The Energon Pub

mpchi wrote:

DevastaTTor wrote:Huge favor to ask-could you PM me or post a couple of tips here and let me know some of the details of your wash process. It looks great-as does your others you've posted. I'm about to give it a try but couldn't find much about the details: the process as far as application, dry time, what you're using to rub off the excess, etc. I'm dying to give this a try.

You can find some details on my process on my other "Rise! Leader Class Rise!!!" thread. In terms of application, just mix your enamel paint (about 1 part paint, 2 parts thinner) with some small dish or container, grab a cheap small size brush and dip them into areas you want the details to pop filled with details and panel lines, like the lower arm of Ratchet, and his lower leg side panel. If you want the guy look more weathered and dirty, then apply a little bit of paint pretty much everywhere by brushing on a thin layer, including inside joints and armpits and whatnot. The paint should be very see-through, otherwise, its too thick. Enamels dries pretty fast when its this thin. Usually dries in like 10-15 mins. Then use a Q-tip, dip a little thinner and smudge off excessive paint. Use some small pieces of paper towel too for bigger areas. Make sure you don't dip too much thinner on the Q-tip, otherwise you'll wipe off more paint than you want. Once you went over the whole guy, let dry. You can use some grey/black fine tip Gundam Markers to draw in panel lines you missed or accidentally wiped out, but its optional. You can always give the paint another pass for areas you didn't like as much. When its all done and dried, then add silver paint marker highlights by drawing on edges and details very lightly. Just add a little bit like how you would see painted metal parts in real life got paint chips on the edges and corners. Use your finger to smear it a little when necessary to get a nice fading edge. Messy fingers you'll get, but you can just wash it off later. Just make sure not to add silver fingerprints on your figure. :P

Enamel paints are very forgiving, as you can clean them off good and redo any areas you are not happy with. But its also this nature that let them not stick too well on plastic compare to acrylic model paint. So the dirt weathering you added can rub off slowly as you handle the figure and transform it more. Paints with metallic flakes like silver, gold, bronze..etc. tends to rub off too, even if they are not enamel base. In some case, with figures that have big clean areas you can hold and grab, this is not a big issue. But if its unavoidable and you want to keep the weathering exactly how it is, you need to seal it with a clear coat on top, after all the painting is done at the end. I use Model Master Lacquer Overcoat Semi-gloss clear spray can. Works very well, though cost $5 for a small can that only last a figure or two. You can find these in some local model or hobby shops. I get very good results with this and no bubbling. When you spray, keep a good distance around a feet from the figure. Start spraying away from the figure first, then slowly move in while keep the spraying going. Do not stop your arm movement nor the spraying in the middle. Keep the arm movement and spraying going, and slowly moving back and forth around different parts of the figure. It should minimize bubbling and give it a nice even coat. Semi-gloss matches the dirt & plastic well. But if you want to make it more car-like with a shiny finish, you can use glossy or even ultra glossy. Just don't make the robot too dirty on the weathering, as shiny dirt may look kind of weird. This brand of clear coat usually dries in an hour to touch, and completely dry in a few more hours.

Thats about it. Easy enough, and nothing very fancy. But a good efficient process for us collectors that are not too skilled on doing a complete custom job (disassembling, masking, priming, airbrushing...etc.), but still able to improve the look of these toys to an extend. Hope it answers some of your questions.

Counterpunch wrote:Most people apply wash to their work like children who finger paint poorly.

However, your work is outstanding.

::Props::

wildscorpio67 wrote:I'm a huge fan of this figure. Nice job on the dirt wash! It came out amazingly well.

Please don't view this as an attempt to trump you in any way, but I wanted to share a custom of this figure that I did. Nothing special, just a head swap with a modified Alt Prowl head.

Just further proof that with a little TLC, this figure can totally rock!