AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
I think I keep looking for transforming / jet capable MG/PG models because I still want some really good Macross models, and this is the closest I'm gonna get.
Like most everyone else, being forced to be at home all the time has increased my gunpla time. Making decent progress on my HG Grimgerde. Kinda want to rush through it (haven't watched the show so I have no particular affinity for any of the IBO suits) and get to something exciting. Maybe my recent Patlabor purchase?
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
Me: Crow, import home settings and check control surfaces.
What is that... some kind of golden... spider-duck?
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Question about decals.
I'm working up the courage to apply them. Right now, my process is pretty much to
- clip the piece
- use an x-acto to smooth it (hopefully without too much scarring)
- Assemble the pieces
- Use gundam fine panel line markers or pour type markers to fill in things
- Use rubbing alcohol and q-tips to clean it off as best I can
If I wanted to start applying decals, should I do that before or after the panel lining step?
If I do it after, should I look into using top coat layers or something to protect the panel lines? Like -- panel line, top coat, decal, top coat?
Is it pretty much irreversible when you use a top coat? I mean, I've never gone back and cleaned up a model, but given how expensive mine are, I'm terribly afraid of screwing them up and having to go back over them.
The next step I want to take things after decals is to paint in stuff like hoses and the like. So far I haven't because I'm so afraid of priming, and because I like the colors on the base model kits. But I was just thinking with my gunpla builders club group... what if I just painted the inner frames? Could I get away with that? And would I need to do much masking?
apply a thin clear gloss coat to where you want the decal, then wet that area
also you need to coat with sealant before you use panel liner, as the medium tends to weaken plastic
I use pour types, which are acryllic based not enamel based, so it won't weaken the plastic the same way... that's why I was curious about the first gloss coat.
Interesting, what benefit is there to applying a gloss coat to where the decal is going to go? (I'm genuinely curious.)
Yeah you got the order right decals go after panel lining cause you don't want the paint to leech onto the adhesive and much it up. If you are using water decals a gloss coat will protect the panel lining from the setting solution washing it off or just making sure a painted piece has a smooth finish so the decal won't tear. If you get a frosted look from screwing up the top coat you can wipe it off rubbing alcohol or the appropriate paint thinner. Make sure to remove or cover up clear parts before top coating or they will get a fogged up look.
I'm working up the courage to apply them. Right now, my process is pretty much to
- clip the piece
- use an x-acto to smooth it (hopefully without too much scarring)
- Assemble the pieces
- Use gundam fine panel line markers or pour type markers to fill in things
- Use rubbing alcohol and q-tips to clean it off as best I can
If I wanted to start applying decals, should I do that before or after the panel lining step?
If I do it after, should I look into using top coat layers or something to protect the panel lines? Like -- panel line, top coat, decal, top coat?
Is it pretty much irreversible when you use a top coat? I mean, I've never gone back and cleaned up a model, but given how expensive mine are, I'm terribly afraid of screwing them up and having to go back over them.
The next step I want to take things after decals is to paint in stuff like hoses and the like. So far I haven't because I'm so afraid of priming, and because I like the colors on the base model kits. But I was just thinking with my gunpla builders club group... what if I just painted the inner frames? Could I get away with that? And would I need to do much masking?
Ok so I assume you're talking about waterslides. I apply the waterslide decals after panel lining with either a gundam marker or the pour type, because an applied waterslide has a more matte finish than the piece I'm working on, so more of the ink/paint would want to stick to the surface of the decal. You're using water (or water with some additives, if using sol and set solutions), so you don't need to topcoat between lining and decal application.
The general recommendation within the Gundam community is to topcoat after painting, before application of enamel washes, which you're not using, and after application of decals. You topcoat for the following reasons:
A) After Painting - Painting is prone to chipping and rubbing, especially if you're using acrylics. A top coat protects the paint from this occurring. Before Enamel Washes/Lining - Enamel thinners are known to attack the plastics we use, and flow extremely well. So you want to make sure your plastic is very well protected before using this. A gloss coat also improves the flow of the enamel paint.
C) Before Waterslides - On painted models only, the matte surface of the paint can cause the decals to not properly stick to the surface of the model. This results in a hazing (whitening) effect as small bubbles of air are trapped on the surface. A gloss coat prior to waterslides gives a smooth surface with nowhere for bubbles to hide.
D) After Waterslides and Dry Rub Transfers - Dry rub transfers are very delicate and prone to scratch. Waterslides are super thin decals with a water soluble glue on the back. If waterslides soak in the water too long, they won't have enough glue to adhere properly, and will stay on purely from tension between the decal and the part. A top coat locks them in place.
Now, with all that said, only about 10 models in my collection of over 100 have any top coat applied. All of my painted kits do, as well as a couple of non-painted kits for test purposes. I've only ever topcoated one kit because it had an issue with the waterslides coming off, and that was my very first kit to apply waterslides too, so I'm sure I left no glue under them. I know that applying a matte topcoat would make a lot of my kits look more military, but I like the satin finish they have naturally, as in general I'm not going for a hyper realistic military look in my giant robot toys.
Waterslide. I have a couple sets of dry transfer but I am especially not wanting to go near those.
... I'm actually kind of bummed that the real grades only have stickers. I'd love those sheets in waterslide.
Dry transfers are actually real easy. Just cut them out with a bit of empty space for masking tape, tape to the spot, rub it with the corner of a credit card, take off 1 edge of masking tape and slowly lift up the plastic sheet to check if all of it is on the Gundam, if part of the decal is still on the plastic sheet just put the masking tape back in place and rub it again.
Waterslide. I have a couple sets of dry transfer but I am especially not wanting to go near those.
... I'm actually kind of bummed that the real grades only have stickers. I'd love those sheets in waterslide.
Dry transfers are actually real easy. Just cut them out with a bit of empty space for masking tape, tape to the spot, rub it with the corner of a credit card, take off 1 edge of masking tape and slowly lift up the plastic sheet to check if all of it is on the Gundam, if part of the decal is still on the plastic sheet just put the masking tape back in place and rub it again.
Dry transfers are easy, until you get to one that is supposed to go over some highly curved piece, or exactly fits the area it's supposed to go onto, or have painted your kit and don't want tape to pull off the paint, or end up rubbing the transfer ever so slightly while applying to the piece, thus ruining it, or get it the least bit out of position, or touch that part of the model and accidentally rub some of it off, or...
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited March 2020
Oh that is EXACTLY the kind of look I was going for when I wanted to start learning how to panel line. I love realistic looking models, and I always thought that on my Zoids and such, the inner frames would be all gunky and slathered with oil and runoff. The panel lines accomplish that a bit, but so far I've mostly stuck to doing brighter colors... and a couple darker ones.
It does look like that stuff goes back to the whole prime + paint issue I was discussing yesterday, but.. eh. Who knows. It's also cool to see him applying it with the model mostly intact.
Edit: Episode 3 of Unicorn down. Banagher is going to have mental issues. Not.. Shinji bad, but still.
Edit 2: I don't know who that lady in charge of Anaheim is, but I HATE her. Holy fuck. She's gonna pay for what she did to what's her name.
@Kanden make sure to get a JIS screwdriver before you start on the PG Zaku. I did 1 screw with a regular phillips head screwdriver from an eyeglass kit and went straight out to my local store to look for a better fit.
I got that Tamiya beginners kit and the screwdriver in that seems to fit alright
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turtleantGunpla Dadis the best.Registered Userregular
I personally think the MG Banshee Ver.Ka kinda sucks. It's really finicky and hand grenad-ey, the transformation is annoying, and it doesn't come with any of the Banshee's loadout, just the Unicorns standard Beam Magnum and Hyper Bazooka. I'm real glad I got it as a result of a shipping error in my favor instead of shelling out for it.
If you wanna build a Banshee I'd get the RG. Or an SD one, the SD Unicorns are cool.
+1
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited March 2020
Yeah. I was told by my gunpla competition friend to avoid the Ver. Ka and go with the OVA ones if possible.
Banshee deserves a better pilot, holy shit. (Episode 6 down).
Edit: Though I'm entering the final episode and I guess the Phenex that I love so much isn't gonna get introduced. Which is a shame. I can think of a couple badass pilots for it in this show so far.
Edit 2: Shit, was that a mobile suit made out of 2 fighters?!
Posts
Crow:
But I was slightly let down that you didn't wire him up to a snarky version of Alexa.
There is still time!
Too bad I’ll never have a Gypsy. Those baby car seats just do not exist anymore probably way too unsafe.
Never say never. I am sure there are 3d print / molds out there.
I'm working up the courage to apply them. Right now, my process is pretty much to
- clip the piece
- use an x-acto to smooth it (hopefully without too much scarring)
- Assemble the pieces
- Use gundam fine panel line markers or pour type markers to fill in things
- Use rubbing alcohol and q-tips to clean it off as best I can
If I wanted to start applying decals, should I do that before or after the panel lining step?
If I do it after, should I look into using top coat layers or something to protect the panel lines? Like -- panel line, top coat, decal, top coat?
Is it pretty much irreversible when you use a top coat? I mean, I've never gone back and cleaned up a model, but given how expensive mine are, I'm terribly afraid of screwing them up and having to go back over them.
The next step I want to take things after decals is to paint in stuff like hoses and the like. So far I haven't because I'm so afraid of priming, and because I like the colors on the base model kits. But I was just thinking with my gunpla builders club group... what if I just painted the inner frames? Could I get away with that? And would I need to do much masking?
also you need to coat with sealant before you use panel liner, as the medium tends to weaken plastic
I use pour types, which are acryllic based not enamel based, so it won't weaken the plastic the same way... that's why I was curious about the first gloss coat.
Interesting, what benefit is there to applying a gloss coat to where the decal is going to go? (I'm genuinely curious.)
... I'm actually kind of bummed that the real grades only have stickers. I'd love those sheets in waterslide.
Ok so I assume you're talking about waterslides. I apply the waterslide decals after panel lining with either a gundam marker or the pour type, because an applied waterslide has a more matte finish than the piece I'm working on, so more of the ink/paint would want to stick to the surface of the decal. You're using water (or water with some additives, if using sol and set solutions), so you don't need to topcoat between lining and decal application.
The general recommendation within the Gundam community is to topcoat after painting, before application of enamel washes, which you're not using, and after application of decals. You topcoat for the following reasons:
A) After Painting - Painting is prone to chipping and rubbing, especially if you're using acrylics. A top coat protects the paint from this occurring.
Before Enamel Washes/Lining - Enamel thinners are known to attack the plastics we use, and flow extremely well. So you want to make sure your plastic is very well protected before using this. A gloss coat also improves the flow of the enamel paint.
C) Before Waterslides - On painted models only, the matte surface of the paint can cause the decals to not properly stick to the surface of the model. This results in a hazing (whitening) effect as small bubbles of air are trapped on the surface. A gloss coat prior to waterslides gives a smooth surface with nowhere for bubbles to hide.
D) After Waterslides and Dry Rub Transfers - Dry rub transfers are very delicate and prone to scratch. Waterslides are super thin decals with a water soluble glue on the back. If waterslides soak in the water too long, they won't have enough glue to adhere properly, and will stay on purely from tension between the decal and the part. A top coat locks them in place.
Now, with all that said, only about 10 models in my collection of over 100 have any top coat applied. All of my painted kits do, as well as a couple of non-painted kits for test purposes. I've only ever topcoated one kit because it had an issue with the waterslides coming off, and that was my very first kit to apply waterslides too, so I'm sure I left no glue under them. I know that applying a matte topcoat would make a lot of my kits look more military, but I like the satin finish they have naturally, as in general I'm not going for a hyper realistic military look in my giant robot toys.
Hope this helps!
That's Crow from the quasi-underground, quasi-mainstream bad movie comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Well now I'm worried I'm not, either.
Dry transfers are actually real easy. Just cut them out with a bit of empty space for masking tape, tape to the spot, rub it with the corner of a credit card, take off 1 edge of masking tape and slowly lift up the plastic sheet to check if all of it is on the Gundam, if part of the decal is still on the plastic sheet just put the masking tape back in place and rub it again.
To be honest, I thought Lanz was just trying to make us olds feel old.
I think I like the "It was an inside joke that I didn't get" option better.
Dry transfers are easy, until you get to one that is supposed to go over some highly curved piece, or exactly fits the area it's supposed to go onto, or have painted your kit and don't want tape to pull off the paint, or end up rubbing the transfer ever so slightly while applying to the piece, thus ruining it, or get it the least bit out of position, or touch that part of the model and accidentally rub some of it off, or...
Dry transfers are easy, but very unforgiving.
Now I just need to decide if I want to panel line the inside, and if so, in black on brown or brown on brown?
I get the feeling this sucker's meant to be dirty as all hell, so I'm leaning brown on brown, but I'm waiting for things to dry.
https://youtu.be/MnIfFO4lWk4
It does look like that stuff goes back to the whole prime + paint issue I was discussing yesterday, but.. eh. Who knows. It's also cool to see him applying it with the model mostly intact.
Edit: Episode 3 of Unicorn down. Banagher is going to have mental issues. Not.. Shinji bad, but still.
Edit 2: I don't know who that lady in charge of Anaheim is, but I HATE her. Holy fuck. She's gonna pay for what she did to what's her name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avj5mkLrrVY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhb7lm1p--0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2IWxqvsSY8
Gonna be a long couple of weeks.
Yep!
It's how the Roman lady describes Crow when talking to them via the view screen during Pearl and Company's whole "we're gods!" bit
I suddenly want to build a banshee.
You're in luck, the MG Banshee Ver Ka came out in 2018, and the RG Banshee came out last year!
If you wanna build a Banshee I'd get the RG. Or an SD one, the SD Unicorns are cool.
Banshee deserves a better pilot, holy shit. (Episode 6 down).
Edit: Though I'm entering the final episode and I guess the Phenex that I love so much isn't gonna get introduced. Which is a shame. I can think of a couple badass pilots for it in this show so far.
Edit 2: Shit, was that a mobile suit made out of 2 fighters?!
Or he makes models just look awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06dq1eAxSRU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I1NimDNRVU