After going to that hobby shop and seeing what they had in stock there, I guess it’s supposed to look like that and you’re supposed to shake it? But I can’t get it to have a consistent darkness- sometimes it fills panel lines darker, sometimes it’s lighter. Sometimes it looks like it fills in lines, but then when I check it later it’s like the accent was never there (maybe it fell down the line and pooled into another area?).
Gundam Marker was way more prominent (the piece on top), but took forever. And it couldn’t get into the lines on this model very well (there are a few areas on itwhere I tried the Tamiya accent instead).
For cleanup, I’ve been using my Gundam Marker eraser, which doesn’t actually seem that effective on whatever material the Tamiya is made of. Which means I can try to kind of blot some of the eraser liquid on there and then rub furiously with a napkin to try and remove stray marks and splats from blotting the paintbrush down, with mostly okay-ish results (not amazing, but it’s better results than trying to use an erase to clean up Gundam Marker, where I’ve been erasing the panel lines themselves often).
I might have to try lighter fluid + cotton swab for better cleanup.
Hmm yeah that looks like the gray not the black (gray is the color I’d use on a white piece though). And there should be a label?? Not sure if that’s how shaken up it was when you used it but if you flip it over and can’t see bubbles across the entire bottom keep shaking. For example I should shake this one just a little more because of the pigment still stuck to the bottom that I circled in blue
The gundam marker eraser is (I believe) alcohol based and isn’t really going to touch the tamiya enamel liner. You’re talking about the pour type liners (in the box, have pen-like tips), right? Not the bigger paint markers (like at the bottom, have thick chisel tips)?
Also I love that olfa art knife!! Don’t forget about the needle tip in with the spare blades/sharps container! Super useful for placing tiny stickers and deepening panel lines
The label was peeling off due to the paint leaking out of the open bottle, so I just took it off. But it did say grey on it. But it’s good to know shaking it to make it look right is what you’re supposed to do and mine aren’t defective.
These are the markers I have. I have mainly used the fine tip markers because the brush type marker wasn’t filling in panel lines as cleanly and I never figured out how to use it. The eraser is also a brush type tip. I don’t have any of the pour type Gundam markers, and I guess I shouldn’t need it if I have these Tamiya panel line accents, right?
Oh, is that what that needle is for? I just got it a few days ago because I was trying to replace my exacto knife blade and realized the replacement blade pack I got was the wrong size. I took that as an opportunity to look at what other blades were out there and saw that Olfa recommended on a couple of reddit posts. It took me a while to figure out how to open the different compartments.
I saw the needle and had no idea what it was for because I was able to install a blade with out it. I don’t know what the proper way to open the “disposed blades” compartment is. I thought maybe that’s what the needle is for, to pop open the latch, but it takes a lot of force and feels very dangerous to use a needle for, so I think I’m wrong. But I don’t know how else to pop that thing open, or what other reason that needle is there for.
Because I have no where else to post this, I’ve had my models in a box for about a year after moving to my new apartment because I couldn’t figure out how to put them anywhere. I finally managed to find these Ikea mosslanda shelves that worked out well with command strips. So now I got a bunch of shelves to put stuff up, both kits and figures (plus I put up tons of posters and stuff I had sitting in my closet I never put up). I’ve left some old figures in the box still so I can display some new kits as I build them.
Oh yeah the brush type ones kinda suck, they’ve never worked for me either.
I never use the tip on the eraser one directly on something I want to wipe away, instead I dab it on a cotton swab and use that. Keeps the tip from getting contaminated and gives me better control I think. It’s pretty rare I use them on the pen type ones because I find it easier to wipe it with my finger or something instead of dealing with solvent. That’s one big benefit of the tamiya stuff, it’s much tougher and that sometimes gives you meaningfully more control when removing it.
I still occasionally use the pour type ones because they don’t take as long to dry as the tamiya and they’re easier to wipe away which is handy sometimes. I wouldn’t say you need them in addition what you have now though.
Olfa also makes a bigger handle that takes standard xacto size blades. It’s honestly one of the most satisfying tools I’ve ever held in my hand, it’s weighty while very balanced, super sturdy, and the blade retention mechanism is so smooth. In addition to a decent number of regular blades it comes with a curved blade that is really really good for cleaning up mold lines and a chisel blade that’s great for removing nubs from flat faces of parts. I also got some tamiya photo etched saw blades that are great for removing clear pieces from the runner without the nub becoming opaque from the stress of being sheared. Of course they can go the other way too and fit in any other kind of xacto handle, I keep my old cheapo handle with an olfa blade in my art stuff to sharpen my pencils with.
You can use the needle for whatever you need a pokey thing for! Those are just some of the ways I’ve had it come in handy. It goes in the handle like a blade, in case that’s not clear. The other end of the handle is a somewhat blunter point but since it’s plastic there’s less risk of scratching the surface of your kit. It has flattened sides which makes it helpful for bigger stickers that might roll around on the needle tip.
You don’t! It’s designed to contain the sharps and be very resistant to opening so that they can’t get out and accidentally cut anyone. You just throw away the whole thing when it’s full, though I think it would hold years worth of blades before that point. There’s that little slot in the middle just wide enough for the used blades to drop in, and that and the extra blade storage and the cap combine to make a surprisingly stable holder for the handle. Even though I love the feel of the bigger knife I use this one more because the holder is much more convenient. When you want to put it away you can attach the cap the other way so its all flat and it stays together in a drawer or whatever.
I think it’s ingenious, the maximum utility in minimal materials while also feeling good to use. All tools would be designed this well in my socialist utopia.
The shield was already matte topcoated. I don’t remember what I used originally, though it was probably mr premium topcoat flat
A bit of sponge and some metallic grey for edge chipping. Get a little paint on the sponge, daub it on a paper towel until it’s leaving speckles of paint, apply to places that would see chipping like edges and corners. I rolled the shield around on my desk to see what parts it would land on. Not sure how much the paint matters when working over the mold color; I used mr hobby aqueous burnt iron and will continue to do so because it has its own thinner that doesn’t seem to affect other acrylics too much. You can go a little too wild with the chipping but it’s easy to clean up and it’s fine if it leaves some smudges as they just blend in anyway.
For the overwall wash I used a flat brush to apply thinned out mr weathering color. I used ochre soil, “sundy wash”, and ground brown to give a little color variation, letting them mix in the brush and in the thinner with no particular care. I saw suggestions to dab it with a tissue but that seems to leave fibers behind even with kimwipes. You can also clean it up/push it around with a cotton swab which seemed to work a little better. It’s hard to overwork the wash and the working time is very long so I just played with it for a while. It can streak a little so try to move in a direction that makes sense for the piece.
I used mr weathering color rust red to apply a more detailed wash over some of the chipped areas. Dragged it down to leave streaks, came back and put a little more towards the top/middle of the streaks once it had dried a little. I think this is called pin washing.
I used a tiny, tiny bit of brown real touch marker at the very bottom. Smeared out anything was too much of an obvious line.
Finally another matte top coat with mr hobby premium
Might use tamiya weathering master aka gunpla makeup (it comes in what is obviously a case for eyeshadow) but I’m already pretty happy with it so I might not!
a regular wash is an all-over thing, to drag colours to a darker tone or add shading to an entire part or model. pin washes are when you specifically wash only in the places that should be darker, like recesses & panel lines
sounds like you were adding shading details with a glaze, if there was no geometry. but that’s coming from mini painting instead of vehicle/model
what’s the difference between a shade, a glaze, a wash, and an ink? who cares, as long as it looks good
that’s wild, the medium in the acrylics I use is one way and won’t dissolve in anything short of a long soak in heavy detergents
Oh let’s not forget to add “filter” to the list of incredibly specific terms for what you do with pigmented liquid thin enough to flow
Coming from the fine art world a glaze would be with a transparent pigment
I’ve also heard a pin wash be short “pinpoint wash”, as in a small area being washed. Maybe that area has recessed detail, maybe not… I don’t think they have to be darker, the rust actually made the area have a lighter value
I’ve had bad luck with paint films on this GM, any acrylics I’ve used have been quite willing to dissolve each other, water or solvent based. The aqueous thinner smells very alcohol-y, which might mess with tamiya but definitely less than the mr thinner. We’ll see! This rx-78 shield was unpainted so who knows
