It's so nice to watch your work! I want to buy it but I afraid to be disappointed of the quality after watching this and I'm not confident cause I never bought a model before nor painting it.
Thanks for your kind words! Siren definitely isn't something I'd recommend to newcomers not because it's difficult but because the assembly experience is just not very satisfying. If you have any general interest in model kits though, I highly recommend trying an Entry Grade (EG) or High Grade (HG) Gundam model kit from Bandai. Lot of them look great without any painting and you can practice a little bit of painting by hand brushing too if you'd like. (and maybe one day you'll feel confident enough to try Siren!)
Splendid work! I didn't realise I'd have to paint the model, I've never painted one before and from what I've read in the comments starting with this one might not be the smoothest sailing. The fact that I'd have to pay for the paint and put in the effort on top of what I've already paid is also quite discouraging (at risk of sounding lazy, I'd much rather it came all assembled and painted, I'd more than happily pay the price for them to go the extra mile, especially if they're already going to charge as much as they do), but this video is truly inspiring! I don't know if it looks harder than it is, or if I'd be missing some materials the instructions manual doesn't tell you about, but I might even try my hand at painting it. Just in case, is it possible to assemble the kit and then disassemble it at a later date to paint it?
Yep, it's definitely possible to take apart the kit after putting it together. In fact, here is my initial assembly: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg As far as painting goes, it's definitely not an absolute requirement. You could also try looking into just hand painting the missing details and colors and adding a top coat to make it look much better than a bare bone kit!
@@thefirestrings I only have these completed pics elzamgunpla.blogspot.com/p/kotobukiya-siren-xenoblade-chronicles-2.html I didn't take much WIP pics for this one unfortunately.
Question ive been snap building for years now and starting to paint hgs. Im getting this kit and assembling first. Do you by any chance fully insert long pegs in or loosely so you can get them out easier with finger nail or part seperator before you paint
I use zippo lighter fluid (enamel thinner works too). Please do NOT use isopropyl. Isopropyl will remove lacquer and acrylic paint. Isopropyl does not remove enamel paint very well (which is what panel liners are usually made of).
@@l-plahello again! After a bit of building and practicing with the airbrush I think I may be ready to built this kit :) just one last question, did you top coat it at all? If so im specially curious about using top coat on fluorescent paint, does it keep the effect? Any top coat works (gloss, matt..)?
@@HelioReborn I used the gloss top coat from Mr color (GX112). It's labeled UV cut but it isn't strong enough to prevent a black light from making fluorescent paints to glow.
I've got a couple questions I'm hoping you can help me out with, first the Gaia color, what ratio do you use to thin it? And for the resin wings, do you treat them with anything before painting or do you just paint the laquer straight onto it?
For Gaianotes, I thin 1:1.5 paint to thinner (same ratio I use for Mr Color). For the resin wings, I used Alclad II Clear Base as the primer. Honestly, I'm not sure how much the clear base actually helped on resin though.
@@l-pla I ask because I'm running through this model kit using your video as a guide, I think you've mostly touched on the major things in the vid, but I may have more questions later (or I might not!) Thank you for answering btw!
The base kit does come with colors but the details are lacking and the colors don't quite match the colors you see in the promotional photos (promotional photos are usually painted as well). Here is what it looked like before I painted: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg
I just got the reprint but I'm guessing this is gonna be on the hard side of things if I do this as a beginner, huh? I made one of the Pokemon model kits before but that was incredibly easy on its own.
For a regular snap build, it's probably going to be quite a jump from a poke-pla but as long as you follow the instructions, it shouldn't be too difficult. If you're planning to paint it... I highly suggest starting with something easier. :)
@@DarkusFireBlaze3582 painting the resin wings is relatively easy. Installing them might be a bit of a challenge if you haven't worked with resin before. Mine came a bit warped and had loose fitting so I had to pin them on (also used super glue). For general painting, I said it was going to be difficult but I meant that only if you plan on repainting the whole thing like I did. If you plan to just add a few details here and there (especially the parts that are missing colors), it shouldn't be *that* difficult. I suggest taking it one step at a time. Try doing a snap build first and see what you want to do with it.
@@l-pla Yeah, not sure if I have the patience to repaint EVERYTHING, but I do want to at least repaint the rims and maybe give some of the parts a more metallic look.
Yep, you have to drill a hole and use something like a thin brass rod to pin it. You can try searching "resin pinning" and find see guides on how that works. It's a common technique used by resin figure painting community.
It really depends on which brand and type of paint you use plus how much they go for in your area. I've used about 14 different colors both lacquer and enamel with each bottle roughly costing $3 on average (also, don't forget the cost of thinner). Of course I only used a small portion of the paint in each bottle (maybe except the clear top coat) so the actual cost is much lower than what it would take to buy all those colors. Depending on how you want to paint it (e.g. only repainting the metallic colors and accents), you can probably get away with a lot less too. Hope that helps. 😄
@@l-pla it helps a lot! Thank you very much for your answer! I'm not really into model kits but seeing you make an awesome job with this... I would like to try at least once in my life. One can really feel the passion in your work through the video! Thanks again :D
@@BigBossZUCO that's wonderful to hear! I'm always excited to hear other people giving this hobby a try 😊 That being said, this particular kit is on the "not a fun build" side of things compared to some of the more streamlined stuff like Gundam. I won't discourage you from buying the reprint (since it's probably the last time they'll print it) but do take into consideration so that it doesn't scare you away from the hobby.
The wings are a custom conversion kit I bought on etsy. You can find it here: www.etsy.com/listing/710949877/xenoblade-chronicles-2-sirens-wings Please be aware that the conversion kit is made of resin (harder to handle than plastic and the dust is toxic) and comes without colors.
Hey I just started getting into gunpla, just snap building and doing panel lining with the flow pens so far so very basic. My wife got me this kit cause she knows I like xenoblade, how does this compare to gunpla as far as difficulty?
Thanks for the comment! Kotobukiya kits, especially this one, tend to be a bit more stiff when it comes to the fitting compared to Bandai kits. The material isn't as soft as the Bandai ones so they are more prone to breaking. It's generally a good idea to sand the joints a tad bit to make them little more loose before assembly (don't accidentally make them too loose!). I'm not sure if you're familiar with water slide decals (they are usually only seen on "ver ka" kits for Gunpla) but the difficulty level of those are pretty high for this kit as well (mostly because it's so large). All that might sound a bit scary but it's not quite as bad if you practice some patience and work through it carefully (except the decal - that thing is very annoying haha). Feel free to ask additional questions if you run into any problem!
@@l-pla cool, thanks so much! It's a very cool looking piece, I will probably build a few more gundams and work up to it haha One more quick question, I know the gundam at least in my opinion look decent unpainted as long as you do the panel lining, how does that compare to this?
@@nathang4682 this is what it looks like unpainted: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg It's missing quite a bit of color out of box but I think the mold itself is still pretty fantastic. It might help if you got a few acrylic paint to hand-brush some small details in (like the small circular vents).
I bought this one from AmiAmi. The kit is getting a reprint this July (probably the last chance to get one for retail price) so you can still find some stores that have it up for pre-order. Check Hobby Link Japan, Big Bad Toy Store, or USA Gundam.
It's roughly about 30cm (12 inches) including the wings. Which is about the size of a decently large MG. That being said, the scaling feels smaller than a HG/RG (1/144 scale) because everything feels very small - small head, small hands, etc.
@@l-pla hello again... thank you for the answer earlier. but i got another question to you. in 12:35 when you uses testor enamel paint. is there any substitue paint for that one? because that paint is harly found in my marketplace? perhaps you know one or 2 alternatives. thank you
You could use any brand of enamel paint for this part. Depending on the region you live in, this might be a bit challenging (for example, in the US, enamel paint other than testors is kinda hard to come by and testors stopped production from what I've heard). If you can get your hands on them, Gaianotes also has an enamel paint line (they come in smaller bottles than their lacquer paint) but those might prove to be even harder to find depending on the region you're from. Tamiya is another well-known brand that makes enamel paints but I am not sure if they make fluorescent colors.
Amazing work. The detailing makes it pops out and just overall looks much better than the base kit. Good job!
Got to love the hardcore fans they go beyond for the things they love
Watched this at least 10x now in preparation for painting and building my siren lol. Fantastic work!
I'm glad you find it helpful! Feel free to ask questions if you have any :)
Absolutely beautiful work
Just bought the last one in stock at USAG on the strength of your video! Now into the backlog it goes until I get confident at painting! :P
BEAUTIFUL WORK!
It's so nice to watch your work! I want to buy it but I afraid to be disappointed of the quality after watching this and I'm not confident cause I never bought a model before nor painting it.
Thanks for your kind words! Siren definitely isn't something I'd recommend to newcomers not because it's difficult but because the assembly experience is just not very satisfying. If you have any general interest in model kits though, I highly recommend trying an Entry Grade (EG) or High Grade (HG) Gundam model kit from Bandai. Lot of them look great without any painting and you can practice a little bit of painting by hand brushing too if you'd like. (and maybe one day you'll feel confident enough to try Siren!)
Splendid work! I didn't realise I'd have to paint the model, I've never painted one before and from what I've read in the comments starting with this one might not be the smoothest sailing. The fact that I'd have to pay for the paint and put in the effort on top of what I've already paid is also quite discouraging (at risk of sounding lazy, I'd much rather it came all assembled and painted, I'd more than happily pay the price for them to go the extra mile, especially if they're already going to charge as much as they do), but this video is truly inspiring! I don't know if it looks harder than it is, or if I'd be missing some materials the instructions manual doesn't tell you about, but I might even try my hand at painting it. Just in case, is it possible to assemble the kit and then disassemble it at a later date to paint it?
Yep, it's definitely possible to take apart the kit after putting it together. In fact, here is my initial assembly: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg
As far as painting goes, it's definitely not an absolute requirement. You could also try looking into just hand painting the missing details and colors and adding a top coat to make it look much better than a bare bone kit!
@@l-pla Thank you for your answer!
@@l-pla Thanks for sharing this ! Do you have more pictures ? thx!
@@thefirestrings I only have these completed pics
elzamgunpla.blogspot.com/p/kotobukiya-siren-xenoblade-chronicles-2.html
I didn't take much WIP pics for this one unfortunately.
Question ive been snap building for years now and starting to paint hgs. Im getting this kit and assembling first. Do you by any chance fully insert long pegs in or loosely so you can get them out easier with finger nail or part seperator before you paint
this is so amazing, did you make the model yourself then 3d print it?
If you're talking about the wings, nope, I bought it from Etsy. I have a link in the description if you're interested.
Is it possible to get a list of the paints and materials used?
Also great work. I plan on painting the black siren before doing the White one.
Thanks! I've only used the paints and materials shown in the video
Stunning difference. The base kit feels so lacking after seeing this
I wish I had the patience for model kits. I really want siren. But work keeps me too busy
Simplemente hermosa 😍
Quick question, what do you use for cleaning panel lines/excess paint? Is it just a cotton swab with some isopropyl alcohol?
I use zippo lighter fluid (enamel thinner works too). Please do NOT use isopropyl. Isopropyl will remove lacquer and acrylic paint. Isopropyl does not remove enamel paint very well (which is what panel liners are usually made of).
@@l-plahello again! After a bit of building and practicing with the airbrush I think I may be ready to built this kit :) just one last question, did you top coat it at all? If so im specially curious about using top coat on fluorescent paint, does it keep the effect? Any top coat works (gloss, matt..)?
@@HelioReborn I used the gloss top coat from Mr color (GX112). It's labeled UV cut but it isn't strong enough to prevent a black light from making fluorescent paints to glow.
I've got a couple questions I'm hoping you can help me out with, first the Gaia color, what ratio do you use to thin it? And for the resin wings, do you treat them with anything before painting or do you just paint the laquer straight onto it?
For Gaianotes, I thin 1:1.5 paint to thinner (same ratio I use for Mr Color). For the resin wings, I used Alclad II Clear Base as the primer. Honestly, I'm not sure how much the clear base actually helped on resin though.
@@l-pla I ask because I'm running through this model kit using your video as a guide, I think you've mostly touched on the major things in the vid, but I may have more questions later (or I might not!) Thank you for answering btw!
@@Snavels don't hesitate to ask! I was still somewhat new to painting when I painted this so I might have some better pointers
Wait so I’m sorry, I’m confused. Does the kit not come pre painted or are you just detailing it?
The base kit does come with colors but the details are lacking and the colors don't quite match the colors you see in the promotional photos (promotional photos are usually painted as well).
Here is what it looked like before I painted: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg
at 7.54 what silver was used for this part
Mr Color GX Ice Silver (same as other parts)
@@l-pla ty its thanks to ur video i got inspired to airbursh i started on some gumpla first now getting ready for siren
I just got the reprint but I'm guessing this is gonna be on the hard side of things if I do this as a beginner, huh? I made one of the Pokemon model kits before but that was incredibly easy on its own.
For a regular snap build, it's probably going to be quite a jump from a poke-pla but as long as you follow the instructions, it shouldn't be too difficult. If you're planning to paint it... I highly suggest starting with something easier. :)
@@l-pla I was afraid of that. What about just getting the resin wings and painting that while keeping everything else as is?
@@DarkusFireBlaze3582 painting the resin wings is relatively easy. Installing them might be a bit of a challenge if you haven't worked with resin before. Mine came a bit warped and had loose fitting so I had to pin them on (also used super glue).
For general painting, I said it was going to be difficult but I meant that only if you plan on repainting the whole thing like I did. If you plan to just add a few details here and there (especially the parts that are missing colors), it shouldn't be *that* difficult.
I suggest taking it one step at a time. Try doing a snap build first and see what you want to do with it.
@@l-pla Yeah, not sure if I have the patience to repaint EVERYTHING, but I do want to at least repaint the rims and maybe give some of the parts a more metallic look.
Some day I hope create three in real life
i am so confused how do u put these resin wings parts on lol am i supposed to a drill a hole
Yep, you have to drill a hole and use something like a thin brass rod to pin it. You can try searching "resin pinning" and find see guides on how that works. It's a common technique used by resin figure painting community.
@@l-pla ty so much for the reply its really helps and i just sand resin parts if its not fitting inside the kotabuikiya parts properly yeah
@@jamiljj7248 yep, you'll need to sand and make other necessary adjustments to make it fit
how much would you charge for a commission painting of this same model. I have the figure just not the materials to paint it like this.
I'm sorry. I don't do commissions. I can barely find time for myself currently.
@@l-pla Shame, but I respect that. It looks beautiful!
What's the cost of all the paint needed? I'm thinking of buying the re-release but open it until I can afford to paint it
It really depends on which brand and type of paint you use plus how much they go for in your area. I've used about 14 different colors both lacquer and enamel with each bottle roughly costing $3 on average (also, don't forget the cost of thinner). Of course I only used a small portion of the paint in each bottle (maybe except the clear top coat) so the actual cost is much lower than what it would take to buy all those colors. Depending on how you want to paint it (e.g. only repainting the metallic colors and accents), you can probably get away with a lot less too. Hope that helps. 😄
@@l-pla it helps a lot! Thank you very much for your answer!
I'm not really into model kits but seeing you make an awesome job with this... I would like to try at least once in my life.
One can really feel the passion in your work through the video!
Thanks again :D
@@BigBossZUCO that's wonderful to hear! I'm always excited to hear other people giving this hobby a try 😊
That being said, this particular kit is on the "not a fun build" side of things compared to some of the more streamlined stuff like Gundam. I won't discourage you from buying the reprint (since it's probably the last time they'll print it) but do take into consideration so that it doesn't scare you away from the hobby.
Did you custom make the wings?
The wings are a custom conversion kit I bought on etsy. You can find it here: www.etsy.com/listing/710949877/xenoblade-chronicles-2-sirens-wings
Please be aware that the conversion kit is made of resin (harder to handle than plastic and the dust is toxic) and comes without colors.
how did u made the wing parts? it's so amazing :D
They're from a custom resin kit someone was selling on Etsy. There's a link to the store in the descriptions.
Hey I just started getting into gunpla, just snap building and doing panel lining with the flow pens so far so very basic. My wife got me this kit cause she knows I like xenoblade, how does this compare to gunpla as far as difficulty?
(Awesome work by the way, sorry I am kinda panicked after receiving this monstrosity after never really even knowing it existed lol)
Thanks for the comment! Kotobukiya kits, especially this one, tend to be a bit more stiff when it comes to the fitting compared to Bandai kits.
The material isn't as soft as the Bandai ones so they are more prone to breaking. It's generally a good idea to sand the joints a tad bit to make them little more loose before assembly (don't accidentally make them too loose!).
I'm not sure if you're familiar with water slide decals (they are usually only seen on "ver ka" kits for Gunpla) but the difficulty level of those are pretty high for this kit as well (mostly because it's so large).
All that might sound a bit scary but it's not quite as bad if you practice some patience and work through it carefully (except the decal - that thing is very annoying haha). Feel free to ask additional questions if you run into any problem!
@@l-pla cool, thanks so much! It's a very cool looking piece, I will probably build a few more gundams and work up to it haha
One more quick question, I know the gundam at least in my opinion look decent unpainted as long as you do the panel lining, how does that compare to this?
@@nathang4682 this is what it looks like unpainted:
1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG99ElnXI0Q/YFQWXPpOXUI/AAAAAAAAHGQ/I5YBewmfdSsVuNdvDDMzj9jXd-NX_96yACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/PXL_20210202_024653892%257E2.jpg
It's missing quite a bit of color out of box but I think the mold itself is still pretty fantastic. It might help if you got a few acrylic paint to hand-brush some small details in (like the small circular vents).
@@l-pla awesome, I appreciate it! (Liked and subscribed for what it's worth lol)
Siren is amazing I love it. Is from xenoblade chronicles 2 @apocalypctic survivor
I would pay you to have that on my shelf it’s so much better than the ones you ca buy
Quick question, where did you buy the model kit from?
I bought this one from AmiAmi. The kit is getting a reprint this July (probably the last chance to get one for retail price) so you can still find some stores that have it up for pre-order. Check Hobby Link Japan, Big Bad Toy Store, or USA Gundam.
@@l-pla thank you so much!!
its still available from play asia (re-release) its 100 euros
question whats the airbrush u using
In this video, I was using the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS
question. how big this kit is it? is it as big as MG gundam kit?
It's roughly about 30cm (12 inches) including the wings. Which is about the size of a decently large MG. That being said, the scaling feels smaller than a HG/RG (1/144 scale) because everything feels very small - small head, small hands, etc.
@@l-pla hello again... thank you for the answer earlier. but i got another question to you. in 12:35 when you uses testor enamel paint. is there any substitue paint for that one? because that paint is harly found in my marketplace? perhaps you know one or 2 alternatives.
thank you
You could use any brand of enamel paint for this part. Depending on the region you live in, this might be a bit challenging (for example, in the US, enamel paint other than testors is kinda hard to come by and testors stopped production from what I've heard). If you can get your hands on them, Gaianotes also has an enamel paint line (they come in smaller bottles than their lacquer paint) but those might prove to be even harder to find depending on the region you're from. Tamiya is another well-known brand that makes enamel paints but I am not sure if they make fluorescent colors.
@@l-pla
Its a gundam
It’s from xenoblade chronicles 2.
@@josefranciscoruizsmith5653 Oh that I just repeat what every bad guy from the gundam universe says whenever they see a powerful unit like that
Kinda a shame for $150 USD it comes with crappy colors from the factory….