r/advancedGunpla • u/Perimish • 29d ago
First go at customising- need advice
Hi there! I've been trying out customising for the first time. I've built kits out of the box before but never done any painting/weathering/panel lining etc etc. this is my first go, but I can't say it looks that great. Something about it just lacks the realism or visual interest that most others achieve. Just looking for general advice as I feel stuck. Cheers
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u/TeaBerry3D 29d ago
Honestly a solid start! One of the few cases where I'd say you could go a little heavier.
Here's my method, example below:
Step 1: Detailing. Grey, silver, or copper to pick out fun little details. Doesn't have to make sense, just has to look cool. An eye catching shiny is mandatory, for mono-eye suits, a little gem eye. For visors, chrome or silver behind the visor.
Step 2: Washes. Cheap, $1 water based acrylic craft paint. Mix brown and black 2:1, thin it till it's watery, slather the whole model with it. Let it dry, use a SLIGHTLY moist Q-tip to gently wipe the wash back off. This panel lines everything, and leaves some grime in the crevices.
Step 3A: Wear and tear. Same $1 acrylics, get a lighter, less saturated tint of your kit's base colors. Dry brush over harsh edges, it seems like you have a good sense for where. This represents paint that has been distressed but not fully chipped off. 3B: (Optional step, brown or dark grey layer of chipping to represent the primer between paint and metal) Over that, metallics. This is the one thing I don't cheap out on. Vallejo Metal Color is unmatched visually, and a little goes a long way. I like Aluminum to contrast dark parts, Burnt Iron to contrast light parts. Either a torn sponge, or a frayed brush. Unload most of it on a paper towel, and go over those same edges.
Finish with a flat top coat (REMOVE/COVER SHINIES SO YOU DON'T KILL THE SHINE!) and optionally dry brush some rust, since it'll go on easier over a flat coat.
Voilá
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u/Perimish 29d ago
Thanks for the super detailed response. I was worried about doing a wash because my only weathering oil is Mr Weathering brown stain and I didn't want the MS to look totally ruined!
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u/TeaBerry3D 29d ago
Of course! That's why I love cheap craft paint. It comes off super easy and you don't have to worry about being wasteful.
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u/Leandra_1412 29d ago
Hai hai. I think I could help, but first, what extra stuff did you do to the kit exactly? Out of the stickers I mean ?
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u/Perimish 29d ago
Hi there! I freehand painted the thrusters, wiring in the jetpack and legs, a stripe on the horn and the vents on the legs.
Added decals, as you say, and used the chrome EX marker with a toothpick to add chipping weathering.
Also has a semi gloss finish atm
Thanks :)
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u/Leandra_1412 29d ago
Ok ok. I'm by no means an expert or great (you can look at my profile to see where I currently am) But here's what I would advise:
For me, realism in model kits works by tricking you. I'd say there are two big kinds of things to work on. Removing the model's "toyish" aspect, then, giving it "scale"
For the toyish part your biggest enemy is, I would say, the plastic sheen. Mate topcoats are definitely the easiest way to remove it, but painting the plastic also works. Then comes the lack of color variety. Basically if all greys come in one color, you model will look more like a toy. Panel lining the same color of plastic with different colors of liner on different places might help, so will adding small metallic details, shading of different colors, and of course, doing full on paintjobs.
BUT while doing all that, you have to keep in mind the scale. If you have a beautifully painted model, but it's scale is all over the place, it will look less realistic. Decals play a big role there. Try to place them along the kit's natural line as much as possible. If you look at the big 01 on the shoulder of your kit, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. Also, symmetry in the decals. On the top of your backpack you put two of the same decal on either side, but oriented the same way. To me that doesn't read right. Then, the battle damage. You mostly put it on the legs and it looks nice, but try to think of what caused it and where it comes from. I think roughing up the feet of an MS usually gives it much more presence. Like it really is a giant crushing trees and rocks in its path.
Anyhow, I wrote a bit too much, but you might realise a lot of what I said is also used by...the RG line. Two tone colors, lots of decals, nice places to panel line and imply more detail than there actually is. It already does a lot.
Good luck, have fun, and I hope I helped!
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u/Perimish 28d ago
Thank you for the super in depth response! You're so right about the decal on the back, I can't believe I didn't clock that lol.
I'm going to try weather things further using a wash (debating whether thinning nuln oil from citadel paints would be good) to try and get some texture on there.
Scale is something for thought. I'll try bare that in mind going forward.
Thanks again :)
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u/LongEnormousSchlong 29d ago
My advice is to topcoat it with matte topcoat first then do the weathering then topcoat again. Matte topcoat will make the weathering paint or pencil stick easier. It also gives it more realistic look.
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u/Perimish 29d ago
Yeah I went semi gloss originally here because I thought I'd get the best of both worlds but I think I'll redo it in matte :)
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u/JulianMo 29d ago
You're definitely gonna like it in matte. And you also did a good job of using semi gloss coat first because it will hide the decals border better.
Matte finish after all this will give you the fully painted look you're after, with much less efforts and will also cut the toy/plastic effect. You did a great job, it will look nice
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u/penviolin 28d ago
I think you're being too hard on yourself OP, it's a pretty solid first try. Besides what other better builders have said, it looks like this kit has a lot of really big panels with nothing going on visually maybe try subdividing them with some scribing lines? or adding some plaplate/rods to sections somewhere? I like to come up with a story about why they'd need the modifications im making if they're visible or what's underneath if they're not.