Still waiting on the kit from Shapeways...sigh... They apparently only shipped it yesterday. Then international shipping... I paint with an airbrush rather than normal brush. I find it gives a much smoother finish and better coverage, plus my hands always start to shake when I try and do detail work with a fine brush. I'll be washing all the parts in warm soapy water, rinsing then drying. Light sanding to help the paint to stick. Shapeways parts will require more sanding and I'm experimenting with a dissolved putty to fill in the graininess. I use tiny little alligator clips on bamboo skewers to hold each piece, then airbrush with a primer. I'm currently experimenting with an auto-body primer I got from a local auto-parts store. Went for the one suitable for plastic bumpers and parts to ensure it won't melt the plastic. ($8 for 400ml's is a lot cheaper than model specific primer) Decant it out of the spray can by spraying through a small straw and allow to outgass for 12-24 hours. Then airbrush all the parts with 1 or 2 light coats. Mask off where necessary with standard painter's masking tape. (Whirl hopefully shouldn't require much masking, except maybe around the canopy) I use Tamiya acrylic paints for colour - wide colour range and ebay has them for cheap, plus you can easily mix up custom colours. Top coat with 2 or 3 coats of Future Floor Polish. Sand back the joints and rub area's then re-assemble. I'm thinking of painting the canopy opaque, in a nice yellow gold colour. Tomahawks clear yellow plastic doesn't work for me.
This turned out great for me in WSF polished. No point in pics, really, since others have done the paint job better justice than I could. All things being equal, I think I'd recommend blue plastic for future buyers. Even if the blue doesn't exactly match the blue you're using for your version, even a near miss in bare blue will be better if the paint rubs off your ball joints.
I think I'll wait for the acrylic plastic to go full-blown before I pick this up. Just seems like a better idea considering how detailed it can be. I hear its strong enough too.
My Shapeways kit arrived on the weekend. "White Strong Flexible Polished" is very white, quite strong, reasonably flexible but not at all polished. Spent an hour with some 1200 grit sandpaper trying to smooth it out with no real change to show for it. Might try some 800 or even 400 grit. Still waiting on the liquid putty to arrive. Hoping that will make a difference. I've tried painting over the Shapeway's polished before without it being perfectly smoothed and the texture is still very noticeable after primer, 2x paint coats and a Future top coat. I like the idea of using blue plastic for backup colour, but I prime it all in grey anyway's so not a big issue. The kit does look amazing. I also sprung for the Extreme detail plastic for the head sculpt. It makes an amazing difference
Don't know if this thread is still alive, but just wanted to let you all know that I am in the middle of painting my Whirl shouldn't be too long before the first layer of paint is on
Oh, there's still interest in this. I've had my Tomahawk for over a year, but I'm in the middle of moving house now, so I'll not be ordering this kit 'til I'm settled and have free time again. Keen to see how other people get on, though.
So I'm pretty much done with mine. Just need to topcoat him. Pretty happy with how he turned out. Multiple coats of liquid putty and sanding, plus 4 or 5 coats of primer, paint etc really smoothed him out. I used a bit of Aves fixit on the canopy to smooth it out as I didn't like the frame on the Tomahawk mould. The Higher quality ultra detail head made a massive difference. And he poses amazingly well, solid joints, and is pretty tough. Accidentally knocked him off my 5' high shelf onto a concrete floor and not a scratch. Freaked me out though. This is an amazing kit. Edit: damn phone rotated the image.
Wow that's pretty darn good! Now I regret not ordering the ultra detail head when I ordered the Cyclonus upgrade head and extra great swords I am surprised how close the colors you choose is to mine! Makes me even more exited to get the last couple of layers on him. (Also, you got the wings switched...) sorry, I'm nit-picky :-/ but awesomely done, mate! Just need an autobot logo ^^
Are these kits still available? I'd like a mtmte style Whirl so much, but can't find a way to get him. (I also have no toy mod experience, so it may be out of my grasp for the moment).
Thanks mate. I'm pretty happy. Hadn't even noticed the wings! That's an easy enough fix. And yes the detail head makes a huge difference. I'd almost have preferred the whole kit in the detailed material but cost probably would skyrocket to over $100!! What is this Cyclonus head of which you speak? I originally had him painted a much lighter blue but it didn't work so I ended up mixing up a special batch. No idea what went into it but it took a while to get right. Needs a coat of clear before I put a faction decal on. Kits are available from Shapeways. I ordered mine about 2 months ago. I highly recommend the additional head in the Fine Ultra Detail material. Makes a huge difference. You also need to get your hands on a sacrificial Tomahawk figure. Pretty easy to get off eBay. I was surprised how easy it was to disassemble. Mainly screws with only a couple of pins. You really want a spring loaded pin punch (again an easy buy off eBay or Aliexpress) The hardest part is the canopy as the clear plastic cracks easily. I cracked mine but was planning to cover it in putty and paint anyways so no big deal. Also recommend some liquid putty (Mr Dissolved Putty or Mr Liquid Putty -Google it for info). It paints on with a brush and sands really easily so can help clean up the grainy Shapeways material. And finally I definitely prefer painting with an airbrush as you get a nice easy smooth finish but the investment in brush and compressor can be steep. Hand paint with multiple coats of well thinned paint will work as well. It's a fun project as long as you have patience.
That came out really great. Colors are nice and smooth. Very clean work. I'm glad to know the kit is done well, although you put a lot of work into it. Always thought this is one of the coolest kits I ever saw. How tall does the figure end up?
Here's a link to the Whirl upgrade kit on Shapeways: https://www.shapeways.com/product/YY7ARJA6Z/spinaround-kit?optionId=59534140 And the Ultra Detail head: https://www.shapeways.com/product/YLXUUMY86/spinaround-head?optionId=43426688 As mentioned, you need a version of the Tomahawk mold to complete the whirl. The Cyclonus head I mentioned is found here: https://www.shapeways.com/product/L533AS86N/c-head?optionId=55537729 Is truly is a thing of beauty! It comes with both horns, as well as I tiny, easily lost, broken horn piece, so you get to decide the look yourself ^^ The forehead crest is too big for it to transform, unless you remove the front landing gear, and widen the hole a bit
Thanks. For an idea of height, here he is next to Generations Cyclonus (with IDW add-on kit) KFC Mugan Scope (IDW Perceptor), Voyager Brainstorm and Maketoys Rear-end (IDW Tailgate). This is my work in progress Lost Light primary crew. I added Maketoys Trashtalk (IDW Swerve) this afternoon and am working on a custom Rung.
Wow, that head is a dead ringer for the comic! I'm pretty happy with the add-on kit that came with Maketoys IDW Tailgate (see pic above) and it comes with hip skirts, new hands etc. I had to repaint my whole Cyclonus though, as the only one I could find was the wrong deco.
Yeah, I'm planing on getting the MakeToys tailgate set too, the head just wasn't good enough for me Uh, if you're making a Rung, might I suggest: https://www.shapeways.com/product/X32V8PHQ7/transformers-comics-tribute-mtmte-rung
MT tailgate rocks. And I got their Swerve yesterday and he's equally awesome (the included Gears though... ?) And you're close with Rung... http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/1037080-idw-mtmte-rung-custom.html
Oh, nice! I prefer the Rung I linked to, due to the articulated eyebrows, and because we never got Cromia here, so for me it was cheaper to buy the complete set, but that one is a really clever upgrade too ^^ I'm currently at the airport on my way to RollOutRollCall in the UK, hopefully I can pick up a Tailgate set there!
Main reason I skipped that Rung is you can only get him in the White Strong & Flexible (not even the so called polished) I just couldn't face all that sanding and filling again after the whirl kit. Chromia is injection Moulded so easy to paint, and both head and chest can come from Shapeways in Fine Extreme Detail. If the first kit was available in better material and was still cost effective I'd have jumped on it. Have a good trip and good luck getting Tailgate.
I can totally understand! When I was prepping my whirl kit it didn't take me long before I stopped sanding and just decided that the surface was "good enough" ;-) I'm hoping for a definitive Rung figure when his alt-mode is finally revealed :-O No Rearend set for me in London :-/ I was surprised how little 3rd party there was at RollOutRollCall, but it was a great weekend no matter what! And I got the meet Thew, my favourite youtuber :-D
