why bother painting if you don't bother with nubs... unless time is limited.

no need to recycle satay sticks they are dirt cheap and comes in a hundred per pack.

the green blutac works good enough unless it's holding on to very tiny parts. blutac also good for masking purpose.

and get a few small boxes (from stuffs you bought), poke the satay sticks into them they should make good holders.

i don't know how crocodile clip works because not all parts have something big to clip on. those hobby clips are way too expensive. i prefer to save on stuffs that can be saved so more money for things money can buy... like paints & kits.

when spraying try avoid the pegs as it will make them hard to fit nicely when assembling when they become thick. always have this problem with SD gundam's hands that i need to drill the hole bigger to fit weapons.

can see the difference but can't see the details of the gold much from the bad photo. but Mr.Hobby got 2 types of metallic paint. 1 is just normal metallic gold, the other is "high class" metallic colors, the bottle label is chrome & price is more expensive.

to get good result with brush you need to thin it (with Mr.Hobby Thinner) properly so it's not too thick that you get brush marks and not too thin that the metallic powder starts floating around becoming uneven. you need to keep stirring the mix before applying because the metallic powder will tend to sink. best is you can easily wipe the paint on the kit and you can see the paint smooth & wet. Also if the base paint is gloss black the effect would be better but i'm not sure whether brush painting will melt the Black & you end up dark gold. Since Gold are usually lacquer paint. if you can airbrush it would be the best.

then once it's dry you need a gloss coat, something like Future Floor works without eating up the paint. can be found in Ace Hardware. Prepare around rm60.

gundam gold turn bronze because oxidation. a future floor coat will protect it.

gundam marker, is actually for smaller kids or beginners who want to paint their gundams and don't want them make a big mess. the tips are way too thick to paint small areas unless it's ultra fine tips which only comes in few colors.

Nippers buy from Mr.DIY. Buy 2, 1 normal round tip for normal trimming and 1 sharp tip (harder to find) for trimming tight places. cost less than rm10 each compared to rm30 in hobby shops.

Paint cheapest is from JSHobby because they have lots of stocks & brands but you pay shipping cost. The physical shop is a bad experience for many but online shop is OK. If not have to go BJT Time House next to IT Toys they sell Mr.Hobby & Tamiya but lacquer paints only. Gamers Arena carry very little paint. XL shop used to carry paints but now dunno.

And you will need:

Nub mark remover:
1.Sand Paper grade 300, 600, 1000 should be enough. Can get from Ace Hardware around rm3-5 per piece.

2.Hobby Knife. Get from Daiso the pen like one. Get 1 flat face & 1 sharp face.

Painting:
3.Nail Clipper for round edges.

4.Satay sticks from Mr.DIY. To hold painted parts

5.Small box to hold satay sticks

6.Blutac. Faber Castell green works well.

7.Brushes of all sizes. Finest brush is hardest to find. Flat heads are better.

8.Primer Spray Paint. I found a grey primer paint in Ace Hardware that is around rm15 per can. But not suitable for light colors as you will need thick coat to cover the grey. Without a primer it's very hard to paint on plastic surfaces by handbrush.

9.Hobby paints (acrylic or lacquer but can't mixed them together you can paint seperate layer). JS Hobby.

10.Mr.Hobby Levelling Thinner. Gamers Arena/JS Hobby. Not cheap but normal thinners too strong.

11.Gundam Markers Fine Tip & Gundam Marker Real Touch. Buy from 1999.co.jp cheapest.

12.Cookie metal trays for paint mixing. Mr.DIY.

Weathering/Shading:
13.Tamiya Weathering set + Cotton buds. 1999.co.jp.

14.Color Pencil set.

Water Slide Stickers:
15.Mr.Hobby decal softener + Mr.Hobby decal setter. JS Hobby

16.Thin small scissors for precision cuts. Daiso/DIY/Ace.

17.Tweezer for holding decal. DIY.

Top Coat:
18.Mr.Hobby Clear Coat (Flat/Semi-Gloss/Gloss). Most expensive totally not worth it. You can find cheaper alternatives in Ace Hardware/DIY but Flat coat is hard to find.

19.Future Floor Polish/Wax. For Glossy finish. Ace Hardware.

20.Small duster & blower to dust off dust before painting.

21.Some alcohol stripes. Pharmacy.

22.Super Glue. Something more watery not too thick & strong.

And a tool box for keeping everything.

If you want to seal off seam lines you need some putty. I use Mr.DIY cheap white Putty that can be soften with water but you need to paint over it & subject to some shrinkage & also brittle. Proper ones are A+B type but more expensive less shrinkage & tougher but difficult to use & harder to sand.

But if you already buying all the above, might as well get an Airbrush + Compressor. Easily save the money on Top Coats.

Paint can be expensive if you need multiple colors & plan to mix. Mr.Hobby had a starter pack with basic colors in smaller bottles, trays, spoon & stirrer but never saw it here.

Brush Painting can look well if you have skills. If not then you need to sand the surface after painting. Good mixture of paint & thinner & speed is the key.

IOI Puchong Mall top floor super saver or something sells narrow tip nippers. Dark green grips.

something like this

2.0 looks better than 3.0.

Origin emphasize more on characters. Robot just sideshows. So their variation not so important.

anyone used Mr.Color Lacquer Flat Clear Base as flat coat?

is it normal the whole bottle looks jellish? i used many acrylic flat bottles before they only become dry but not jellish.

anyway they blended well with Mr.Color thinner but wondering:

does flat coat change the outlook of the base color tone abit? like lighten the color slightly? For example Dark colors will look slightly lighter.

yea already figured it out. it's just thinned white powder.

mixing it with Aqueous Clear & Thinner to brew flat coat, hard to get the ratio correct but no one selling Flat Clear so no choice.