below rm50 can cover a few cast and mold process, enough for you to do 3-4 duplication if everything runs smooth.

as for time the curing for clear epoxy takes a day, resin faster within minutes (hence chance to fail at success cast also fast as you rushing)

that also depends mix ratio correctness (if you hands on you will see why you need a weight balance for it, after a few casting to container already need to change. hell of a messy work to do)

resin casting are way more hazardous and strong smell and messy (my spare room already become workshop) thats why its a so demeaning work to do...

also silicone molding process is messy and sticky and hard to clean (normal detergent and thinner wont work in this case)

the mould (the one to make the parts), you just take out the material and press on the part you are replicating and leave it to dry, or still need mixture?

mold stick just dip in hot water and press on the parts and leave cold, for silicone you need to mix a small ratio of hardening agent and also will solidify within 20 minutes depends on how much you have added. too less will be disastrous, you have a half solidify oily sticker silicone basically can throw away whole thing (imagine your parts are in it)

Ok.... anyway in worst case just paint the gundam to dark exia's color. (but I like the design...)

BTW you reminded me that Zaku II is so far the one and only antagonist in PG line?

If i had much money to spent..
Right now just slowly collecting to take that pg exia..

How to prevent water decals from peeling off after apply?
I had seen video of people doing water decals in one go
I usually did fine together with mark setter and softer, i avoid touching any decals i just apply while doing the rest of the part, but once in a while the decals just went missing and i can't even spot them anywhere

This post has been edited by TheEvilMan: Oct 4 2017, 02:32 PM

it really depends on which type(or brand) of decals you are using, i have used decals from Bandai, China 3rd party, Daling and even diy decals.

all of them are different in a way that China 3rd party is the thickest and require more wait time for mark softer to kick in and soften the decals, as for Bandai and Daling tends to be thinner and senang koyak (Bandai is the worst, even cutton bud rub a bit harder also koyak). Lastly diy will depend on how much clear coats were applied after printer print out.

from my experience, merely dip water, transfer decals with a bit excess water on it (to avoid too dry), cutton bud press a bit to hold. then lastly apply mark softer to further soften the decals (for me i waited awhile for around a few seconds) and give it a final cutton bud press.

for the last resort clear coat application also will further secure your decals and another few more coats you can even loose the decal edge marks.

Am talking about Bandai Decals, i guess it's a little thicker, after dry for days they do stick nicely, but when i dry them with cotton and leave it for few minutes while working on the decals and i proceed to do other parts, perhaps by accident i would touch the decals, and they either drop or stick to my thumb then went missing, yet i see some people do decals in one go and have no such problem , now have to find identical decals to replace the missing one

This post has been edited by TheEvilMan: Oct 4 2017, 04:18 PM

Bandai water decal is absolutely the worst in quality.

It amazed me that no matter how i use setter, softer and then squeeze it dry, before i did a layer of coat, it always risk of getting off and went MIA

Which is ironic that their products are inferior to other manufacturers. I like DaLin a lot since their decals are more durable to abuse and really stay on the pieces.

More like the only mono-eye PG.
MK-II Titans and Banshee Norn are antagonist unit too but they are iconic in anime and popular enough to get PG release.

how long you dip the decals in water? if too long, the decal loses it's adhesiveness.

when you use setter, if the decal is too wet the water will wash away the setter, or when you adjust too much the setter becomes ineffective.

and when you use the softener, you cannot apply on the whole decal 1 shot, have to start from 1 edge dry up then the other, and finally apply sparingly on the middle. use too much or 1 shot you risk decal coming off.

regarding doing multiple decal, if the decal is too close to each other that the water may sip into decals applied, better spray a top coat to seal off the applied decals 1st. if not have to make sure the water doesn't touch applied decals.

usually we apply decal part by part before fully assembly, when you work on 1 side just make sure you don't scratch the other. you don't need airbrush for top coat just to seal the decals, any cheap DIY clear coat will do the job. just 1-2 burst will seal the decal and dry quite fast. once you finish the decal you can spray thicker clear coat to even out the edges.

well, i don't build Gundams so this is what i read from internet. all the best.

if water slides are giving you problem, can always use the traditional stickers.

Thanks for the tips, I enjoy water decals more than anything, but sometime hesitation to get things done cause me trouble, usually I will do one side, let it dry for hours and do the other side, guess I should just stick to the principle to avoid the mentioned problem, now doing it at slower pace like what I did with psycho Zaku, took two weeks to apply all decals

from my experiences, water decals doesnt go well if your kit is unpainted, especially straight oob and assembled the kit without washing it add the risk of decals doesnt stick. oob runners tends to have slight residue of oil (although i find bandai kits were the least) and smooth plastic surface also another reason water decals doesnt stick.

now all my kits were painted before decals process but i got that issue when i commission my clients kit with portion that skip paintings.

my rule of thumb is:

1)dip water decals with time just enough the decals able to slide out, bandai (when i try gouf custom decals) tends to take longer to separate.

2)when slide to the target area, cotton bud press slightly on the middle of decal (to ensure decals hold in place), then roll press from side to apply even pressure in order to remove excess water underneath.

3)Finally slightly apply mark softer just enough solution to cover the decal and wait a few seconds, repeat the cotton bud press and roll process.

this way has worked like a charm for all my kits even without coating, even after leaving it months or years, decals still hold. (reason i dont coat it is chrome painted kits tends to loose its shine after clear coat...)

water decals dry almost within 5 minutes after using cotton. the longer you wait, the less sticky the decals are because when they are still slightly wet the mist helps them stick.

after you done 1 side just top coat it. if not the other side bound to get rubbed.

you did not use mark setter?

the mark softener should be used from 1 edge to the others then on mid to avoid floating the decal.

lol nope mark softer works the 1st time till now so i dont see the need...

I usually cut one or two at max then dip in w ater then gently test it with cotton to see if it move, once it move I will apply it to the kits, could the problem been I gloss coat one layer before doing decals?

This post has been edited by TheEvilMan: Oct 5 2017, 11:56 AM

I usually did a layer of clear coat before apply decals, might be the residue of the coat that caused this, using super clear coat,, I realize that Tamiya coat have less likely to have the decals peel off after applied