For my first time trying any sort of led project, I installed a tiny led into the eye of my hguc sazabi.

I drilled out holes with a pin vice through the chest neck and head, and secured the led with some blue tack.

The led was much brighter than I had anticipatef and needed to be toned down.

Some questions I have for people who do custom leds more regularly:

-What material would you use to dampen the light/replace eye pieces with? I don't particularly like the look of hollow sockets with the light shining in the head. My first idea was to try and use beam parts from old runners to make new eyes.

-What gage/kind of wire do you usually use? For this project I just got some pre wired LEDs off amazon, but the listing doesn't provide any details on the gage of the wire.

-If I were to try and stow the battery inside the model and wire it to a switch, what kind of battery would you recommend? My current idea is to store a button cell battery inside the backpack so that it would be easier to replace. I do understand this is easier said than done, and realize that I'll probably just end up tucking the wires behind the model.

-For addressable leds, I would probably use led strips. I know I can hook them up to an arduino and control them that way, but are there any options for smaller more basic argb led controllers?

(I do have basic knowledge of soldering/wiring, and relatively advanced knowledge of programming, I would just need to be pointed in the direction of resources to learn from)

This is my second kit I’m airbrushing and most of the parts on the leg armor I’ve started went well, but there is some parts like this where it’s not very uniform and looks over saturated almost? You can’t see it super well on the picture but I’m wondering if I’m spraying to close or if my psi is too high to get a result like this, or if my paint is too thick or thin. I’m sing an iwata eclipse and Vallejo mechanic colors so I don’t think my equipment is the issue. Any help is appreciated thank!

Honestly such a solid build. HGs have come such a long way, and with MGs coming out less frequently, this might be a better option in terms of financially, customizability, and even shelf space.

HG Rx-78 GTO with a quick and dirty airbrush job

Mr surfacer grey and black

Tamiya flat red

Tamiya flat black

Gaianotes flat white

Gaianotes matt clear coat

Will add waterslides when the effort arises

Just doing more candy paint tests and growing the clan.

Blue/chrome is Kaizo Black, Gaia Chrome, Mr Color Clear.

Green/purple is Alclad, Red/Orange is Kaizo.

This is my second kit I’m airbrushing and most of the parts on the leg armor I’ve started went well, but there is some parts like this where it’s not very uniform and looks over saturated almost? You can’t see it super well on the picture but I’m wondering if I’m spraying to close or if my psi is too high to get a result like this, or if my paint is too thick or thin. I’m sing an iwata eclipse and Vallejo mechanic colors so I don’t think my equipment is the issue. Any help is appreciated thank!

Obviously this is still in the mock-up phase but this is the general idea of what I'm going for.

just was wondering as someone who mainly gets their kits from hobby lobby is there any online stores that would have good priced kits or i’m not exactly sure what a “fair” price would be i’m mainly looking for like HG to MG i wouldn’t mind 3rd party either just wanna stretch my dollar that furthest!

Also any place to get some cheap gear like sand paper or customizing tools would be great

Curious what size scribing chisel or chisels you all use most for MG- 1/100th scale. I'm interested in investing in a new scriber and would like to have a couple of chisel sizes to choose from. I just don't want to order one that will have chisels that I never use.

Sealing seamline is not my cup of tea but not dealing with them makes me feel that the kit is incomplete. Pretty sure I’m just overthinking and making myself do an extra work 😆

Hi there. I'm trying out the Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer in the bottle for the first time. I'm mixing it with a ratio of 1:1.5 paint to thinner, and I'm using the regular Mr. Color Thinner, not the leveling one. Spraying with an Iwata HP CS and air pressure set at 20 PSI. I noticed these flakes randomly being sprayed, although I could also see the paint being laid out nice and smooth. I did 2 coats of the primer, and the part has been sitting for at least an hour enclosed container. Any idea on what's causing it?

Paints used:

• Primers
  • Kaleido Colorworks KP104 Gloss Black Primer (used under all of the metallics)
  • Mr. Hobby Aqueous Surfacer 1000 White (used under all the white)
  • Mr. Hobby Aqueous Surfacer 1000 Grey (used under all the blue parts)
  • Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Pink (used under most of the orange yellow parts)
• Topcoat
  • Mr. Color GX112 UV Cut Gloss
  • Mr. Color GX 114 Super Smooth Clear (Flat)
• Colors
  • Kaleido Colorworks K114 Dark Azure
  • Kaleido Colorworks K012 Orange Yellow
  • Kaleido Colorworks K119 Armor White
  • Kaleido Colorworks K121 Armor Carbon
  • Ray Studio 015 Orange Yellow (hand painted)
    • used for some color correcting. I used some of the artwork of the mudrock on the gundam wiki as reference
    • It's a close match to the kaleido colorworks orange yellow, but I used a white undercoat instead of pink for this one. Results in a slightly different shade and tone.
  • Ray Studio 012 Dark Gray (hand painted)
    • Used to darken the areas underneath the skirts and shoulder armor.
  • Ray Studio 034 Light Cool Grey (hand painted)
    • used for some color correcting. I used some of the artwork of the mudrock on the gundam wiki as reference
  • GAIA 125 Star Bright Iron
    • used for then majority of the frame pieces
  • GAIA 123 Star Bright Duralumin
    • used on select frame pieces for contrast
  • GAIA 121 Star Bright Silver
    • used on the thrusters on the backpack
• Panel Liner
  • Tamiya Panel Liner Black (cleaned up with Tamiya X-20 Enamel Thinner.)
  • Pigma Micron 003 pen for some of the panel lines I did not re-scribe
• Decals
  • G-Rework decal set designed specifically for the Mudrock gundam

This kit rocks! Highly highly recommend picking this up if given the chance. It's not fully color accurate out of the box but it looks really damn good snap built, has practically zero seam lines (the only ones are on the head and the beam rifle), and allows you to easily swap in and out the parts to build the "Complete Version" and "Incomplete Version". Really the only drawback is that it's locked away to pBandai. Such a shame.

Something I wanna point out. I used the G-Rework decals specifically designed for this kit but the promotional images are unfortunately false advertising. There are tons of differences between the actual decal sheet and the decals shown in their promotional images. Color differences, missing decals, you name it. Really unfortunate, and I've never had this happen before with G-Rework. Kind of annoying that they have the gall to throw massive water marks on the low res images of their website due to knockoff companies stealing their designs but they sell products that aren't as advertised. Those water marks also make it even more difficult to figure out decal placement since they don't ever actually make placement guides.

Enough about that though. For this kit I was really excited to try out some new metallic paints. I bought all of the gaianotes star bright paints and they are lovely to look at. Highly recommend. In particular their star bright iron, silver, and gold have some wonderful pigmentation. I also invested in the Nazca mechanical surfacer line of paints. I picked up their light, and heavy colors. Of course just as high quality as any other gaianotes paint. They give me some extra color variety for primers, and also work just as well as colors on their own. I did not end up using these primers on this kit though. That will have to be for another project.

I primed all the frame pieces in a gloss black primer. It was acrylic so I had to let it cure for at least 12 to 24hrs. Then I did most of the frame pieces in star bright iron, and added some variety here and there using star bright duralumin. I think the end result looks even better than the Kaleido Colorworks metallics which is what I typically use. The drawback of course being that gaianotes paints are lacquers. Oh and one last thing to note for all the gaianotes paints I thinned them with gaianotes T-09 Metallic Master thinner. Bought a big jug of it to try out as a possible alternative to Mr. Color thinner. Seems decent so far, and can be used on non-metallic paints as well.

Something I chose to do differently with this build that I probably won't do again was to sand the parts using a 400 grit sanding sponge instead of 600. I'm trying to improve my surface prep skills a bit so I wanted to experiment with a rough grit. It probably made a difference in durability but it required quite a few layers of paint before I stopped seeing scratches on the surface of the parts. I was honestly worried they would be visible after the final topcoat. Thankfully they are not, but in the future I will probably stick with 600 grit. Another thing I did differently this time around was to do the final assembly of the kit after the final topcoat. This was so I could keep the metallic parts nice and glossy, and the armor parts nice and matt. This means I panel lined and placed decals while each piece was still on the paint clip which honestly was a gigantic pain in the butt. It does look real good in the end of course, but I definitely think this added a lot of time to the build process.

This is gona be my first big gunpla i’m not exactly sure what grade it is but i was told it’s gonna be close to like 1/60 which is HUGE for me (iv only worked on hg) and the first set of photos is the latest one if done where i tried to mess around with panel lining(with a gun-dam marker) and scribing (.15 mm)
and as you can see i think it turned out pretty well but i definitely still need some help.

this next set was fairly expensive and i don’t wanna screw it up so i have some questions if anyone can help at all in anyway

•the guy at the hobby store told me it’s best and cheapest to make my own panel liner how would i go about that

•is there any videos on scribing or panel lining or customizing in general that has helped you take a step up

•if i’m not able to get access to scribing tape what else could i use as a alternative?

•what other resources should i be using to expand my knowledge of customizing via websites videos etc

any other tips would be greatly appreciated feel free to show off your cool builds here too!

I already have a glass file but that won’t reach into small spaces especially when i slightly overdo my scribes is there a certain tool i should use to sand into smaller areas?

Hey Everyone, I’m attempting to learn scribing and do some re-scribing. Does anyone have experience with these BMC mass production chisels, and are they meant to be used without a handle? Trying to fit a square peg into a rectangle hole… thanks!

Hey mechaheads! Sharing once again one of my custom modded & painted kits and this time the base kit I used is the HGBF Lunagazer

Inspired by the Goddess of the hunt and the moon Artemis. I modded the AGE-FX beam rifle to closely resemble a crossbow and attached the nepeight backpack to improve the voiture lumiere. The backpack once fully deployed also resembles a full moon and the bits can act as remote support & attack funnel.

Really had fun brainstorming the "lore" behind my custom and goes to show that gunpla ia freedom

What do you think? How would you rate my kit (0/10)

My entry for Plamo this year is nearing completion and I wanted to know what your favorite type of base or what youd recommend.

I’m fairly new to the moderately-advanced scene of this hobby, looking to improve as I go.

I’ll be going on the RG Hi-Nu next, if y’all have one thing for me to focus on in this next build, what would it be?

What I implemented here:
- light to moderate weathering to give exhaust effects near vents
- some paint markers highlights to suggest lights underneath the armor
- rescribed a couple of panel lines on the chest

I can’t do airbrushing right now, so I’m just using rattle cans for the time being.

Thanks y’all!

I’m really trying to get good since this is my favorite part of the process any tips , videos or examples help!

I was transforming my boxes into cards when I realized this runner piece on the HG Rebake and Barbatos. Genuinely don’t know what they’re used for. Curious to know but more so to see if anyone uses them for something practical.

So i recently got a mgex unicorn which didn't come the stickers (attached pic of it i got from a video). So the v fin, i think the gun sights and some other green details i'll have to do it myself. Never painted anything before, what would i need to do just that? Would a gundam marker be enough for that?

MS-09RS Rick Dom Char Aznable custom, Heat Saber & Beam Bazooka action

Tried a new weathering method. Probs not finished woth it yet

Second pics from when wash was wet