I was able to get a Victorion for cheap, so decided to try my hand at painting it since I am not a fan of the Christmas color scheme. I tried to keep the original red paint/plastic as untouched as possible, so I ended up trying to blend orange and red paint to match the existing. Not very happy with the results because the underlying green plastic is too dark. I must have applied 4-5 coats of red. Any tips on the best way to apply lighter colors on top of the green plastic? It took me forever to paint up just one of the helicopters. Planning on finishing the rest of the figure soon. Thanks!
Maybe disassemble and prime it? Not sure. I've had hit or miss results doing that before. Don't have Victorion, so I couldn't say for sure
My understanding is, keeping in mind I'm not an expert, disassemble as best you can first. Then clean the parts in soapy water to get rid of grease and whatnot and lightly sand the parts to provide a rough surface for the paint to adhere to. Next prime the parts, the last step is to paint them.
While I do like the color-scheme you're going for, I think it will look too red once you're done, You might want to add some accents on there
LOL no. Vics shared color scheme is a damn eyesore. Waiting for weather to be at least 60's here to paint mine.
Gray base coat or primer. There's a good bit of prep that's got to go into a paint job for it to be durable and even. I only say that because you sound like this was your first attempt at customizing, which unlocks a world of joy and an adventure of frustration. I wouldn't want you to be dismayed by results you're not immediately happy with. Disassembling is best for stripping existing paint. A precise mixture of isopropyl alcohol and lacquer thinner will do that excellently, but unless you're doing a drastic repaint or need your joints to be super clean to preserve transformation and movement, it can be an unnecessary step. For all paint projects, wash in a mild degreaser/dish soap and dry the pieces/figure first, and then don't touch with your bare skin til you're done painting. This makes the paint adhere the best. For paints, I prefer to use acrylics. They're a lot easier to work with and clean up, but slightly not as durable as enamels. When painting over an existing, non-neutral color (e.g. red, blue), do a neutral base coat first of white (best for under light colors like yellow), gray (for solids like blue, green), or black (ideal for under metallics). The best paint jobs are done in thin layers, so resist the urge to glop on paint just to cover areas quicker. If using a brush with acrylics, thin your paint with water until it's inbetween milkshake and whole milk in its thickness/consistency and it should spread smoothly on your piece. Lastly, for painting small details, paint the area that's behind or surrounding the small detail first. Then paint your small detail with light brush strokes that have minimal paint. Don't forget to have fun with it. I really like where you're going with this.
Thanks for all the input and tips guys. I didn't want to printer the figure because I liked the silver windows that Hasbro painted on. I will try the gray base coat on the next figure. Will post final results when I complete the project.
It's not a terrible color palette but it has problems. The main issues are the hues of green and red used to compliment each other and accent/highlight colors. Unlike purple and yellow or blue and orange the contrast of green and red is much more finicky to pull off. Whoever was in charge of Vicky's colors either was not aware of this or was given instructions to use the hues we see on the final product. If the designer team used a different shade of green (fern) or red (rose) then Vicky's colors would be very improved. As for highlights theres just silver and nothing else. She really needed some spots of light blue or yellow to break up the colors and contrast the main two. That and additional spots in black plastic to aid in the overall color balance. Not to brag but I did this to Vicky's artwork and it's not a great fix but it is an improvement. Getting back to the custom this is just be but I'm not a fan of the black and red used as her new colors. It's not a bad choice but not very inspired. If that's the way you want to go then more power to you but if you want some ideas I have a few stored away with different color palettes. Best of luck
Here are the final results. Thanks for all the input and tips guys. Her joints also feel a lot more sturdy with the extra paint application
I admit I was skeptical but the final product isnt too shabby. I'd probably add a forth color just as a highlight like the silver but that is up to you. Very nice work. :
I love it. Orangey-red and black may be a choice some don’t agree with, but you pulled it off beautifully.
You can get primer in a bottle and brush it on rather than using a spray can. That should help in situations where you want to preserve existing paing in certain areas like the windows. Alternately, you can mask those areas off before you spray. I used to hate making because paint would always seep under the edges but I learned a trick for that: first burnish the edges of the masking tape down the best you can, then go over the edges with a clear coat and let it dry. This will seal the edges of the tape and if any seeps under, it's clear so it won't hurt anything. When you pull the tape off, pull it down, not up. Not sure if that makes sense but what I mean is if you're holding it so that the end of the tape you're pulling is up and the other end is down, you want to basically fold the tape over and pull it down toward the other end rather that lifting it in a perpendicular direction. This will help prevent lifting bits of paint with the tape.
