I was thinking of starting making Gundam models, in the past I have constructed models, by simply assembling them, but now I want to get into the task of making them look good, with paint, decals etc. I was wondering if anyone can tell me a good site with tutorials and what kind of equipment I need to start off with. My reasoning for this is that I want to be able to do this guy http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN952245 some justice (yes I was inspired by Scourge_151 ) I'm gonna order him and keep him aside in the meanwhile, I want to work on smaller kits and work my way up. Also another reason is that once I get the hang of things I can do a little painting on my TFs.
The unicorn doesn't exactly need paint(aside from maybe the v-fin). The most irritating part I can into starting with gundam models, was not knowing wtf to do with dry transfer decals(and they're still a total pain in the ass).
I know it doesn't really need a whole lot of paint, but I don't want it to be completely white, ya know some shadowing and what not, and also, its not just that I want to do, I plan to do a whole lot more, with colour, I have a heavyarms kit....its old but I never got round to making it ^^ uhhh what are dry transfer decals? are they the ones you rub on?
Actually, being new to the Gundam world (last month or so), I have found them to be a blast putting together, and especially the dry transfers being so easy. Going back to a post in the Gundam threade, dry transfers are easy. Just cut out the one you want, pick it up with a piece of scotch tape, and place it by attaching one end to the part and rotate/set it the way you want, once it is where you want it, push down around the transfer, then rub it out (that's what she said) with a pencil, then use the scotch tape to remove the plastic of the decal. This way, you have the tape protecting the gundam from your pencil. Very easy!
I got back into Gundam kits last year, and while I'd love to get an airbrush to paint them, I'm not that hardcore. Instead, I just use testors hobby sanding films to take the sheen (and sprue marks) off of each piece, and I love the matte look. I used this method on the 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver. Ka, and it looks amazing. Same goes for the 1/100 MG Strike Rouge, except that actually required a little paint on a couple spots. You should get a decent pair of sprue cutters, and I'd highly recommend Testors hobby sanding films. If you want to paint, there's spray paints, brush paints, and airbrushing, all of which offer their own benefits, so that's something you'll have to look into. Then there's varnishes etc. I've bought kits from www.gundamshop.com, and they're awesome. The guy even includes gundam candies, capsule toys, magnets, and the like in the packaging. They also have all the paints and supplies you'd ever need. The prices are all pretty good, but I've occasionally seen kits a little cheaper on Amazon. Good luck.
Ah so they are the rub on ones, hmm seems easy enough, I've done it before.......although.....if my memory serves me right....I made quite a few mistakes doing dry transfers on other things......anyway, SunnyDay77 have you painted gundams yet?
I have touched some up. Mostly panel-lining with a ultra fine tip sharpie. I use the MG kits, which really require no painting unless you want to. My biggest issue is trying to get the sprue marks off without being noticeable; purchased a small wire cutter from Lowes that works fairly well. Also, the dry rub transfers are easy to take off if you don't like the way it looks or mess up; most kits give you extra so you can just redo it.
The only painting I've ever done on the MG kits is panel lines using gundam markers(I never liked black panel lines over lighter colors), and some minor touch-ups here and there for bad sprue marks. For cutting parts out, I use a pair of wire cutters to get them off the tree, and then to take the extra plastic off I have a pair of these I picked up from Fry's http://www.ewdsolutions.com/browse.cfm/4,8131.htm flush cutting wire cuttings for really high guage(thin) wire. They're nice and sharp. If I can't get all of the excess off with those, shaving it off with an xacto knife works. Right now in my tackebox is: 1 small xacto knife 1 larger xacto knife spare blades box cutter wire cutters fine guage wire cutters I mentioned above scotch tape elmers glue a bunch of testors sanding film emery boards toothpicks handful of primary color gundam markers panel lining gundam markers 12-15 bottles of paint(rarely needed, at least for gundams) brushes in varying sizes spray can of dull coat model cement(only really use it for really small parts, or other things that come off easy, mostly for armored core models) large sheets of sandpaper small phillips and standard screwdrivers spare polycaps(have come in handy on more than one occasion(even if your spares don't match one you lost, cut, or otherwise mangled, they can he cut to fit fairly easily) spare hands(from all sorts of stuff) spare beam sabers(I'm not really into every gundam having a beam saber in their hand, plus most of 'em are pink... the green ones look so much better). And anything I need that isn't in there, is probably in another toolbox elsewhere.
