Now its time to paint the black along the lower portion of the car. The shell of the car is pegged together to make sure it all lines up properly. In order to make sure the front "triangle" design is as perfect as possible, I'm using Tamiya's Masking Sheet. Its a good sized sheet, helpfully marked with square cm grid. I measure the width of the hood at 4cm and mark it. The Tamiya tape dispenser happens to have a perfectly suited curve on it, so I use this as a guide to draw the line onto the sheet. Then using my design knife, very carefully cut along the lines. Then it is applied to the hood, and pressed into place The rest of the lines are masked off with regular Tamiya tape. It is carefully pressed into a crevices. To mask off the rest of the top half of the car, I use plastic wrap, and make sure all the edges are taped down. The bottom of the car is masked off as well. After all masking is done, I apply a thin coat of semi-gloss black. This creates a kind of "barrier" against the masking tape edge, and helps the next, thicker coat from not bleeding through as much, or at all. And then the heavier, gloss coat is applied. After the paint is dry, the masking tape is carefully, one piece at a time, removed. Now, as careful as I am, there's always gonna be little mistakes, spots where the paint bleeds through, or the edges aren't as crisp. In this instance, the tape lifted a bit where the fender flares out. To correct this, I very lightly sand if off with 1000 grit sandpaper. Then, later I'll touch it up with Pure White, sprayed out to be brushed on. A few parts will have some silver details added, and these will be airbrushed, so more masking is needed. The tape is removed on the legs and waist panels..... ....but the crest gets one more coat of paint, Tamiya Clear Red The eyes are handpainted with Tamiya Clear Blue Now that the majority of the painting is done, it's time to start added some chrome details, and to do that, I'm using Bare Metal Foil. This is a very thin, self-adhesive metal foil. To use it, start by cutting out an appropriate sized piece, and peel it carefully off the backing. I'm going to chrome the inner rims of the wheels, and press the section of foil onto it. Then I slowly work it down and around the edges. It will begin to conform, but it will tear easily, so care must be taken. A toothpick and q-tip, as well as my fingernail work great at smoothing the foil. Excess is simply cut away.
And some more chrome work..... The tail lights are molded in clear red, meaning painting clear yellow over top is pretty much pointless. So I just foil the entire piece. Afterwards, black is painted around the edges, and clear red and clear yellow are painted on top. The small lights on the front and rear are chromed as well. The rim around the windshield is also chromed, using the same techniques. And that is all for now!
I'm totally awestruck by this. I have pictures of your Jazz and Skids saved as examples of the very best customs, but this is on a whole new level. Now do Smokescreen
Holy shit man! This is beyond epic! Looking at your sig....please tell me your doing Wheeljack to stand along these guys!!!
How does that chrome hold up? Do you have to put a coat of something over that to protect it? Love this thread!
Haha, thanks, but I hope to never work on the 280 again! Well...I wouldn't have bought the kit just to build it as a static car.... I usually put a layer of Future over it, yeah. It's a lot stronger than say, silver leafing, but its still just a stick-on foil. For the tail lights and stuff, the clear paint will work great as a protector.
Alright guys, this is gonna be my last update in the WIP thread! I make my own decals in Microsoft Photodraw...yeah its a super old program, but I know how to use it, and its easy for me to navigate I use Experts Choice decal paper, made by the Bare Metal foil company...pretty much because that's what my local shop carries. The decal paper comes in standard 8.5x11 in sheets in both white and clear and is made for inkjet or laserjet printers. Once the images are printed and dried, simply spray on some Testors Decal Bonder, and you've got yourself some custom decals. Anyway, Prowls set is pretty simple, the shield and chevrons were drawn up in the Photodraw, and the Autobot symbol is just some colored lineart I found on the web years ago. the rest is pretty much just text. Now my inkjet doesn't print white, so to get the white POLICE on the doors, I create a black background with white text. This is then printed on white decal paper. Because the decals are glossy, the black portions match the black paint perfectly. The rest of the decals are printed on clear paper. Then the decals are cut and applied like any water-slide decals. I always use Micro-Set setting solution prior to application, and Mico-Sol decal solvent after the decal is applied. The Micro-Sol softens the decal significantly and allows to go adhere more naturally, and really helps give it that "painted on" look. After this, I'll go back and touch up little spots here and there....nothing really document worthy (...and here's how I paint this little corner that rubbed off....). And then I'll brush on some Future to protect the decals and seal the paint job, and they're done!
Sunday can't come quick enough!!! My MPJazz is my Absolute Favorite Bot! Didn't ever think I'd own another figure that made me that happy! But.... Prowl is Amazing Brother! Thanks soooo much for All of your hard work and extreme attention to Every Detail!!! -Lethal Out
