I hate bringing this subject up as much as you guys hate hearing it but answers must be sought out ^^;. It has come to my attention that Mr. Hobby’s topcoat has been pulled from just about every and any online store that used to carry them (including R10 and hlj). I tried any possible search term and keyboard to bring something up… but got nothing. I have no luck finding any on ebay as well for the past few weeks. The first scare was that Japan banned exporting spray cans of any sort and it looks like hobby dealers have removed all sort of spray cans for sale (including paint, primer, etc) on their site. Can anyone confirm this? It would be nice to know that they are still being produced even if not for sale outside of Japan…
The above is all the topcoat stock I’ve saved up over the months. It might look like a lot but it’s actually not. I am still scrapping future projects here and there just to hopefully finish my regular projects ^^;.
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December 17, 2009 at 6:07 AM
I just get my Clear Coats from the hardware store, just need to make sure its plastic friendly (Rust O leum) It works very well. I cant really compare it to Mr. TopCoat or any other made for model clear’s because ive never used them. I was also told that Micheal’s arts and crafts carries clear coats as well and they always send coupons in the mail for 40% to 50% off stuff in the store.
December 17, 2009 at 6:11 AM
@Gi
maybe. the tamiya store here as well has a lot of spray cans. but i just use RJ london dull lacquer as flat top coat. works like top coat. only cheaper
December 17, 2009 at 7:02 AM
@ Gi, which store are you talking about?? is it near the Metro Manila area? ^^
December 17, 2009 at 8:28 AM
For an alternate top coat, you can try Future Floor wax/finish. They have a few kinds like satin,matte, flat and I think metallic. You’ll probably need to have something to spray it with ,though. Otherwise you can use Microscale finishing liquid, like Microsol or something similar.
December 17, 2009 at 8:59 AM
Your brick and motor store will probably be likely to carry paint still if they’re a licensed distributor of that brand. This is different from a 3rd party store shipping it in a package over seas.
December 17, 2009 at 10:49 AM
I am very aware of alternatives like future floor polish with tamiya flat base (my very likely choice), and domestic spray cans but they are really my last resort… very very last. At least I know they are still in Japan so I know someone somewhere someday will smuggle some over here again… or I can always wait till I go over there myself. No biggie.
Rob and Otter, thanks for telling us. That’s a relieve. As long as I know they are still in Japan, then it’s all good.
DarkFayte, I’ll switch to Future Floor Polish w/ flat base mixture as a last resort.
V, I don’t go on very often but it’s zyuan3618(at)hotmail(dot)com. The same I use for people to send their entries for my giveaways ^^. Actually, truth be told… I haven’t checked that email since my last giveaway >_>. I’ll get on though if you wanted to ask something (or just shoot me an email if I’m not available)
Gi, shipping by sea is likely the most probable reason since they don’t have to worry about atmospheric pressure chance and all that. Now I need to try to remember if the ban was shipping by air or just exporting in general…
Vektar, I checked my michael’s and they don’t have such spraycans x_x
Mechwarrior, FFP is my likely last resort ^^
Derringer, no distributor of Tamiya here ^^;
December 17, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Well Shinra, one that I recently got into is by Krylon, they have gloss, semi-gloss, and matte(same as flat). Its only like 8 dollars or so and the can is probably about hte size of 2 1/2 or 3 Mr. Topcoat cans.
December 17, 2009 at 2:28 PM
i agree with DarkFayte. krylon has a decent acrylic clear spray. it just takes a while to dry/cure.
December 17, 2009 at 3:31 PM
I’d like to say something about the Krylon Clear Coat (Matte). I find that it doesn’t cover up the “plastic swirls” in the plastic. Haven’t tested bare plastic with the Krylon Matte Finish though.
December 17, 2009 at 7:38 PM
I recommend the Krylon flat, but there’s nothing wrong with Testors dullcote, available at any hobby store, either, except it costs more than Krylon. The Testors is good with paint or bare plastic, but I’ve only used Krylon on paint.
December 17, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Somehow a local online seller, a wholeseller merchant ship at my place they managed to secure stocks over time. It’s surprising that they even manage to stock in very old gunplas, including the 1st MG, MG RX-78 1.0!!!
December 18, 2009 at 4:45 AM
I use Bosny acrylic epoxy sprays, which are normally used on cars. Seem to work just as well on model kits, as the ones I’ve topcoated from last year are still nice & glossy ^_^ They come in gloss and matte (flat).
I believe RJ London sprays will work just as well, but I don’t use them, as I find them to be stinkier.
Oh, I also have a question for anyone who might help me:
Are the ‘Yamaha’ colors featured on some brand of spraypaints transparent? If so, I’m getting some Yamaha Red for the pink parts of my MG Unicorn.
December 18, 2009 at 9:12 AM
hey.. thx.. i’m just send u a message by msn messenger..
December 21, 2009 at 12:28 AM
just buy krylon gloss acrylic top coat, worked wonders on my sinanju. someone actually asked if i airbrushed the red XD
i let him in on the secret though.
just fyi, it no longer has the gloss coat on it since i replaced some of the dry transfer decals with the water slides and i ended up using flat acrylic coat.
December 28, 2009 at 5:23 PM
@ Z
What by any chance is the texture like, of the Mr. Topcoat layer when applied to a model kit? I can try to help out in some way and do some little experimentation on a piece of plastic, and painting on it, using other clear paint media.
Those models you built are really great. Like the your tools of the trade when building them too. Don’t give up or scrap your project now, I believe this hobby of yours is really great.
December 28, 2009 at 8:03 PM
Lightspeedliger, The texture of the plastic after topcoated feels really nice… kinda finely rough… best I could describe is like clay poker chips ^^;. If I see the chance to work on my special projects again, I’ll do just that :D.
February 22, 2010 at 3:57 AM
So, the likelihood of getting the realdeal TopCoat in the US is pretty low. Japan has totally banned export of that stuff, and its against TSA to have aerosol spray cans on airplanes – in either carry-on or checked luggage.
Guess I’ll have to use an alternative when I get back to the states. :/
March 9, 2010 at 6:32 PM
i just got a newb question for this topic, do you apply decals before or after spraying topcoat ? o_o !
March 10, 2010 at 4:33 PM
*points to My Tools page*
March 10, 2010 at 6:45 PM
ahhh thanks i’ve gotten myself some krylon matte finish, it looks awesome ! (:
March 10, 2010 at 2:52 PM
what kind of effect does glossy, semi glossy, and flat do? Can you tell me what each of them does>?
March 10, 2010 at 4:36 PM
the words doesn’t speak for themselves? xP
glossy- shiny and smooth coating. Think new cars.
semi-gloss- not-so shiny but still kinda smooth.
flat- no shine. it’s flat. think clay poker chips… or just look at the photos of any of my recent reviews and compare that to the bare plastic.
March 10, 2010 at 4:44 PM
I think that it probably a health scare since it is pretty toxic when i read Danny Choo’s guide for busy people. My cousin who is a pharmacist and an avid gunpla (how the hell you balance skool and gunpla?) tells me that Topcoat has some deadly chemical.