The Energon Pub

hi guys, the one i got with the 20th anniversary optimus prime figure is with the orange coat. i can't stand it, why would hasbro deliberately screw up prime's iconic color. his upper torso is RED. the reason i didn't get takara or hasbro version with damage paint is because they're 100- 200 bucks more difference. by the way i dislike prime to have damage print on its body. anyway my question is, is it possible to repaint the figure in RED over the orange paint portion?
if not please tell me so. btw, my prime has many chipping color parts, what color paint should i use to cover those parts. is it called orange color or just brighter red paint?

please answer my question...

You should take prime apart and remember how it goes back , once apart sand it down with 400 grit sand paper and paint the red, light coats until your happy with the color.
If using a spray can use good paint krylon testors stick to name brands, Shake the can well then run the can under a little warm water for 3 mins the spray can will act like a airbrush Light and smooth Remembert for best results light coats and good tape...
If you going to need to tape some areas off Please use only 3M masking tape I use the blue version of 3M masking tape

what color paint should i use to cover those parts. is it called orange color or just brighter red paint?

Try a real hobby shop and look at testor car paints might be a ford engine red that really is more orange you will have more choices at a hobby store.
if it were me I would just repaint the whole thing the way you really want it.
Hope this helps

Clusterprime

Testors has many great shades of red. My favorite is "Guards Red", but it may be a little to bright from Prime. Make sure you are careful when choosing. There are 3 different finishes you can have:

Gloss
Satin
Flat

Gloss is shiny
Satin is not so shiny
Flat is not shiny at all

I'd go with gloss since he is a big metal truck. The toy isn't all that shiny though. His cab, which is metal, has more shine than his arms and head. I'd buy a few cans and experiment on some scrap plastic before spraying Prime.

3M is good masking tape.

Take your time.

I used to build regular plastic models, but I have never repainted a Transformer. Spray in light coats. Let each coat dry completely, otherwise, you're going to have a mess on your hands.

you mean removing every pieces apart of prime like arms and legs, for can spraying the parts with red paint. before i do that, will the figure come out nicely, in other words, will the figure look as natural as standing side by side with the masterpiece mp-04 version? cuz i don't want it to end up looking ugly and un-natural.

By removing the parts you will have better detail and look better when he gets put back together, it will make for a better looking paint if you take your time, you will need a durable paint if your going to transform him keep that in mind when getting paint.

Clusterprime

Altertron wrote:you mean removing every pieces apart of prime like arms and legs, for can spraying the parts with red paint. before i do that, will the figure come out nicely, in other words, will the figure look as natural as standing side by side with the masterpiece mp-04 version? cuz i don't want it to end up looking ugly and un-natural.

When painting, it is best to have him in pieces. That may be a big pain in the butt with him since he has so many pieces. I would never attempt it myself.

When choosing a red, buy different shades of red. Spray on a junk piece of plastic (not on Prime) to see how they look dry. Then pick the shade of red you like best.

Then take Prime apart (if you dare), and spray the parts you want red. Make sure you do a good job masking off ALL the areas you DON'T want to be painted.

Personally, I don't recommend painting him. But that's up to you. Like I said earlier, I've never painted a Transformer before, only plastic model kits.

What I plan to do is customize a Classics Cliffjumper. He's cheap, so if I screw it up, I'm out like $8. No big. Your project seems a LOT more complex.

on a second thought i think you're right, it's too damn risky to paint him in pieces apart. btw i'm not a pro on model painting. however there are some chipping loss of color. since the figure is orange, what type of orange paint should i cover the chipping parts?
i really don't want to separate him into pieces cuz it's too risky of breaking it. so if i insisted on painting it cuz i hate orange color on a toy. should i just paint it in red over the orange coat with paint brushes instead?

i don't wanna sound like an idiot, but has prime ever appear in any episodes of the G1 series wearing orange coat, cuz i never recall him ever wears an orange coat and that bothers me to see him after 20 years wearing orange instead of red. on the wikipedia site, hasbro decided to go with this color is because they want it to stay true and original to the cartoon series and movie. but excuse me if i'm color blind which i'm not. not only in the US i'm remembering it red but so as all the new episodes of transformers airing in japan has prime in red. this baffles me all day why didn't hasbro use red the second release of this toy. the reason i didn't get mine is because i missed the first release, and the price of that toy skyrocket into 100 bucks more within 2 years. but this one with the blue gun, shorten smokestacks, and the non peter cullen sound base i can live with. but i just can't stand hasbro change his color scheme. the fact they did it right the first time but with damage print marks!
this release without the marks, they decided to screw with the red coat. PS. please correct my knowledge with the series whether prime has ever appear in orange torso in one episode.

not that i am aware of.. in fact.. i don't think that it is ever so.

after hearing people trashing how bad this version is, for the pale coloring and blue gun!!!! i decide that i'm gonna do something about it. i gonna alter this inferior version to a best one. the colors i gonna get is dark or medium red for the upper torso, silver chrome paint for the grill, shinning silver for the thighs to make them look glossy, and to paint over the white stripes. finally the black paint to spray it all over the blue gun.
however i'm not sure how to do it, but i figure out i will spray paint on it in robot mode and leave it till it gets dry, then transform it to truck mode, then paint on the parts that i missed early. will this work? cuz it's a hassle and a huge risk to separate prime into pieces. after putting it back, the transformation will not be stable as it is before.
plus what kind of red paint that is as close as to the original mp-01, and 04 that they used to paint on the mold.
sorry about being so repetitive about a topic for so long, cuz i feel like a sucker to buy the less praised version.
finally does the plastic parts of the figure absorb paint after i spray on them?

i like to use krylon fusion for my repaints.. and alot of tape and putty to cover parts i don't want them to get painted. and taking the whole figure apart, then remembering to put it back together..
hint: take photo's of each step.. sounds tedious.. it is.

i'm sorry but did you hear what i ask you, i said i would like to avoid dissecting the figure apart. i would just like to paint in one piece. ex. i will paint it on robot mode, afterward i will repaint it on truck mode. will that work geninuely as well.
where did you buy your krylon fusion for plastic, is it online or in stores. cuz none of my home outlets or stores such as walmart or home depot have such products, did you find yours at a model kit or comic stores or just plain old furniture supply outlets?

i know you may not WANT to take it apart, but unles you want a shody job, i would suggest taking SOME things apart and AT LEAST covering them (with tape and putty, or the like) so you don't spray red paint all over them. you will not suceed trying to do the the figure all at once. trust me. oh yea, I HATE BOLD
so to further your question, krylon fusion is available at any target or walmart, of course, you must be 18 to buy (in AZ at least)

...I am an artist and painter by occupation...and you could paint him whole without taking him apart...but, what's going to happen is that you'll have paint clumping up in crevices and corners...you would need to take extra care in masking it well, but if you've had no prior experience masking then I doubt it will turn out right...to mask him in such a way, it will require more than the usual 3M painter's mask...you'd need an autobody stretch mask used usually for autobody purposes, one that can bend and turn tight corners...

...the thing about this problem is that it's basically exactly the situation that prolly led Prime to being orange in the first place...different pigments and colors have a wide range of costs...and, Hasbro choosing the particular color of orange may have been a cost cutting move to ship these toys in mass quanities...by not taking him apart, and trying to paint him the easy way, you might be doing a "Hasbro" which might reflect on the quality of the end result...

...the advice you are getting here are good ones...esp. the mention of sanding...that is critical...you need to sand him down with fine paper in order to get the surfaces enuff bite to keep the paint sticking on...if you use a brush, it will never look right...but if you go that route, I'd recommend the finest sable brush you can find and water/dilute the paint down and use a lot of very light coats...as the coats go on, the brush strokes will diminish...make sure to brush in the same direction each time...and try to sand lightly between each coat...

hope this might help...

This should be in the kitbash forum, youd get more responses from more people who know more about kitbashing and re-spraying in there.

But anyway, id personally take him all to bits and paint him like that, but im a pro so thats no big deal to me. Since you are a novice i wouldnt recommend doing anything that complex to him, and just buy a 20th anni prime if you see one.

...yeh, all things said...I wouldn't recommend doing this...to do it the right way (the way you'd want it), you need to:

1. Take him apart.
2. Sand down all surfaces that will take paint (All nooks and crannies)
3. Mask out areas not being painted (medium tack stretch mask)
4. Mix and test colors on similar surface (plastic) and ground color.
5. If ground color won't keep the color bright or hold the paint, then you must spray primer.
6. Finally spray paint in light even coats with steady passes. Be careful about the mask's edges because you could create a paint "cliff" if it is too thick.
7. Repeat Step #6. Not too much paint or too little, just until the paint builds up well (I'd guess it would take 3-4 coats but it depends on the absorbency of the plastic/primer).

...if that sounds overly complicated then it's because that's what I was trying to communicate...to do it the way you want it, you just won't get that with shortcuts...if you want to use a brush, it will look brushed and ridged...if you don't want to take him apart, you will get paint build up and/or overspray in unintended areas...I'm just trying to save yourself from wasting a perfectly good Prime figure...

..all things said and done, I have a version of the DVD Anniversary Prime and he is actually an orange-red, not pure orange...and I think he looks great in his way...and in some TV episodes, he was actually orangish...in some episodes, he was pretty darn orange...the fact of the matter is that the action figures came before the show...and once the show started, the TV production company took a lot of liberties in changing the characters...some of that was in color...the original Prime figure was crimson-like red...the show pushed that color towards orange and changed his eye color, among other things...this was days of celluloid before computers where you didn't have the same degree of color management you have today...so it's really all over the map...the Takara figure just takes the original toy as its main starting point there...

superchew, you mean the mp-04 still has the same orange-red that the dvd prime has. and only mp-01 in red? then i'm not buying it.

Altertron wrote:superchew, you mean the mp-04 still has the same orange-red that the dvd prime has. and only mp-01 in red? then i'm not buying it.

no, no...
the mp-04 has the same paint job as mp-01.. mp-04 comes with a trailor, thats it

...no, when I said "original Prime figure", I meant the original Prime toy from the 80s that I grew up with..I had maybe 3 of those in my lifetime...and he was the same color as both of the Takara MP versions...Prime in the 80s cartoon was pretty much red but there were some shows that would yellow with age or the color correcting would be off and his color would be more orange-red...