IceWilly wrote:Can anyone point me in the direction of some good tutorials for repainting? there is a lot of warhammer stuff online which is probably pretty relevant, but since transformers move around a bit there may be some specifics.
I have a simple airbrush I plan to use for larger sections and such, and I will be looking into decent smaller brushes for detailing.
The hobby shop guys I talked to recommended acrylic water based paintss and a Top loaded dual action air brush. Maybe the air brush is overkill, but I got it as a gift so I want to learn to use it.
My first project will be repainting ROTF superion into G1 colors and painting the Fans Project kit a bit as well.
Notable questions:
- How to prep the figures (with or without existing paint) Strip it all down? remove the paint apps with alcohol? Base coat over everything? no base coat, just paint?
- How to mask off ears I don't want touched, or for hard line edges? Painters tape? rubber cement?
- Should I be dis-assembling the transformers and painting the individual pieces on their own? Should I bother putting paint on ball joints?
- Clear coat everything?
Obviously I am totally in the dark, and need some good information to point me in the right direction.
thanks
Here's how I do it:
Gather up some small empty bottles (paint, pills, whatever). Take the torso apart (GO SLOW if there are any gimmicks containing springs, as they may launch themselves across the room), note which screw came from which hole, and put the parts you're not gonna paint into a bottle, then label it. Pins can be removed by tapping them out with a hammer and nail. You may want to use multiple bottles if there's a lot of screws. Alternately get a roll of double-sided tape and mark each screw individually. Either way make sure you remember what goes where. Trust me: mixing up or losing screws and other hardware is a major pain in the ass. Set the limbs aside for later.
You can strip the factory paint off the plastic parts with rubbing alcohol or paint thinner, then wash the parts in warm water and dish detergent, and let them air dry.
Okay, here's where things get tricky. Remember most parts on a TF are moving parts, and you will have issues if you put paint on too thick. Be very careful when painting, or, if you feel comfortable enough: Note any areas where parts will rotate or slide past each other while posing or transforming, and with a nail file or fine grit sandpaper
very gently sand them down. You want to remove only about the thickness of two pieces of paper. This way once you paint and seal the parts, you should be back to the original dimensions, and you shouldn't have to worry about binding or paint-wear.
From here you can paint, detail and wash as you see fit. Go slow, and give the paint time to dry between colors; I can get away with as little as a half hour, depending on whether it's acrylic or enamel paint. Don't bother painting the balls or inside of the socket, the paint will just rub off, and worst case you may change the shape, causing the joint to become stiff. Once you're done painting, give it a day or two to dry completely, then seal the parts. I prefer Testors Dullcote in the rattle-can for robot part and non-car alt-modes (Carformers get Glosscote, natch), but use whatever you like. Set the torso aside and start on the limbs. Once you finish painting one limb, reassemble it, then move on to the next). Once everything is done, reassemble the figure, and transform and/or move all the limbs just to make sure everything works.
For your specific questions:
I've found that enamel or acrylic, most hobby paints cover well enough you don't need primer unless A) you're painting white something that was originally dark or B) the part is PVC (2007 Screamer's "fingers", Barricade's head, etc.).
You can use anything from post-it notes to tape (Scotch
Pop-up Tape is a godsend!) to pin-stripe tape to silly putty to
funtak to mask off parts, depending on what you're doing, or what effect you want.
Osprey publishing has a great
book on airbrushing, as does
Kalmbach.
), but I like the coverage better. Metallic colors especially look more realistic.
