All you need to change it to Ver:Ka is 1. 10x "No Step" decal 2. 10 x "Caution" decal 3. 10 x "EFSF@Zeon" decal 4. 10 x "Danger" decal 5. 10 x "Hot" decal 6. 10 x racing stripes with chrome paint Apply anywhere as desired.
Patience is definitely a huge one. If you are sitting there building the kit, and find yourself already thinking about the next step before you finish the current one; stop, and take a break. Be in the moment, and enjoy the build at every step. I built maybe 6-7 kits (got back into gunpla 4/22) before I realized I was doing that. Now I make sure to step away, and let it simmer for a bit before diving back in. Has helped tremendously in eliminating imperfections.
Ive built quite a few kits by now and still dont feel comfortable making a custom gundam yet, however i gotta say the 30 minute mission kits are quite easy to mix and match; find enough kits the same color and you dont have to paint either.
When it comes to customs you just gotta jump in on a simple repaint and go from there. That’s how I started and now I’ve got some custom parts, a few kitbashes, etc.
The trick is to experiment on cheap kits that you don't care about. Grab some no grade wing/g-gundam kits from the 90s and experiment with the hobby saw, dremel, clippers, sanding etc. That goes for learning to paint too. Edit: You might even find some broken kits in thrift store toy bags. I've certainly seen some.
POSING! Yes! No point in expecting Bandai to make kits with great articulation if one is not going to take advantage of it! The derpiness from bad posing also just detracts from the whole experience as well. It's as much a building as a viewing experience.
And even if you're not one who likes to make dynamic crazy poses there's still making a really powerful, cool looking stand or crouch pose to keep it in that'll be impressive.
yeah, a lot of builders esp on reddit or insta, and sometimes reviewers puts the kits standing in a very derpy way. it takes away the awesomeness of the kits. u just need to spread the legs a little, twist the thighs outwards abt 15 degrees, put the chest forward, slightly bend the elbows, and head pointing down, and voila! cool standing pose
I've build like almost 80 kits since I re-started in 2014 (Gunpla, Zoids, Tamiya mini 4WD etc.). I have gained a lot of experience and tips from friends. One thing that I still want to try is scratch building. I've watched SO MANY videos about it and I just can't bring myself to start doing it. I'm just sharing lol its like 11pm here and I'm VERY sleepy.
I've done a few scratch builds and they are time intensive as hell, so don't be to ashamed about not starting it because it demands serious commitment. Hell, Zak here had to stop his Trash to Treasure series because of how intensive that project got.
Think of it like you were using construction paper as a kid doing arts and crafts just with pla plates instead. Choosing the thickness, drawing out your shapes, and cutting them out and gluing them together. Then sanding or filling or both, and then painting. Just like the construction paper it takes time, patients, and the correct tools but you can do it if you try. I would recommend something easy to start with and then work your way out to other more difficult designs. Happy building.
After all these years I still consider myself a beginner. I prefer straight building and make the panel lines with a mechanical pencil (they look pretty good actually). The only kit I ever fully painted was an NG Mercurius that I found at a second hand shop. Someone just ripped all the pieces of the runners, tried to build without looking at the instructions, and just threw the half built poor thing back in the box with the rest of the pieces. Plus I hated the bright red. He looks much better now (to my eyes at least).
There are two big tips if you want to panel line without painting. First, use acrylic paints, acrylic thinner will not damage the plastic the way enamel thinners can. Second, if you really want to use something like Tamiya panel liner, use lighter fluid instead of enamel thinner, it will remove the excess paint without damaging the plastic.
Great video! I would add: don't try techniques for the first time on expensive kits! Like try weathering a cheap HG kit first rather than a $400 PG; you will have more fun, seriously! Also, be sure to buy lots of kits and always have a massive backlog in case Bandai decides to stop producing kits and only poops out P-Bandai for 6 months or so.
I just did my first panel line, got the cheapest HG that I could find; ended up going with the HG Barbatos Lupus. It turned out great, but it was still just practice before going on to the RG RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu- I've just started working on that one.
True patience is a key factor to build ur gunpla neatly and better since i built many gundams my house and i have backlog too since i coztumise the other ones like hg rx 78 2 beyond global
Just built my first kit tonight for the first time since last year January. I found myself being quite impatient and that led to a less than great result, so great timing with the video. I've been building for years before my break and this is just the type of video I need to get back into my flow.
Sometimes the problem that I faced in Gunpla Building are: -Parts always slip in my hands that cause to fall down and break pieces -Snapping together very hard that some sockets have crack and very loose connection -Whenever I paint, my hand always shake and paneling straight lines are very hard -Last thing is my artistic sense, (right color combination, sanding/filing too much - as Zack says simple is better, but in my head I don't want to be mediocre). But I'll try to improve even it take years, since this is a hobby that I enjoy.
The flying piece is the worst. Best advice for that is to have a clean work space(so it’s easy to find if it falls) and cut in a tray or box to avoid losing pieces that go flying with a snip
Me : - cutting my own hand fingers☝ - make a scratch on part (is now rare cause experiences)✌ - bad sense of colour 3️⃣ - splash my own blood on part cause the mistake number 1 4⃣ - scratch too much when sanding 5⃣
Speaking of losing small parts and inflicting injuries. Last month I'm working on this figure rise standard kit and it fell under my table. I tried to quickly find it in the carpet but problem the part is black and very small. Also didn't notice my hobby knife fell off the table and stab my feet (I'm wearing these soft indoor slippers and it pierce through it). Lesson learned, always tidy your table and make sure every thing is organized and always have first aid kit supply besides your working station while doing model kit.
Loose parts are also the worst. One of my kits has a peice of runner for a faceplate becuase that stupid thing just flew and by the time I found it to glue it fell again and into the void it went.
Sup, new builder here! I just finished my second gunpla model after throwing myself into an hg banshee norn 02. I have just completely my RG banshee as my second model and I have to say, this video did not do a noob like me justice… I feel like first off, stuff life panel lining, concreting, and overall painting is important to make ur gunpla look the best, but for a beginner, the biggest thing I took away from two very hard beginner builds is the process of cutting off the plastic from the runners, and then cleaning them up as if in an automated fashion. For example, I would complete the torso, have all the pieces cut out and sanded, and then put it together. This saves a lot of time and actually help you not cut yourself as often since there won’t be a pressure different from when u push pieces together in relation to when you’re cutting away at thicker nubs with your hobby knife
I'm glad 3rd party kits exist. You can easily get some $5-6 1/144 kits for practicing your customizing skills. And their poor build quality can just act as a good learning experience as well. I kinda wanna make my own personalised mobile suit design by mixing and matching all of their parts together. One day
Acrylic paint being “weaker” than enamel and lacquer paint does not mean acrylic paint can be rubbed away with with acrylic or enamel thinner after it dries
Like everything, it's using the right paint for the job. Vallejo makes an acrylic line specifically for mecha painting that is more durable and has a better bonder than the other lines which are specifically for mini wargaming and model kits.
@@Dstinct More specifically, the Mecha line bonds better to plastic compared to their Model and Game lines. Model Color on primer should be on par or better than Mecha Color on bare plastic.
About panel lining on bare plastic, I always suggest those pour type gundam markers, they're super easy to use, you can clean up using Isopropyl alcohol and it's safe for bare plastic and they're as cheap as those fine tip regular gundam markers for panel lining, with a much better result that end up pretty similar to Accent Color
The third kit I built was the Psycho Zaku Ver Ka. I immediately not only finished it in three whole days and killed the decals but also decided that it looked crappy with the stand on and thought that it would be a good idea to leave it in the top shelf. Surprise surprise, it fell and broke almost all the way, parts all over the floor even my mat that was far away. And now 5 years later since it's literally expensive and illusive in USA stores am waiting in Amazon lol
one of the biggest common mistake for me is "you forgot to put the polycap/that part inside that part".... I've already built more than 20 kits and this common mistake always ALWAYS happens LMAO
Or you use that slightly wrong peice and then have to get it apart enough to replace it. You see a gun handle so you put on a gun; then you realize it’s upside down or it’s the wrong handle for that gun.
I got into it this year and mistakes I made: #1 - I bought a bunch of kits up front right away, thinking they were easy. It isn't. Each kit takes a long time and I have periods in my life where I don't have time for hobbies. Long story short, I have enough kits to last until the next ice age. #2 - Pay close attention to the instruction pictures. I would get frustrated trying to jam parts together but you really have to focus on those pics, hold the piece how it is shown in the picture and look at it from the angle shown and it will start to make sense. #3 - When you stop building, make a note in the directions where you stopped. Because you never know if you're going to pick it up tomorrow or life might intervene and you don't pick it up again for 6 months. So leave a note so you don't have to spend an hour figuring out where you left off. #4 - I bought a lot of paints and superfluous tools. I don't really get why people paint their gundams. The paint that they come with seems fine to me. OK I sort of get it. If you're an artist, you can use paint to add all kinds of cool details, weathering, battle damage etc. I might try that someday but for now I'm fine to just put them together. Thus I'm stuck with a lot of unneeded paint. #5 - Oh, and good a good imagination. I screwed up my second kit so bad but I kept it anyway. I just pretend that all the messed up arms, legs, parts were the result of a battle gone awry and this poor gundam is a survivor who went through some shit.
I actually think with "less is more" that there's a deeper root issue. I describe it as "intention over application." I think this much better explains why builds with more weathering look worse from beginners as what I've found is that people are weathering without thinking about how or why the weathering is being applied there; no reasoning or intention of what they want the kit to look like. One of the results of "less is more" that I've sometimes seen anecdotally is the idea that there's an arbitrary threshold of weathering that now is bad looking, regardless of how skillful it was done. More importantly, I've found in gunpla and MaK circles that asking people how the weathering happened leads to them both restraining themselves naturally as they sit and think more, but also making way more interesting ideas come to life and looking like it really happened on our tiny giant robots. :D
There is glass files available. Great for big and small fingers. One thing I do when I build. BREATH CONTROL. With stiff connection try oil for models if you can find any. RC shops should/might have available. STAY AWAY FROM ANY SUGARS OR CAFFEINE cuts down on THE SHAKES.
As someone who prefers straight-assembled gunpla kits, I've never had a problem with panel lining on bare plastic. Maybe it's because I only use panel liner gundam markers and a mechanical pencil. I'm not really familiar with how the tamiya panel line accent interacts with bare plastic though... I think it depends on which panel liner a builder uses.
I've done 15+ kits from different manufacturers using gundam panel-lining markers, and not one of them suffered plastic damage. I do have it on very good authority though that enamel-based liners such as Tamiya's Accent Color should not be used on bare plastic (their website says the same). Presumably the "oil-based" Gundam markers (looking at the marker I was just using for a 30mm kit) are a different formulation from the enamels used in Tamiya liner. On the other hand, I just took another look at the Gundam marker and it has a little warning that says "may cause cracking when used on ABS plastic". Something to remember the next time I'm doing a Kotobukiya kit, since those guys use tons of ABS...
@@notatallheng Made this mistake on my first build. Used Tamiya Accent Color on bare plastic on my Ver Ka RX-78-2. Some people say it's fine but my beautiful boy's face, hand, and a leg facet have all snapped and the more I manhandle the model it's just a matter of time before it's all broken apart. Top coat ordered for next time, live and learn!
You are right about using straight black. I painted the chest section of my 30mm contest entry and it just didnt look right. So i changed it. I am still new to painting but i have snapped up a good bit of kits. I am always learning new things everyday. Thats why i love this hobby
Here's a little trick you can use to cover up white stress marks: Dab a bit of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement (quick setting will work better), let it dry for like a minute, and the white spot will be significantly reduced (it will never go away completely without painting, but this is almost as good imo). Another trick (not sure about this one, but I saw it from my nipper's manual): If you have a single-bladded nipper, have the sharp edge face the sloped/diagonal part of the gate if there is one. Dunno if it makes a difference, but worth trying out.
Out of laziness due to how much I hated (and I still do) to deal with nubs, I hardly ever sanded and 99% of the times sliced them off with a hobby knife. As a result, I was prone to accidentally shave off part of the plastic. I was prone to not mind it much, but now that near all of my old OOB builds are in a "part-yard" to be used for proper customs, I wish I fixed them properly right away. The time I've "saved" dealing with the nubs this way, wasn't saved but delayed later in fixing those surface imperfections with putty.
as far as proceeding too quickly too fast is concerned you dont have all the tools right off the bat. get your tools as you experiment and by the time you have all the tools to custom build or kitbash you should have tinkered with nubmark removal, seamline removal, etc
I still have a 1/144 Taurus from years back. Jumped from building to gluing to painting to gloss-coat spray. Where to start? Missed mold lines and seam lines cuz I didn't prime. Also glued parts after putting the polycap on wrong. Mixed paints of different types to get the desired tone. Sprayed on clear coat until the paint crusted. Older-Me would've had a field day.
1st official gundam build last night hg sword impulse gundam took me a while like all night I won’t fully explain this that but I totally understood what you were saying especially about patience When you mentioned double edge sword I had to listen I broke the double edge sword on my sword impulse gundam I put the same sword piece one the same piece snapped the sword off #damn I as well snapped the part that connects the back pack in half so I had to carefully place the nob in the broken half while trying to snap the pieces together . I put some pieces on the legs backwards as well as one of the shoulders are back words I said to my self that looks unique . So I had to undo parts I messed up on the stickers placement Overall I had fun while doing my thing coming From G Me This something to do I’m pretty sure I created this just a lost project I don’t need those 60$ nippers when I got own personal hands . The knowledge of information is very useful yall content creators take this serious as much as yalls videos . Have to paint as well I can tottaly see without the paint how much amazing it would look when I fully paint this . Most definitely is an expensive hobby once getting all going figured out it’s not just about get a box n nippers Actually takes time of consideration not just purchase all are view point orientated I personally don’t have that much experience Should be fun .
Surprised not thinning your paint wasn't something that was brought up. Probably the noobest thing I did back in the day that I learned real quick haha
Im new to gunpla, but not new to model building. I just built my first three kits this last week. Other than the stickers and learning to pose I think they turned out pretty great!! Bought another rx78 to give the painting a go!
my goodness, I've seen a whole lot of people with very poseable kits but they'd just put it in an awkward pose and actually showcase them online, it's pretty funny. yes, referencing poses either from the boxart, still frames from the anime or even irl poses is a great idea to familiarize yourself with posing your models, I think a lot more builders should do that. nice shirt btw
As a beginner, my move to practice techniques has been to focus on grunt models, which are usually cheaper and since they're meant to be more mass-produced, errors aren't as painful because you can just chalk it up to them having that rougher look from the assembly line.
I’ll be honest. The whole don’t rush things is big. The build is the enjoyment. I will say that this is a hobby you can total enjoy without a lot of painting. Learn to panel line and do a little touch up with a Gundam marker and you will have some great kits. Also, the whole panel lining on bare plastic weakening plastic is a silly myth. Panel liners are just a paint(ink really but not much different). If panel lining weakened plastic then fully painting a model would do the same thing. The reason panel lining on raw plastic may not be great is raw plastic doesn’t have a good base coat for ink or paint to stick to. A primer coat helps a lot. But to be honest, panel lining isn’t about getting solid colors and distinct lines anyways. You want it to fade mostly after you apply. It’s just shading enhancement. So not adhering great may be seen as an advantage.
Tamiya Panel Liner on my RG Force Impulse. I probably used excessive panel liner or too much X20 thinner, but the white antenna, front curved blue chest piece and backend wing section cracked on with just the slightest touch. I'd practice caution, still. I am now experimenting in assembling > decal application > top coating > panel lining > panel lineing cleanup > final top coat on my HG Beyond Global. If I see no parts cracking or plastic brittling, then this will be the way to go for me. Speaking from personal experience, it can happen. Either due to too much panel liner or too much thinner for too long of a time.
Beware don't use gundam marker, tamiya panel liner or any alcohol based type paint on ABS it will most definitely crack. Polystyrene PS plastic is pretty good doesn't have same weakness as ABS plastic. ABS should top coated first before paint. Oil based gundam marker is fine.
Tamiya panel liner contains enamel. Although bandai makes a lot of awesome kits it doesn't escape the fact that there are weakness in the plastic not visible to the naked eye. Putting a small dab of liner on one end of a panel line is normally fine. However if you put too much the tamiya can cause the plastic to break. So be mindful of how much you are applying. It helps to top coat your kit with a gloss coat. That will protect the model if you want to be safe.
In my case i've only used Tamiya panel line accent on two kits so far and haven't had a problem. I do the clean up with lighter fluid instead of enamel thinner. From what i've heard it's the thinner that often causes the cracks. That and also using too much. You can probably be more liberal with the stuff if you top coat first.
posing is the thing that made me interested to the hobby in he first place, so i tried some gunpla. and had fun posing and getting the good angles and satisfaction. I just love this hobby.
this could help too. I believe an estimate of time spend on a kit could help, for example: this SD will take 1 hour to build and this HG like 10 hours. Yes I know it is hard because there are many factors like the runners, the plastic, the level of the builders and so on but people usually are very busy and need to make schedules, so picking something that can use on his or her personal spare time can make his or her life a little better. Also taking breaks. I know long projects usually are a pain and people focus too much on finishing something that leave aside some elements that in the end will determinate how the kit will look. So if you are tired of arming, cleaning and painting all the gatling gun from the MGEX Unicorn ver. Ka. I think you better take a break and come back once you wanted to continue. This is only my thoughts
Secrets in building gunpla kits is patience, right tools, and knowledge to avoid mistakes, man it's like an engineers job lol my dad is engineer btw🤣🇵🇭
Same thoughts hahaa i remember when i was a kid mag tagalog na nga ako hahaha nung wla pa masyado ako alam sa gundam nag built ako 1st gundam yung 00 seravee manu manu lng sayang lng sira na dahil impatient ako nun and dabi numb marks nung binalikan ko after 13 year i learn from mistakes so need talaga correct tools para mag build ng gundam kahit ngayon still learning now im learning how to use spray paint or airbrush
Zup Zack, I consider myself a beginner, even though I built and painted several kits, but due to my job and family life, I take longer than usual to finish a project. I have learn the hard way about missing parts, face mask of my MG Exia gone, or putting decals on a matt finish. Thanks for the video bro😎👍🏼
with only 4 hg kits into the hobby I can confidently say that I'm a noob in so many levels, I've been using one kit as a test bed for the techniques i've been picking online and from other people, I've practiced panel lining, scribing, weathering and sanding/buffing. Learned alot, I wanna dive deeper in this hobby but as of now, gotta control myself and enjoy it slowly
I'm in the "casuals" bracket. I started Gunpla a* long time ago but I never really bothered on doing a fullblown custom gunpla.. I paint and modify some parts here and there but that's about it... I can relate to the PATIENCE part.. When I started painting, I didn't have the patience. For example, instead of testing the paint first i.e. painting a spare sprue or plastic, I painted the kit right away which ended in a bad result forcing me to start all over.. Back then, I also did not wait for the CURE time because I thought that the Dry time and CURE time were the same.. Turns out, CURE time takes much longer (some even hours or days depending on the paint) than Dry time (usually 5-10 minutes or up to an hour). Cure time is critical specially on chrome paints (my molotow takes 24 hours to cure as written in the direction).. Lesson, be patient and READ the directions carefully even if you've seen the paint in action on youtube...
For my i prefer lacquer paint if u paint since it takes only 1 to 2 hours for curing one of my gunpla coztumise have better outcome after finished it in a week
@@paolocasilag5942 Oh I see, 1 to 2 hours only? That's fast, nice! I used a variety of paints ever since I started.. I'm currently using the GW Citadel (acrylic) paints because I got into Warhammer 40K last year (they are miniature kits).. Sometimes I cheat by using hair dryer haha!
@@BGLoscar lol sanaol, sadley i dont have dryer hahaha i got buy my time waiting that dry after i built another one while waiting and it paid off but good thing is i layer many lacquer paint on the colored ones not included white to make glossy and became better and by on my research and tip it can melt abs unless ITS PC it cannot unless use that one layer or use primer to paint on abs ones
@@paolocasilag5942 I'm always confused in that part about Lacquer on ABS vs Lacquer on PC.. Like how do I even tell the type of plastic? Is it indicated on the sprue/ runner? I've tried lacquer on some kits and so far I haven't had issues.
Panel lining white, use gray. Panel lining yellow, use brown. Panel lining red, use a darker red closer to burgundy. Blue, use a darker blue. Same with purple. I wouldn't use metallic colors unless you're doing battle damage like deep gouging in the armor or if you're adding it to weapons for a bit more realism or touch-ups on the plated parts like in RG Exia on the swords.
You can use Gundam markers on the Gundam. You will need to use a sealer however! I recommend either Mr. Hobby semi gloss or you can also use Mod Podge, however with Mod Podge you will see brush strokes.
Broke some parts of my HG Strike Freedom (5th build). Maybe I need a new pair of hobby cutters. The one I'm using is a rusty plier from my dad's toolbox. And I build a few HG already including Xi.
Mistakes I've done and still doing it sometimes, 1. removing nubs, try to feel it and confident it aint there, and then spray primer and saw it, but choose to ignore it. 2. painting dark colour first then masking the area that wanna stay dark, reprime and paint lighter colour. 3. painting a light colour using gray primer and then feels weird why its so dark. 4. getting so many imagination of a kitbash but always end up with an unfinished project. 5. posing on ur eyes is not the same with what came out on ur camera, been there, done that, some weird poses in your eyes would look great in ur photo. 6. always pointing the sharp edge of hobby knife towards myself although i know its wrong. 7. always lazy to properly clean my airbrush and then angry when it cant spray properly when using it the next day. 8. im bad with paint brush, but i always try to paint small detail with it without masking, ended up with spilling it and had to fix or sometimes repaint the whole part. 9. always paint the joint part and then blame the kit that its joint is brittle.
Just built my first gunpla, Im a long time modeler and miniature painter. I built an MG Victory 2 2.0, the build took me 4 sessions over 4 days, ordered panel pens, waiting on them then Ill do water slides. Im enjoying the hobby so far, Im glad im not a rank noob though, the kit has tested my skills. Sub'd
I personally would love a video with a more in depth discussion on each of these topics including examples. I got into gunpla very recently and it was after watching Potan creates building the rx-78-2 unleashed and seeing the additional steps taken that are completely optional and investment heavy with both time and money in the long run. Seeing the final product was so awesome because of the time and care put into that model! Of course after lengthy research I made the choice of starting with the RG Gundam MK-ll for both the RG challenge, but still a satisfying end product!
Bro, great tips. The last time I built a kit was an MG Zaku 2 in 1999. But with your tips I been able to build an MG Gouf and Char's Zaku 2 custom. Messed up the decal on my Gouf (built 1st) but did really good on Char' Zaku.
The only problem I've encountered with Gundam models, of which I've only built two to be honest, is opening the box and being overwhelmed by the sheer number of parts, but once I've taken the plunge they have been the most enjoyable models I have ever built apart from the two Shinkalion models which are way cooler and got me into Gundam in the first place!
I would burn actual burn marks into the kit, and I would heat up a nail and stick it into the plastic to mimic a blaster hit. Oh and I would mess up painting poly caps or certain types of softer plastic and use paint thinner to get it off only to melt the plastic 😓
Right now the most "customizing" I want to do is a minor kit bash with the Banshee Ver. Ka and Unicorn Ver. Ka to make a Black Unicorn, since Banshee comes with the Unicorn V-fin and I want the red psycho frame parts.
I am about 30 kits in and still learning. Saw this video about 3 days too late! My poor RX78 Origin kit head paid the ultimate price for me learning that panel liner can weaken plastic. Apparently it was pooling under and I didn't notice it.
What panel liner are you using? Safest bet is just use the simple fine tip/real touch Gundam Marker or pour type gundam marker. Enamel paints especially from Tamiya are notorious for gunpla cracking. Safest bet if need to use this type of panel liner is to 1. Apply gloss coat before applying the liner(creates a layer of protection between liner paint and plastic) 2. Do the lining and drying before assembly, avoiding excess paint seeping between crack/seams.
I have fine tip, real touch, pour type and panel line accent. The first 3 are fine but the last one, you need to really thin the amount on the brush before applying on bare plastic to reduce the chance of pooling. I also recommend having a tissue ready to wipe off any pooling immediately.
Hi I got a question regarding the seamline removal. Is it normal that the connected pieces isn't alined or equally flat (I side is often higher than the other)
I had one of these.I spray painted it all black, coated it in sugar and salt and buried it in my yard… two weeks later dug it up and stuck it in a big wasp nest. They made their home around his eyes… ten days later I pulled him out of the wasp nest, tied a string around his leg and swung him around my head very vigorously…the figure was making a humming noise as it cut circles in the air. But then the string broke at its weakest point and the figure went flying into the woods where it will rest for another seven days before I go get it again.
All model kits need patience I remember when i was primary school i always impatient when build tank kits, im always skip some parts for fast build lol 😂
Great video. I've only built a few kits but learning advanced skills from airbrushing to plaplate enhancement to SMD installation has taken a lot of R&D. And I mean countless hours of RUclips and just as much in practicing before committing to a final project. Even as a lifelong artist, if it wasn't for channels like this, Child of Mecha, Model Making Guru, etc, I never would have seen the results I have in just a few builds.
i'm kinda a "freak" maybe... because i don't paint my models ( just little painting on some spots), i like the toyish looking on them after finish building, im surely not considered a builder at all because that... anyway i love to pose them, i even think about the pose when im buying the kit ♥
Painting bright colors over dark can be tricky if you're just filling in missing color apps, I ran into this conundrum with the HGUC Zeta with the red on the backpack, it would require so much prep work JUST to make the red (since the parts are pure black) that one might as well just paint the entire part.
I have the kit, it's pretty easy to paint actually. If you painting the whole kit, prime it white and then paint the red, mask the red parts then paint the entire thing black. If you not painting the entire thing, mask off all the black, paint it white>red. The real annoying part is masking....
Posing is an under-rated shortcoming. Some good references are imitating action or badass scenes from anime. Love the parting shots, I miss Osaka, I miss Japan.
I think it's a rite of passage to overweather a kit. It's a great way to learn from mistakes. Finding that sweet spot is hard and it may take a few tries it get the right balance.
If you're doing metal photo etching, try very hard not to get any glue on the metal. It basically stains it, and you'll never get it off except by sanding, which will scratch up the surface like mad, so be prepared to deal with that.
Patience is the thing that i need the most, i always try to rush my build, for example a few days ago i was building an sd kit and i accidentally ripped the eye sticker.
A mistake I made on my first Master Grade, VERY thoroughly check your runners before throwing them out. I tossed one for my Master Gundam and now I can't finish its wings. and BlueFin was no help and Bandai only sells parts within Japan, and MechaPartsGuy unfortunately closed up shop. I may end up donating this one and purchasing another.
thats really weird about panel lining on bare plastic. It's never happened to me; I've never even heard of panel lining causing part breakage until now. Is it due to the plastic reacting to the chemicals in the gundam marker paint?
Before I started to advance to detailing up (adding styrene plates, kit bashing) I followed a few Gunpla modellers, years ago I started with Keita (Wonder Excellence). Wealth of knowledge and tips and skills. Another to follow is Schizophonics who show off his works in progress and sometimes the tools he uses. I learnt a lot with reading peoples blogs. Or general youtubing, such as Pico's Modelling, Ray's Studio.
I use Tamiya enamel panel line on the bare plastic. If I'm not suppose to do that then what step am I suppose to do first? I don't paint btw or airbrush my kits.
If you want it to be fully protected just buy some gloss clear coat. Tamiya TS-13, Mr Super Clear Gloss, or other brand Clear Gloss Coat. I use Mr Super Clear Gloss my self and its always given me a good result. It'll protect against the enamel and also help it to flow smoother, longer distances along the panel lines!
I've made a couple of mistakes for arms and legs make sure to triple check the parts are facing the right way (I accidentally made 2 right front legs for amplified metalgarurumon. I got so used to putting the legs together that I thought I'd memorized the positions but was mistaken)
made PLENTY of them! I usually rebuild old HG SEED kits to modernise them and started 10 years ago, and I still consider myself not an expert. Even my most recent HGCE Duel messed up the pre-shading (I only got an airbrush a few years ago and had no time to paint!)
"you need a lot of patience" Me with adhd: "welp, I don't have that but I do have hyperfocus! I once spent 4 hours straight lubing mechanical keyboard switches. Didn't take any break until they were all done lol" I've veen following this hobby for do long, I should really get around to buying and building at least one kit.
Under applying or unevenly applying cement to close up a seamline. You're left with a mostly closed part that now has what looks like a bunch of holes in it wah wah. Not the end of the world but certainly a pain.
my mistake .. watch out for undergates and if using a hobbyknife,zatoknife or box cutter just slowly slice the nub dont over sliced it or coat the whot thing in matt finishe so the snipping wont be a pain
Removing nub-marks has my brain conditioned to the point where whenever I see a nub on any plastic thing such as a LEGO piece I feel a little disgust and an urge to buff it out.
So I am sort of new to gunpla and have what is probably a dumb question. I haven’t watched the anime but like the idea of customising my models. What is the feeling around applying decals that are not anime accurate? Like how harsh are people going to be if I put at 06 on shoulder panels if the anime version of the gundam doesn’t have it, or if I put the wrong fraction logo on the wrong model?
Gunpla noob here. painting GW minis for 30 years. Taking a stab at Gunpla. Ordered Raser the black, infinity sanding sticks, G Paint starter, 1500 Mr surfacer, Raser+ glass thing and the Takumi Studio Sinanju upgrade for the MG Sinanju as my first kit. Am I crazy? Kit comes in a few weeks from Japan.
The tip about black colours also applies to formal suits. Black suits look ugly, and actually give a slight green tint. Better off going with dark navy or charcoal grey. Apparently ‘midnight blue’ can look blacker than black suits
It's like anything that you do the more you do it the better you'll eventually get at it I Don't have a airbrush but I've always wanted to airbrush a kit but airbrushes are expensive I've used spray paint and got some nice results but nothing like a airbrush can produce Yes and another common mistake is cutting off a piece of a part that we're not supposed to I think everybody in the world's done that at least once lol or even broken a piece by accident I've had pieces break when I cut them out of the runner due to stress it doesn't happen a lot but from time to time it does happen
"You can't rush art" -That old guy from toy story 2 that fixed woody
I love to put 60 decals on one piece for that true katoki look
There can’t be any sticker outlines of the entire part is covered in them
All you need to change it to Ver:Ka is
1. 10x "No Step" decal
2. 10 x "Caution" decal
3. 10 x "EFSF@Zeon" decal
4. 10 x "Danger" decal
5. 10 x "Hot" decal
6. 10 x racing stripes with chrome paint
Apply anywhere as desired.
@@First-Name_Last-Name and then you scale it by x2 per scale
@@First-Name_Last-Name lmao
Nice shirt ZakuA!
Patience is definitely a huge one. If you are sitting there building the kit, and find yourself already thinking about the next step before you finish the current one; stop, and take a break. Be in the moment, and enjoy the build at every step. I built maybe 6-7 kits (got back into gunpla 4/22) before I realized I was doing that. Now I make sure to step away, and let it simmer for a bit before diving back in. Has helped tremendously in eliminating imperfections.
Great advice
Mistake no.1=>Spend 2000 usd in just 4 month
Lmao
Yup! I love building MGs and RGs. I have dumped a lot of money into Gunpla myself.
Ive built quite a few kits by now and still dont feel comfortable making a custom gundam yet, however i gotta say the 30 minute mission kits are quite easy to mix and match; find enough kits the same color and you dont have to paint either.
I know how you feel brother
When it comes to customs you just gotta jump in on a simple repaint and go from there. That’s how I started and now I’ve got some custom parts, a few kitbashes, etc.
@@rhaeasoul8531 same ate 1st i didnt like after i finished one kit customize like my rg crossbone gundam manga colored i enjoyed it
The trick is to experiment on cheap kits that you don't care about. Grab some no grade wing/g-gundam kits from the 90s and experiment with the hobby saw, dremel, clippers, sanding etc. That goes for learning to paint too.
Edit: You might even find some broken kits in thrift store toy bags. I've certainly seen some.
@@frigginresulrum yep. I built a graveyard diorama using an old no grade and an iBo hg as MS remains.
POSING! Yes! No point in expecting Bandai to make kits with great articulation if one is not going to take advantage of it! The derpiness from bad posing also just detracts from the whole experience as well. It's as much a building as a viewing experience.
And even if you're not one who likes to make dynamic crazy poses there's still making a really powerful, cool looking stand or crouch pose to keep it in that'll be impressive.
yeah, a lot of builders esp on reddit or insta, and sometimes reviewers puts the kits standing in a very derpy way. it takes away the awesomeness of the kits. u just need to spread the legs a little, twist the thighs outwards abt 15 degrees, put the chest forward, slightly bend the elbows, and head pointing down, and voila! cool standing pose
@@razrafz So, the basic standing pose you always see when buying a kit online?
@@elijahbruno2814 well yeah, but it works. but thats just one example
i did a killer queen pose for my god gundam
I've build like almost 80 kits since I re-started in 2014 (Gunpla, Zoids, Tamiya mini 4WD etc.). I have gained a lot of experience and tips from friends. One thing that I still want to try is scratch building. I've watched SO MANY videos about it and I just can't bring myself to start doing it.
I'm just sharing lol its like 11pm here and I'm VERY sleepy.
I've done a few scratch builds and they are time intensive as hell, so don't be to ashamed about not starting it because it demands serious commitment. Hell, Zak here had to stop his Trash to Treasure series because of how intensive that project got.
Try the rg evas they are nothing short of awsome
Think of it like you were using construction paper as a kid doing arts and crafts just with pla plates instead. Choosing the thickness, drawing out your shapes, and cutting them out and gluing them together. Then sanding or filling or both, and then painting. Just like the construction paper it takes time, patients, and the correct tools but you can do it if you try. I would recommend something easy to start with and then work your way out to other more difficult designs. Happy building.
After all these years I still consider myself a beginner. I prefer straight building and make the panel lines with a mechanical pencil (they look pretty good actually).
The only kit I ever fully painted was an NG Mercurius that I found at a second hand shop. Someone just ripped all the pieces of the runners, tried to build without looking at the instructions, and just threw the half built poor thing back in the box with the rest of the pieces. Plus I hated the bright red. He looks much better now (to my eyes at least).
I might try panel with your technique just to see it
I just tried it, it's not half bad
There are two big tips if you want to panel line without painting. First, use acrylic paints, acrylic thinner will not damage the plastic the way enamel thinners can. Second, if you really want to use something like Tamiya panel liner, use lighter fluid instead of enamel thinner, it will remove the excess paint without damaging the plastic.
Or denatured alcohol
Thanks for the tips!
Great video! I would add: don't try techniques for the first time on expensive kits! Like try weathering a cheap HG kit first rather than a $400 PG; you will have more fun, seriously! Also, be sure to buy lots of kits and always have a massive backlog in case Bandai decides to stop producing kits and only poops out P-Bandai for 6 months or so.
yup I bought a handful of $10 HG rx-78-2 kits for this very reason lol
I do the same with Zeon kits. I don't like Zeon, so I don't feel bad messing them up potentially.
My Warhammer Pile of Shame is looking digustingly at my completed gunplas on the shelves.
I just did my first panel line, got the cheapest HG that I could find; ended up going with the HG Barbatos Lupus. It turned out great, but it was still just practice before going on to the RG RX-93-v2 Hi-Nu- I've just started working on that one.
EG kits exist for a reason.
(nah seriously, grab one, you won't care about it, but you can do what ever you want to it with out worry.)
Patience is key. I’ve just recently started painting my kits using an airbrush and you CANNOT rush it.
True patience is a key factor to build ur gunpla neatly and better since i built many gundams my house and i have backlog too since i coztumise the other ones like hg rx 78 2 beyond global
Just built my first kit tonight for the first time since last year January. I found myself being quite impatient and that led to a less than great result, so great timing with the video. I've been building for years before my break and this is just the type of video I need to get back into my flow.
Sometimes the problem that I faced in Gunpla Building are:
-Parts always slip in my hands that cause to fall down and break pieces
-Snapping together very hard that some sockets have crack and very loose connection
-Whenever I paint, my hand always shake and paneling straight lines are very hard
-Last thing is my artistic sense, (right color combination, sanding/filing too much - as Zack says simple is better, but in my head I don't want to be mediocre).
But I'll try to improve even it take years, since this is a hobby that I enjoy.
The flying piece is the worst. Best advice for that is to have a clean work space(so it’s easy to find if it falls) and cut in a tray or box to avoid losing pieces that go flying with a snip
Me :
- cutting my own hand fingers☝
- make a scratch on part (is now rare cause experiences)✌
- bad sense of colour 3️⃣
- splash my own blood on part cause the mistake number 1 4⃣
- scratch too much when sanding 5⃣
Speaking of losing small parts and inflicting injuries. Last month I'm working on this figure rise standard kit and it fell under my table.
I tried to quickly find it in the carpet but problem the part is black and very small. Also didn't notice my hobby knife fell off the table and stab my feet (I'm wearing these soft indoor slippers and it pierce through it).
Lesson learned, always tidy your table and make sure every thing is organized and always have first aid kit supply besides your working station while doing model kit.
@@losergamer7282 yeah I know that feeling [= =]
Loose parts are also the worst. One of my kits has a peice of runner for a faceplate becuase that stupid thing just flew and by the time I found it to glue it fell again and into the void it went.
Sup, new builder here! I just finished my second gunpla model after throwing myself into an hg banshee norn 02. I have just completely my RG banshee as my second model and I have to say, this video did not do a noob like me justice… I feel like first off, stuff life panel lining, concreting, and overall painting is important to make ur gunpla look the best, but for a beginner, the biggest thing I took away from two very hard beginner builds is the process of cutting off the plastic from the runners, and then cleaning them up as if in an automated fashion. For example, I would complete the torso, have all the pieces cut out and sanded, and then put it together. This saves a lot of time and actually help you not cut yourself as often since there won’t be a pressure different from when u push pieces together in relation to when you’re cutting away at thicker nubs with your hobby knife
Hello from the Philippines!! Gunpla All day philippines!
I'm glad 3rd party kits exist. You can easily get some $5-6 1/144 kits for practicing your customizing skills. And their poor build quality can just act as a good learning experience as well. I kinda wanna make my own personalised mobile suit design by mixing and matching all of their parts together. One day
Acrylic paint being “weaker” than enamel and lacquer paint does not mean acrylic paint can be rubbed away with with acrylic or enamel thinner after it dries
yup, just look at military models, their builders have been using acrylic paints as main colors and enamel as weathering effects for years.
Like everything, it's using the right paint for the job. Vallejo makes an acrylic line specifically for mecha painting that is more durable and has a better bonder than the other lines which are specifically for mini wargaming and model kits.
@@Dstinct More specifically, the Mecha line bonds better to plastic compared to their Model and Game lines. Model Color on primer should be on par or better than Mecha Color on bare plastic.
So what do you use for removing acrylic?
About panel lining on bare plastic, I always suggest those pour type gundam markers, they're super easy to use, you can clean up using Isopropyl alcohol and it's safe for bare plastic and they're as cheap as those fine tip regular gundam markers for panel lining, with a much better result that end up pretty similar to Accent Color
The third kit I built was the Psycho Zaku Ver Ka. I immediately not only finished it in three whole days and killed the decals but also decided that it looked crappy with the stand on and thought that it would be a good idea to leave it in the top shelf. Surprise surprise, it fell and broke almost all the way, parts all over the floor even my mat that was far away. And now 5 years later since it's literally expensive and illusive in USA stores am waiting in Amazon lol
Patience, and calmness are the keys build a Gunpla.
one of the biggest common mistake for me is "you forgot to put the polycap/that part inside that part".... I've already built more than 20 kits and this common mistake always ALWAYS happens LMAO
Or you use that slightly wrong peice and then have to get it apart enough to replace it. You see a gun handle so you put on a gun; then you realize it’s upside down or it’s the wrong handle for that gun.
Some good tips. I do sometimes paint on the runner, especially gundam inner frame pieces. Usually works out well.
I got into it this year and mistakes I made:
#1 - I bought a bunch of kits up front right away, thinking they were easy. It isn't. Each kit takes a long time and I have periods in my life where I don't have time for hobbies. Long story short, I have enough kits to last until the next ice age.
#2 - Pay close attention to the instruction pictures. I would get frustrated trying to jam parts together but you really have to focus on those pics, hold the piece how it is shown in the picture and look at it from the angle shown and it will start to make sense.
#3 - When you stop building, make a note in the directions where you stopped. Because you never know if you're going to pick it up tomorrow or life might intervene and you don't pick it up again for 6 months. So leave a note so you don't have to spend an hour figuring out where you left off.
#4 - I bought a lot of paints and superfluous tools. I don't really get why people paint their gundams. The paint that they come with seems fine to me. OK I sort of get it. If you're an artist, you can use paint to add all kinds of cool details, weathering, battle damage etc. I might try that someday but for now I'm fine to just put them together. Thus I'm stuck with a lot of unneeded paint.
#5 - Oh, and good a good imagination. I screwed up my second kit so bad but I kept it anyway. I just pretend that all the messed up arms, legs, parts were the result of a battle gone awry and this poor gundam is a survivor who went through some shit.
I actually think with "less is more" that there's a deeper root issue. I describe it as "intention over application." I think this much better explains why builds with more weathering look worse from beginners as what I've found is that people are weathering without thinking about how or why the weathering is being applied there; no reasoning or intention of what they want the kit to look like. One of the results of "less is more" that I've sometimes seen anecdotally is the idea that there's an arbitrary threshold of weathering that now is bad looking, regardless of how skillful it was done. More importantly, I've found in gunpla and MaK circles that asking people how the weathering happened leads to them both restraining themselves naturally as they sit and think more, but also making way more interesting ideas come to life and looking like it really happened on our tiny giant robots. :D
There is glass files available. Great for big and small fingers. One thing I do when I build. BREATH CONTROL. With stiff connection try oil for models if you can find any. RC shops should/might have available. STAY AWAY FROM ANY SUGARS OR CAFFEINE cuts down on THE SHAKES.
As someone who prefers straight-assembled gunpla kits, I've never had a problem with panel lining on bare plastic. Maybe it's because I only use panel liner gundam markers and a mechanical pencil. I'm not really familiar with how the tamiya panel line accent interacts with bare plastic though... I think it depends on which panel liner a builder uses.
I've done 15+ kits from different manufacturers using gundam panel-lining markers, and not one of them suffered plastic damage. I do have it on very good authority though that enamel-based liners such as Tamiya's Accent Color should not be used on bare plastic (their website says the same). Presumably the "oil-based" Gundam markers (looking at the marker I was just using for a 30mm kit) are a different formulation from the enamels used in Tamiya liner.
On the other hand, I just took another look at the Gundam marker and it has a little warning that says "may cause cracking when used on ABS plastic". Something to remember the next time I'm doing a Kotobukiya kit, since those guys use tons of ABS...
@@notatallheng Made this mistake on my first build. Used Tamiya Accent Color on bare plastic on my Ver Ka RX-78-2. Some people say it's fine but my beautiful boy's face, hand, and a leg facet have all snapped and the more I manhandle the model it's just a matter of time before it's all broken apart. Top coat ordered for next time, live and learn!
You are right about using straight black. I painted the chest section of my 30mm contest entry and it just didnt look right. So i changed it. I am still new to painting but i have snapped up a good bit of kits. I am always learning new things everyday. Thats why i love this hobby
Black is for cool color like blue. Grey is for white parts and Brown is for warm color parts like red or orange or yellow.
Here's a little trick you can use to cover up white stress marks: Dab a bit of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement (quick setting will work better), let it dry for like a minute, and the white spot will be significantly reduced (it will never go away completely without painting, but this is almost as good imo).
Another trick (not sure about this one, but I saw it from my nipper's manual): If you have a single-bladded nipper, have the sharp edge face the sloped/diagonal part of the gate if there is one. Dunno if it makes a difference, but worth trying out.
id add two more things.
1: practice makes perfect
2:don't be afraid to make mistakes
Appart from that you nailed it
Out of laziness due to how much I hated (and I still do) to deal with nubs, I hardly ever sanded and 99% of the times sliced them off with a hobby knife.
As a result, I was prone to accidentally shave off part of the plastic. I was prone to not mind it much, but now that near all of my old OOB builds are in a "part-yard" to be used for proper customs, I wish I fixed them properly right away.
The time I've "saved" dealing with the nubs this way, wasn't saved but delayed later in fixing those surface imperfections with putty.
Everytime I accidentally do that or over sand I'm just like..welp..battle damage lol
Once, some embers from my cigarette fell on the chest cockpit and melted it.
Beam weapon damage it is.
Some of my older kits are still pretty spikey becuase all I did was cut the parts.
as far as proceeding too quickly too fast is concerned you dont have all the tools right off the bat. get your tools as you experiment and by the time you have all the tools to custom build or kitbash you should have tinkered with nubmark removal, seamline removal, etc
Its a reality check. Just good to pull my head out and compare. Take a little break even. So thanks for guiding my thoughts to evaluate!
I still have a 1/144 Taurus from years back. Jumped from building to gluing to painting to gloss-coat spray. Where to start? Missed mold lines and seam lines cuz I didn't prime. Also glued parts after putting the polycap on wrong. Mixed paints of different types to get the desired tone. Sprayed on clear coat until the paint crusted. Older-Me would've had a field day.
1st official gundam build last night hg sword impulse gundam
took me a while like all night I won’t fully explain this that but I totally understood what you were saying especially about patience
When you mentioned double edge sword I had to listen
I broke the double edge sword on my sword impulse gundam I put the same sword piece one the same piece snapped the sword off #damn
I as well snapped the part that connects the back pack in half so I had to carefully place the nob in the broken half while trying to snap the pieces together . I put some pieces on the legs backwards as well as one of the shoulders are back words I said to my self that looks unique .
So I had to undo parts I messed up on the stickers placement
Overall I had fun while doing my thing coming From G Me
This something to do I’m pretty sure I created this just a lost project I don’t need those 60$ nippers when I got own personal hands .
The knowledge of information is very useful yall content creators take this serious as much as yalls videos .
Have to paint as well I can tottaly see without the paint how much amazing it would look when I fully paint this .
Most definitely is an expensive hobby once getting all going figured out it’s not just about get a box n nippers
Actually takes time of consideration not just purchase all are view point orientated
I personally don’t have that much experience
Should be fun .
Surprised not thinning your paint wasn't something that was brought up. Probably the noobest thing I did back in the day that I learned real quick haha
That’s a good one too. Hopefully just goes along with “understand paint types” 👍
Im new to gunpla, but not new to model building. I just built my first three kits this last week. Other than the stickers and learning to pose I think they turned out pretty great!! Bought another rx78 to give the painting a go!
my goodness, I've seen a whole lot of people with very poseable kits but they'd just put it in an awkward pose and actually showcase them online, it's pretty funny. yes, referencing poses either from the boxart, still frames from the anime or even irl poses is a great idea to familiarize yourself with posing your models, I think a lot more builders should do that.
nice shirt btw
As a beginner, my move to practice techniques has been to focus on grunt models, which are usually cheaper and since they're meant to be more mass-produced, errors aren't as painful because you can just chalk it up to them having that rougher look from the assembly line.
I’ll be honest. The whole don’t rush things is big. The build is the enjoyment.
I will say that this is a hobby you can total enjoy without a lot of painting. Learn to panel line and do a little touch up with a Gundam marker and you will have some
great kits.
Also, the whole panel lining on bare plastic weakening plastic is a silly myth. Panel liners are just a paint(ink really but not much different). If panel lining weakened plastic then fully painting a model would do the same thing. The reason panel lining on raw plastic may not be great is raw plastic doesn’t have a good base coat for ink or paint to stick to. A primer coat helps a lot. But to be honest, panel lining isn’t about getting solid colors and distinct lines anyways. You want it to fade mostly after you apply. It’s just shading enhancement. So not adhering great may be seen as an advantage.
Tamiya Panel Liner on my RG Force Impulse. I probably used excessive panel liner or too much X20 thinner, but the white antenna, front curved blue chest piece and backend wing section cracked on with just the slightest touch.
I'd practice caution, still. I am now experimenting in assembling > decal application > top coating > panel lining > panel lineing cleanup > final top coat on my HG Beyond Global. If I see no parts cracking or plastic brittling, then this will be the way to go for me. Speaking from personal experience, it can happen. Either due to too much panel liner or too much thinner for too long of a time.
Beware don't use gundam marker, tamiya panel liner or any alcohol based type paint on ABS it will most definitely crack. Polystyrene PS plastic is pretty good doesn't have same weakness as ABS plastic. ABS should top coated first before paint. Oil based gundam marker is fine.
@@exia1407 Yep. Learned that the hard way 😬
Tamiya panel liner contains enamel. Although bandai makes a lot of awesome kits it doesn't escape the fact that there are weakness in the plastic not visible to the naked eye. Putting a small dab of liner on one end of a panel line is normally fine. However if you put too much the tamiya can cause the plastic to break. So be mindful of how much you are applying. It helps to top coat your kit with a gloss coat. That will protect the model if you want to be safe.
In my case i've only used Tamiya panel line accent on two kits so far and haven't had a problem. I do the clean up with lighter fluid instead of enamel thinner. From what i've heard it's the thinner that often causes the cracks. That and also using too much. You can probably be more liberal with the stuff if you top coat first.
posing is the thing that made me interested to the hobby in he first place, so i tried some gunpla. and had fun posing and getting the good angles and satisfaction. I just love this hobby.
this could help too.
I believe an estimate of time spend on a kit could help, for example: this SD will take 1 hour to build and this HG like 10 hours. Yes I know it is hard because there are many factors like the runners, the plastic, the level of the builders and so on but people usually are very busy and need to make schedules, so picking something that can use on his or her personal spare time can make his or her life a little better.
Also taking breaks. I know long projects usually are a pain and people focus too much on finishing something that leave aside some elements that in the end will determinate how the kit will look. So if you are tired of arming, cleaning and painting all the gatling gun from the MGEX Unicorn ver. Ka. I think you better take a break and come back once you wanted to continue.
This is only my thoughts
A tip for posing would be to try and do the pose yourself, and then try to mimic that pose through your kit
Secrets in building gunpla kits is patience, right tools, and knowledge to avoid mistakes, man it's like an engineers job lol my dad is engineer btw🤣🇵🇭
Same thoughts hahaa i remember when i was a kid mag tagalog na nga ako hahaha nung wla pa masyado ako alam sa gundam nag built ako 1st gundam yung 00 seravee manu manu lng sayang lng sira na dahil impatient ako nun and dabi numb marks nung binalikan ko after 13 year i learn from mistakes so need talaga correct tools para mag build ng gundam kahit ngayon still learning now im learning how to use spray paint or airbrush
Zup Zack, I consider myself a beginner, even though I built and painted several kits, but due to my job and family life, I take longer than usual to finish a project. I have learn the hard way about missing parts, face mask of my MG Exia gone, or putting decals on a matt finish. Thanks for the video bro😎👍🏼
with only 4 hg kits into the hobby I can confidently say that I'm a noob in so many levels,
I've been using one kit as a test bed for the techniques i've been picking online and from other people, I've practiced panel lining, scribing, weathering and sanding/buffing. Learned alot, I wanna dive deeper in this hobby but as of now, gotta control myself and enjoy it slowly
I'm in the "casuals" bracket. I started Gunpla a* long time ago but I never really bothered on doing a fullblown custom gunpla.. I paint and modify some parts here and there but that's about it... I can relate to the PATIENCE part..
When I started painting, I didn't have the patience. For example, instead of testing the paint first i.e. painting a spare sprue or plastic, I painted the kit right away which ended in a bad result forcing me to start all over..
Back then, I also did not wait for the CURE time because I thought that the Dry time and CURE time were the same.. Turns out, CURE time takes much longer (some even hours or days depending on the paint) than Dry time (usually 5-10 minutes or up to an hour). Cure time is critical specially on chrome paints (my molotow takes 24 hours to cure as written in the direction)..
Lesson, be patient and READ the directions carefully even if you've seen the paint in action on youtube...
For my i prefer lacquer paint if u paint since it takes only 1 to 2 hours for curing one of my gunpla coztumise have better outcome after finished it in a week
@@paolocasilag5942 Oh I see, 1 to 2 hours only? That's fast, nice!
I used a variety of paints ever since I started.. I'm currently using the GW Citadel (acrylic) paints because I got into Warhammer 40K last year (they are miniature kits).. Sometimes I cheat by using hair dryer haha!
@@BGLoscar lol sanaol, sadley i dont have dryer hahaha i got buy my time waiting that dry after i built another one while waiting and it paid off but good thing is i layer many lacquer paint on the colored ones not included white to make glossy and became better and by on my research and tip it can melt abs unless ITS PC it cannot unless use that one layer or use primer to paint on abs ones
@@paolocasilag5942 I'm always confused in that part about Lacquer on ABS vs Lacquer on PC.. Like how do I even tell the type of plastic? Is it indicated on the sprue/ runner? I've tried lacquer on some kits and so far I haven't had issues.
@@BGLoscar try doble check on the runners u can see the pc and abs there
Noob here - first major mistake, shaving off too much to make parts fit…. Learned the hard way with zaku 2 RG kit with the springs
Just bought my first 1/100 scale, made sure to get nub cutters finally and made sure to watch vids before building
Panel lining white, use gray. Panel lining yellow, use brown. Panel lining red, use a darker red closer to burgundy. Blue, use a darker blue. Same with purple. I wouldn't use metallic colors unless you're doing battle damage like deep gouging in the armor or if you're adding it to weapons for a bit more realism or touch-ups on the plated parts like in RG Exia on the swords.
You can use Gundam markers on the Gundam. You will need to use a sealer however! I recommend either Mr. Hobby semi gloss or you can also use Mod Podge, however with Mod Podge you will see brush strokes.
Broke some parts of my HG Strike Freedom (5th build). Maybe I need a new pair of hobby cutters. The one I'm using is a rusty plier from my dad's toolbox. And I build a few HG already including Xi.
Snips make a world off difference
Mistakes I've done and still doing it sometimes,
1. removing nubs, try to feel it and confident it aint there, and then spray primer and saw it, but choose to ignore it.
2. painting dark colour first then masking the area that wanna stay dark, reprime and paint lighter colour.
3. painting a light colour using gray primer and then feels weird why its so dark.
4. getting so many imagination of a kitbash but always end up with an unfinished project.
5. posing on ur eyes is not the same with what came out on ur camera, been there, done that, some weird poses in your eyes would look great in ur photo.
6. always pointing the sharp edge of hobby knife towards myself although i know its wrong.
7. always lazy to properly clean my airbrush and then angry when it cant spray properly when using it the next day.
8. im bad with paint brush, but i always try to paint small detail with it without masking, ended up with spilling it and had to fix or sometimes repaint the whole part.
9. always paint the joint part and then blame the kit that its joint is brittle.
Just built my first gunpla, Im a long time modeler and miniature painter. I built an MG Victory 2 2.0, the build took me 4 sessions over 4 days, ordered panel pens, waiting on them then Ill do water slides. Im enjoying the hobby so far, Im glad im not a rank noob though, the kit has tested my skills. Sub'd
I personally would love a video with a more in depth discussion on each of these topics including examples. I got into gunpla very recently and it was after watching Potan creates building the rx-78-2 unleashed and seeing the additional steps taken that are completely optional and investment heavy with both time and money in the long run. Seeing the final product was so awesome because of the time and care put into that model! Of course after lengthy research I made the choice of starting with the RG Gundam MK-ll for both the RG challenge, but still a satisfying end product!
Bro, great tips. The last time I built a kit was an MG Zaku 2 in 1999. But with your tips I been able to build an MG Gouf and Char's Zaku 2 custom. Messed up the decal on my Gouf (built 1st) but did really good on Char' Zaku.
The only problem I've encountered with Gundam models, of which I've only built two to be honest, is opening the box and being overwhelmed by the sheer number of parts, but once I've taken the plunge they have been the most enjoyable models I have ever built apart from the two Shinkalion models which are way cooler and got me into Gundam in the first place!
Big tip: buy a godhand…expensive but makes taking off nubs 90% easier
Thanks for the recommendations!
I would burn actual burn marks into the kit, and I would heat up a nail and stick it into the plastic to mimic a blaster hit. Oh and I would mess up painting poly caps or certain types of softer plastic and use paint thinner to get it off only to melt the plastic 😓
Right now the most "customizing" I want to do is a minor kit bash with the Banshee Ver. Ka and Unicorn Ver. Ka to make a Black Unicorn, since Banshee comes with the Unicorn V-fin and I want the red psycho frame parts.
Great video, total noob here waiting on my first kits to arrive, this will help me to not make some of the mistakes thanks!
Mistakes will be made! Happens to everyone so don’t worry too much! The important thing is to learn from them 👍
I am about 30 kits in and still learning. Saw this video about 3 days too late! My poor RX78 Origin kit head paid the ultimate price for me learning that panel liner can weaken plastic. Apparently it was pooling under and I didn't notice it.
What panel liner are you using?
Safest bet is just use the simple fine tip/real touch Gundam Marker or pour type gundam marker.
Enamel paints especially from Tamiya are notorious for gunpla cracking. Safest bet if need to use this type of panel liner is to
1. Apply gloss coat before applying the liner(creates a layer of protection between liner paint and plastic)
2. Do the lining and drying before assembly, avoiding excess paint seeping between crack/seams.
I have fine tip, real touch, pour type and panel line accent. The first 3 are fine but the last one, you need to really thin the amount on the brush before applying on bare plastic to reduce the chance of pooling. I also recommend having a tissue ready to wipe off any pooling immediately.
Hi I got a question regarding the seamline removal. Is it normal that the connected pieces isn't alined or equally flat (I side is often higher than the other)
I had one of these.I spray painted it all black, coated it in sugar and salt and buried it in my yard… two weeks later dug it up and stuck it in a big wasp nest. They made their home around his eyes… ten days later I pulled him out of the wasp nest, tied a string around his leg and swung him around my head very vigorously…the figure was making a humming noise as it cut circles in the air. But then the string broke at its weakest point and the figure went flying into the woods where it will rest for another seven days before I go get it again.
All model kits need patience
I remember when i was primary school i always impatient when build tank kits, im always skip some parts for fast build lol 😂
Great video. I've only built a few kits but learning advanced skills from airbrushing to plaplate enhancement to SMD installation has taken a lot of R&D. And I mean countless hours of RUclips and just as much in practicing before committing to a final project. Even as a lifelong artist, if it wasn't for channels like this, Child of Mecha, Model Making Guru, etc, I never would have seen the results I have in just a few builds.
i'm kinda a "freak" maybe... because i don't paint my models ( just little painting on some spots), i like the toyish looking on them after finish building, im surely not considered a builder at all because that... anyway i love to pose them, i even think about the pose when im buying the kit ♥
Painting bright colors over dark can be tricky if you're just filling in missing color apps, I ran into this conundrum with the HGUC Zeta with the red on the backpack, it would require so much prep work JUST to make the red (since the parts are pure black) that one might as well just paint the entire part.
I have the kit, it's pretty easy to paint actually. If you painting the whole kit, prime it white and then paint the red, mask the red parts then paint the entire thing black. If you not painting the entire thing, mask off all the black, paint it white>red. The real annoying part is masking....
@@fantastiCkiLler92 Yeah it's a big masking job either way, thanks for the tips
Posing is an under-rated shortcoming. Some good references are imitating action or badass scenes from anime. Love the parting shots, I miss Osaka, I miss Japan.
I think it's a rite of passage to overweather a kit. It's a great way to learn from mistakes. Finding that sweet spot is hard and it may take a few tries it get the right balance.
If you're doing metal photo etching, try very hard not to get any glue on the metal. It basically stains it, and you'll never get it off except by sanding, which will scratch up the surface like mad, so be prepared to deal with that.
Patience is the thing that i need the most, i always try to rush my build, for example a few days ago i was building an sd kit and i accidentally ripped the eye sticker.
Man that sucks
@@heero8130 yes, yes it is
A mistake I made on my first Master Grade, VERY thoroughly check your runners before throwing them out. I tossed one for my Master Gundam and now I can't finish its wings. and BlueFin was no help and Bandai only sells parts within Japan, and MechaPartsGuy unfortunately closed up shop. I may end up donating this one and purchasing another.
Nice tshirt! (Manila resident and builder). Thnx for the vid as always Zak-u.
When you mention panel lining on bare plastic, you didn't mention what the alternative is? Would it be on a layer of top coat?
thats really weird about panel lining on bare plastic. It's never happened to me; I've never even heard of panel lining causing part breakage until now. Is it due to the plastic reacting to the chemicals in the gundam marker paint?
I just finished a custom paint job on dukemon and it was my first full paint build. Some issues happened but it turned out generally clean.
Thanks for this useful tips! Greatly helped me realize the things I have been overlooking. Also, just want to point your cool shirt!
Awesome job bro.
Before I started to advance to detailing up (adding styrene plates, kit bashing) I followed a few Gunpla modellers, years ago I started with Keita (Wonder Excellence). Wealth of knowledge and tips and skills. Another to follow is Schizophonics who show off his works in progress and sometimes the tools he uses. I learnt a lot with reading peoples blogs. Or general youtubing, such as Pico's Modelling, Ray's Studio.
I use Tamiya enamel panel line on the bare plastic. If I'm not suppose to do that then what step am I suppose to do first? I don't paint btw or airbrush my kits.
If you want it to be fully protected just buy some gloss clear coat. Tamiya TS-13, Mr Super Clear Gloss, or other brand Clear Gloss Coat. I use Mr Super Clear Gloss my self and its always given me a good result. It'll protect against the enamel and also help it to flow smoother, longer distances along the panel lines!
Working on my third build ever and I definitely have done some (most) of these.
I've made a couple of mistakes for arms and legs make sure to triple check the parts are facing the right way (I accidentally made 2 right front legs for amplified metalgarurumon. I got so used to putting the legs together that I thought I'd memorized the positions but was mistaken)
Love the shirt man!
Just started gunpla thanks for the tips
I forgot... If you cannot get the kit to pose find a booze bottle for kits or dolls. Try break dancing posses. LOL.
made PLENTY of them! I usually rebuild old HG SEED kits to modernise them and started 10 years ago, and I still consider myself not an expert.
Even my most recent HGCE Duel messed up the pre-shading (I only got an airbrush a few years ago and had no time to paint!)
Panel lining before even placing the armor on the model. I’ve put panel lines on some weird & pointless places.
I agree with biting more than you can chew and being too ambitious, for me simplicity is key.
"you need a lot of patience"
Me with adhd: "welp, I don't have that but I do have hyperfocus! I once spent 4 hours straight lubing mechanical keyboard switches. Didn't take any break until they were all done lol"
I've veen following this hobby for do long, I should really get around to buying and building at least one kit.
Under applying or unevenly applying cement to close up a seamline. You're left with a mostly closed part that now has what looks like a bunch of holes in it wah wah. Not the end of the world but certainly a pain.
my mistake .. watch out for undergates and if using a hobbyknife,zatoknife or box cutter just slowly slice the nub dont over sliced it or coat the whot thing in matt finishe so the snipping wont be a pain
Have a nice day everyone
can i use lacquer/acrylic for small detail or panel lining without thinner?
I tend to have sweaty hands and smaller smooth pieces slip out of my hand and fly across the room from time to time, maybe gloves would help?
Removing nub-marks has my brain conditioned to the point where whenever I see a nub on any plastic thing such as a LEGO piece I feel a little disgust and an urge to buff it out.
So I am sort of new to gunpla and have what is probably a dumb question. I haven’t watched the anime but like the idea of customising my models. What is the feeling around applying decals that are not anime accurate? Like how harsh are people going to be if I put at 06 on shoulder panels if the anime version of the gundam doesn’t have it, or if I put the wrong fraction logo on the wrong model?
Gunpla noob here. painting GW minis for 30 years. Taking a stab at Gunpla. Ordered Raser the black, infinity sanding sticks, G Paint starter, 1500 Mr surfacer, Raser+ glass thing and the Takumi Studio Sinanju upgrade for the MG Sinanju as my first kit. Am I crazy? Kit comes in a few weeks from Japan.
The tip about black colours also applies to formal suits. Black suits look ugly, and actually give a slight green tint. Better off going with dark navy or charcoal grey. Apparently ‘midnight blue’ can look blacker than black suits
It's like anything that you do the more you do it the better you'll eventually get at it I Don't have a airbrush but I've always wanted to airbrush a kit but airbrushes are expensive I've used spray paint and got some nice results but nothing like a airbrush can produce Yes and another common mistake is cutting off a piece of a part that we're not supposed to I think everybody in the world's done that at least once lol or even broken a piece by accident I've had pieces break when I cut them out of the runner due to stress it doesn't happen a lot but from time to time it does happen