YOTH Optimus Normalization (Repaint) Project FINAL UPDATE: 8/10/14 Okay, back again! I thought I was done with this project but then I decided to add one last detail to finish it off - articulated hands and a larger rifle! As you may have guessed I added a couple of KFC parts to this project. He is now officially complete (for real this time) and leading my autobots with pride. Thanks again for looking and all of your comments. As always, feel free to ask any questions! UPDATE: 6/26/14 Well, while packing for my big move I found what might have been my MP Rodimus sticker sheet which had the PERFECTLY sized autobot symbol for YOTHs arm. So I think I am officially done with this project for the time being. I will post a quick (even crappier than normal) cell phone pic below. I wish that I could take a new set of photos but everything is packed up at the moment. Thanks again everyone for your input and support! UPDATE: 6/20/14 Big thanks to nonnef for his custom waist pieces. My YOTH Optimus now has yellow waist bits with no pesky crotch hole! I added one updated pic to the top of the pile. I hope to add some more pics later if I get a chance. Hello everyone, So I picked up a YOTH Prime a couple of weeks ago and I liked it much more than I anticipated. I never managed to snag a takara MP-10 so I was in love with the darker red and blue on this guy. However, I was not a big fan of all the "weird" paint apps that were on him. So I decided, trepidatiously, to attempt my first repaint project. Here are the results. I still need to get a reprolable or something to cover his gold autobot logo. I also need to figure out a way to paint the headlights and sides of his bumper because I was not able to remove those pins. However, I am not sure if the paints I used would survive a transformation anyway so he may never see truck mode again (which is why I bought a second YOTH Prime). I made many dumb mistakes that I will attribute to being a total noob but in the end I am happy with how he turned out and this is exactly the look that I was going for. Since this is my darker version of prime, but not quite nemesis prime dark, I have dubbed him my "give me your face" prime. If anyone has any questions or would like any details about my process then I would be happy to oblige. Though I am sure you guys probably have much better ways of pulling off a project like this. New pics! Old unfinished comparison pics:
The red paint is a really good match. What product did you use? For the gold Autobot insignia I'd recommend a small brush and silver paint. As it is raised it should be pretty easy to paint over without making mistakes.
Thanks for the tip! I used Krylon Colormaster burgundy with satin finish. I really had to layer it on thick but that might have been my fault since I didn't prep the plastic at all. It turned out to be a very close match in terms of color and finish.
For the insignia; try smearing some vasaline on it, rub it off the high spot, hit it with a nail file (to prep the plastic and remove the vasaline from the spots you want painted, and spray it. After a few minutes just wipe it clean. The paint won't stick anywhere you put the vasaline and will give you a sharp clean edge without doing it by hand.
This looks really good. I'm working on mine also. I'll have to try out that red. BTW I painted the should insignia white then came back with a fine brush and very carefully and lightly hit the raised portion. It came out pretty good but it was kind of difficult. Nonnef's vaseline trick sounds like a better option.
Beautiful!! You've totally taken the tacky-factor out of that YOTH Prime. Might I recommend doing the "arm-arrow decal" bits, and the crotch-light bits in yellow? Maybe doing them in silver, followed by a yellow clear coat to get a nice metallic yellow? I just think detailing those red bits yellow would give it just that little bit of an extra kick....
Just know that this thread came out of Eltherin chroming his parts for his Prime. I'd certainly recommend it for those parts to be chromed.
grah you should have told me months ago . i painted the whole area red, then made multiple white washes to do this nice job man, you got a really good match on the red. well done!
Thanks! I just picked up a set of "yellow bits" from nonnef so I will be taking your advice and replacing those parts once they arrive. Thanks for the link! I actually used those tutorials while working on mine. I stripped the gold coating off of the chrome parts with rubbing alcohol but then I was having a hard time stripping the chrome itself. I tried purple power degreaser but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. I think I should have sanded the parts a bit but I didn't have any sand paper on hand. So I decided I would just try the krylon chrome paint on the parts with the silver chrome still on. The result was a very dark chrome that looked more like diecast or steel. I actually thought the darker chrome suited the overall look I was going for so I decided to keep it. However, if I were to attempt a project like this again then I would probably do things differently because of course the paint never adhered very well to the original chrome. Noob mistake
Thanks guys! I picked up both of my YOTH primes for pretty cheap from fellow board members so I would keep an eye out. I would still like a takara prime someday when he is rereleased but I feel like I just saved over 200 bucks by removing alot of my temptation to buy one at their current aftermarket price
Thanks man! I am definitly glad that I went through with this project. Oh and a quick update has been added to the first post. Big thanks to nonnef for selling me some of his custom cast yellow waist parts. I love them and I think that they make a big difference!
Definitely awesome, I love that you added that! The red was cool, but this is better. Again, great job man!
Beautiful work! This is pretty much the same thing I'm doing with mine. I already painted the gold parts with Tamiya Flat Aluminum & I'm working on some areas with yellow (waist & forearm areas). Which red did you use? Trying to find a nice red that matches the existing red on the figure. I need to paint those waist parts red. It definitely makes this figure look much better. Great job!
