Minor/Repaint: DMK-01 Optimus Prime WIP (My First Custom)

Discussion in 'Radicons Customs' started by PixelMagic, Oct 15, 2011.

  1. ShOcKwAvE1213

    ShOcKwAvE1213 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

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    nice. can't wait for him to be finished. i'm sure it will turn out great.
     
  2. Rodimeister0088

    Rodimeister0088 Prime

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    wow! that looks like if u took a picture of the cgi! awesome work dude! PERFECT
     
  3. SonOfNemesis

    SonOfNemesis Well-Known Member

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    Now's the time to add washes to the helm and face man! Looking good definitely!
     
  4. G60Force

    G60Force World Smallest Mini-Con

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    :drool: 
     
  5. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    Just using enamels and doing dark washes. The key is subtly. Tons of people overdo weathering and make it look obvious that it was dark washed. You want to go just far enough to add darkness in the panels, but not far enough to make them look embossed. Same for drybrushing. Really subtle is all you need.

    Besides washes, I used tan, olive drab, and black painted on with a ripped up sponge edge. This gives a nice texture you wouldn't get from applying with a brush. Just dab the sponge in the paint, pat it off on a paper towel until most of the paint is gone, then blot it on the 'metal' surface. it will give a really nice effect.
     
  6. NEST SOLDIER

    NEST SOLDIER IRONHIDE'S DRIVER

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    God job bro'! I really love those wheels, they look awesome. Can't wait to see it assembled!
     
  7. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    Over the past couple of days, I found someone who made me some custom stencils for the flames on this bad boy printed on masking vinyl. That way I can paint the flames on instead of using decals. That's all that's left to do on this, and then I can assemble it.

    Also, if anyone wants flame stencils for their DMK01, I can put you in contact with the guy who makes them. They are only $5 per sheet. A good deal in my opinion.

    In a few days, I will take actual pictures of the stencils. In the meantime, this is the graphic of the decals (in color) compared with the stencils (in black) you get for painting.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. OMEGAPRIME1983

    OMEGAPRIME1983 Well-Known Member

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    Should see if he can do stencils for a leader prime figure as well. $5 a hot is a freaking GREAT deal. Did you figure out how to place a barry pack anywhere yet?
     
  9. InFluenc3

    InFluenc3 Well-Known Member

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    Wow, been looking for someone to do this. I visited my local sign shops and they said they couldn't do it because they were far to small. I would really appreciate the contact information.
     
  10. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    I should be receiving these stencils at the beginning of next week. If they work out well, I'm sure lots of people will be interested, and I'll send you his info.
     
  11. InFluenc3

    InFluenc3 Well-Known Member

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    Sounds great, thanks for the help!
     
  12. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    Got my flame stencils in today. They are AWESOME. I haven't tried them on the model yet, but I bet they will work nicely. I've included two pictures below. I removed one of the flame shapes just to show how nice and clean the stencil is. The second pic is of the instructions included with the set. Love it. Never going back to flame decals.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  13. InFluenc3

    InFluenc3 Well-Known Member

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    Stencil look great, can't wait till I get to try them out! By the way, how are they compared to the decals, size wise?
     
  14. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    The flame stencils are the same size as the flame decals. However their outer edge is only the width of the color on the decals, not the pinstriping. So you'll have pinstripe yourself.
     
  15. InFluenc3

    InFluenc3 Well-Known Member

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    Awesome, going to purchase them as soon as I can. Thanks for the help, really appreciate this. Now I can get rid of the plain colors on the kit.
     
  16. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    Just tried out the vinyl stencils. Good news, they go on great. Bad news, they don't come off great. They seem to rip up paint because the adhesive is too strong. Luckily, I can touch up these two pieces and save them, however, 4 other pieces will have to be completely repainted.

    I have contacted the creator of these templates to see if it was an error in the way I used them. I set the pieces in a dehydrator, and that might have hardened the adhesive too much, and ripped up the paint. However, I believe the adhesive might just be too strong to begin with. I'm asking about getting some in a low tack vinyl to see if that will work better. My pain is your gain. This is why I get to be the guinea pig before the rest of you get yours. :banghead: 

    [​IMG]
     
  17. prime326

    prime326 Autobot Leader

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    Wow those stencils look like a pain in the ass. You sir have true patience.
     
  18. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    Finally starting to get come truck parts, and therefore color on this bad boy. :) 

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  19. UltraMagnus2008

    UltraMagnus2008 Autobot

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    if they can fix the stencil issues id buy them for sure, loving the Wip of this, what blue are you using on the panels?
     
  20. PixelMagic

    PixelMagic Well-Known Member

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    It's a custom mixed blue, but I can tell you exactly how to do it. I'm using all Tamiya lacquers on this for the car paint, and I couldn't find a good Optimus blue right out of the can. Mica Blue is close, but has flakes in the paint, which Optimus does not.

    For mine, it's a 50/50 mix of TS-15 Blue and TS-44 Brilliant Blue. The cap for the TS-15 looks like it would be the right color, but when sprayed it's much too dark. This is why I add the Brilliant Blue to lighten it back up. I simply decanted the spray cans into separate containers, and then dumped them both into the same container and mixed them. This creates my special recipe for Optimus blue. It looks even better in person than in photos. The color is a very rich cobalt blue. :) 

    I then polish the blue with The Treatment model car polish and wax. Then I clear coat with Future Floor Polish, because it self-levels and leaves a very shiny coat on the paint. Depending on how well the Future cures, I then sometimes polish the clear coat for a mirror shine. Then I damage it with a needle for the scratches and battle damage in the car paint. Once that is done, I use Citadel Graveyard Earth on a sponge to splotch dirt caked up on the car paint. I then take a clean sponge the same size and spotch the still wet paint to give the nice random dirt pattern on the part.