So I noticed something in the Painting/Decal Guide.. the edges off the end of the GN Blades are colored blue..



Okay. I've got a recipe that will work perfectly... GP Hi-Blu from the Gerbera project!



Then I got to thinking, let's add more.. and now, I call this "Avalanche Blizzard!"



And some more around the ankles, shield, beam sabers.. GN Sword's gun rail.. How about changing the red parts too?

I mean why not, it works in Amazing... I'm thinking about treating the face like this too.




I took my first MG Exia off the high shelf so I could check some of my earlier paint apps. I know the GN Drive looks a little odd, the blue cap doesn't mesh with the standard Exia coloration, but once the Avalance components are attached it will blend in better.


*cough, mind the dust...

Some gray around the socket connection will help the color division with the Avalanche.



This is a new part by the way. See the notch ports below the lower clamp hinge.

Now the next addition is something I've not seen much of with Exia repaints.. Either I might rethink this and paint the Mowhawk blue, and keep the indented panel white... but the Yellow...? I wondered



again, test fitted with my original Exia ... I like it.



EDIT: I need to see something from the Amazing Exia in the backlog. I might have an alternative solution for painting some of these parts...

 

Just got the notification my Moon Gundam has shipped! Needless to say my gunpla backlog is pretty healthy at this point (REX counts) so I'm going to wind down kit purchases. I'm not going to stop but I need to clear some of these out before I get more.

Which will be a very, very long time as I also have model railroad kits I might need to prioritize for personal reasons.

 

In case anyone ever wondered how big a 1/100 Ksyhatriya is. Steel legend Kshatriya with the MG RX-78, and the Sinanju.

 

Where did you find that??

 

Pretty sure that's a 3P Metal Build.

EDIT:
Yep, over in the MB thread.

 

Huh... Neat!
-

Dug the parts I needed out of the Amazing Exia.



These are the only parts from the original Exia the Amazing omits which I needed.

 

Correct.

 

My box of goodies should be arriving today. Think I'm, oddly enough, most excited for the Sinanju, even though it's literally just a shiny HG.

Also, how well do topcoats help decals blend in, and does it matter between Matte or Gloss? I want to fully decal the GM Cannon, but I hate the visible edges the decals leave behind.

 

I put a Gloss over my Gouf T.D. and it works well enough for its clearback decals.. just a matter of pressing them into the surface but you still see the borders, however this was a single coat of Pledge.




With waterslides. I've noticed the ones I put on the 911GT2 blend in better under a gloss coat.



Yet, the ones I put on the Nu HWS look fine under a semi-matte.



I guess it's just a matter of how well they melt into the surface.

 

Those don't look too bad, actually. I'll make sure to clean the surfaces well for maximum adhesion.

 

Every article I keep reading in Scale Auto magazine is a gloss coat before decals helps them lay flat better, and then you can pick whatever finish you want to use afterwards.

The thing I found out the hard way with the GT was Mr Decal Softer doesn't like Acrylic paint... it's why I had to recoat the car again and hit it with a gloss enamel or lacquer coat before applying the decals.

 

Welp, no better kit to use as a guinea pig than an expensive P-Bandai exclusive I suppose.  

 

Worked out well enough for my Prototype Stark Jegan.. the most expensive First Grade level HGUC kit I've ever built!

 

that's what I'd heard as well (Testors Official FAQ even says so)

Yet another reason for me to avoid Mr Hobby (the first being the brand's unavailability at retail here)

 

Krylon Satin's my usual go-to on larger scale projects. Nice balance of knocking off that plasticy gloss without dulling colors too much.

Haven't gotten to my Gundam kits yet. For the Mega kit, I'll either be happy with Future Gloss if I want to mimick the 1:1 finish, or stick with my usual satin if I opt for the Real Type deco.

For the HG kits I just got in, I've a can of Rust-Oleum Matte I'll use to help give a sense of scale. Might try some of the other matte recommendations I've read about on future builds.

Only real warning I have is to avoid Krylon Matte like the plague. Stuff never properly cures, and leaves you with a tacky product if you handle it. Love their Satin. The crystal triple-whatever gloss is good, too, if you don't have high humidity. But avoid the flat/matte at all costs.

 

So this is how Bandai celebrate Gundam 40th anniversary.

 

Not so much fun funny story, but last night while working on the Avalanche, I ran out of Microbrushes... Didn't think I burned through a pack of 100 in less than two months... even though they're disposable, I'll still manage to stretch their lifespan by a few uses, usually until the paint makes them deteriorate.

Serenidipity of having to go to Tractor Supply Co this evening for dog food, which is next door to Hobby Lobby. I hate paying their markup price for so few, but with one of their coupons handy I grabbed two 10 packs to tide me over unti Wednesday when my order of 400 arrives from Amazon... It doesn't stop me from working with my fine point brushes, but I like having these microfiber tips for all grades of paint or cement. In some cases they've done a better job for trim painting and making revisions because they don't leave brush strokes in odd tight patterns .

Meanwhile, I've since gone back and stripped the paint off the GN Drive's cone. narrow my color back to the panel line seperated tip... pics later.

 

@sages

 

Fuck the acid kicked in way fucking faster than I thought it would...

 

GN Sword is mostly finished, it just needs a quick fix to the paint on the top rail. I only disassembled the two halves so I could snap this picture.



GN Drive is getting redone in the pattern I had originally planned to paint it, and the handles for the Blades are getting some attention too.