About the zillionth one i've seen.

Basically, like everyone else, i wasn't happy with what Hasbro gave us, so i decided to go ahead and repaint the whole thing. I wanted mine to look really dirty and damaged (Ironhide is old, not young, Energon!).And that's basically it.

Still deciding on whether to add the yellow stripe or not.

 

niiiiiiiiiiiice

 

he looks sticky...do his panels stick together if he's left alone too long? otherwise outstanding paintjob!

 

He looks really cool. I like it.

 

Looks a million times better now. But why haven't you painted the crotch?

 

Good point actually. I dunno why. Must've forgot.

It's not sticky at all, just i might've used a bit too much drybrushing on him...

 

very cool like the battle damaged look

 

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

I'm currently redoing his crotch section, in dark gray, and have decided to add a layer of semi gloss varnish over the existing one. Thank goodness the gloss varnish was only sprayed on the car mode. Phew.

Oh, and i'll redo the one thing i thought people would mention, though nobody has. The mistake on the side windows.

 

I like your repaint. I think your red is perfect. I'm going to repaint a couple Ironhides soon and I have been wondering what color to paint it exactly. I want mine to be a good G1ish red but still look semi metallic/shiny/shimmery like cars are painted now. I think your color looks like a real car finish. I do have one question though, how did you get orange head and tail lights for the alt mode I thought they were blue. I'm thinking,"He could have just repainted them, but they still look transparent." how did you do that? Am i just crazy and it's just paint orange?

 

I have to thank Sabsabby85 for the technique i used. Basically, i painted the whole thing in metallic silver (must be metallic, chrome won't work) then painted a coat of clear red over it. Applied more till i liked it.

The head lights actually were a lot easier than i thought it would be. The blue doesn't actually show through at all, so it was a simple matter of clear orange and clear yellow straight over the blue. It's still transparent now. However, for safety, maybe best to just basecoat the whole thing in silver first.

Before Painting though, do these:

Sand down the top of his shoulders (Paint is thick, since you have multiple coats)

Do the chest mod (allows him to look straight; i forgot dammit)

That's about it. I happen to use the Mr Hobby brand of paints for my customs, with some others colours thrown in for accents and details. Note: It is vital to stock up on clear paints to get this colour. Clear red, clear orange and clear yellow.

 

Yeah, i've finished Ironhide, new pics are up on the OP.

 

I would have never thought to do that on the headlights. I did have a feeling that you painted silver before the red. I'm totally doing this. Now all I need is the paints and an airbrush...Oh, and I did the chest mod as soon as I got home with the figure so don't have to worry about that.

 

I like it! Love the attention to detail--the paintstyle for the hands is awesome! He definitely looks like he's been around.

 

Why? i hand painted this one.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

Good to know. I just need to get paint then.

 

Can't wait to see how your's turns out.

I just noticed: There's a little square on his forehead, almost like a weird gundam crest. Should it be a different color (i want it G1 Accurate)?

Maybe i'll get another one for Trailbreaker when funds allow...

 

Once i decide on the stripe and his crest... 

Then maybe...

EDIT: the pics on the wiki indicate that the square crest thing's been on him since G1, but has always been red. At least, that's what i can gather from the pics. Now to see if i want the stripe...