I've mention previously. I'm using GAIA thinner with Mr. Hobby paints. No problem so far. Just use it like Mr. Hobby Thinner.

Anybody try this before?
http://www.hlj.com/product/TRS89602

Saw in the picture that the brush is soak straight into the bottle. Meaning the liquid is reusable even if it's totally dirty?

Trust me ... once you start using your AB ... you wont be stopping at Top Coat only. You will be poised to start painting ur kits
I even use my AB to clean my keyboard

Once you have an AB, you will definitely not using it for top coating only. So conclusion, extremely wise choice

Please do some reading before asking :
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=30089494 (This thread was pinned right on top)

Arcrylic is not a very strong paint. You might end up with alot of paint chip easily if you are painting mechas.

Your question is kind of vague here. Whether the tools are enough or not is totally up to you.

Some people just use normal art knife + nail clipper is enough to snap fit a kit. And some uses tamiya side cutter, sand paper, xacto knife etc etc just to snap fit a kit.
It all depends on preference. If it's your first, I would imagine a cutter from stationary shop and a nail clipper is more than enough.

Gundam Marker for panel lining is fine.

And this has been re-posted for the 2 million time, and I'm posting it again for the 2 million and 1 time:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/488910

Hmm ... now where should we start.
Where to buy :
1. http://mgs2u.com/shop/browse.php?mode=a&atrfnbr=10
2. http://www.bbs.afhobby.com/viewthread.php?...&extra=page%3D1

Most of the compressor in our market are from china But that doesn't mean they are not good. Ofcos if you have very ... and i mean very big budget, then you can always opt for branded stuff like Iwata, Sil Air or Mr. Hobby. Those you can find from HLJ website or from some local professional artist shop.

Simply put, compressor is the motor and pump air. Compressor got 2 types, oil and oil-less. The name are self explanatory in terms of their different. Most of the compressor nowadays are oil-less. So you dun have to worry about finding wat type of oil to refill.

Then comes air tank. Some compressor sell with air tank and some don't. Air tank basically stores your compressed air. So you get a constance flow of air with a constance pressure.

Better compressor will auto start pumping air when air tank is low, and auto stop when air tank is full or it has reach it's desire pressure.

The pressure gauge controls the pressure that is coming out from the compressor/air tank. Usually for modelling, I use about 10~15 psi (pressure measurement). The higher you set, the stronger the air "burst out" (spray paint) from your air brush. Usually pressure gauge is a twisting nob, clockwise for higher pressure, anti for lower.

Moisture trap is usually attached at the pressure gauge. It's a glass container that traps moisture, making the air that flows to your air brush nice and dry. So you paint wont get mix with water. Humid country like Malaysia, you will need a moisture trap.

Then your airbrush. usually comes in 3 nozzle size. 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 mm. The smaller the number, the thinner the spray line can be. For starters, 0.3 is good enough for a try out. It's not too big not too small. The usual airbrush sold in shop are dual action air brush. I'm not gonna explain this, you can google or wiki it.

So conclusion, get a compressor that has sensor for auto stop, got air tank, pressure gauge, moisture trap. Most importantly, not too noisy. Ofcos, the final decision is still based on budget.

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Added on December 18, 2010, 1:10 amSo far I find GaiaNote Star Bright gold to be the best gold paint around. In fact, most of the metallic color from Gaia is very nice.
But if you got money, you can go for alclad II paints, cost you about RM60 for a bottle of 30ml ( I think ) and it comes thinned, so 30 ml mean 30 ml, not like Mr. Hobby 10ml mix thinner become 30ml.

Another method is try chrome powder. I see sample so far, very good result. Master Rayloke has demonstrated here before. Go dig back to some older post. You can get those powder from MGS, AFHobby, ICW. These are the places I know got sell. Application is a bit troublesome. You need a nice gloss black base. The gloss-ier the better. Then rub rub the powder on top. And taadaa, chrome. And i mean like those car bumper kinda chrome. Chrome till you can see your own reflection. (I'm not exaggerating)

Then for gold, you can spray a layer of clear orange with clear yellow.

This post has been edited by inquisytor: Dec 18 2010, 01:14 AM

Flat top coat does make the surface looks grainy. Tha's how it creates a matte finish.
But dunno how grainy your situation is, it might be also caused by too thick of coating.

Show a picture and we can help you more.

But generally, never do flat coating during wet weather. Spray approx. 30 cm away from your model. Try moving the spray can around so the liquid won't get accumulated at 1 spot. Most important, don't over do it

^ Moved to Fraser Business Park, last I check.