I Found an article about Marking Panel Lines
Here is what i got:
I have got this from a site at
www.themodelmakersresource.co.uk/articles/article013.htmlalthou its not on a Gundam kit but can be a very big help on those on how to panel line there model kits. so here goes i hope this helps note that this is from Andy Slater who write the article.
Marking Panel Lines
by Andy SlaterOpinions vary about panel lines. As I write I have a model aeroplane on my desk whose panel lines are approximately 1/100" wide. At a scale of 1:72 this represents almost a ¾" gap between the panels on a full sized aircraft. I should not like to fly in such an aeroplane however on the model the overall effect is quite pleasing and that, in my not very humble opinion, is the most important thing.
This document therefore describes a number of techniques for marking panel lines. Which, if any, you use, and the extent to which you use them is up to you.
Note that whichever method you use, it is probably a good idea to make notes of any panel lines moulded onto the model before you begin construction as this will assist in replacing any lines that are lost to filling and sanding.
Enhancing Panel Lines with a Technical Pen
A fine technical drawing pen can be used to enhance etched panel lines although overuse of this technique can result in the model having an almost 'cartoon' quality.
For model cars, a black line can be quite effective especially along lines like door edges where real cars have a distinct line because of the gap between panels. For close fitting panels like those on aircraft, try using the same kind of pen with grey ink.
Drawing Panel Lines with Pencil
The main advantage of this technique is that mistakes are easily rectified: you simply erase them and draw them again. The down side is that you have to take great care about the way that you handle the model in order not to smudge any of the lines until you're finished. It may help to apply a coat of matt varnish to protect the lines you have drawn before moving on to draw more.
The pencil lines should be drawn onto a matt surface and the tools of choice are a draughtsman's lead holder, loaded with 2H leads, and hand eraser (the eraser version of the lead holder). Note that special sharpeners are available for these pencils and a sharp point should always be maintained.
Stick thin masking tape to the model as a guide for long lines and roll the pencil between your fingers as you draw (as this causes the lead to wear evenly from all sides and produced a sharper line).
Mistakes are simply removed with the eraser whose tip is easily cut into a sharp point with a knife when appropriate. If you're careful not to use too much pressure when drawing and erasing lines you should not do any damage to the paintwork.
The final step is to spray (painting is more likely to smudge the pencil lines) the model with clear varnish in order to:
1. Dull the gloss of the pencil lines
2. Hide and shiny spots on the paintwork that have come about as a result of repeated erasures
3. Seal the pencil lines so that they will not smudge.
Scribing Panel LinesDoing a good job is a tricky business and variations in the material from which the kit is made will have an effect. If you anticipate that you will have some scribing to do, it's as well to do some practice/tests on a part of the model that will not be seen.
Scribing Tools
Two kinds of tool can be used but in either case, the depth and width of the line are dependany upon the amount of pressure used and it is therefore a skilled job.
The first type of tool includes various types sharp points including pins and knife blades. The problem with these is that they create raised edges on each side of the line which must later be removed by sanding. The debris from sanding must then be removed from the scribed line. A knife also has the disadvantage that it's blade will tend to 'wander' along the path of least resistance through a plastic surface. They also tend to cut too deeply. Try using the back of a No 11 knife blade.
The second type of tool (there's one in our catalogue) is a purpose made tool that ploughs a 'v'-shaped groove into the model surface. This has the advantage that it does not create a ridge but is only suitable for softer materials like styrene.
Templates and Guides
It's very difficult to guide a scribing tool accurately 'free hand', so whenever possible a the tool should be moved along a smooth, hard, raised edge. Various templates are available although they are not always easy to track down and even then they can be difficult to use. It is possible to make your own templates and guides from thin styrene card stock. These are easily damaged but are also easy to replace. In order to get the required shapes onto the styrene apply masking tape to the model before the original lines are removed and rub over with a pencil to transfer the shape onto the tape.
Another technique is to use masking tape to act as a guide. This has the advantage of being flexible but has the disadvantage that you have to be very careful about following the edge rather than cutting into it. Thicker tapes e.g. the Dymo brand tape used for embossed labels can also be used. This obviously gives a stronger edge to work to but is less flexible.
PlanningObviously some thought needs to be given to where the panel lines are going to go. If you're replacing panel lines that have been removed by the filling and sanding process, or if you are replacing raised panel lines then you may choose to put them all back where the old ones were (some notes taken before the removal of the originals will obviously be helpful). You may however have concluded that there were too many or not enough lines on the original and will therefore work from other sources of information.
Perhaps the best approach is to prime the model with light grey primer (you'll probably already have done this as part of the filling and sanding process) and draw all of the panel lines that you intend to scribe onto the model with a 2B pencil. Not only will this give you something to work to when scribing but it will allow you to gauge the overall effect of the lines that you intend to scribe. Don't worry about making the model dirty by drawing, erasing, and redrawing lines as this will clean off later. Keep at it until you are happy. Then leave it for a while, come back, and check it over for errors.
Scribing
There's not a lot to add here over what has been said already. Scribing is a difficult technique and if you plan to employ it you'll be as well to do some practice beforehand. When scribing a line, begin by scribing the line with gentle pressure as you're less likely to make an error this way. Then go over it repeatedly, and carefully, until the desired depth and width are achieved.
Corrections
Errors are pretty much inevitable so dealing with these comes next. Begin by cleaning all the pencil marks from the model using warm water and washing up liquid. Then, when dry, give it a coat of primer and allow that to dry too before making thorough examination of the model and drawing a ring in pencil around any errors that you find.
Lines that need to be removed completely, because they are in the wrong place or because you slipped with the scribing tool, can be filled using a tiny amount of filler on the end of a No 11 knife blade.
Lines the need to be modified, because they are too deep, too wide, or 'wobble', are more difficult to deal with. If you fill them and allow the filler to harden it will be difficult to re-scribe a new line when your tool is sometimes passing through the filler and sometimes though the plastic. Two approaches are possible:
The first is to fill the line and re-scribe before the filler is fully hardened. This works best when the line being replaced was too wide or too deep.
The second is to cut/scribe away an area of the plastic so that ALL of the new line will be scribed in an area that has been filled. Even in this scenario however you will probably find it easier to re-scribe the line before the filler is fully hardened.
When the filler is fully hardened, any excess, plus any raised edges, can be sanded off with fine paper. The model can now be primed again and the panel lines rechecked, and corrected again if need be, before painting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
whew a long article ... ;D
I hope this helps to all the begginners out there .... ;D
keeping the site active as a place to dump info for easier backtracking. 