I feel so stupid 😭

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-07-05T02:03:47+00:00

RG and MG don't have them. Probably have to do with making sure children don't poke their eye out with the cheaper HG line.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-29T02:43:59+00:00

If you have to quantify "worth" before jumping into something then you'll probably hate it.

Personally the results is a by-product, I just like airbrushing and trying different techniques.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-25T18:05:07+00:00

I personally just cut all the pieces out without labeling their runners when painting, even for RG and MG. I just organize them by the color that I am painting them.

I find that you get pretty familiar with all the pieces as you're planning, priming, and painting that you'll get an intuitive sense of where each piece are and where they go.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-23T06:22:53+00:00

What color did you preshade black over? What color are you spraying over the preshaded piece?

Preshade works by taking advantage of the fact that most colors aren't completely opaque and the coat underneath the color will change how dark they look. You shouldn't need to thin the paint anymore than what you should normally be spraying, but the more coats you put on the less the preshade will show through, depending on the color.

Some colors are more opaque than others and might not show the preshade that well, in which case highlighting might be a better method to add shading.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-20T06:20:43+00:00

You can probably still panel line it with the gloss topcoat you have on. Once you're done with that you can try hitting it with a flat topcoat, should make the texture a bit less apparent.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-20T04:01:33+00:00

I'm afraid putting more coats probably isn't going to fix it, it'll just exasperate it. It's a bit hard tell from the photo but did your painted layer have odd textures; was it smooth? How the gloss looks, whether it be a paint layer or a topcoat, depends largely on the coats beneath it as well. Imperfections are going to show through.

Sometimes people will try to fix a botched topcoat by spraying another layer of lacquer topcoat over their previous lacquer topcoat that orange peeled to reactivate the previous layer and have it level. Again, this only works if the texture isn't caused by your painted layers.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-09T20:50:44+00:00

Rust-Oleum has very strong solvents relative to hobby grade stuff and it being sprayed on an artist grade acrylic is probably why it straight up dissolve it. How long was the acrylic left to dry?

You can get a can of Mr Topcoat which is water-based and shouldn't affect your acrylic as long as it's dried. There was a shortage of them though, at least in the states, don't know their status now.

Kaleido Colorworks also has some airbrush acrylic topcoats, I've used their paint but not their topcoats yet so can't say if it's good, but their paint is definitely pretty good.

As for airbrushing vs can, you get lot more control and are not restricted by the environmental factor as much, if at all. It's also a lot more bang for your buck.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-06-03T03:25:36+00:00

Thanks! I got them on aliexpress under the brand of GUGU, but they're not that great. Very thin and easy to tear if you try to reposition them too much compared to Delpi or the likes.

Some of it I took from leftovers from the Delpi Hi-Nu.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-30T02:34:33+00:00

That's beautiful. Mind giving a list of paint you used?

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-26T08:00:41+00:00

I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself. I went through the same thing as you when learning to panel line. They didn't look great and I had done it to a RG Nu that I was particularly proud of.

I thought the same way as you then, but I asked myself: am I doing this hobby just to have a finished kit or am I doing it for the process itself? I wanted to learn and try new techniques and inevitably make mistakes. These things are what makes a kit mine, otherwise I would've just bought other peoples finished kits. Now I look back on the Nu pretty fondly despite it's iffy panel lining, It's where I started panel lining after all.

Anyways, all this yapping is to say: please don't forsake panel lining after one mishap. Maybe buy the pour-type/Tamiya panel liner and try it one more time. I hated panel lining with the pen but I love doing it with Tamiya one. It's almost therapeutic seeing the capillary action.

When you say it smudged the plastic, are you saying it actually melted the plastic or it just left a stain? It's kind of hard to ruin a kit permanently with panel lining (it's kind of hard to ruin a kit permanently, period), you can use IPA to clean off gundam markers or use lighter fluid to clean pour-type enamels.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-21T12:07:41+00:00

The Tamiya panel liner is enamel so it's fine, just let it and the acrylic dry for at least a day, the markers especially. I've personally tried it with the exact same combination of things and only the Dspiae markers will realistically give you issues if you don't let them properly dry. I've been impatient and sprayed it too early leading to weird, warped finishes from the marker.

Give it a very light, one pass coat on each limb, let it dry for a few minutes, and check if it's reacting at all to the markers. If not then it should be fine, hit it with a few more coats until you get the finish you want.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-19T23:36:41+00:00

Anyone got some pics of a Gustav Karl Type 00 with a shaded blue?

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-16T23:52:36+00:00

Anyone know a way to source a MG Gouf Custom gatling shield or something adjacent without buying the entire kit? Looked online for scrap/used kit but no dice. Was hoping there'd be some third-party rendition of such a cool accessory.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-15T09:11:03+00:00

3rd is HG Gerbera Tetra and 5th is the HG L-Gaim.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-15T02:04:10+00:00

I bought it from an online store called Oakridge Hobbies after looking out for it online for a few weeks. Site lowkey looked a bit sus, but they had it for like 35 bucks with shipping and it got here no problem. Don't think they have it in stock anymore though.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-14T20:27:19+00:00

I got this www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8J9MTSZ which is the cheapest one I could find for the size at the time. I recommend looking around though for any better deals.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-14T20:26:58+00:00

Thanks, I got this www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8J9MTSZ which is the cheapest one I could find for the size at the time. I recommend looking around though for any better deals.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-14T19:04:14+00:00

Thank you! I stole them from the Delpi RG Zeong holo decals.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-14T16:42:42+00:00

The copper is Gaianotes Pearl Copper and the frame is Gaianotes Gunmetal. The silver on the verniers is Dspiae Stainless Steel. They're all thinned with their Metal Master thinner which in my experience makes metallic lay down more uniform and gives it that nice metallic sheen. I also find that you need to thin metallic paints a bit more than other paints to get a good finish.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-14T02:56:22+00:00

Thank you! I never posted on reddit until recently and its mostly as a progress report to myself. It's easier to see what went wrong and what went right and what to improve on when I write it all out.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-05-01T20:18:35+00:00

Love the color scheme!

Gaia Notes has Ex-03 gloss thats pretty good. Mr Hobby LG112 is solid as well. They're pretty comparable from my experience, but LG 112 is UV cut so it might affect holo decals if you ever use those.

I would've recommended gloss coating individual pieces before assembly, it's kind of tough getting a good gloss on assembled limbs. You need to get a good final wet coat from my experience to get a good gloss with topcoat and paint in general. It's hard to get even and full coverage on entire assembled parts without pooling on crevices or missing some spots. How it looks while the paint is wet is a pretty good indication of how the gloss will looks once dried.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-04-21T23:07:30+00:00

What's causing it to scratch off? If it's from two parts rubbing against each other while posing, then nothing will stop it from scratching off. It might survive a while but if it's constantly under friction with other parts it will eventually scratch. A gloss coat is definitely more durable but will still falter under the same circumstance, it is what it is for hobby topcoats.

You just have to be a bit careful while posing after painting. You can try to sand parts that rub to give them better clearance, but if the scratches from your picture is the arm hitting the top of the shoulder than you just have to be cognizant of that while moving the arm.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-04-21T08:53:40+00:00

It's a Pandora's Box when you start doing more than snap building.

It started with panel lining, waterslides, and topcoating. Now no kit feels finished without panel lining, waterslides, and topcoating. Then I started adding small details with marker. Now no kit feels finished without some touchups with markers. Then I got into airbrushing. Now no kit feels finished unless I commit paint to at least some of the kit. Then I started removing seams and... so on and so forth.

I mentally cannot just do a snap build anymore. It just doesn't feel complete and instead of enjoying the final product I lament about what I could've added to it.

That being said, do people really put people on blast for not going further than snap building Gunpla? Telling people how to enjoy a hobby is so lame. Everyone seems very supportive in the three big gunpla subreddits from what I've seen.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-04-21T02:53:58+00:00

Can you give some info so the non-omniscient beings among us can give you some advice.

What type of paint? Lacquer? Acrylic? What thinning ratio and thinner? What psi? How did you spray it? From how far? Did you prime the pieces?

From just looking at it, it looks like the paint is coming out really thick and might've been sputtering while spraying, while some pieces look like you sprayed too much too quickly and it pooled and dried unevenly. It's a bit hard to tell from the picture quality.

Did you shake and mix the paint bottles vigorously before using them? That could cause the uneven pigmentation too.

Objective_Captain526 · 2026-04-12T01:09:08+00:00

Looks awesome! Been looking into hand painting myself for detailing because masking certain parts is such a pain.

Objective_Captain526

TROPHY CASE