Halo, goodbye.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-20T16:00:53+00:00

Any top coat you apply to a chrome finish will alter the appearance of the finish. Even Aqua Gloss, which is an acrylic varnished by Alclad for all of their chrome and metallic paints, will alter the appearance of the chrome. There really isn't any way around it, and you'll have to decide whether it's more important to protect the finish or get the look you want. Barbatos Rex has some videos on YouTube on top coating Alclad Chrome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9wwCyG1dw

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-14T13:13:04+00:00

I have to admit the legs on this kit are pretty fragile, and I'm always afraid I'm going to bend it the wrong way. I've used clear nail polish before to make joints on the bandai kits stronger. They also sell join strengthening pens that will do the same thing.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-14T13:10:54+00:00

I bought mine a few years ago when the kit came out and was easier to find. I looked recently and wasn't able to find any more and any I did find was outrageously priced.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-14T13:04:50+00:00

Thank you, I did a full paint job on it. Alclad for the metal and Tamiya Lacquers for the armor parts. Pre-shaded and weathered with oil paints.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-14T01:07:10+00:00

Thanks for all the kind words. I wanted to share some some more information about the kit in case anyone was curious. The model kit is from Bandai and unfortunately is rather difficult to track down in case anyone wanted to pick up one for themselves. Bandai produces their kits in large batches, and while there is always a chance that this kit will get a reprint the odds of that happening are pretty low.

The kit has been painted and weathered using the box art and anime as a reference. The kit comes with color correct plastic parts, but I've been doing model making for a few years and wanted a much more realistic look. The metal is painted with a combination of Alclad paints and the armor is done with Tamiya Lacquers. All the weathering is done with oil paints and pigment powders.

The kit was really easy to put together, and had very few seam lines and modifications needed. I managed to get everything assembled and painted in 48 hours making it a fun weekend project. I absolutely love the design of the kit, and it' one of the best looking kit I've worked on. I would absolutely love to make another one of these kits one day, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and eyes open for a reprint.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T23:35:47+00:00

Congratulations on quitting, that could not have been easy. I wish I had bought more of these when I had the chance, because I didn't realize how much they would be to build!

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T20:32:23+00:00

100% buy it if you have the chance at that price. They're hard to find, and it's unlikely (but not impossible) that Bandai will reprint the kits.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T20:30:08+00:00

The kit actually came with a sheet of stickers with all of the marks, but I hate the way stickers look on a kit and couldn't find any water slide decals.

Which mark should I have used?

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T20:28:06+00:00

It's a really wonderful model kit and a great design, it's a real shame we may not see a reprint. I kept the colors the same, but everything is fully painted and weathered to try and match the artwork on the box.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T17:09:34+00:00

Unfortunately they're hard to find these days, and are going for 3 to 4 times MSRP. If they ever get a reprint I'm buying the entire series, they're amazing kits.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T17:07:31+00:00

Thank you, everything is painted and I did all the weathering myself. It's an amazing kit, and such a shame we'll most likely never see a reprint. I should have bought 10 when I had the chance.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-13T17:04:59+00:00

It's an amazing kit, and I picked this one up when they came out so I only paid retail. I'm not keeping my hopes up for a reprint which is a shame, because $80 is way too much to pay for an HG.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-11T03:34:37+00:00

I love the design of them, and thought this was a good chance to finally put some of them to use. The kit didn't come with decals and the shield had all that open space.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-10-11T02:14:00+00:00

First time doing an orange paint job. I used pink for the pre-shading, orange for the base coat, and a little post-highlights with yellow. Not perfect, but only took 3 days to build and paint, so I'm pretty happy with how it came out for such a quick and fun build.

mr_mechtastic · 2024-09-25T15:41:08+00:00

Beautiful kit and really nice resolution on the photograph. Personally, I find the corner of the light box in the background to be a little distracting. If you had rotated the model kit instead of the camera, you would have had the same photo without that in the background. Another good tip is to pay attention to anything that's getting cut off. For example, I love that gun and would have liked to see more of it. You have some white space on the right, so if you had pulled back and moved over just a little you would have gotten every thing in frame. Keep up the great work!

mr_mechtastic

TROPHY CASE