Can someone tell me if it's a good option to buy an Airtank and refill air with Tyre Pumps found in Petrol Station?

Buying a Compressor is such a hassle also I heard we need to periodically maintain the compressor like adding/changing oil etc.

Can somebody give him an idea?

I always get mixed up with the standard procedure when it comes to removing the lines & spraying top coats.

I mean most people spray the parts before assembling so how do you remove the lines where you have to assemble it? The only way i can think of is cut the connectors and do a soft assembling, remove the lines and paint the parts, then use glue to stick the parts together, but that is really troublesome.

Also regarding the top coat, do you spray them when the robot is assembled or part by part? As the easiest way is spray them assembled but there are parts where you don't want the top coat to reach and it would be uneven as when it comes to tight places.

How do you paint (airbrush) after you assembled? I mean like MG you might have 2 parts with different color don't tell me your goona masktape it and spray? I always though spraying in bulk before assembling. There are parts where it can pivot and i don't think you can paint it properly after assembling.

Is this what serious modellers do?

ABout the decal part. Why spray gloosy before apply and another glossy after apply, then flat coat?

Also regarding removing the seam line, how do we do it without actually snapping the parts together? I remember before a book say remove those snap points and do a dummy assemble and remove the links, remove the parts then paint, then snap back and apply cement.

So is there a reason to spray another glossy coat after the decals applied, then a flat top coat? Won't spraying so many levels of coat on places with decals make those parts uneven compared to parts without decals? Also with 2 glossy then 1 flat coat, the outcome would be different right?

Also if you plan to do weathering, then top coat, do you do it part by part or assembled, seeing it's difficult to do weathering unassembled as you have difficulty visualizing the weathering effects. Unless it's just spraying darker color on the corners to make it more 3D.

The seamless part seems the most difficult thing to do. Can I just sand the sides of each part where 2 parts will close up to reduce the seamlines? What number of sandpaper should i use to do this?

Just curious with 3 gloss coat on the decal part, and only 1 layer on those without decal, will they look uneven as there's 2 layers of difference between them.

What about those dry transfer, do we need to use glossy coats?

And the shading/weathering. Do you apply another top coat on them or just leave it as it is. Why i ask whether do it pre/post assembled is because of the top coat. Like you said top coat should be applied before assembly.

So the only way to remove the lines to sand it after you assemble i.e the gun eh? So how to paint it part by part after that (if we paint it then assemble & sand the paint gets sanded)? I mean unless we apply the C-connection suggested it is very difficult to remove assembled parts to to individual spraying.

Also what number of sandpapers i should use to sand the lines, cut-edges?



Sorry what is mark setter and mark softer. Are they from Tamiya or Gunze?

This post has been edited by advocado: Mar 12 2009, 11:39 AM

I never used water slide decals on Gundam yet since they have to be purchased separately. But the sticker type marking for those "cautious" notes are kinda difficult to put up properly since they are much thicker than water slides.

The only basic things i haven't tried are these remove seamlines & top coating & puttying. Though last time I skipped painting white on the Gundam coz I found out the White Surfacer actually looks good, and it's flat too...

The top coat I tried once on a model car interior, the outcome was quite horrible. Had difficulties controlling the throttle of the can in the end some coat came in splurts, and it looked like old dashboards put under the sun for years.

I'm gonna start doing MG Patlabors so trying to find the best way. I only have 3 Patlabors I try to do as good as possible on the 1st one.

The top coat you can't really sand them right? But do you wash them before you apply top coat after sanding the paint? Is it OK to wash them with water?

Another question of preference. Do you guys apply the base paint when the parts are still on the tree or you apply individually after mock assembly -> remove seamlines. Coz it take really big amount of time if you spray the base primer individually, also waste alot of paint too.

I'm just trying to decide the approach to do the lines and best ways to paint them. I don't wanna dive in straight away and do trial & errors. I was lucky the 1st (also last time) i did it i didn't experience the "disaster". But maybe because i just sand, base, paint, assemble & apply decals.

Adding 2 more things I never done would be quite a thing for me as to how to put these 2 steps into my procedure.

Some old stuff I did 8 years ago. Seems I didn't use the marker on Nu's head. Last time though it looks better without them, maybe i'll marker it when i redo some parts. White is Mr.Surfacer White, no coating at all...





Also did this guy together since there weren't much to paint other than body. Ooops no seamline works...



Another not much to paint guy, the Char Aznable's the hardest to paint...





Haven't touched any MG's since. Hope i can do better in the next attempt...

The highest sand paper i could find is #120, bud it in art friend for rm1.3 per piece. Lazy to go back down to Carefour to get it.

Couldn't find any sandpaper in ACE hardware. The shops so big i usually can't find what i want.

The Zaku is metallic version. I only painted some internals, eyes, and CHar himself. Notice I didn't touch up the cutting edges, coz I didn have the metallic base that time.

Yesterday started out my stuff. Initially wanted to do the Patlabor Ingram 3 but figure might be better to warm up with the 1/35 EX Patrol Car instead. Was a good choice... found a few problems:

1.Compressor + Airbrush. Well 1st time using my new rm450 taiwan compressor with top loaded airbrush. I wanted to use back my old Gunze Sangyo Pro-Spray MK-iii since i know the brush better, but OMG the connector doesn't fit! So I had to try out the supposingly cheap top loaded airbrush. The compressor comes with an airtank, but is so small it's just for buffering so you get uninteruptable air, whole tank last like 5 seconds of spraying so the compressor auto pumps air in when Pressure drops. There is an moisture trap anyone know how to dry them out?

Top loaded are so inconvenient, need to clean every paint change (how do i clean the nozzle???). Offers more control (dual action) but less configuration flexibility (1 nozzle size). Saves more paint compared to bottom loaded Gunze but really hate the cleaning part.


2.What's the difference between Mr.Surfacer White 1000 & Mr.Base White 1000? I don't know which to use so I chose Surface White 1st. Which one is better for glossy looks?


3.Masking tape. I really need a good one. I used Post It & Blue tack, the post it is pretty good but not sticky when it comes to non flat surface. The Blue tack is difficult to mask properly, and somehow it sticks the paint out. So I'm wondering are Tamiya Masking tapes are better if blue tack sticks the paint?. What's the usual price and which variant should i go for, so at least i know how much i've been ripped off as I don't have time to search for deals...

The cars so small with so few parts yet it took me 1 full day to paint most of the parts... The time consuming part is the sanding after each spray. Now I need some masking tape!

I got more than enough Patlabor Cars no worries. The foundation and primer, do you use both? I mean what's foundation? I notice one of them when i spray i notice the lines i try to hide become more prevalent...

The sanding, I'm not with the airbrush, somehow if i open the nozzle for over 5 seconds paint splurts starts showing, so I have to sand the splurt parts.

Normally how many layers of base, paint & top coat do we apply? I notice even 2 layers of base gets scratched off pretty easy.

How long does it take for water based paint to dry? And the mix is usually 50-50 water/paint?

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Added on March 16, 2009, 1:09 pmI have another problem with the patrol car, there's these 2 antennas made of rubber. I cut both of them out and seems I though i treat them like normal parts but now i cannot remove the cut edges. I tried cutting but they are too elastic (the edges are vertical) and i can't sand them off.

Same goes for the tyres but they are not big problem.

This post has been edited by advocado: Mar 16 2009, 01:09 PM

Can't find Tamiya Masking tape today at a hobby shop. Do they have them in Toycity?

The Stormtrooper probably soft material.

I'm pretty sure the stormtrooper armor, or at least parts of them (leg armor) are semi soft. Not as hard as gundam because they have to make it abit elastic to fit the figure in the armor.

The Stormtrooper armor itself has a slight gloss coat already. You can experiment it. I would say go full gloss. But then how you going to apply the coat on the armor without removing the armor from the body. It's not easy to put the armor back u might end up tearing the inner suits.

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Added on March 17, 2009, 9:54 amAlso does Toycity in KLCC carry masking tapes? I'm in KL so AF Hobby too far.

Regarding the finger. You can try applying glue, but make sure you keep articulating the fingers until the glue is dry up. You don't wanna glue the finger but instead use the glue to tighten the fingers.

This post has been edited by advocado: Mar 17 2009, 09:54 AM

I don't know how you define hard, But I remember the tights, knee part I can tuck the armor in and out so i assume it is not gundam plastic hard, esp the left knee part just below the tights which comes out.

But i forgot. Anyway hope to see the outcome.


Aww man HobbyHQ was so near where i work but the whole building closing down for renovation. I pass by so many times but never gone in...

I never knew sideshow stormtrooper already out. How much is it? Maybe i overlooked the SIDESHOW you mentioned as I though it's a medicom.

sorry ya!

Well if it's sideshow spray ahead not much to worry about.

But lookin at the pic Medicom looks better, the Sideshow esp kuku bird part looks abit, how should i say, tiny?

One problem with my double action top loaded airbrush. Normally splurts appear when you 1st open the nozzle and it evens out right?

My case if i open the nozzle for too long, maybe after 5 seconds splurts starts coming out. Not sure the problem is my airbrush or the paint?

hi, i don't dare to touch the hose, because it might affect the tightness & sealing of the hose which may result in air leaks. Also don't know what sizes of hose to get.

If can I would like to modify the hose to fit my Gunze Sangyo pro-spray mk-iii. What do you guys think about this brush compared to toploaded? I notice Toploaded paint can spray longer while bottom loaded finishes pretty quick.

My compressor has a tiny airtank for buffering, there's a moisture trap i can see moisture accumulated in the trap. So how do i remove the trap? Is it auto drain or I need to do something?