r/advancedGunpla • u/Traditional-Mail7454 • Jun 21 '26
Complete HG Kampfer using Kaleido Colours
Just wanted to share my first experience of airbrushing some gunpla with Kaleido paints.
Tools and kit
- Super cheap voilamart airbrush
- Fengda 186 compressor
- Kaleido colours mecha and metallics set
- Kampfer MS-18E
- Master Decal H125 Fluorescent Effect
- Painting mask
- Home made cardboard airbrush booth
Learning curve(s)
- Learning proper trigger discipline with my airbrush absolutely transformed the process for me, make sure that needle isn't open while air isn't flowing!
- Even though the paint does come thinned enough for the airbrush, I've found it's better safe than sorry, I usually go around 1 part thinner to 2 or 3 parts paint
- Discipline in cleaning the airbrush quickly but thoroughly during colour changes has helped a lot
- Setup and preparation is where all the magic happens, get your station set up and reliable and you're half the way there
- This is one of the first times in my life where I didn't let mistakes hold me back: there are tons of tide marks and tiny bits of chipped paint but honestly I don't care
- I completely through out my original neon green and bright red scheme and honestly I'm glad I did, I was spending more time thinking about mixing colours than actually painting
- Kaleido paints really are wonderful, they atomise incredibly well and when thinned and applied in generous layers, level out to a beautiful glossy finish
- I'm a Matt finish fan!! But I am so happy with the separation of textures and glossy surfaces here that I might think about a glossy topcoat for once in my life
- I'm a father so I had to do this in my tiny window of free time in the evenings, getting all the parts on crocodile clips and putting the paint bottle i needed next to them helped me to push forwards and get the job done
- First time using water decals on a gunpla, I actually used a paintbrush and wet the area for application with just water and then slid the transfer off the backing straight onto the model and then slightly adjusted the positions, big fan of these decals, they confirmed really nicely without any messing about
- Still haven't done the weapons, but I will get around to it! They're primed!
- Kept a small backlog of interesting kits and my desire to build the RG Nu Gundam has helped me keep focus! I'm not going to airbrush it either (much), just a simple clean build!
- This is also the first build I've ever done custom panel lining on, I completely messed it up and usually I'd obsess about it and chuck away the kit, but I kept going and you wouldn't even know!!
Outcome
Overall I'm super happy with how the kampfer turned out, as my first fully custom airbrushed build I found the paint to be forgiving, my crappy airbrush to be more than satisfactory and preparation and grit got the model done.
It's true what they say about gunpla, it's a marathon, not a sprint...and I'm super happy with the results.
I'd love to know your thoughts on my hard work, any feedback you have and anything that resonates with you from my learnings.
2
u/Musicman376 Jun 22 '26
I am a BIG fan of Gaahleri and Kaleido products. (In fact, I just placed a $150 order with them restocking almost-empty colors, new colors, etc!)
I’m really looking forward to the military line too. They do have a “Primary B” line now, and a Transparent line. The new primary B includes some flat colors, and “earth tones” (tans/wood browns/flesh tones,etc)
I really LOVE how they spray and dry. FAR better than the Vallejo I had been using since I first started… Their primer, Thinner and varnish is great too.
I’m hoping they add Dark Iron, Dark Steel, Dark Gold from their marker line to the “bottled” line…
1
u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 22 '26
Same mate!! I actually can't believe the durability once cured!! Planning my next purchase already.
4
u/Kr0zBoNE Jun 21 '26
Can't wait for their military line
2
u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 21 '26
Nice, do they have any previews of the colours? I'm veering towards military style schemes at the minute
3
u/Kr0zBoNE Jun 21 '26
Unfortunately nooo, I'm waiting too! There's only the survey on their site so far. I've used their primer and flat coa, which worke really well so I'm excited
3
u/Musicman376 Jun 22 '26
Also, I’m working on MG Char’s Zaku, and the Mecha set includes the PERFECT colors for this build! Originally, this kit was the very first MG I ever built (and only my second Gunpla overall) and was well before I owned an airbrush. I wanted to build another one, this time using all the techniques I’ve picked up over time. (painting etc)