yup, it'll stick. The sanding before priming is only to remove any visible markings, or rough spots from when u cut the piece out of the runner.

But keep in mind that applying the primer using a brush can be rather difficult due to the quick drying nature of the primer making it difficult not to have brush marks on the plastic. (I'm assuming that u're using Mr. Surfacer). U'll need to have it thinned down quite a bit (and then u need to be careful not to thin too much otherwise u'll risk having the thinner attack the plastic).

Looks good. For the rust effect, first look at where to start on that.

Looking at your model, I can see some spots where the paint has came off (the silverish looking spots near the edges). That's normally where u start on the rust effect, as its those spots that's no longer covered by paint that's where the rusting starts.

I'm assuming u did a dry brush for such spots? If u did, then just build the rust effect on top of such areas, but using either acrylics mixed with baby powder or using pastels to get more texture so its easier to differentiate between the metal and the rust. Start off with a darker color (maybe black + copper), then build it up to a lighter color as u go along.

Then the rain mark, u can build on top of that after. Basically trails coming down, especially at the rusted areas where the rain marks r stained by rust.

Just go add to this. There's basically 2 reasons for this:
- For lining work, you'll need something that can be cleaned up easily, without stripping away the paint under it. Lacquer is thinner based, of which cleaning up using thinner will strip away everything till the plastic, and not just the lining work to be tidied up

- lacquer dries too fast for it to be effectively used for lining.

kinda hard to tell without a pic to look at, but anyways, battle damage is actually more than just paintwork, as it involves poking holes (in the right way) into the plastic. But this can be a rather freaky thing to do if u're not used to it (plenty of heartache involved after spending money on the kit). But if u're to look at battle damaged areas, like bullet holes, or scar marks on the armor plates after being hit by sharpnel, you'll find that those r the spots that rust will set in first.

For acrylics, yes, but not for lacquers. The lacquer thinner will attack the plastic, and u're gonna get a rather badly warped thing at the end.

If u want to repaint, then just sand over using fine sandpaper (to reduce the thickness of the paint on the plastic), prime again, then repaint.

try using tissue dipped in either zippo fluid or kerosene. That should be able to remove the oil based marks, while leaving the acrylic layer intact. Also the level of success depends a lot on the paint too. Its far easier to clean up on top of gloss paint than matt paint.

---

Added on September 15, 2007, 11:56 pmBeen using hardware thinner (available from any hardware store) for lacquers (Mr. Surfacer, and Mr. Hobby Lacquers) all this time without any problems.

This post has been edited by fyire: Sep 15 2007, 11:56 PM

A bit the confused on what problem u're having. Can u describe more on what u mean when you said 'react a bit too fast'?

What sort of paints r u using? If lacquer, then its a pretty tricky thing to solve, of which you can only do via trial and error, by experimenting with the ratio of paint to thinner. But from what you've described, it does very much sound like the thinner ratio to paint is a bit too high. But the problem with too little thinner is that the paint will dry too quickly, and you get brush marks.

Don't think I can give any concrete solutions for this apart from the trail and error on paint to thinner ratio, as I don't use lacquers for hand painting.

4) stir your paints, instead of shaking them. Shaking will form microbubbles that may take a long time to settle, especially when acrylics r heavier than lacquer paints.

5) use the right brush for the right surface. a flat brush on a flat surface works fine, but a flat brush on a surface with details will tend to form bubbles. For such surfaces, either use a round/pointed brush, or switch to a smaller flat.

remember when the guy at the shop mentioned about planning? This' where the planning bit comes in. For a model plane, its a bit tougher than the normal mecha kits such as the Gundams and so forth, as they require glue to hold together. Thus u're gonna have a tough time taking it apart, unlike the Gundam kits which can be snap fitted.

So basically what u need to do is to plan a bit. When putting your kit together, whenever possible, don't glue as yet. Just fit the pieces together, hold it that way with your hands, and study it with your eyeballs hunting for locations difficult to paint should u r to glue the parts at that locations together before painting.

I've not done a plane in ages, in fact, the last non-mecha I've done was a Hind Helicopter, but from what I remember, the first thing usually will be the cockpit. That part, I tend to paint as I assemble, due to the small pieces in there making it difficult to reach even with the smallest brush should the painting be done after the assembly. So for complex parts that consists of many small parts such as the cockpit, or the landing gear, or the weapons, I paint before assembly. For the larger surface areas where I can paint easily, those are the spots that I'll paint after assembly (after assembling the plane body, but I'll only attach the rest of the already painted stuff such as the missles or landing gear to the body after I'm done painting the body, to minimize the chances of accidents).

If you're handpainting, use acrylics. If airbrushing, use lacquers.

Mr Hobby's pretty good for both their acrylics and lacquers. Just keep in mind that u get the right types of paints (Mr. Hobby Acrylics are the ones with the flat cap, while Mr. Hobby lacquers are the ones with the mohawk looking cap). Quite a few ppl here had made the mistake of getting the wrong type of paint from Mr Hobby.

actually, those compressors just mainly shoot out air, so dun need to worry about chemicals. Furthermore, even if its one of those in the car workshops, its not really that much of a problem lar.. U should be able to adjust the pressure of the air coming out. and if u need to fine tune somemore, then just attach a smaller pressure gauge somewhere in the middle before the air feed reaches your AB.

Yup, they're top coat. Be a bit careful with the Flat Clear (no.183) though, as its got a habit of frosting over (and totally ruining your work) if you spray too much too quickly at once.

One method that I had discovered to get around this problem is to use a 50/50 mix of no.182 and no.183. This will still give me the matt finishing that I'm after, but prevents the frosting effect.

Topcoat and clearcoat r basically the same thing. Both are for the same purposes, of providing that final coating to your model (in your choice of either gloss or matt). Just that different manufacturers tend to use different terminology to describe their products, and the difference is more to do with the quality differences between the different brands.

hmm.. no clue really. I've only used acrylics for hand painting, not lacquers. You can still hand paint those lacquer topcoats I guess, but the problem that you'll face is the fast drying nature of lacquer based paints, resulting in it being difficult to get an even coat when handpainted. Adding thinner and retarder to slow the drying down might result in you stripping off the layer of paint under, or even damage the plastic if the mixture dries too slowly.

check and see if Mr. Hobby has got clear coats in acrylic versions or not. Those r the ones with the flat caps, instead of the mohawk looking ones.

Ergh.. that sucks. Actually, the spray is not exactly wrong, I suspect its more to do with how u spray it on.

Its likely that u held the spray too close to the model. Those spray cans has got a pretty high velocity, as well as a high volume output, so u need to hold the can from at least 12 inches away. This' why I tend to regard those spray cans as rather wasteful, but well, if u dun have an airbrush, then no choice lar...

---

Added on October 14, 2007, 3:29 amMr Hobby's pretty good. Costs about RM6 per bottle. As for the booklet saying that u need 13 colors, its both yes and no.

Yes in the sense that that's probly the most exact colors that they use on the model as per in the booklet. No as in, you dont really need to get all that 13 colors, just get the primary colors, such as:
- Black
- White
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
- Brown
- Silver
- Gray

That should allow u to pretty much mix all sorts of shades that's needed. You'll find that you'll use up the blacks and whites at a rather fast rate compared to the other colors too.

---

Added on October 14, 2007, 3:32 amFrom what I had found so far, topcoat's pretty much optional if u're using lacquers (the mohawk caps from Mr Hobby). Lacquers tend to be tougher compared to acrylics, so don't really need the extra protection. Only times when I spray on a top coat will be like in the case of my recent Zaku V2, where for the most part, I had used semi-gloss paints, but I had wanted a fully flat finish to it.

This post has been edited by fyire: Oct 14 2007, 03:32 AM

12 inch is just a rough guide lar.. apply your normal paint on a few scrap pieces of plastic, then experiment with the top coat on those pieces first. Start off with 12 inches, then slowly adjust closer or further on those scrap plastic until you find the distance that works best for you. Also, the longer u use the same spray can, the more the pressure will reduce, so you'll need to compensate for that too later, especially when the can is finishing

Nup. ToyCity will only get u Tamiyas, which basically sucks big time and costs a bomb too. U'll need to visit those like XL, or those shops at Berjaya Times Square.

If you're new to painting, then I suggest that you start off by using acrylics. Make sure u get the right types. Acrylics (water based) from Mr Hobby r the ones with the flat caps, while the lacquers (thinner based) r the ones with the mohawk looking caps.

Get a spray can of Mr Surfacer 1000 as well for the priming work to be done before you start painting. Later on, then you can invest in an airbrush, where its better to use thinner based lacquer paints.

No No No.. not the nail polish that you're thinking of. Actually is this:

http://www.esthersnc.com/nail-file.html