How to do masking

March 19, 2012 at 5:42 pm | Posted in How-to | 1 Comment
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You may have noticed some parts of your model kit are not molded in the correct color. This is particularly true for HG kits (well, the old ones at least). So you may want to paint only a certain part while leaving the surrounding area untouched. This is where masking comes in. It’s especially useful when painting using spray cans or airbrush because they cover a large area. Unless you have steady hands like a surgeon, it’s also recommended when hand-painting.

So, there’s 3 ways you can do masking: 1) masking tape; 2) masking solution; and 3) blu-tac

1) Masking tape

I would recommend using masking tapes specific for modelling, e.g by Tamiya. You can use normal masking tape but the risk is that its adhesive power may potentially peel off your underlying paint job.

To use, just place the masking tape over the area where you DO NOT want the paint to land, like so:

Pros: The most versatile method; can cover large surfaces; easy to cut and shape

Cons: If not applied properly, paint may seep underneath the masking tape, resulting in a mess. Not the most practical for masking curvy patterns (e.g curvy camo).

 

2. Masking solution

Just imagine it as a masking tape in liquid form. The one pictured above is Mr Masking Sol by Mr. Hobby and it’s not that expensive (if you can find it).

To use, just apply the masking solution over the surface using the brush attached to the bottle cap. It’s a bit thick, and it  should look like this straight after application:

I would recommend you to leave it alone overnight before doing any painting. After it’s dry it should look like this:

After you are done painting, you can just peel off the dried up masking solution.

Pros: Easy to apply; good for uneven or curvy patterns

Cons: Not practical for covering large areas; not so easy to shape because of the huge applicator brush

 

3. Blu-tac

This last method is the least used, but it still has some applications. It’s a sticky, playdoh-like material that you can find in most stationery shops.

To use, just mould it in any shape you want and just stick it. Like so:

It’s also useful for holding a part in place when you’re painting. But for masking purposes, I mostly use it when I want to apply some camo patterns on small parts like weapons (see GM Wagtail).

Pros: Easy to mold and shape; easy to find

Cons: Not practical for covering large surfaces; doesn’t result in well-defined or sharp distinction between painted & unpainted section (there’s a blurry border between the two).

Closing remark: For general purposes, masking tape alone is enough. It’s versatile for most needs and fairly easy to find and not that expensive.

 

 

How to do dry brushing

March 16, 2012 at 6:24 pm | Posted in How-to | 1 Comment
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Dry brushing is the easiest thing you can do to spruce up and add weathering to your model kit. It basically entails highlighting raised parts on your model kit using a paint brush with only a little bit of paint left on it, hence the term dry brushing.

Generally, silver paint is dry-brushed on the certain parts of your model (e.g weapons, joints). This gives the impression that the said part has undergone a lot of wear and tear, revealing the exposed metal (simulated by the silver) underneath the paint.

So all you need is a paint brush and some silver paint. And a paper towel. Here’s what to do:

1. Dip your brush in some silver paint. You can thin it with thinner or if you’re lazy like me just dip it straight in the bottle.

2. Remove excess paint from your brush by painting over the paper towel until only a little bit of the silver paint remains on the brush, like so:

3. Run the brush over the part you would like to have this effect. You’ll notice some silver paint will stick to the raised part. Here is what my Jesta’s rifle looked like before dry-brushing:

And this is what it looks like after I applied dry-brushing:

So that’s all there is to it. Easy, no? A word of caution though, while it’s easy to do, it’s also very easy to over-do. The key here is subtlety. Because once you applied this effect, its not so easy to erase, unless you repaint the whole part.

Of course, dry brushing is not limited to silver or metallic paints. You can also highlight a part using a lighter hue of the underlying paint. For example, if the base paint is dark green, you can dry brush using light green.

And there you have it. Have fun

How to GUNPLA

November 29, 2010 at 5:27 pm | Posted in How-to | Leave a comment
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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.

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