My Gunpla Adventure

[oldskul]

after a coat of W&S which i left to cure overnight, i topcoated the shield with Mr Color acrylic topcoat. when cured tons of miniscule top coat cracks appeared on the shield's finish tsk tsk.





i suspect the W&S is still curing, after the acrylic topcoat dried, the W&S shrunk and cracks appeared on the acrylic topcoat above. another one to add to my painting philosophies- need to let W&S fully cure before topcoating.

i'm just sad my first use of W&S mess up the shield's finish. i can strip the topcoat and W&S, then re-apply the acrylic topcoat sans the W&S. but i already did a good job on the gold trims and don't like doing them again. the miniscule cracks are only visible at close inspection, i can live with that.

sprayed the weathered base of sinanju with semi-gloss, then a coat of W&S-

[Gane]

Somebody mentioned in the WWW that you need to let Future dry for 24 - 48 hours before applying anything over it.

I don't know if you removed the top coats yet but why not apply another coat of W&S? Just like Future, it is self leveling so it should hide those cracks. Repeat if necessary.

I read somewhere that to get a flat coat with Future this is the mixture you will need:

2 parts Windex + 1 part Future

I don't know what would be the best replacement for Windex locally so it's probably any clear window washer. Test the opacity you like before final application.

[delta408]

I agree with Genji. Apply another coat of W&S then let it cure for 48 hours.

Cheers!

[oldskul]

@ Genji & delta408: tnx for the advice sirs.

i mix roughly 6 drops of Tamiya flat base & 5 ml of W&S to make a matte/satin W&S finish, here's a comparison with the plain W&S coat-



i mixed it well and let it stand for a minute to dissolve the matting agent. there were some translucent white streaks forming (the matting agent), i just kept on handbrushing while the coat was still wet to remove the streaks and the accumulating W&S on the edges. i think matte W&S is best sprayed with an AB, atomization can spread the matting agent evenly.

and speaking of AB, would like to invest on one for topcoating (maybe even for base coating). not the fancy ones cause i really hate the cleaning part. this one from Badger looks the easiest to clean-

[oldskul]

WIP: HGUC Sinanju. all the gold trims finished-





the gold painting was a challenge, i knew before getting this kit the intricate gold trims are not paint friendly at all. but i really like Sinanju, and he looks majestic with the gold trims. been wanting to built this badass since getting back to this hobby. anyways, i'm just glad i finally got to finish the gold painting. and sinanju is basically finish, just some final topcoats on some parts. and probably fix that dark wash on his head too.

sorry for the slow update, i'm really a slow builder/painter.

[delta408]

Don't rush, man. It's looking good and I do agree with getting an airbrush.

Cheers!

[Gane]

Looks good, as Delta puts it "don't rush, man"... good things come to those who wait...

There's little you can do with a single action airbrush... I'd suggest a generic double action so you can get used to how it works and how much detail you can do with it. A generic AB is almost the same price as a single action Badger, but if you want a single action a generic version is safe on your wallet and good for AB newbie (that rhymes...)

[raps]

Yeh! the gold trim is a challenge... nice work there...

[oldskul]

thanks guys

WIP: HGUC Sinanju. almost done, waiting for paint to cure is (the boring) part of modelling.



toned down the unsightly thick black panel lines on the head. the fumes must have gotten into my head that i did them this thick and black . repainted the head, using a thinner red paint, but not wash thin, allowing little of the black lines to show through. i'm using different shades of grey next time, and with hairline thickness, just to accentuate the crevices and separation on the armor. i'm finishing sinanju with a W&S coat, so when rubbing occurs on posing, it's just an easy touch up with W&S.

made this workflow, to systematize and maybe prevent any problems on my future builds-



also i usually just hold my breath when using the spray cans, then run away from the toxic fumes in the spray area (my backyard). so decided to buy a respirator (dual cartridge) and safety glasses from the local DIY store, to protect my health from the toxic fumes. it's better safe than sorry (it's just a hobby .



and lucky me, found my old Tamiya compressor and an unused Gunze airbrush. i'm glad my dear wife didn't throw this away back then, i don't have to buy a new AB set up yet-



i think this type of AB - single action, external mix, siphon feed - is the easiest to clean and maintain. no paint enters the brush, just the tip. double action types, if you want them to be thoroughly clean, must be completely disassembled after every session. which is going to take some time. this single purpose AB is already ideal for basecoating and topcoating.

[oldskul]

HGUC Sinanju random shots (sorry for the crappy camera):

















this build took me almost 3 weeks to complete, working on it a good few hours each day (except weekends). my first topcoated model with a few parts painted. it did not turned out as clean as i wanted it to be because of a few mistakes (thick panel lines and cracked topcoat on the shield). but nothing that really wrecks the final result. i'm satisfied with the finished model. i think sinanju’s red is more vibrant in semi-gloss (or metallic) finish, but not the same as bare plastic shine. matte finish seems to make it look dull, the gloss brings out sinanju’s true beauty.

sinanju is simply badass, one of those MS that can look both majestic and intimidating. can't wait to do the MG version, might get an SD version too

[23]

nice and clean oldskul! what's next?

[oldskul]

thanks man. here's my wishlist (all MG), after MG sinanju, whichever comes next:

sinanju
char's other MS (zaku2, z'gok, gelgoog, rick dom, zeong, rick dias, hyaku shiki, sazabi)
other zeon aces' MS (the O, qubeley mk2, gouf, matsunaga's zaku2, ridden's zaku2, black tristar zakus, gouf custom, kampfer, & more)

might take years for me to built them all

[oldskul]

[oldskul]

some 1/144 scale armor and plane kits i got this afternoon, and dirt cheap too. something to do this week-long lenten vacation (while waiting for new gunpla kits to work on):






some familiar weapons of war. they look uninteresting as is, so will have to paint and weather them. to display on the base of 1/144 sinanju, and provide a sense of scale.

[delta408]

Well done. Looking forward to more.

Cheers!