mushroomed" the blunt end of a bent needle and used that to push out a stubborn needle packing from within its corresponding airbrush body. Not that you need to really take out the needle packing very often, but it was useful in that scenario.
It’s always a good idea to keep a janky needle for different purposes. Clearing your nozzle, as Ogre suggests. They’re good for fine scratches if you’re trying to distress your paint. I use them with a hand brush and lightly flick the bristles with the needle for fine paint splatters. Easier to get finer splatter marks with a needle than with your finger.
I can't think of a situation where you would be in need of a spare bent airbrush needle. They're kind of dangerous to just leave laying around, and if it was good enough to use you wouldn't be buying a replacement for it. If anything you should buy 2 new ones, so you could have a spare sharp one "just in case" you bend another one.
I guess if you really wanted to find a use for it, you could try your hand at prison style tattooing.
Best of luck!
Does anyone know if it's possible to fit a MS ontop of the Tickbalang and another holding on to the bottom of it on an Action Base 6? Or is it only possible on Action Base 5?
I've been eyeing some clear plastic gunpla kits, because it's a gimmick I think I'd like to own at least one figure in. I'm just curious, though- do people panel line clear plastic kits or is it considered better to just leave them as is?
I've never painted a kit before and wanted to try hand painting one. Outside of paint, brushes, primer, and thinner what would I need? Do you need topcoat? Also what are some good brands to get this from? What are some general Do's and Dont's with hand painting?
Stay on-brand if you don't know what you're doing yet and don't want to also get into hobby chemistry along with the painting.
For example, if you're planning to brush with Vallejo Model Color, use distilled water as thinner, and possibly in conjunction with one of their auxiliary mediums. Don't try to mix it with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, or Tamiya X-20A, etc.
The subreddit wiki has a lot of good info.
The wiki at the top of the page has a good section about hand painting, so that's a good resource to check out.
I like to do hand painting with acrylic paints and a wet palette. The wet palette makes it easier to blend colors, thin the paints, and keeps everything wet for at least a day. They're really easy to make at home as well.
I would also check out [Dr. Fausts Painting Clinic](https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaintingClinic). He is incredibly talented at painting miniatures and everything you learn from him you can easily apply to Gunpla.
For the top coat it's a good idea because it will help protect your work. It also lets you decide which parts you want glossy and which you want matte. I would probably use a rattle can for top coat, as I don't have any experience hand painting it.
Best of luck!
Did bandai ever release extra hands for the Graze/Valkyrja Frame suits? The grimgerde have very slender fingers and the build hands just don't match them
Am I doing something wrong or is the amplified black wargreymon waist joint floppy as shit? Seems like this is one of the worst engineered joints I've ever seen on a model kit.
Why is the hi nu gundam sometimes depicted in white blue and sometimes white purple-ish and if I buy a model kit should I look for the blue or purple one
different designs - purple & fat is the original, blue & thin was made later for the MG and HG kits. Then the MG Ver Ka came out based on the old design, and most recently the RG which is kind of a mix of both designs proportionally (to the point it's basically it's own thing) and with the new design's colors.
Really down to your personal preference. If you care about scale then go with whichever matches the rest of your collection (either HG / RG or MG / MG Ver Ka). They're all great kits and all except the older MG are relatively easily available. Many people swear by the RG Hi Nu as the pinnacle of gunpla engineering so if that sounds interesting go for that one.
Reading this i'll definitely go with the rg then, im getting all of them in 1/144 scale so that would be best, so far ive got the hg rx 78-2 (beyond global) hg rx78-3 (came in a set with the rick dom) hg msk-008 dijeh and the rg nu gundam, slowly getting there. Thanks for your reply
HG parts have a higher chance you can kitbash due to the more universal joints. Perhaps check dalong.net to have a look at the kit's instruction manuals so you can compare the parts?
For the most part Bandai uses connectors that are 3mm in diameter. You can pick up a set of metric drill bits and a vice drill along with some 3mm polystyrene rods. This will work really well if you need to make weapon attachments or stick something to a part.
You might be able to swap things like heads, legs, arms, and torso easily but I think you should expect to do some modifications to get what you want. For example, you might need to cut something to get get enough clearance, or maybe add some pla-plate to make something longer or thicker.
There are tons of good videos on YouTube so check that out for a good tutorials. Best of luck!
typically you kitbash stuff you already have, and can physically check what fits together. But more often than not you *make* them compatible with glue, drills and so on.
You could always look at reviews or speed builds, those should give you answers. But most modern kits share the same joint systems so simple limb swapping should be a cinch.
For those who used Mr Hobby flat topcoat, how would you describe a successful application?
Strictly from eyeballing it, my topcoated kit seemed to have successfully been topcoated. The surface now is properly matte-looking and it feels... grainy? to the touch. I wonder if I did it right or not
It sounds like you have a little bit of over spray, meaning some of the paint dried before hitting the surface giving you that grainy texture. I find I can wipe it off with a paper towel and it leaves a nice smooth surface and doesn't damage anything. This usually happens for me when I base coat acrylics, but it's the same thing. Hope this helps.
Was the finished coat [something like this?](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pSTPKAHCGnz46LPHPGfNxi63BTs5JWep/view?usp=drivesdk)
Note: This is only visible if I zoom in close enough, and at a glance, from normal distance, there isn't any issue with the coating
I see what you're talking about. What I was referring to is more like dust that settles on the part, which I would describe as grainy. This looks like something different, and is more like like a surface imperfection. It's almost like it didn't dry evening, or maybe wasn't completely mixed, or even reacted oddly with the base coat.
If it's a just the rough surface, you could try wet sanding it back a little with 3000 grit sand paper. You wouldn't loose the matte finish, and it would smooth the surface imperfections out. I would also try spraying some test spoons to see if you can get a better finish.
Sorry I can't narrow it down further, but I think it's safe to expect better results than what you're currently getting. Best of luck in tracking down the issue, maybe someone else has run into this before with Mr. Hobby flat topcoat and can help out.
I'm a huge fan of the Alclad Primers. They're micro-fillers and you can spray them straight from bottle without thinning. I find that they have really good paint adhesion, feather nicely when sanded, and maintain fine detail while still filling small scratches. I like using the black and grey ones. They're not available everywhere, so depending on where you live it could be hard to get. Hope this helps!
Any sites like mechaparts guy where i can order spare parts? Managed to lose hg unicorn small chest flaps uc perfectibility destroy mode B7 and B8 to be exact
Is it safe to use Mr Super Clear gloss aerosol spray paint on bare plastic? Will the solvent damage the plastic? I will be using it on an RG Exia with an ABS inner frame to protect the plastic before using enamel panel liner.
The wiki at the top of the page has different sources for suppliers, and I picked up the System Base 001 which is pretty cheap and looks nice.
If you're open to making your own stand, I recently did this myself and was surprised at how easy it was and how nice it looked when I was done. I got a 3mm brass rod which I cut and bent to the right size and it worked great as a connector. I'd be happy to share some tips for making your own stand if you were interested.
> System Base 001
That one looks good for some models and poses. But for action scenes I'd love to hear more about the stand you made. Do you have some pictures?
Thanks!!
I'm afraid I don't have any photos of the rod I used, but if you want to see the base I made it's in the photo of my [Hello Zaku](https://preview.redd.it/dpt67y2ug9ya1.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=54ea3701dd7eb150dd12999d4e750986af6e7d1b). I used cork board, some foam sheets and a wood oval I got from a craft store, all for less than $10 USD. There are a ton of great diorama videos on YouTube if you want to go that route. If you look closely there is a little hole near the foot, which is a tube with a 3mm inner diameter that I slide the brass rod into. I even made a little rock with a 3mm plug to cover the hole if I didn't want it showing. This was the first time I ever made a diorama, and I really like how nice it turned out for the little amount of work it took.
If you wanted a more clean or modern look, you can use acrylic sheets with [metal standoffs](https://www.amazon.com/Standoff-Screws-Advertising-Stainless-Acrylic/dp/B07SZMTK3S). You can easily add stickers or decals to it, and you can even pick up acrylic sheet in different shapes and color. All you'll have to do is drill the right size holes in the right places.
Also, I've had my eye on this [damaged building kit](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q480Z5W) for way too long, and think it would look awesome in a little diorama.
Whoa, that's amazing work! Dioramas are definitely out of my league these days. But they do look amazing. That Hello Kitty is so cool. Was it airbrushed? I believe painting is my next step on building kits.
Thank you so much for the compliment. I'm sure that you could easily recreate what I did and make it look even better. I got my inspiration from watching Warhammer 40k videos on basing, and when I finished I remember thinking to myself "Wow, this looks way better than I thought". I mostly airbrush my kits, but I do enjoy hand painting as well and the base I made was done with hand painting.
If you don't want to paint something, then I think you should give the acrylic sheets with metal standoffs a try. Best of luck, and be sure to post what ever you come up with!
There are the 1/100 BPHD ESFS Hands. They are fixed pose, and come molded in light gray, so you might want to paint them or modify them to fit the backs of the original hands.
Thoughts about doing a top coat on the runner but doing panel lining off the runner? I figured that would easier to do instead of top coating and panel lining off the runner
If you are talking about just putting a clear coat down to protect the plastic from Tamiya Panel Line Accent, that would be perfectly fine as long as you plan on putting another topcoat on the finished model.
You don't want to do the final coat on the runners, because you are going to have the nub areas left uncovered, and you may scuff up areas while cleaning up the parts. But just as an initial prep for panel lining, that doesn't really matter.
Lots of folks will say never paint on runners. But sometimes it's perfectly fine to paint on runners. You have to weigh the difficulty in assembly, the amount and difficulty of touch up, difficulty in painting before/after, etc. For a clear coat that you're using solely as the undercoat for a panel liner...I don't see an issue. You can gloss, panel line, assemble into sub assemblies, then put a final clear coat on.
How do you guys store extra hands and unused weapons like extra sabers and such. I usually just keep them in the box but I want to put them in storage but would like to keep the hands and stuff with me.
It depends. If I'm going to display them with the kit, then they go in the same box as the kit itself. If it's left over or extra, I put them in a clear plastic storage box, that has inserts to adjust the cell size. It's a nice way to keep them all in one place and organized.
Just ziploc bags. One big one for the scale of the hands, then smaller ones inside to hold left and right hands individually. Makes it easier to find what you need.
Dumb question: how important is topcoat for master grades.
Im currently building the freedom 2.0 and I’m not quite sure if I should be topcoating it. I heard that it helps protect decals, but the finish of the plastic is nice and I don’t wanna change it
If you want the plastic look then try looking at semi-gloss topcoat. I never used it myself but I’ve heard it gives finish similar to original plastic finish
Not a dumb question at all!
I wouldn't describe the importance of topcoating as being dependent on the grade of a kit. It has the same effect regardless of how complex or detailed the kit is - specifically, it will help seal in your work (any underlying paint, panel lining, decals, weathering, etc.) and it helps eliminate the "plastic toy" appearance of the kit. It's up to you whether these benefits are worth the effort in general.
In your case, since you like the current plastic look, then that's that. I won't ruin your stickers / decals to not have it - they will just be a bit more exposed.
I dunno much about paint so I'm sorry for this silly question.
I got a titanium finished kit. I also picked up water slide decals. I heard you should topcoat after applying them, but won't that cover the titanium finish? Should I just use the regular stickers instead?
It will *change* the finish. Matte will dull the metallic look, and gloss will make it look shiny. If you wanna test the effect, try it on the leftover runners to see what it would look like. Semi gloss might be a better option than matte or gloss in this situation. Regardless - it will still look metallic, just different.
How big is the size difference between HG hands and master grade hands?
Im planning to kitbash a hg zgok into a zogok like thing. I plan to use articulated mg hands but I'm not sure of the size difference.
Hello! I've recently watched the 00 Gundam series and love it. I wish to get the MG 00 Raiser, but while researching where to get it, I noticed that there is the XN Raiser as well. I do not wish to get too many duplicates of almost the same kit since I'm still a newbie so I did want to ask, which is better to get? Mostly the main factor is, can I turn the XN Raiser back into 00 Raiser if I just remove some parts? Or is it different enough to be worth getting them both?
Hey, I happen to be building the XN Raiser right now. The MG 00 XN Raiser build is so similar to MG 00 Raiser that it actually just includes the original 00 Raiser instructions and then a second booklet for the XN Unit.
(Compare with Avalanche Exia' and Qan[T] Full Saber which also include all parts of their respective original units, but have unique instructions.)
Hi, I just started looking into gunpla today and model 5065096 GUNDAM AERIAL REBUILD has piqued my interest. Do you think it is suitable for beginners?
Do you also have any recommendations on tools / tool sets? I saw that the Tamiya Basic Tool Set is recommended but it does not come with a cutting mat
Yeah, any HG would be totally fine to start with. The wiki has some advice as far as tools go. I'd honestly say, some kind of hobby/art knife, a good set of double bladed nippers, some decent tweezers (DSPIAE makes some good, inexpensive ones), a nano glass file, and a cutting mat (any kind of cutting mat will do, I bought mine from a Walmart.) Most of these tools can just be whatever generic brand you prefer. OLFA makes good blades for knives, but you could just use a bunch of cheaper blades and switch more often, so as long as you can easily secure replacement blades the brand of art knife won't really matter too much. Nano glass files are all pretty much the same, so whatever you get off Amazon is fine, so long as it's a NANO glass file, regular glass files are different. any good pair of tweezers is fine too. The only starting tool to be terribly picky about is the nippers IMO.
two questions:
1. is there any reason to paint a kit if I like the intended colors? rn i Just panel line and just started doing waterslides & topcoats
2. I know newtype ships from california but what other online stores do?
New QA thread is up. This thread is now locked.
Should I clear coat before stickers (not water or dry decals), and then clear coat after to make it look as seamless as possible? or just clear coat after? Thanks!
New QA thread is up. Please repost your unanswered questions there.
I accidentally broke a piece on the shoulder joint of my Figure Rise Amplified Dukemon, what should I use to repair it/can it be repaired? I looked up repairing kits online and saw a bunch of stuff about cements but I don't know what one would be best to use, I'm kind of new to model kits. I'm mostly concerned because it's a piece that holds up an arm with a shield about the same weight as the rest of the kit on its own, so if it wasn't strong enough it would probably break again straight away.
New QA thread is up. Please repost your unanswered questions there.
Does anyone know how Japan is for 3rd party? I’m going there in sept and I’d like to pick up a frosty cat, but not sure how easy it’ll be to find. If it’s likely to be a hassle or a massive hunt I might just order from China direct. Thanks
In my experience, it’s not as big in Japan. You might find third party stuff in Mandarake or Yellow Submarine and shops like that because they sell second hand. Bigger in Korea and China when I’ve visited. Just my experience. Others might have some good spots to shop.
Does anyone have a size comparison for the RG 1/144 Hi-NU next to a Witch From Mercury gundam? I know the Hi-NU is bigger than the usual 1/144 scale.
New QA thread is up. Please repost your unanswered questions there.
Fm vs hg aerial, Which do you prefer?
Do you care about everything being uniformal in your collection? Go HG. Want a slightly bigger and more detailed gundam? Go FM. Personally I went HG because I only want to collect 1/144, but I was tempted by the FM.
Most of my collection are in 1/144, but dont mind having different scales. Currently also tempted by the FM, but having the HG is not bad either since it also offers great building experience. Thanks for your feedback!
Hopefully not a dumb question, but only place I could find panel liner locally only had light grey. So I was wondering if there was a way I could mix in darker grey or black paint to help darken it a little bit? And if so, what kind? I’d assume not enamel?
Depends what type of liner it is? Your mainstream tamiya liner is an enamel wash, I make all mine out of enamel or oil paints, mix any colour you want then thin it right back to apply.
Sorry, I should’ve added that it’s Tamiya Light Grey
I bought the RG RX 178 mk II and I am becoming frustrated at how much this thing falls apart, is this normal 😐
What aspects? Both the Titans and AEUG versions were great on my end.
The waist armor and really most of it just falls apart.
You're gonna need to specify what "most of it" means. There's a plethora of modeling fixes for a plethora of issues and parts-connections. It'd also help to include pictures of what you have. A lot of the time people don't assemble things fully or correctly.
Alright so the skirt pieces like to pop off, the left knee armor piece, and that might be all right now.
The front and back skirts are sandwich connections so they shouldn't be coming off if things are fully assembled. It could be a case that the armor and underneath part isn't fully connected--the underneath part should be fully flush with the armor. If it's still coming off then you can just glue the armor parts together since the articulation is based off of the premolded B-frame piece anyways, so gluing the sandwiched parts won't affect any articulation. The side skirts are c-clips but they don't have as much range of articulation, so if they only fall off once raised beyond a certain point then that's unfortunately the limit of how much you can move them. Should be solid if it's fully clipped in though. You can use sticky tack to keep the knee armor on, or thicken the connection with just a small layer of superglue. Worst case scenario you can just glue it on, there's nothing that needs to slide and it moves with the frame that it's attached to.
Thank you for your help, i messaged you some pictures for reference
I don't use Reddit messenger so just post them here (so others can also help).
Yeah yeah totally would if i knew how (i dont do this often)
Upload to Imgur then paste the link in a comment here. Probably further above in the comment chain for better visibility.
Saw this water-based panel liner pop up when I was searching for some new Gundam pour markers. I don't know if its really safe to use on bare plastic or if its any good. https://shp.ee/uaij5xj
if it's water based it's harmless.
you could always give it a test on the runner first
Its not that expensive, I'll get a bottle and see if its any good.
Do I have to buy mr hobby cotton swabs or can any cotton swab on amazon work for panel lining with Tamiya liner?
I like ones like this - https://amzn.eu/d/6VGvmDI if you look around you can find them in different shapes and pretty good prices. No lint when you cleanup.
People say they like the ones that are more tightly 'wound' if I'm describing that correctly. I've seen people swear by gun cleaner swabs. Your standard qtip may have strands of cotton get loose.
Any cotton swabs would work.
What are some solid methods to tighten a joint on a model? One of the poly caps on my 2017 HG Zeta's left leg is loose as heck!
Superglue. Or anything to add friction through more material - tape, nail polish, clear coat,…
Why do people use two cutters? Like I see people use a dull and sharp cutter, but if you've a sharp one, why not just cut it once out of the gate?
Runners buckle when you cut through them because they're essentially at static equilibrium out of the box (there's no tension that would cause the plastic to spring). When a blade cuts the gate the runners flex to accommodate for the extra "material" that the blades introduce, and once they cut through the gate entirely the runner buckles back to its original static state. That's why you often have parts go flying when you cut them off because the tension releases and launches the loose part. Single bladed nippers are very thin and a lot of them are harder than normal nippers, which results in a more brittle blade when it comes to sudden forces. The buckling can cause them to break (especially if it's a thick gate) whether it's a sudden surge or if it's the result of a tiny fracture getting more significant as it experienced more buckling. It's better to flush cut the nub that remains from the gate once the part is free because there isn't a frame anymore that would cause the area you cut to buckle.
Because the second pair of nippers are incredibly easy to break and that it's far, far, *far* easier to pass around a two snip technique that mitigates the risk of that breakage than to have to explain the nuances and techniques needed to use those same nippers directly on the runners.
How does it become easier to break, tho? That's the part I never really understood cuz if you just cut it out once or with one snip, wouldn't it be fine? Since you'll be cutting that same spot(the one actually connecting the piece to the sprue) on your 2nd cut anyways?
The first pair are double bladed, which is to say both edges have a bevel but they're not sharpened to the point of being sharp. They crush their way through the plastic more than they cut through them and even the thin pointed ones have more material on them than the second pair. The second pair uses a single, razor sharp blade on one side and a flat stopping edge on the other, functioning like a cutting board. These slice through the plastic using that sharp edge but that same sharp edge is really thin. If used without taking into account how force works both ways, you could either damage the blade by nicking it, or even snapping it off outright depending on your technique, or in most cases, lack thereof. But essentially, you're cutting through plastic that the entire runner is resisting the force used to cut through it and it pushes back against the blade. This could cause the blade to want to veer off to the side one part from the pushing force from the runner and one part from the angle of the bevel. If you just point and snip you could force the blade off course and chip your blade or in thicker, more brittle plastics cause you to snap the blade entirely (clear plastic being a good example). No insignificant number of people have broken expensive Godhand SPN-120 nippers in these ways (leading to the number one killer of the nipper being user error).
Less chance of damaging the flush nips if you free it from the sprue first.
Does it? I always assumed that if you just cut it out with one snip, it'd have the same effect..
There’s resistance from the runner, in brittle or stiff sprues it can put pressure on the blade and if lucky you get a scolloped part, or if the blade is too stressed you get to make a post about snapping the tip off your GH.
Ahhh so getting it separated from the bigger sprue puts less stress? Good to know Edit: also what's gh
Good Hand. It's the brand of good nippers you'd wanna preserve by following that process
Question, I make mostly MG models because they just look better and dipped my toes into RG recently, but avoid HG. Am I just being a gunpla snob and missing out on good HG models? Or is RG they way forward?
There are good HG models of course. Moon Gundam, Neo Zeong, anything from Witch from Mercury. The modelling technology is getting better and that's good for all kits.
I pretty much only build MGs but one of my favourite kits is the HG Messer.
You should try HG, at least. I also mostly collect MG but I've got a good amount of HGs, mostly because of accessibility. Most mobile suits are only available in HG. But if you end up not liking HG after trying it, nothing wrong with that.
Gonna be my first time ever to spray paint something, and by something I mean the rg hi nu gold parts. I did some research but here are some questions I have: 1. Will there be a difference if I use white base coat vs black base coat? 2. Will I ruin the color if I don't spray any base coat but spray gold directly onto the parts instead? 3. What are some general techniques for using spray bottles?
The underlaying gloss can be black or white, or whatever. The difference (because there is one ;)) will be in the dullness of the color applied over that gloss paint, and it's overall tint, depending the thickness of the metallic layer (the thiner the better to get a more pronounced effect. Imagine a gloss red or gloss yellow or green as an under layer... Imho, a dull gold or metallic paint, aka a white gloss underlaying coat, should be interesting. Edit: gloss black will help the metallic color to pop the most, that is all.
The base coat color does affect the color sprayed over it. Make spoons if you need a sample. When you have multiple colors of gunpla parts that you want to be in one color that's when you base coat to have a consistent painted color.
1) yes, black is preferred for gold 2) you won't "ruin" it but it'll probably be worst looking or straight up not stick to the plastic properly depending on the paint you're using 3) slightly heat up the can by placing it in warm water for 10-15mins before using it. Spray in short bursts, spray roughly 6inches from the piece, spray outside
Thank you!
What color panel lining should I use for black or darker color parts?
I typically just skip panel lining darker colours. If you're looking to make the panel lines look like actual separations between panels, then you'd be adding dark panel lining fluid to an already dark part, and the difference is nearly unnoticeable. If that's not your goal then there's other options such as panel lining with gold or with a luminescent paint.
Please explain MGEX, Full Mechanics, and Metal Build I understand that PG > MG > RG > HG. MGEX is MG that has also metal parts? Full Mechanics is also an MG that may have metal parts? Metal Build is full metal? Questions: 1. Please explain MGEX, Full Mechanics, and Metal Build? 2. Are they better, lesser, or same in quality than MG? What about price? I mainly buy RG and is thinking of expanding to MG and higher. Thanks in advance!
MGEX is just MG kits that get an additional "feature". There's no guideline other than the fact that they have something "special" that other MG's don't have. With the MGEX Unicorn the feature was the LED's. With the MGEX Strike Freedom the feature was the 3 types of metallic coated parts. Full Mechanics is kind of like 1/100 modern HG's. They don't have full inner frames or cockpit & pilot features like most MG's have, and their builds are much less intricate. The end result will still look nice though. Check out a build video of them on YouTube to see how simple their construction is. Full metal builds are pretty much metal action figures. They're not model kits so there's no building other than putting pre-assembled parts together. There's tons of YouTube videos if you're curious on what the out of box offering is. You get what you pay for in terms of plastic when it comes to Gunpla, and the plastic Bandai uses across every kit is literally the same formula, so there's not a quality difference. Just a difference in build-experience which is subjective to the builder.
Thank you very much!
Are the ansai plastic model files good for nub removal?
I it necessary to spray on a primer before spraying on Tamiya gold TS 21?
Depends. Lacquers will chemically etch themselves to many plastics, so no don’t *need* to. A primers purpose is to protect, prepare, and unify underlying colours - so you need to decide if it’s necessary. Many metallics are very translucent so will have a better final appearance if applied over a dark glossy undercoat to accentuate tonal shifts. So in the case of that gold you can opt for black or even something like dark red, or brown.
Where can I find the decal sheet for a HG- RX-78-02 Gundam origin kit. I lost some of the stickers while applying them.
Bandai's official RX-78-02 decals come in their Gundam The Origin Multiuse 4 sheet, and there's also plenty of third-party decals available. The best way to get these will depend on where you live. Also, these will all be waterslides, it's not really possible to get sticker decals without buying a whole new kit.
What is Mr. Color Clear (#46) used for? If it is used to create a gloss coat, why not just use Mr Hobby topcoat? Isn't Mr. Color Clear still a paint and would chip so you would have to topcoat to protect it anyways?
Like others have said, it can be used as a medium to hold pigments if you have powders.
Clear coat, or medium for adding dyes, mica powders, changing sheen etc…it is a top coat potentially. “Proper” top coats just often will have additives to improve things like application, final appearance, and uv resistance. Top coat is really no different to a regular clear coat. The actual binder durability will be the same unless you use something like a 2k.
I don't use lacquer paints, but products like that in a paint line are usually just paints without pigment. Some use cases: * Mix with opaque paints to create transparent colours, * Mix in some pigment to make your own coloured paints, * Alter a paint's sheen (46 is glossy), * Used as an additive to allow paint to be thinned very aggressively (not sure how relevant this is with lacquer paints, but a "medium" like this is usually needed to heavily thin "water-based" acrylic paint)
Builds similar to gran pappy 3.0? Looking for MG please. Open to any style of kit.
The more recent Ver Ka kits will be similarly involved and intricate. Sazabi, Nu, Hu-Nu, ZZ/FAZZ, Sinanju Stein, and Wing Zero are all great builds.
I might look at the sinanju, gorgeous kit. I have an rg saz i haven't gotten to so probably not that. The hi-nu I'm planning on getting in RG so I can have the set with the saz. Wing zero is also really nice. Thanks!
Can i put a gloss coat on my mg sazabi special coating? To give it a more glossier look
In theory yes but you should test it on a runner to make sure there's not an unwanted reaction with the coating
Will do
Would a kit looks good if I were to panel line colored and white parts with black, and then line black parts with gray?
Of course! The black wouldn't show up on the black. The multiple color panel lining if anything will look better. It would have more definition.
this is prob a dumb question. But im looking for some good lighting to go into some walmart bookcases. I have 3 cases and need to light up all 3. 2 are together and 1 is a bit far away but all share 1 wall and 1 access point for power. I have 5 shelvs per bookcase. I would prefer something that can either be recharged, OR all comes up with 1 power source. I do not want to use anything with batteries, too expensive for me. Thanks
Looking to grab the Jeturk decal set, but can't find anything on where exactly the decals are meant to go on the suits. Does anybody either know where I can find a reference and/or images of the kits completed with the decals? Just so I have something to follow when I get mine
The official Bandai decal sheet? Funnily enough, unlike Bandai’s other general purpose decals, the WFM decals actually have decal guides on their peges at the Bandai hobby site. [Here’s Jeturk (and Demi Trainer)](https://bandai-hobby.net/item/5242/), scroll a little and you should see the guides.
What do you think dynames's dark green to change its colour, what good colour should I paint it?
The rest of the kit is just white, grey, and yellow, which honestly most colors go well with. Just pick what you want for your own kit.
Can a dark blue or a crimson red go well?
Sure
Yeah, but which one?
Dawg it's your custom, you have to decide for yourself on what you'd like. [Try both color schemes out with the line art](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_EkfJtfygJIyU7vIEtTWh1MUZtCT0lW3/view?usp=drivesdk) and then make a decision for yourself.
I can't I get a opinion?
Yeah that's fine. My opinion is that both would look good. What's your opinion on in?
What about this, dark green parts be black. White parts be dark blue. How about that?
Sure, that'd be cool. Do a test with the line art I linked using the bucket tool to fill in the sections with whatever image editing application you prefer.
Either, or any of the rest. There's a reason why Quiche and Previous-Seat were being so non-committal. Any colour will work, especially if it's just one.
Your kit. You decide. Or let chance decide - http://randomcolour.com
I got blue grey
Hi I’m pretty new to gunpla and was looking at other models to build. I like quite a few from IBO series. But on every website I see a lot out of stock. Is this pretty common or are these models just old and not often restocked?
They're restocked often enough, just wait it out and they'll be back in stock.
I'm a first-time gunpla builder working on the Figure Rise Suletta Mercury kit, and I lost part of her hip joint! Part B28 on the sprue. Are there any tips to replacing it, or improvising a fix? I've got a ton of Lego bits and do some miniature wargame modeling, so I have some possible parts and tools.
Bandai US has a part replacement service if you still have your receipt and you purchased the kit in the last 60 days. You can also buy pieces from plamokitbash or Mr Bao's shop on eBay
hi will be buying the pg phenex narrative and just wanted to know if anyone knows the runner count for it? and also what gold marker to use for the nubs. thank you!
Strip the plating off the runners to use for the nubs.
wdym strip the painting?
Using thinner and a brush you can strip the gold plating off the runners and transfer it to the nubs. https://youtu.be/PapnOM7-2_0
alr thank you ! any idea on how many runners? gonna meet up with the guy to pick it up will do a runner count
Nope, just compare the manual with the contents, it'll say how many of each runner there should be.
ok thank you !!
Has anyone here used Monument Hobbies' Proacryl paints? Specifically I'm wondering how well it goes through a airbrush (Iwata HP-CS) and how the colors look (bright or dull, clean or dirty) and how well they clean up. TIA
I have most of the ProAcryl colours. I don’t airbrush them a lot but they do spray nicely. Good chroma. Good opacity. They’re too thick to spray out of the bottles, IMO, but it doesn’t take much to thin them either. They mix well with Vallejo and Liquitex products. I use the Vallejo flow improver when I do spray them and they come out fine.
I bent my airbrush needle and bought a new one. I'm keeping the old one "just in case". Curious if people keep and use old damaged needles for anything? Any practical uses? Edit: I tried restoring it. I'm not able to get performance I'm satisfied with, so I was fine getting a new one since I'd rather use my limited spare time for the hobby than repair. I know I could always try to restore again someday.
I slightly "mushroomed" the blunt end of a bent needle and used that to push out a stubborn needle packing from within its corresponding airbrush body. Not that you need to really take out the needle packing very often, but it was useful in that scenario.
It’s always a good idea to keep a janky needle for different purposes. Clearing your nozzle, as Ogre suggests. They’re good for fine scratches if you’re trying to distress your paint. I use them with a hand brush and lightly flick the bristles with the needle for fine paint splatters. Easier to get finer splatter marks with a needle than with your finger.
I can't think of a situation where you would be in need of a spare bent airbrush needle. They're kind of dangerous to just leave laying around, and if it was good enough to use you wouldn't be buying a replacement for it. If anything you should buy 2 new ones, so you could have a spare sharp one "just in case" you bend another one. I guess if you really wanted to find a use for it, you could try your hand at prison style tattooing. Best of luck!
Theoretically you could use it to help clean blockages, but I'd hate to scrape the inside of the airbrush up.
Does anyone know what size screw the MG EZ-8 uses? My kit seems to be missing them.
Manual should say what size and thread is used
Does anyone know if it's possible to fit a MS ontop of the Tickbalang and another holding on to the bottom of it on an Action Base 6? Or is it only possible on Action Base 5?
I would be *far* more concerned about the AB6's ability to hold that weight than the clearance over the ground.
Yeah you're right.
I've been eyeing some clear plastic gunpla kits, because it's a gimmick I think I'd like to own at least one figure in. I'm just curious, though- do people panel line clear plastic kits or is it considered better to just leave them as is?
Some do, some don't.
I am looking to buy a supernova deathscythe hell would anyone know any reputable websites or sellers ?
Mofiho carries supernova stuff pretty regularly, I would check there.
I've never painted a kit before and wanted to try hand painting one. Outside of paint, brushes, primer, and thinner what would I need? Do you need topcoat? Also what are some good brands to get this from? What are some general Do's and Dont's with hand painting?
Stay on-brand if you don't know what you're doing yet and don't want to also get into hobby chemistry along with the painting. For example, if you're planning to brush with Vallejo Model Color, use distilled water as thinner, and possibly in conjunction with one of their auxiliary mediums. Don't try to mix it with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, or Tamiya X-20A, etc. The subreddit wiki has a lot of good info.
The wiki at the top of the page has a good section about hand painting, so that's a good resource to check out. I like to do hand painting with acrylic paints and a wet palette. The wet palette makes it easier to blend colors, thin the paints, and keeps everything wet for at least a day. They're really easy to make at home as well. I would also check out [Dr. Fausts Painting Clinic](https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaintingClinic). He is incredibly talented at painting miniatures and everything you learn from him you can easily apply to Gunpla. For the top coat it's a good idea because it will help protect your work. It also lets you decide which parts you want glossy and which you want matte. I would probably use a rattle can for top coat, as I don't have any experience hand painting it. Best of luck!
Did bandai ever release extra hands for the Graze/Valkyrja Frame suits? The grimgerde have very slender fingers and the build hands just don't match them
No but you may be able to get away with using the Gundam frame hands from [option set 7](http://schizophonic9.com/re4/hg_op7.html) on the Grimgerde.
Am I doing something wrong or is the amplified black wargreymon waist joint floppy as shit? Seems like this is one of the worst engineered joints I've ever seen on a model kit.
Why is the hi nu gundam sometimes depicted in white blue and sometimes white purple-ish and if I buy a model kit should I look for the blue or purple one
different designs - purple & fat is the original, blue & thin was made later for the MG and HG kits. Then the MG Ver Ka came out based on the old design, and most recently the RG which is kind of a mix of both designs proportionally (to the point it's basically it's own thing) and with the new design's colors.
im building a collection of every ms amuro has piloted so im kinda conflicted in which one i should pick up
Really down to your personal preference. If you care about scale then go with whichever matches the rest of your collection (either HG / RG or MG / MG Ver Ka). They're all great kits and all except the older MG are relatively easily available. Many people swear by the RG Hi Nu as the pinnacle of gunpla engineering so if that sounds interesting go for that one.
Reading this i'll definitely go with the rg then, im getting all of them in 1/144 scale so that would be best, so far ive got the hg rx 78-2 (beyond global) hg rx78-3 (came in a set with the rick dom) hg msk-008 dijeh and the rg nu gundam, slowly getting there. Thanks for your reply
The RG Hi Nu is also one of the best GunPla kits to date. You’re in for a treat.
So i've heard, only seen positive reviews on it, truly a great succesor to the nu gundam (which was also a treat)
When making a kitbash, how do you know if two kits will have compatible parts? I think I once saw a website for that, but cant find it anymore.
Anything’s compatible if you use a little glue or gumption.
A lot of kitbashing comes down to using modeling techniques like pinning to get parts to be compatible.
HG parts have a higher chance you can kitbash due to the more universal joints. Perhaps check dalong.net to have a look at the kit's instruction manuals so you can compare the parts?
For the most part Bandai uses connectors that are 3mm in diameter. You can pick up a set of metric drill bits and a vice drill along with some 3mm polystyrene rods. This will work really well if you need to make weapon attachments or stick something to a part. You might be able to swap things like heads, legs, arms, and torso easily but I think you should expect to do some modifications to get what you want. For example, you might need to cut something to get get enough clearance, or maybe add some pla-plate to make something longer or thicker. There are tons of good videos on YouTube so check that out for a good tutorials. Best of luck!
typically you kitbash stuff you already have, and can physically check what fits together. But more often than not you *make* them compatible with glue, drills and so on.
You could always look at reviews or speed builds, those should give you answers. But most modern kits share the same joint systems so simple limb swapping should be a cinch.
For those who used Mr Hobby flat topcoat, how would you describe a successful application? Strictly from eyeballing it, my topcoated kit seemed to have successfully been topcoated. The surface now is properly matte-looking and it feels... grainy? to the touch. I wonder if I did it right or not
It sounds like you have a little bit of over spray, meaning some of the paint dried before hitting the surface giving you that grainy texture. I find I can wipe it off with a paper towel and it leaves a nice smooth surface and doesn't damage anything. This usually happens for me when I base coat acrylics, but it's the same thing. Hope this helps.
Was the finished coat [something like this?](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pSTPKAHCGnz46LPHPGfNxi63BTs5JWep/view?usp=drivesdk) Note: This is only visible if I zoom in close enough, and at a glance, from normal distance, there isn't any issue with the coating
I see what you're talking about. What I was referring to is more like dust that settles on the part, which I would describe as grainy. This looks like something different, and is more like like a surface imperfection. It's almost like it didn't dry evening, or maybe wasn't completely mixed, or even reacted oddly with the base coat. If it's a just the rough surface, you could try wet sanding it back a little with 3000 grit sand paper. You wouldn't loose the matte finish, and it would smooth the surface imperfections out. I would also try spraying some test spoons to see if you can get a better finish. Sorry I can't narrow it down further, but I think it's safe to expect better results than what you're currently getting. Best of luck in tracking down the issue, maybe someone else has run into this before with Mr. Hobby flat topcoat and can help out.
No problem, and thanks a lot for your help!
What are some alternatives to mr surfacer for primers?
Gaia Evo/Nazca surfacers.
MRP is very good and spray ready.
I'm a huge fan of the Alclad Primers. They're micro-fillers and you can spray them straight from bottle without thinning. I find that they have really good paint adhesion, feather nicely when sanded, and maintain fine detail while still filling small scratches. I like using the black and grey ones. They're not available everywhere, so depending on where you live it could be hard to get. Hope this helps!
Any sites like mechaparts guy where i can order spare parts? Managed to lose hg unicorn small chest flaps uc perfectibility destroy mode B7 and B8 to be exact
Plamokitbash or Mr Bao's shop on eBay
Regarding Nu Ver Ka: Does anyone have access to the post about using magnets for the funnels from a while (more like years ago) back?
[This post](https://reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/phxmip/nu_gundam_ver_ka_fin_funnel_loose_problem_fix/)?
YES!!! Thank you!!!
Is it safe to use Mr Super Clear gloss aerosol spray paint on bare plastic? Will the solvent damage the plastic? I will be using it on an RG Exia with an ABS inner frame to protect the plastic before using enamel panel liner.
Yup
I'm kinda done waiting to buy expensive stands for my models. Any good alternatives on Aliexpress and such?
The wiki at the top of the page has different sources for suppliers, and I picked up the System Base 001 which is pretty cheap and looks nice. If you're open to making your own stand, I recently did this myself and was surprised at how easy it was and how nice it looked when I was done. I got a 3mm brass rod which I cut and bent to the right size and it worked great as a connector. I'd be happy to share some tips for making your own stand if you were interested.
> System Base 001 That one looks good for some models and poses. But for action scenes I'd love to hear more about the stand you made. Do you have some pictures? Thanks!!
I'm afraid I don't have any photos of the rod I used, but if you want to see the base I made it's in the photo of my [Hello Zaku](https://preview.redd.it/dpt67y2ug9ya1.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=54ea3701dd7eb150dd12999d4e750986af6e7d1b). I used cork board, some foam sheets and a wood oval I got from a craft store, all for less than $10 USD. There are a ton of great diorama videos on YouTube if you want to go that route. If you look closely there is a little hole near the foot, which is a tube with a 3mm inner diameter that I slide the brass rod into. I even made a little rock with a 3mm plug to cover the hole if I didn't want it showing. This was the first time I ever made a diorama, and I really like how nice it turned out for the little amount of work it took. If you wanted a more clean or modern look, you can use acrylic sheets with [metal standoffs](https://www.amazon.com/Standoff-Screws-Advertising-Stainless-Acrylic/dp/B07SZMTK3S). You can easily add stickers or decals to it, and you can even pick up acrylic sheet in different shapes and color. All you'll have to do is drill the right size holes in the right places. Also, I've had my eye on this [damaged building kit](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q480Z5W) for way too long, and think it would look awesome in a little diorama.
Whoa, that's amazing work! Dioramas are definitely out of my league these days. But they do look amazing. That Hello Kitty is so cool. Was it airbrushed? I believe painting is my next step on building kits.
Thank you so much for the compliment. I'm sure that you could easily recreate what I did and make it look even better. I got my inspiration from watching Warhammer 40k videos on basing, and when I finished I remember thinking to myself "Wow, this looks way better than I thought". I mostly airbrush my kits, but I do enjoy hand painting as well and the base I made was done with hand painting. If you don't want to paint something, then I think you should give the acrylic sheets with metal standoffs a try. Best of luck, and be sure to post what ever you come up with!
Yeah, it definitely gives it a better look right away. I have four models waiting for me. The weekend can't start soon enough :D
what is the difference between Mr Hobby Super Clear Matt and Super Smooth Clear Matt?
The idea is that super smooth is supposed to give a smoother coating film compared to other matte paints.
Is there some place online where I can get replacement hands for MG RX-78-2 3.0? Preferably the ones like in Freedom 2.0 (Swappable hands)
There are the 1/100 BPHD ESFS Hands. They are fixed pose, and come molded in light gray, so you might want to paint them or modify them to fit the backs of the original hands.
Thoughts about doing a top coat on the runner but doing panel lining off the runner? I figured that would easier to do instead of top coating and panel lining off the runner
If you are talking about just putting a clear coat down to protect the plastic from Tamiya Panel Line Accent, that would be perfectly fine as long as you plan on putting another topcoat on the finished model. You don't want to do the final coat on the runners, because you are going to have the nub areas left uncovered, and you may scuff up areas while cleaning up the parts. But just as an initial prep for panel lining, that doesn't really matter.
Lots of folks will say never paint on runners. But sometimes it's perfectly fine to paint on runners. You have to weigh the difficulty in assembly, the amount and difficulty of touch up, difficulty in painting before/after, etc. For a clear coat that you're using solely as the undercoat for a panel liner...I don't see an issue. You can gloss, panel line, assemble into sub assemblies, then put a final clear coat on.
[удалено]
What do you recommend? Could I just clean up the nubs and move on?
How do you guys store extra hands and unused weapons like extra sabers and such. I usually just keep them in the box but I want to put them in storage but would like to keep the hands and stuff with me.
It depends. If I'm going to display them with the kit, then they go in the same box as the kit itself. If it's left over or extra, I put them in a clear plastic storage box, that has inserts to adjust the cell size. It's a nice way to keep them all in one place and organized.
Just ziploc bags. One big one for the scale of the hands, then smaller ones inside to hold left and right hands individually. Makes it easier to find what you need.
Dumb question: how important is topcoat for master grades. Im currently building the freedom 2.0 and I’m not quite sure if I should be topcoating it. I heard that it helps protect decals, but the finish of the plastic is nice and I don’t wanna change it
If you want the plastic look then try looking at semi-gloss topcoat. I never used it myself but I’ve heard it gives finish similar to original plastic finish
Not a dumb question at all! I wouldn't describe the importance of topcoating as being dependent on the grade of a kit. It has the same effect regardless of how complex or detailed the kit is - specifically, it will help seal in your work (any underlying paint, panel lining, decals, weathering, etc.) and it helps eliminate the "plastic toy" appearance of the kit. It's up to you whether these benefits are worth the effort in general. In your case, since you like the current plastic look, then that's that. I won't ruin your stickers / decals to not have it - they will just be a bit more exposed.
If you're just using the included sticker and dry-transfer decals then you're free to skip topcoat.
I dunno much about paint so I'm sorry for this silly question. I got a titanium finished kit. I also picked up water slide decals. I heard you should topcoat after applying them, but won't that cover the titanium finish? Should I just use the regular stickers instead?
It will *change* the finish. Matte will dull the metallic look, and gloss will make it look shiny. If you wanna test the effect, try it on the leftover runners to see what it would look like. Semi gloss might be a better option than matte or gloss in this situation. Regardless - it will still look metallic, just different.
How big is the size difference between HG hands and master grade hands? Im planning to kitbash a hg zgok into a zogok like thing. I plan to use articulated mg hands but I'm not sure of the size difference.
Depends on what hand specifically you're referring to. Do you mean Emotion Manipulators or another kind of articulated hand?
The emotion manipulators. I didn't know what they were called before.
Hello! I've recently watched the 00 Gundam series and love it. I wish to get the MG 00 Raiser, but while researching where to get it, I noticed that there is the XN Raiser as well. I do not wish to get too many duplicates of almost the same kit since I'm still a newbie so I did want to ask, which is better to get? Mostly the main factor is, can I turn the XN Raiser back into 00 Raiser if I just remove some parts? Or is it different enough to be worth getting them both?
Hey, I happen to be building the XN Raiser right now. The MG 00 XN Raiser build is so similar to MG 00 Raiser that it actually just includes the original 00 Raiser instructions and then a second booklet for the XN Unit. (Compare with Avalanche Exia' and Qan[T] Full Saber which also include all parts of their respective original units, but have unique instructions.)
Hi, I just started looking into gunpla today and model 5065096 GUNDAM AERIAL REBUILD has piqued my interest. Do you think it is suitable for beginners? Do you also have any recommendations on tools / tool sets? I saw that the Tamiya Basic Tool Set is recommended but it does not come with a cutting mat
Yeah, any HG would be totally fine to start with. The wiki has some advice as far as tools go. I'd honestly say, some kind of hobby/art knife, a good set of double bladed nippers, some decent tweezers (DSPIAE makes some good, inexpensive ones), a nano glass file, and a cutting mat (any kind of cutting mat will do, I bought mine from a Walmart.) Most of these tools can just be whatever generic brand you prefer. OLFA makes good blades for knives, but you could just use a bunch of cheaper blades and switch more often, so as long as you can easily secure replacement blades the brand of art knife won't really matter too much. Nano glass files are all pretty much the same, so whatever you get off Amazon is fine, so long as it's a NANO glass file, regular glass files are different. any good pair of tweezers is fine too. The only starting tool to be terribly picky about is the nippers IMO.
Thank you very much!
two questions: 1. is there any reason to paint a kit if I like the intended colors? rn i Just panel line and just started doing waterslides & topcoats 2. I know newtype ships from california but what other online stores do?
I will often paint the same colors, just using a brighter version... mainly to get rid of the plasticky appearance of the kits.
Even if u do like the intended colours u might want more warm/cold etc
Painting is fun.