Anyone into gunpla - Japanophiles unite to share tips on painting our toys (GUNPLA IS FREEDOM)

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Excuse my double post, had some time to resize photos. Enjoy my collection starting from my 1st build.

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Shiverpeaks said:
There has to be 3rd party pipes worth using. I think I bought some from Side 7 years ago.
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There are but I'd have to paint them to match the color I'd like. Most of the pipes made by other companies are metal and usually come in 3 colors.

MS-09 DOM said:
I didn't find the pipes too much of an issue, mind you I got a Razer V2 with my first order. Very handy plastic sander.

I just cut them free and sanded the pinch points while it was still on the "running rod", then ran them individually. Size S glove gang.
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I used the same method to sand mine. I don't know what I'm going to do when I disassemble my Zaku to paint it.
 
Baby Cakes said:
Just the MG unfortunately. If you need information on kits before you buy them, I recommend Dalong's website Dalong.net
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Dalong is such a resource for the gunpla community; even without running his reviews through Google Translate, you can still get so much info from all the pictures. There's something charming about how it's still very much Web 1.0 all these years later. I don't know how he's managed to do so many posts for over twenty years (daily since 2015!) without going insane and/or broke. I guess that's the power of super Korean autism. He did bring up some info about the site in his blog commemorating his twentieth anniversary, so if you want something heartwarming, here's the translated text:
November 20, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the official release of the Dalongnet domain. I usually don't pay special attention to anniversaries, but the 20th anniversary still has some meaning, so I'm leaving a brief reflection.

In fact, I bought the Dalongnet domain and started creating a website on April 22, 2002. After quietly filming Gunpla one by one and building a web page little by little for a year and a half, There is a story that on November 20, 2003, while uploading an unboxing shot of PG Zephyr, the domain was exposed and it was forced to be made public. We planned to open on January 1, 2004 after making enough reviews in advance, but it just happened to happen that way. At the time of opening, only about 100 kits including MG and HG that had been released before were reviewed.

As you know, we have been continuously reviewing for 20 years. In particular, since 2015, I have been keeping my goal of posting one kit review per day. I have already achieved my life's goal of "reviewing all standard Gunpla, including older versions." The SD Gundam review project, which seemed almost impossible to collect in its entirety, was also successfully completed. As you know, in recent years we have been working on a project to review about 600 Club G kits. (approximately 80% achieved) In the meantime, I created a Dinnet cafe [mistranslated?] and met many good people, and we still maintain small gatherings.

I often get asked how I can create and review so consistently, without a single day off. Ultimately, I think it's possible because it's a hobby I like. Also, it may be because I maintained my original intention of pursuing it as a strictly non-profit hobby, separate from my livelihood. Actually, I have other hobbies besides plastic, but I still play plastic most of the time when I have time.

In particular, my extremely planned J-type personality seems to have played a big role in my daily reviews. As shown below, we are planning to update the review schedule by predicting it and organizing it in Excel. ^^; (We are predicting a review schedule for approximately several months based on new product release dates and existing kits, etc.)

You might ask, “Why do I do this as a hobby? It’s not my job.” I think it's just because I have a bad personality. (I love Excel so much!)

In 2002, Dalongnet started with a 300,000-pixel digital camera, which was high-spec and expensive at the time... Today's generation doesn't even know how poor the digital camera image quality was 20 years ago, and they say old review photos are bad... Anyway, I think it's a diary containing my life. When I look at 20 years of reviews, the history of my life at the time I was making the kit passes by like a flash.

Anyway, it's been a while since we had a chat to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the official opening. After carefully looking back at Dalongnet so far, the conclusion I came to is...

I think I like making champra [gunpla]. (Wow, do you know this now haha) I liked it since I was young... I liked it when I was in middle school and college... and even after I entered society... Even in his dreams, Pramand imagines a lot and seems to have reached this point(?).

And... I don't think it will be any different in the future :-)
But yes, always check his site first before you buy a kit so you can get an idea of what you're getting yourself into. The odds that he hasn't reviewed something you're looking to buy are slim.
 
WhimsicalTrolli said:
For primer do you use black or white? I had no idea there's primer in red or brown. I guess it's for like warm colors.
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I use grey primer for my darker grey and black paints. White primer is good for yellow, blue, red, etc. Black primer is good for silvers and gold I think. It makes them more bold but can make them darker.
 
WhimsicalTrolli said:
What's your guys favorite paint brands for gunpla? And what would make a good dummy gunpla to test painting on kits?
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I'm just starting to get into painting, but I've always heard good things about Mr. Hobby's paints. Their paints are what the color guides in the instruction manuals are based around, so if you want to be as accurate as possible, they're the way to go.

Remember that the kind of paint you buy also depends on the kind of painting you're doing. Lacquer is only really suitable for airbrushing, while acrylic and enamel can be used for either air or hand, though enamel will need special care to clean up if you airbrush. Acrylics seem to be generally recommended for their ease of use, fast drying time, and less toxic nature.

Echoing @Baby Cakes above, buy a pack of plastic spoons and use them to practice your technique. They're cheap, you get a lot, and you don't need to feel bad about ruining a kit you like with beginner mistakes. If you do want to practice on a kit, an Entry Grade is cheap and quick to put together, and it won't have a lot of parts to paint. For other options, the Leo is fairly simple for a High Grade, and 30 Minute Missions kits are similar in complexity.
 
What is the best red (feel free to include any range from Mr. Hobby, citadel, vallejo, ak, army painter, two thin coats) paints for these bad boys. Feel free to include bonus colors for the other colors for these two.
 

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WhimsicalTrolli said:
What is the best red (feel free to include any range from Mr. Hobby, citadel, vallejo, ak, army painter, two thin coats) paints for these bad boys. Feel free to include bonus colors for the other colors for these two.
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Without the paint scheme for this, I can't tell you what the colors are exactly.

I think the red you want may be this:

The black could be any black paint.

The yellow I found is a little less orange than the yellow I see in the picture:

I think the gray parts are metallic so I suggest regular silver; if not, try light gray:

You don't have to buy from Newtype; you can go to Spraygunner and buy the paints there as well.
 
WhimsicalTrolli said:
I was thinking of making the V bronze due to mimmick the show/dx from the original release.
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You might be blown away by this paint:

Notice the swatch says it's green - what else is green that used to be untarnished? The Statue of Liberty. So, what you do is evenly coat the V with this paint - and then you take a soft cloth and lightly polish the piece. What you will reveal is a piece that looks like it was made of metal. I've used these paints before on spoons and they are amazing.
 
So I got some Mr. Color Metallic Green and I wondering what do you use to thin it down? Because I've tried the Tamiya X-20A thinner and it just turned into a glob of paint.
 
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