Anyone use Sharpies or paint pens to touch up their Transformers? I had a fine point black sharpie in my hand the other day and glanced over at some of my DOTM figures cluttering the desk after the recent coupon business... and decided to do few touch ups here and there. I added some color to a few of the bland Mechtech guns and colored in some parts on a few deluxes. It looked so good I decided to buy a few more colors, and I went out and bought a Sharpie metallic silver paint marker. I opened it up and started just coloring in some parts on Deluxe Ratchet and Bumblebee.. and man does it make a difference! A $3 marker and it's the easiest thing you could do, and it makes small details pop out so much. Metallic silver especially looks awesome on the movie toys. I'm not saying Sharpies and simple paint markers are for full on customizing, but has anyone that normally wouldn't full on repaint a figure tried using them for touch-ups on bits of a figure to make them look that much better?
I learned (here) not to use them except very small metallic silver (or gold) details. Everything else tends to look horrible in the end.
Ah yes this was pretty much what i was referring to. Yeah I wouldn't think markers would be for any kind of large scale customizing at all, but small details here and there. Especially on the movie toys, with the small parts and details. Just a few things like little parts of Ratchet's feet and some gears on Bumblebee.. I got the figures for free anyway so I just decided to try it, and I think it came out good
I use Sharpies for some customizing too, but be warned that mentioning using Sharpies to customize figures here is practically guaranteed to devolve into an uncivil argument (well, not really argument; they're generally pretty one-sided) about how horrible, amoral, and cruel it is to use Sharpies on TFs.
I use sharpies to repair paint chips on my BW TM figures. That's the only time I consider doing that.
So starting a thread on how I use, crayons and my bedazzle kit on my transformers is totally a bad move? haha! Man some of these fans need to relax, metalic silver sharpies are KEWLSOME!! (the end)
I've used both and understand the draw of both. I used silver sharpies to touch up the rims on Generations Blurr, and I've been using a gundam marker to panel line my iGear Ark Set so it doesn't look so drab. Both have their benefits IMO. Personal preference
Silver pens aren't bad but they need retouching every now and again. I wonder if applying future floor polish woul help seal the paint.
....or just get a can of Testors Dullcoat or some glosscoat? Anyways, I wouldn't touch sharpies with a 10 foot pole when it comes to any level of detailing. For me it's a non-issue...it's a terrible and sub-par tool. Sharpies smudge and discolor over time, but a good paint job, even with small details, with proper sealing, goes a long way. If people wanna use 'em all the power to them. But I feel that if they're going to use sharpies, a jar of paint and a brush will do just better. Think about it...you're already going to mark a figure up anyways, why not do it with proper tools with results that you don't have to go back and retouch often or worry about messing up the plastic? Painting is NOT hard despite what people will say. I have some shaky hands and yet I can still paint the hell out of Warhammer 40K minis. If I can do it, shaky hands and all, then ANYONE can do it.
I use Paint Markers to touch up my customs. I used a gold one once to cover an entire transformer and it doesn't look horrible but I am sure that using a brush would have been better.
The main reason I use Sharpies rather than paint is that it's just so much more convenient and easier. I hate bothering with paint. It's also generally easier to remove Sharpie ink if you mess up.