Random nice weather day let me squeeze in a morning test on some Mr Color GX clear orange. Works over the ultralumen chrome with 2k gloss black base, with or without a 2k clear seal. Failure with a Tamiya lacquer gloss black base. Glad my local shop had one jar to confirm before ordering online

こすって銀SUNを極めたい！ ってコンセプトでやってみる。 ボーンペイントの アンダーブラックII→銀SUN→ クレオスGGXクリアー→銀SUN 今の所このパターンが一番キレイかな🤔

HG Qubeley (revive) gold deco, partially based on the Hyaku Shiki. #gunpla #gundam #shiny I'll definitively be looking to use more of this tint in different shades/mixes

Quick comp shot of the original vs revive HG Qubeley while I don't have the shoulder pieces on for one of them, allowing for side by side. I hadn't noticed the newer version being larger/taller until now

Results of Digital Armory's golden god 2k tint over some ultralumen test spoons, somewhat haphazardly applied at the same time as a kit a month ago Approx amounts in drops/ml: None, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 Gonna find a case to use the richer 2+ dr/ml tone in a trim in the future, I like that color

HG Qubeley MK-II gloss deco. First test-shot for applying candy enamel and 2k on a larger medium. Rough outcome but good learning experience. Arms remind me I need to find some acrylic/enamel primary colors to mix for non-black/gray panel lining, would have liked to add more red #gunpla #gundam

Realized I actually had pics to add to one of these chains for once Here's 3 #gunpla builds to get to know me

Appreciate when details like eyes are raised up, all I have to do is put a small square of tape over them and the background spray finds the edges without issue. One mark in favor of the revive Qubeley over the earlier HG version in my opinion.

HG Gaza-C, a test-shot/practice on candy blue application. An interesting design, if a bit clunky to move/adjust. The rubber cables are fun in my opinion. #gundam #gunpla

HG Hyaku Shiki (revive) take on a red decoy #gunpla #gundam

Qubeley gold-ification complete. Separated upper and lower parts in the two-round application just in case the mixing was slightly different between batches, seems I didnt need to worry though

Work in progress, part one of this "golden god" 2k tint I'm testing. So far not bad, getting the reflective gold I want. Its expensive up front ($20!) but getting an ounce of something that is used in tiny drops probably means I'll never run out. Hope to find a smaller sample pack of other colors

Alclad electric blue over ultralumen chrome on medium-to-large parts shows a gradient of coverage around lines/edges. Not that I dislike the result, maybe a slower layering will give me even coverage

Next test: Make a red Hyaku Shiki from a used HG (revive). Previous owner left me the two spare shoulder stickers, wonder how those will look/react to a 2k clear

Testing out Alclad enamels over the Ultralumen chrome, glad it works so far with some brighter color than what I can get with alclad. 4 days of dry on chrome. From left: ultralumen chrome, then with alclad candy orange, red, electric blue, and indigo Alclad orange and blue comps above.

First test this new Digital Armory ultralumen I've tried (second, third spoon) compared to Alclad (first). Used 15 psi. First one I stopped once the shine came in, second I overshot too much. Still a work in progress Nice chrome results so far for a few dollars more than Alclad per ounce

Three tests on some Alclad candy paints over chrome: - Orange - Electric Blue - Two parts Electric Blue, one part Ruby Red I've used up my violet and I think the mix did a good job as a replacement. (Orange was just me not using a large enough test drop of paint, tad more and it's mirror gloss)

HG 赤いガンダム 首と顎の裏を削って少し顎を引けるように加工して 頭部とバックパックを塗装しました 首もパールローズディープレッドで塗り分け 目の青は下地に黒、シルバーその上に蛍光ブルーグリーン、クリアブルーを重ねました😊 #GQuuuuuuX #ジークアクス #ガンプラ #gunpla

Time to run some practice on an actual kit, this time an older Qubeley from the local store junk bin. Missing the right arm saber but did come with the one-piece beam saber, so I think I can cut that down as a replacement.

Small spoons are Tamiya gloss black, larger ones are Mecha Empire 2k gloss black. Left pair are Alclad polished aluminum, right pair are Alclad chrome. Chrome pops a bit more off the 2k base and the shine is better in person, but I think both are OK for what they are.

Tamiya gloss black doesn't like the new spoons from the work cafe for some reason (far left) Mecha Empire 2k gloss black works fine, so these are my 2k test spoons now. Next two are alclad Hi-Shine Alunimun, then Chrome. Seems to work just fine

Alclad candy violet tests over black chrome / chrome / polished aluminum / hi-shine plus aluminum Last of these is Ch + HSPA combined to form a bright silver cause I wanted to see what would happen, turns out not much. Definitely darker than what comes from the alclad bright silver base.

Alclad candy red tests on black chrome / chrome / polished aluminum / hi-shine plus aluminum. Adding color really exposes how poor I am at using spray cans to put the base on. I was trying not to and still glommed it on

Iitial bases as I test out alclad metal/clear combos. Tamiya gloss black underneath. Still not quite right as I work on the timing of light-to-moderate layering Front to back: black chrome, chrome, polished aluminum, hi-shine plus aluminum HSPL has always come out the best for me

Leos on patrol #gunpla

Final result of painting these up. Used Mr Color khaki green as main color, mixed with yellow and black for face and feet/shoulders respectively.

SD Zaku Warrior, just testing - alclad white - tamiya pure orange and NATO black Slowly getting better at masking off a mono-eye. Originally a 400 yen throw-in to an order, I'm pleasantly surprised at this one. A nice blend of simple and actually having joints.

Finally wrapped up the spring test shots: SD Kampfer, Qubeley and Zaku Warrior. These little kits have been great practice.

Finally tried a couple test water transfer decals off an IBO HG sheet. My first attempt at these. A little visible if caught in the right angle, but looks pretty good after one layer of clear. Took me 10 minutes to do three decals, respect to those who take time to cover their pieces with dozens.

Next round of practice, three of these LM "Leo Custom" I've picked up the last year. Pretty rough construction but not too bad for kits almost as old as I am. Really like the more cartoonish look personally, especially the head area. Comparison below with my first airbrush test, an HG AC Leo.

Comaprison between using Alclad Silver Base and Mr Color Silver under the same Alclad Candy Violet. Qubeley is Alclad, Kampfer parts are Mr Color. Initially just darker in tone, the Kampfer's silver base clouded/mixed with the violet enamel over time. Both sealed with cheapest 2k I could find

Weather's finally warming enough to open the garage and finish some paused tests from last year. First to finish the Alclad candy violet test on an SD Qubeley with eyes and some detail, probably metallic red/silvers I haven't tried Alclad Candy Base Alclad Violet "no name" cheap 2K gloss to seal

Oh, and PSA to anyone also new to painting used/junk kits like me: wiping down pieces, especially areas where a sticker was pulled off, is a good idea. Got some paint peel on area I took a sticker off from on the SD Gundam Ez-8 I was starting and decided I need a break from all the masking.

HGUC Guncannon with cobalt blue deco, kind of mirroring the Guncannon II deco. Got lazy and tried to hand paint the eye, very stupid. Another kit I'll come back to for weathering testing later. Liked this blue. Decal is from a different 30 year old kit, no amount of matte clear coat is hiding it

HGUC Gyan testing out light brown/brown. First attempt at white paint went terrible, but using a white primer for the color went on easily. Cleanup's no help lol. Lost the hands/visor somewhere A good subject to try out weathering/wash techniques on Comparison with "light sand" Ez-8 color

HGUC Ez-8, testing out "light sand" with navy blue/dark grey. This was pretty heavily panel lined with a marker before priming and paint, and I like the more subtle panel lining. Think I'll try panel inking after primer for light colors more going forward

Catching up on the last few weeks of test shots, switching to some cheap pre-built junk kits from the local toy store. Painting things with color separation in the pieces is a nice change-up. HGUC Gyan, Gundam Ez-8, and Guncannon

BB Senshi/SD Gundam Zaku High Mobility painted base "pure blue" color, loosely based on the Robert Gilliam color scheme.

SD Crossbone Gundam w/ an attempt at candy indigo paint. Got about 50% through the detail colors before throwing in the towel at head and chest detail, good i enough for me as is.

Think I'm gonna start keeping track of the small kits I put together this summer as I learn to use an airbrush. First is a candy cobalt blue SD Gundam Kampfer. Attempting to hand paint details went poorly, but airbrushing over that was just fine. I guess I'll stick to using the paint that way