Don't regret it! Despite the flaws he frankly looks amazing and falls apart a lot less than DMK-01. Plus his face/head look WAY better than DMK-01 (partially due to the design changes but his face also just looks more accurate to the CGI model than the first model's did). The only major painting I did was spraying all the silver parts.

So you don't derive any pleasure from building and posing an exceptionally accurate model of a character you like? That's enough for some people. I love painting them but it gets tedious after a while. A little weathering, some small areas, extra little details and I'm done.

 

I suppose, but a model kit is meant to be painted. A statue or figure is probably better suited for those who do not wish to do so. But of course, people are free to do whatever they wish. I just find it silly that people are complaining about what the DMK03 looks like built up without any paint. Of course it's not going to look stellar, it's not a complete build. A model kit is just a base plastic form upon which you work your magic.

I spent 6 months on the DMK01 painting it. It took me that long because when I started I didn't know what the hell I was doing. It was tedious, but quite a learning experience, and I am so very happy with the result. I am going to have a blast with the DMK03 as well.

 

He can:
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans...-kit-optimus-prime-dmk-03-a-post12025993.html

But when I removed the blade from the wrist, the ball joint broke off, so I'm not going to do that anymore  

 

I don't know how I missed your post! Sorry about that!

But that is indeed awesome. I'm still not sold on the figure though. I'm not a good painter or decal setter and I think I should avoid the stress. I'm just disappointed that we didn't find out about the decals and stuff before he shipped.

 

DMK01 still looks good even without being painted. Also it did not have waterslide decals.... That is sort of turning me off with dmk03....

 

Just picked this up today (on sale for US$60! Had to pay over US$100 for DMK-01!) and can't wait to start putting it together, although going to be a few weeks before I can get to it.

Notice a few of you spray painted some of the parts silver. Is it really necessary? Easy to source equipment/do? I've never spray painted my models before - only ever done traditional painting of them, so contemplating my options (especially given I live in an apartment).

 

Spray paints have a lot of fumes since they are aerosol, and if your apartment doesn't have a good place that you can ventilate it's best not to do it. Depending on how the weather is, if you can find a place outside without much wind and it's warm, that would be a good alternative.
But if you feel more comfortable with traditional painting, just do that.

 

A bottle of Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf would do nicely for it. It's a spray can. It's what I painted the skeleton of my DMK 01 with. And here is an article on how to actually use the Tamiya spray cans...

TamiyaUSA.com - Painting with Tamiya Synthetic Lacquers

It's actually quite simple and Tamiya paint is very forgiving of mistakes.

 

I started airbrushing mine last night. I got pretty far. Here he is now.



I haven't started any blue parts yet. Haven't decided if I am repainting them or using them as is.

I alternated colors, the camera didn't pick it up very well. Used steel on some parts, and a brighter silver on other. Looks cool.

 

Just finished mine. While I love the design of AoE Optimus this kit is a bit of a let down. Besides the water decals, and needing to paint the silver on it the build it self only took a little over 2 hours, took me 6 hours build DMK 01, so if your looking for the same build challenge as DMK 01 and unless you enjoy water slide decals your gonna be let down.

 

Please read more thoroughly then cause I and others were talking about how he looks COMPARED TO DMK-01, who comes with most of the details already painted on there. Plus, I made gundams for half my teen years and most of them look great without any paint so there is a lot of variance between kits in terms of how much paint they need to look good, then there's people's individual opinions too. Please don't call people's concerns over whether or not a $90 luxury item like this is worth their money/time "silly".

DUDE! Where the hell did you get him on sale so early?! That's awesome.

I agree. Definitely don't do it indoors. I live in Brooklyn in a small apartment and I did most of the spraying (just did the silver runners) on my roof. I also sometimes just do it out on the street   Also, you can just use spray paint from your local hardware store if you can't find Tamiya model-specific spray paint. Worked great for me.

Lookin good man! IMO the blue looks pretty good out of the box, so I'd say that the silver bits are really the only essential parts to spray. Since this version of Prime is mostly silver and blue, spraying the silver and leaving the blue takes care of 90% of the body. A little gold, a little red, then worry about the decals.....

 

Part of me says you're right World Prime, and part of me says bling this SoB out with some candy blue or pearl blue. Lol. Can't decide.

Right now the blue is a bit lost in the silver I think.

 

Hehe yeah man I get it. If you've got the supplies and the time then why the hell not?

I agree that the blue gets a little lost, but after you put the decals on it'll help a lot to draw attention to those areas. Especially if you do weathering details like scratches, etc. Also, this is just part of the way the design is but he barely has any solid red parts which is something that I wish he had more of so if you feel like you need to bring out the blue more I feel ya.

 

Presently we don't have a garage (and even when we did it was sometimes too dirty for a workspace clean enough to apply spray paint/airbrush for a clean finish). My wife lets me lock off the second bathroom for a day or so. I just wear a mask and run the fan. It works well.

Of course if you do this , you MUST leave the door closed until the fan has removed the fumes (it'll probably take at least 3-4 hours).

 

Be careful with electric fans though, especially if there are a lot of fumes in the air. Spray paints are super flammable, and if the motor isn't explosion proof, well...
 

 

Yeah, I always spray outside, unless it's too humid or raining. I don't have to worry about ventilation (still wear a mask, though) and I don't have to worry about clean-up.

lol Yeah, I just moved to a place where I now basically have to do it on the street, too. Either just spray into the air or against a big piece of cardboard, then take it to a small space on the side of the apartment building to leave dry.

 

I live in Hong Kong, where his recommended retail is much cheaper, then the store I normally buy from was having their annual 15% off. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I walked out with him and my EX-TF03 Optimus under my arm.  

I don't have "hardware stores" here, so probably going to have more luck finding the proper model building paints given models are a huge part of HK culture. Only downside is I will have to paint them in our complex commons area. Fingers crossed security let me once I source the paint.

I'm really looking forward to pimping him up with some paint. I do like the clip and go models like DMK-01 but there is something really magic about adding your own personal detail to a model.

I have to say everyone posting pics - your DMK's are awesome!

 

He's a lot better proportioned than DKM 01 and like others have said, doesn't fall apart do readily. I got them at the same time so it was interesting to compare them kind of unbiased. The decals have come out with mixed results, but that's due to my lack of experience. I kind of half-noticed the Cybertronian symbols but it didn't really register what could be done with them till I saw pics online later. Surprised there weren't any instructions showing where to put them, though given my inability to apply the decals well (my attempt to apply the Autobot symbol from DMK03 and when that failed the one from DMK01, which also wasn't going to happen for me) it was probably for the best that they were optional lol

 

Curious, for the decals, are they shaped like Bandai RG stickers so that it's easy to line up with the surface to get a good placement? Or is everything up to the builder's judgment.

 

Personally, for me, I really wanted DMK-01 from the moment I saw him, and I finally got him this December. However, I was relieved when I saw all his details were pre-applied, as I enjoyed putting him together, but had no interest in scratch-painting a figure, since I have very limited time for such projects, and no decent place that I could let something like this sit when I'm not working on him. Hence why the Titanic model kit I got for Christmas two years ago is still sitting in a box, waiting until I have time to devote to it, which at this rate may be never.

I built Optimus during my break from work between Christmas and New Years at my dining room table.

I also have no painting know-how whatsoever, and there was no way I was going to let DMK-01 be my test run.

So, while it's fine you painted yours enjoyed doing it, for some of us, it's just not an option.