So needing to paint the gold trims on the Sinanju might’ve put some of you off from this kit. Some of you, like me, aren’t exactly meticulous with your hands to paint. Well, here are a few ways of tackling Sinanju’s gold trims courtesy of Dengeki Hobby (and one from me ^^).
1. Cut out the black and apply only the gold trim
This one should come as a no-brainer to anyone who doesn’t want to paint. While it looks easy, you actually need to be very careful so as to not cut into the gold itself. For the most part, it is pretty easy but think… how are you going to tackle the gold curves at the wrist and collar? and do you think you can get the black area between the emblem’s wings? This is just some of the more apparent issues you will run into if you take this route. A very sharp knife is needed for this but that sharpness also increases your chance of screwing up.
2. Applying the water slide decals
Like the gold foil stickers, it’s best that you also trim the decal right at the border of the actual gold trim. With this route, it’s also necessary that you shell out the extra money for Mr. Mark Softener or Mr. Mark Setter. They are toxic chemicals that softens and “melts” the decal onto the plastic so it sticks otherwise it can fall off or make the gold trim look like ass.
3. Paint with Gundam Marker
You can pick up a gold Gundam marker and paint the trim with it directly or dispense the paint into a dish and use a brush (why not just buy a bottle of Mr. Hobby Gold in this case?). Don’t be deceived by the pictures. The paintjob in the photo above is like…smoother than the foil sticker. As easy as it looks, there’s no way any mere mortals can do such a clean job with a Gundam marker(not to mention it’s not THAT easy to clean off excess as well). The photos made the process look like cake. Use a real touch black (or the panel line Gundam marker) to sharpen the edges.
4. Spray paint
Exactly as it looks. Spray paint all in gold then color in the black. This seems like the hardest route to take. Again, not as easy as the photos make it out to be…
5. Masking and spraypaint.
THIS is my favorite route (not). Meticulously cut tiny rectangles and just mask the whole thing (repeatedly!) before spraypainting! Very effective but very time consuming and tedious… so this is not very efficient. Props to you if you want to do this. The blue bottle in the picture is Mr. Masking Sol.
And now… here’s a tip from yours truly…
6.PAINT THE FOIL STICKERS
This idea came to my mind after I got really frustrated with the rounded edges and curves on the shield. This method is simple; just paint the foil stickers and apply. You’ll still get the painted look but the lines will be cleaner. It’s also much easier this way too since you’re not fretting about getting paint all over. HOWEVER! There are some drawbacks…
- You can only do this for half of the foil sheets. Mainly The foil stickers that doesn’t have any black in them. Still, this is a great time saver.
- This doesn’t save you from the cracks/gaps/seams that the foil stickers will leave from fitment
- Crease marks and bends are more noticeable due to the paint.
- You can risk having the paint seeping into the adhesive part.
- a pointer: do either spray a little top coat or primer onto the foil sticker. The paint doesn’t stick well onto the foil. I had to apply multiple layers.
Since I have an ego over foil stickers, I only used this method on the red part of the shield (pictured above). That’s as far as I’ll go. The black part of the shield is handbrushed. The two blends perfectly. I’ll continue to handbrush the rest of the model. This method is only a last resort for the painting route to escape tough situations.
Hope this helps some of you. I won’t be updating again until Saturday or Sunday. I have a four page essay I need to type up by Friday xD.
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March 13, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Hi all,
would like to ask, after the layer of paint is on the kit, i wish to do the panel lining, there is a kind paint that can be used to panel line on the existing layer of paint.
We just need to let the black paint flow into the line then wipe it off, what kind of paint and thinner do I use for this ?
March 14, 2009 at 9:49 PM
not sure if I can give you the right answer there but I find the original Gundam panel line marker works just fine on painted surfaces. Not sure about the wiping part though since I try to make sure I don’t make a mess if I’m panel lining on paint.
July 7, 2011 at 2:41 AM
So here is the deal. Simply put there are two general categories of paint. Oil based and water/alcohol based. Lacquer and enamel is oil based while acrylic is either alcohol or water based. Alcohol and water can be categorized as similar solvents.
Just remember to use a panel lining wash that has a different base than the layer you are applying the wash over. You don’t want your wash to dissolve the layer of paint that is already on. For example, use an oil based primer coat then a water/alcohol based color coat. Seal with water/alcohol clear coat such as Future then panel line with oil based paint such as enamel.
Always run a paint layering test before hand on some old pieces of plastic. Different paint manufacturers have different chemical additives that could react in strange ways with other paints.
August 20, 2009 at 4:58 AM
hey z what is the liquid in the the metal plate the one the number 2 applying decals?
August 20, 2009 at 9:08 AM
probably just a bottlecap or something similar. anything you can mix paint it would work, really.
August 20, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Jeremiah, that is water. What else would you dip waterslide decals in? ^^;
October 13, 2009 at 12:26 AM
And yes, anything getting more people to crochet is good, but really, what do you DO with them. ,
October 13, 2009 at 7:03 PM
hi guys can anyone tell me what gumpla & gundam means
October 13, 2009 at 8:42 PM
uh… there isnt really a meaning to gundam, but gunpla r basically the model kits of gundams, and HOLY SHIT that was scary ^^; My 1/100 Exia (Repair n00b ver.) just fell from my shelf. i think the gn long blade took some damage. nothing i cant fix though
October 13, 2009 at 10:44 PM
oh, and gundams r… well just think of giant robots that have a human piloting it in the cocpit(usually in chest) with a gun (beam rifle), a shield and 2 beam sabers (that’s just ur standard gundam equips. each might have more i.e. dragoons, mega launchers, missle pods, big ass swords, etc, etc)
October 13, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Gundam means $$ for Bandai. Gunpla is a combination (what’s the correct term for it?) of the words “Gundam” and “Plastic Model”… so Gundam Plastic Model.
October 14, 2009 at 6:11 PM
huh, i never really thought about that. thanks for pointing that out Z
October 22, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Stationary Chairs that utilized a sled base, cantilever O frame, or straight leg style. ,
October 23, 2009 at 12:14 AM
This means that Sparky Obama is just another brain-dead, screwed up race hustler without enough spine to even gently move the issue forward. ,
October 23, 2009 at 12:22 AM
^failed spammers you two are?
October 27, 2009 at 10:27 PM
hey, wanna ask wats the gold color Mr Hobby spray color code??
can i knw the full name of the gold color spray??
btw, can i use it to spray all the yellowish runner????
thx!!!
October 31, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Hey Z,
I was wondering if Tamiya TS paints can be painted onto rubber parts(for my PG Wing Zero Custom)? I would like to paint the white feathers pearl white and the rubber waist metallic red.
Do you know if it will work?
October 31, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Shen, It just say Mr. Color Spray – Gold so I’m guessing that’s the name ^^;. Each can has more than enough to spray the entire yellow runner… but do it after you cut out the pieces though.
Quang, Never tried… I don’t see why it wouldn’t though but since the feathers can flex, it might make cracks on the paint.
December 11, 2009 at 6:05 PM
I’m i right before you put sticker you must put first the water decals?
December 22, 2009 at 5:55 AM
Actually I hypotise that a solution would be to cut out the foil sticker and paint in the mistakes with an ultra fine tipped marker.
February 1, 2010 at 5:32 PM
It looks like spray paint and then paint in black is more easier for me~ >_<
March 22, 2011 at 9:36 AM
I use method number 1 + 4.
First, i spray the whole thing in gold. Then apply the gold sticker to any parts i want to leave colored gold, and THEN spray the whole thing black. Remove the stickers, then… ta–daa!!
This is a very straight-forward process, but it takes a while to finally get it right.
April 11, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Hi ivan,
Can you elaborate a bit more on this new process? Where are some areas that one can easily screw up?
April 11, 2011 at 3:32 PM
What he is basically saying is to cover the parts you want to stay gold so that those areas are not affected when you spray everything else black. I would imagine the easiest parts to screw up is in the corner (if there is an air pocket) and the paint bleeds into it. This is why using the foil is a good choice since it sticks but then you’ll have to go through the trouble of shaping/cutting the foil to match…