I need a reccomendation to buy a certain color. I'm going for a color to match this... Megatron was always white to me and that's what that picture shows. It seems he's a shiney white almost metalic, with just a hint or touch of aluminum or silver in it. It's a very bright and shiney white. I don't know what to make of it. I was looking at colors to paint my Classics Megatron in. (I kind of like the White they used, but I want the arms to match). I'm going for a dominate Cartoon accurate colors paint job. (With minor touches to outline the mold). So far I've been concidering Insignia White (Navy), Matt White, and Gloss Aluminum by Tamiya, or Reefer White, Flat Aluminum, or Platinum Mist(Floquil) from Testors. I'm also concidering Krylong Fusion's... Satin White Satin Pewter Grey Gloss White & Dover White Other Colors I think might work good are Pearl White Mettallic (But I don't know if they make one for a plastic hobby aplication.) and Titanium White. Those are good colors I've found in general but just don't know if there are any paints for plastic in spray. It's really tricky because Megatron is a White Color, but with a Aluminum/Chrome shine to him. I'm trying to find that White that is almost Silver, but still white. I also noticed from Wetall's Megatron that the color charts may have the colors appear a little darker than they do when finished on the plastic TF. Is that an accurate assesment? You guys are experienced with this stuff. Got any reccomendations?
That's actually an old modelers trick called non metallic metal.It's where you give the illusion of sheen by painting on shadows and reflections to normal colours. So it really doesn't matter what exact white you use, its the other colours you use that make it look silver. Do an internet search for NMM. It can be pretty tricky to pull off, especially on a piece as big as Megs. Good luck. As a side note, I wish Firefox 2 would stop telling me I've spelled colour incorrectly.
Rodimus, I can tell you that Tamiya's flat aluminum is a near perfect match for the silver paint used on the Classics. That may help you judge how that or the gloss aluminum would look on the figure. I'm just getting into full-blown repaints myself, so that's the best I can do for now. TwoKingMick, can you change Firefox's spelling dictionary to one more suited for your region? I haven't upgraded yet, so I don't know.
That sounds good Chaos Muffin. I was considering that... I'm not too big on weathered washes though. I think it makes them look too dirty and old. I like shine. Lots and lots of shine. Xaxis, is that flat aluminum like a extremely light silver? If it's a highly polished color (that makes it look white in certain lights) I might go for that. I'm still up in the air about it. I definately know I want the shiney look. Too bad they don't make any mettallic whites. (Except for the pearl stuff). Here's and idea, what If I primered it gray, and gave it light coats of the white? Or the other way around? You think that would bring out a desired effect? Thanks for all your help, guys!
Would be cool if they made a transparent gray (do they?), so you could put a coat of it over the white and have the white show through. Or put a silver glosse coat over the white. Not sure if there is a silverish gloss coate though, it may be just available in gloss. Anykind of glosss coat and he'll be shiny. Or you could use a silver or gray panel lining pen to darken in all the lines to break up the whites. Dude's going to look awesome either way
Try a tamiya color ts-45 its a pearl white that has a suttle but nice metalic effect. Be patient with it though spray it in very thin layers or it will bubble up on you.
Thanks Turbofux Hunter. I checked that out and I really like it. But I'm still being abit indecisive because with all the sparkles (doesn't the pearl have that pink in it too?), would Megatron really have his armor looking like that? I think he would call himself a panzy and then take a lava bath just to get rid of the pretty sparkles. Being such a Brute that he is and all... But I really do like that Pearl Mettallic color you reccomended. I'm just not sure it's right for Megatron. I checked out all the Tamiya Silvers at the store and if the caps are accurate to the color, then they were too dark. To be honest, the more I look at the White Hasbro used on classics Megatron, the more that's the color I want. The only thing is I want it to be more shiney. Anyone know what that color is or what color would match it? I need to paint the arms, chest crest, and inner legs to match that if I can. Still thinking about that Pearl White though. Anyone ever used Matte White? What does that look like? That one is still in the running too. Any one ever tried Insignia White? Those are my front runners I am considering. Mabye I should just primer it gray and do thin coats of white. Or maybe even a layer of Silver and then White? What do you guys suggest. I'm going for that White look with just a tint of that grey (like Hasbro did) but with more of a shine (I guess gloss clearcoat can do that). I'm a perfectionist. I want to get him as G1 show accurate as possible. I'm thankful to you guys because this is my first ever attempt at any type of kitbash/repaint and your experience is EXTREMELY valuable and helpful.
Tamiya has a "Clear Smoke" colour, which is pretty much exactly what that is. I used it to paint my Classics Starscream's face (mainly because somehow I'd neglected to purchase an actual gray paint. Although it had the added bonus of "pooling" a bit around the contours of his nose and chin, and in his mouth. Since it's a transparent paint, the more of it there is, the darker it looks, and thus it brought definition to his face really well). It's a medium/dark grey, though, not very light, so if you wanted a lighter shade, you'd have to mix it with some Clear.
I've been looking at a Traslucent Silver and a Polycarbonate Silver for some parts. The problem is, I have no idea what these terms mean in pant refference. Can you guys help me out with that? It will certainly help me make a decisive choice. What does these terms mean in paint color? Matt (White) Transluccent (I assume that means clear?) Satin Polycarbonate What do these terms mean when titled with a paint color? I've seen them on many different colors from different brands. I know Flat means dull and Gloss means shiny. But these I have no clue about.
Did you download the en-US (US English, marked as just "English", parochially) or en-GB (UK English, marked as "English (British)")? If not, here's the English (British) dictionary: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/dictionaries/?lang=en-GB And here's the en-GB version of Firefox 2 [Windows] (which has "colour", etc in the UI itself): http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html?product=firefox-2.0&os=win&lang=en-GB
So I've decided to go with Turbofox Hunter's suggestion of the Pearl White. Should I primer gray as the bottom coat before I start with coats of the Pearl White? Will this give a more grayish effect? I also picked up Insigna White (AS-20) and Bright Silver for good measure just incase. Is it good to primer before using Tamiya Sprays? I do love that Pearl White alot though. I've seen other models and real cars painted with it and it gave off a silverish glow to it. But I'm looking for insurance that the silver tint does come out. I sprayed a little on a plastic model piece from a Ferrari that was white plastic and because of that, it looked too white when dried. So that's why I was thinking of doing a gray Primer. Of coarse, I don't know how Mettalic and light paints mesh with darker colored primers... I hate being a newbie at this.
Matte is the same as flat. IE: not shiny at all. Translucent is semi-clear (you'd be able to see the colour underneath it, but not as much as a straight clear paint). Satin is a semi-glossy finish, like the fabric. I've actual not seen the "satin" paint in effect, but if I had to guess, it'd look flat from some angles, but if it catches the light just right, it should "shimmer" a bit. I haven't a clue about Polycarbonate. I don't think that's a paint property, I think that's part of the paint colour's name (like Sky Blue, Blood Red, etc).
Hey, thanks a lot. I actually downloaded Firefox 2 pretty early, so none of those options were available at the time. And colour has been spelled colour for quite a long time. Color is the simplified american version.
This is one of the reasons I always wait until the new version is at least x.x.(0.)1 (*still has no idea why they added the extra .0 to the 1.5 numbering...*) before I upgrade FF. Between that, stability and extensions, I'll stay on 1.5 for another month or so
Tamiya's Flat Aluminum (XF-16) it pretty much a perfect match for the silver paint used on Classics Bumblebee or Prime. I used it to paint over Bumblebee's chin and it blends in very well with the factory paint. I've also used it to touch up some scratches on my Alternators and you can't tell where it was applied. If you have Classics Bumblebee or Prime, or Alternator Skids, the silver on those are good examples of what the flat aluminum looks like. For Megatron, I'd say it would be more silver than what you're looking for.
Is it good to primer before using Tamiya Sprays? Absolutely the only way to do it right is to primer first. the primer keeps the paint from running allover the plastic and forming puddles. use the tamiya fine primer its great for keeping fine detail while still providing a more manageable surface to paint. Remember to keep the paint thin it takes alot more time but the detail of the object isnt lost and there will be less paint repair later. good Luck!
Hmm, I'm having trouble getting Tamiya Fine Primer. None of the hobby stores around here carry it. Will Testors spray enamel primer work? Any other Primer options to do the job of that Tamiya Fine Primer?
