MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka EW WIP 6

Just painted Tamiya Gunmetal...
And tested the assembly / fitting...
Will apply Ver. Ka decals all the way till morning...

Here's a test assembly to see how the colors blend, and also to make it easier to manage the application of decals...

A few parts had paint scratches, gonna have to redo them...

Gonna continue applying decals after getting some sleep...

...and the weather is really getting too hot these days...

Ja...

MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka Decal Guide

 Here's the Wing Gundam Ver.Ka decal guide from the first Ver. Ka released...

I asked a friend of mine from http://kakashibatusai.blogspot.com for these instructions, since he has the first Wing Ver.Ka on which I will be basing the decal pattern for my Wing EW version... because I prefer the first design over the second release...

Anyways, I upload the guide for other people who might need them... and also, printing these out would require ink and I thought to just upload them and view them on the iPad while working...

Big thanks again for http://kakashibatusai.blogspot.com for these decal guides...

ZEON MS-06FZ ZAKU II FZ

The Zaku-II design for the OVA U.C. 0080 War in the Pocket.

Designed by Yutaka Izubuchi...

Probably the most "macho/buffed" Zaku released in terms of body proportions... With the head not going above the shoulder shields and armors...

[ RANDOM UPDATE ]

Just a random life (restarter) update...

MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka EW WIP 5

Painting the grays on the armor pieces... "picking out colors..."
 I used my old mix of Tamiya Acrylics instead of Vallejo Acrylics because I wouldn't want to waste good paints...

60% German Gray
5% Silver

35% Gunmetal

(estimates...)

Below are Pros and Cons of both Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics which are based on my experiences...

TAMIYA
- dries very flat and smooth if thinned enough... even when applied by brush...
- dried paint doesn't get scratched easily...
- great choice for militaristic colors...

- hard to work with using a brush when it comes to some light colors, especially Flat White, on large surfaces.

VALLEJO
- dries very flat and smooth, and I still thin them with a few drops of water just to be safe...
- also good for hand painting with a brush, strokes may be visible, can be covered with Gloss/Matte coating...
- has a wider range of bright colors suitable for bright colored mechas, bright color schemes, and others...
- gets scratched easily... I would recommend applying Gloss coating (after decals...), for protection, can be followed by matte...

 
These Gray parts, I'm thinking of giving them a more Gunmetal...

Still stuck on a few weeks worth of school stuff...

MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka EW WIP 4

Painting process...

This is from the previous post... I just separated the previous post for Fixing/Hiding Errors and Painting...

Color Preliminary

I used Vallejo paints for the main armor pieces... Internal parts will receive my usual Tamiya Grays/Silvers/Gunmetal mix in the future...

RED: scarlet 86%, white 7%, magenta fluo 7%
BLUE: medium blue 77%, blue violet 20%,  magenta fluo 3%
YELLOW: lemon yellow 87%, white 4%, scarlet 6%, magenta fluo 3%
WHITE: white 94%, scarlet 3%, lemon yellow 3%

The mix ratios above are only estimates but I think it closely resembles the actual mix I used...
Every bottle of mixed paints was thinned with a few (3-4) drops of water. Then again, I would add a few more drops every some time while painting to keep paint consistency...

The theory behind adding Magenta Fluo is that it makes the mix colors more vibrant...
at least that's how I see them..

Difference between My Mix of Vallejo Red and Tamiya Red

Another reason why it is helpful in mixing paint colors and keeping them in separate small bottles like these is that as time goes by while making your model, if ever you have made an error in painting for example, you can always redo that part easily and with the right color of paint...

After every color was applied...

 

No seamlines...

Ja!

MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka EW WIP 3

 

Priming - Fixing errors...

Before painting everything, I assembled the model by parts (arms, legs, body, weapons...), except for the clear parts... I applied primer to the model, to see any seamlines, cavities (from cutting parts off the sprue...) and such surface imperfections.

Then applied Mr. Surfacer 500 to any of those imperfect areas... dried, then sanded off the excess with a light 600, then a 1000 grit...

These are just the few of the "fixed" parts... I must learn to practice removing parts off the sprue more efficiently as to not produce any "gate cavities"

I then applied a second coat of primer to the model before painting... This final layer of primer would act as a "sheild" coating against anything applied over it prior to the "gloss coating" after the basic paints, decals, shades, tints, etc...

 This method is my SOP for any Bandai model kit since their plastic material has a high tendency to break with using heavy Enamels and Lacquer based paints... other plastic kit brands have been better just enough to hold itself after heavy Enamel and Lacquers and other bases applied...

but I still make it a point to apply primer to any kit, any brand, scratchbuilt or not...

( personal experiences )

Ja!

ZAKU VER. ASHLEY WOOD

 Here's something I can only have in pictures...

Ashley Wood's perception on the UC Gundam Series' Zaku...

I know some people would hate how it doesn't resmeble the Zaku at all as it appeared in the original series, but that's the point... Ashley Wood is an artist beyond himself, and he sees a Zaku design beyond how we see it... I think that's how I see it...

Anyways... I do love this design and much better if I could have it in my display...
Just look at the price tag on this thing...

from: http://www.bandai-asia.com/ashley/main.html