show us your compressor... maybe we can figure it out...

got a MG Strike Freedom extra finish for my bday...

and hmm...anyone here has experience building extra finish/metallic coating gundams? especially the horrendous nub marks. don't think i can use the conventional way of cutting from tree using cutter then slice remaining nub off with craft knife before doing slight sanding.

from what i can see the connectors to the tree is not 'hidden' like HG1/144 Akatsuki

any advice will be appreciated

bring the ab and the hose to a hardware shop, some shops will have a connector for sale. If you are in KL, can ask AF Hobby, he has done it before iirc.

use a side cutter, and cut. then use a blade to slowly trim off the nip as near to the main part as possible.

There's no way u can avoid the the nip mark with different color, unless u strip the so-called "extra finishing" n paint the whole thing. Using a color (metallic/pearl) similar to the extra finish color, to paint on the nip mark will make the ugliness looks slightly less visible. But still visible.

In fact, extra finish, or special coating edition is best to remain in the box as collectibles. If u build them n remain its original color, generally it ll look uglier than a kit u paint yourself.

As i know, besides hyaku shiki n akatsuki, which bandai "specially design" it to be chromed (where the nip would be hidden) most of the so-called "Special edition" is more of a gimmick to generate some extra revenue for Bandai. They r not designed for special coating, hence the nip mark problem is not in consideration.

So try to get color that looks similar to your kit, and be prepared to paint those nip marks.....

Enjoy.

i don't buy those metallic/"special edition" types. but other than Hyakushiki and Akatsuki, the rest of the "special editions" are just normal kit being coated with metallic paint. so the problem with that is...the nubs will ALWAYS be non-metallic.

how to save that? i dun think u can. reason being, as i've mentioned, they just use a normal kit to coat it with metallic paint. n u can't get that same quality of paint if u were to mix ur own. so best thing you can do...use a good cutter...n cut as close to the main piece as possible. then use a blade to trim off the excess. n then snap fit. that's the only thing can be done. if not, dip the whole thing in bleach for a couple of days...scrub off the metallic coating and spray the kit again. in other words...repaint.

...or hope that other people dun see the nip mark on the chrome part

you can touch up the nip part with metallic base sand and spray a glossy top coat. For other color just spray the same metallic base, sand and use semi transparent color & gloss top coat.

There are other Special Edition that doesn't come in metallic, like the MS-08 Team Camo versions, Transparent/Crystal versions etc. Some are event only like Metallic Zelgog etc they come in 1 color tone boxes.

crystal clear ones also got the same ugly nip problems

well.. again.. it all comes to point that.. well.. whether u r going to "build that kit" or just "own that special edition kit"...

i'm not a collector, so i don't have much problem dealing with those nip mark on chrome parts.
but yes.. at some point, it's also frustrating if u have to build something that has chrome parts and the nip marks and seam line is at where it's not possible not to be seen.
e.g. old school cars with chrome bumper like volkswagen beetle, bikers etc...


i can say, at this point of time, there's no paint that match exactly 100% of that "chrome plated" plastics.
there are chrome parts that looks like "chrome".. while looks realistically like "metal" but put together a "plated chrome".. it look different.. still

Compressor has a needle valve on the bottom of the moisture trap, seems if i block the nozzle head and let the compressor run, and press the needle valve air comes out from i don't know where. But can still see moisture inside the trap...

Also there's another hole facing us next to the nozzle I don't know what is it for?





Comparison of Gunze gun, connectors (top left both ends) and compressor nozzle top right.

that moisture trap... can be open like open bottle... hold the clear part and try turn it clockwise.... or anti clockwise...

got same problem...

try to open but fail...

so damn hard to open... afraid it will kaput...

thanks all for the tips.

a friend recommended Sango Gundam Markers metallics...might test later n see.

otherwise...will just do what rayloke say haha. plus the MG strike freedom EXF box very colorful...eyes also blur adi looking at it.

there's bound to be moisture still inside the moisture trap...droplets of it. when it starts to accumulate at the bottom of the trap, that's when you'll need to open it and pour out the water. if not, you'll get moisture escaping fr the trap to your handpiece.

to open the bottle, unscrew it. look at the placement of the lock pattern to see if it's clockwise or counter clockwise to open. then grip tightly, n unscrew it. but dun just use cow strength n force it.

use compressor with a tank, this is better cos the Air will be more consistant and stable.

the one you are using is the piston type, after 1/2 hr or so, need to shut off...if not...it will over heat...

guise, need some help here , how to remove the panel line smudges out from a topcoated gundam? or is it inevitable now?

on the face mask
and on top of the shield there


and can tell me wat is mr mark setter & mr mark softener?

The only way to clear the moisture is unscrew the filter clear parts. It is very hard but can be unscrew. Cause high pressure it need to secure tight. The needle below the filter is for drain the water when it full but can't drain those small water droplet stick at the filter wall. You need to block the air and run the compressor till the pressure built up. Than press the needle below the filter to purge the water out. This would be much effective but not 100% dry. Next time get a compressor with tank. The tank act as a second filter and the air temperature will drop faster. Result you won't spray moisture out.

Your AB is a basic outside mix type. Some paint will dry at the nozzle tip. Some clog and dry paint will spray out from beginning if you stop too long. Specially fast dry paint. Get the double action AB next time if you have budget.

don't worry about the hose. AS long as the fitting inside have a seal and not broken, the air won't leakout. I don't like to use those screw type fitting. Troublesome and take time when change AB. I have change it to one touch fitting which I just plug/unplug the hose in. And standardize to all the AB. Or use a divider to divide to two hose.
Topload paint spray much more easlly and don't need high pressure. It use gravity to help the paint feed down. Normally bottom load is for high volume spray which you can attach a larger tank/bottle. Not easlly spray with thick paint since it need to suckup.


This post has been edited by ozak: Mar 19 2009, 12:32 PM

Yeah this is consider mistake n i know it's very frustrating.

1. redo the whole thing

2. i assume the paint is already dried. u r using marker? try use an eraser (a good one la) to rub. Eraser might able to rub of part of the top coat, hence the paint will be gone too. however, the place glossiness will be slightly different. So lightly coat that area again.



As for mark setter n mark softer, it's just been discussed, not 20 pages, but just a few pages away. Go read yourself!

Tha compressor has an air tank. But very small one just for 8 second buffer don't know if you can count it as airtank. The compressor has auto on/off function by monitoring pressure in the airtank.

The one i used that splurts is basic dual action top loaded. The Gunze Sangyo pro-spray mk-iii i posted is the one i plan to use but connectors don't fit. I don't remember having much splurt on the Gunze last time i used it, just require more paint and u need minimum level of paint for it to work efficiently, but no problem since you can just remove the container and store it away. Also you can change paint nozzle size easily and you can move the paint nozzle closer/further from the air nozzle.

Initially wanted to get the compressor with a 1L airtank but my friend ask me to try this out. Well really didn't expect the airtank to be so small. Was thinking of getting one of those capsule shape air tank but i don't know what kind of connection it takes the connection is really a problem. Any good recommendations? The connector adapter are not cheap.