Kusakusa Gunpla

How to GUNPLA

After building plenty of model kits down the years, I decided to come up with this basic gunpla-building workflow. It’s not an absolute workflow that you must follow, rather a summary of how I do things. Some steps may not apply, depending on how I want my model kit to look like. It’s a long read, but hopefully someone will find it useful. So here goes:

1. Snapfit your model
Sounds simple enough, just follow the instruction manual. This is where you get acquainted with your model kit. As you build, you should take note of which parts need to have the seam-line fixed, which parts need coloring, masking or modification. Since I usually disassemble the kit again after snap-fitting, its better not to snap-fit the parts too tightly.

2. Disassemble and apply modification/fixes
After snap-fitting and identifying which parts need fixing or modification, I disassemble the kit and sort according to color. Then I do the following to the individual parts:
i) Clean up the nip marks
ii) Fix seam lines
iii) Apply structural modifications (battle damage, cutting off parts etc.)
iv) Mask parts that require different color

3. Priming and painting
For priming, I use a spray can (Mr. White Surfacer etc.) and I usually do it for parts in which the molded color is totally different from what I want. For example, if the original plastic is molded in red, and I wanted to paint it white. So its better to cover up the red with a layer of primer & then paint it white, rather than painting many layers of white color to cover up the red (in which case it will most probably end up pink). There’s other reasons to prime your whole kit: it supposedly makes the paint stick easier to the kit surface & also allows you to identify scratches or imperfections on your kit. But for economical reasons, I use the primer sparingly.
For painting, I mostly use spray cans (Mr. Color, Tamiya) and hand painting. Before spraying, I attach the model parts to a bamboo stick and then stick them on to a polystyrene block (the white packaging stuff inside boxes). Then depending on weather, I do my spraying outside, layer by layer.

4. Apply decals
After all the parts are painted with the appropriate color, its time to apply decals. I started out using the stickers that came with the kit, but now I use mostly waterslide decals. For me it’s important to match the decal with the overall color scheme of the kit. So if I wanted a weathered and battle damaged look, I would also apply some scratches to the decal (subtly, of course).
Some people would recommend spraying a layer of gloss topcoat before applying decals, but I skip this step. Instead I apply the gloss topcoat AFTER I apply the decals. This is to protect your decals from the next step, which is panel lining and weathering.

5. Add panel lines
I already wrote an explanation on how to apply panel lines in my previous post. Also in the previous step, it’s better to use gloss coat before applying panel lines because applying flat topcoat might cause unwanted smears or smudges that are harder to wipe off.

6. Add weathering effects
This step is optional, depending on what final outcome of the kit that you want. For weathering, I usually apply the wash method using enamel paints. Basically I just apply a layer of enamel paint all over the kit surface (including those with decals), and this also fills the seam lines. So if I applied this wash method, then I skip step 5.
Other weathering effects you can do include:
i) Dry brushing
ii) Add paint chipping effects
iii) Apply touch up using weathering pastels

7. Final topcoat and assembly
After you’re done with all the previous steps, its time to apply a final layer of topcoat; gloss, semi-gloss or flat depends on you. You can either apply the topcoat on the separate parts or you can do it after you assemble your kit. And that’s it for the building part

8. Photography
What you want to do with your kit after you’re done with it is up to you. You can play with it all you want, its YOUR kit. But for me, I take photos of them and post them here. Even if you don’t take photos of them, posing your kits for display is important too. Too often I see gunpla kits in Barbie-doll poses and that just makes me sad.