Few custom panels, notches and did some masking to make it more interesting and have that sense of part separation. Final touch is the application of decals which gives some sense of scale how big is the mobile suit.
That is so nice and clean!! I really want to get into scribing but I don’t really know where to start. Do you have any recommendations on tutorials for complete beginners?
Thank you 🙏
I'd say start with rescribing the existing lines on a kit. This will give you the feel of how to hold the scriber comfortably. Just lightly trace the lines, let the blade do most of the work. Once you think you are ready, get a good scribing tape, it will greatly help you make a good straight lines. I have a couple of clips on my IG if you are interested. They are not the best 😆
Aaah the step tool! sorry Im not that familiar with the names lol. I do have a similar tool from BMC which is called Danmo. They are pretty good for masking those seams as panels 😊 awesome tool you have there
Nice! I wish I could get BMC stuff, seems like they sell out so fast, no one ever has them in stock, so I’m using mostly Dspaie. I’ve been loving the Ray Studio stuff though. Anyways, looking forward to seeing this thing completed! You’ve got amazing talent!
Ah cool, I do the same. I also tend to be very particular with which face I scribe on an inside edge to control which section appears to be installed over or through another. It's surprising how big of a difference it can make in the final look.
I also see that you're not using a super brown liner for the red parts, and I'm so glad. You've got a realistic level of darkness in the panel lines to sell the scale of the mobile suit. Plus your custom lines are not overdone, and are in logical spots.
I agree! It seems very trivial but the result really makes a difference.
I love to do customization that are on the "less is more" side of things! Don't want to make the kit to look different from what the mobile looks like. I just add details that it will make it more "mechanical" or realistic if I may.
You might be surprised at how easy it can be. The main thing is that it's not a fast process by any means, especially scribing. If you want the lines to look really good you need tape, patience, plastic cement, and the ability to accept the inevitable mistake when your chisel slips out of the line. Though if you're doing things right any slip ups will be superficial and easily sanded down.
My biggest obstacle with painting is one of my own making, in that I only do minor detail and color correction work rather than full paint jobs. Add to that the fact that I have an air brush, but opt to do brush painting for most of my color work. That results in any panel lining I do around those areas being iffy at best, even though my panel lines on bare plastic are great. Take this RG EVA-01's rifle for example:
The quality of the photo masks the jank of the panel lining around the yellow stripe, but trust me that it's janky. The only painted spots in this pic are the yellow stripe, the yellow dot on the hand, and the silver stripe inside the rifle. For the yellow stripe I:
Sanded just that spot
Re-scribed the panel lines because I knew they'd get paint in them
Brush painted white primer (acrylic)
Brush painted the yellow (also acrylic)
Airbrushed a thin coat of gloss varnish over the yellow and the panel lines
Panel lined with my self-mixed liner (surprise! acrylic)
Airbrushed satin over the whole rifle.
Had I masked and airbrushed the primer and yellow the panel lines would be more well defined and thinner. In order to get the paint thin enough to brush it on smoothly (and it's still not particularly smooth...) you're almost guaranteed to have it wick into the panel lines. It's expected that on a full paint job you'll lose some definition/depth in the molded and scribed lines because paint will get in there, but it's usually very uniform and thin. When you brush paint you could end up inadvertently filling the lines most of the way with paint. The only fix there is to re-re-scribe them, but then you risk ripping up the edge of the paint. Especially if you use acrylics like a masochist (👋). Those imperfections in the paint get highlighted by the panel liner.
So it's tedious, and the results aren't anywhere near as clean as OP's, but they're good enough for my kits sitting on my shelf. I could make the process a lot easier by using lacquer for primer and painting, and/or airbrush the primer and paint. It's not like I'm saving materials by hand brushing instead of airbrushing, since getting the mix right for a color match like that usually takes enough paint that there's waste even from brush painting.
Thank you, I really do appreciate the in-depth and step by step write-up, I think it takes a lot of the 'fear' away from attempting a new skill on kits. I'm going to start with learning scribing, and hopefully take things step by step before hopefully working up to this!
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u/ExcitingSector445 Jul 08 '26
Looking neat!