The Energon Pub

Sideswipe should have been red, so red he shall be.

DOTM Deluxe Sideswipe
Tamiya paints - Gloss red, Flat aluminum, Flat black, Flat white, custom mixed blue for eyes (Gloss blue/ Flat white)
Repro labels - 2x 'white' Autobot symbols

Awesome repaint!

BTW, when you said Tamiya paints, did you mean their TS spray cans or the bottled acrylic paints? If it's the latter, did you use an airbrush? Because I can't for the life of me get a smooth coat of paint using the bottled paints with a paint brush.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Awesome repaint!

BTW, when you said Tamiya paints, did you mean their TS spray cans or the bottled acrylic paints? If it's the latter, did you use an airbrush? Because I can't for the life of me get a smooth coat of paint using the bottled paints with a paint brush.

Thanks! I appreciate that!

The paints I used are the bottled Tamiya acrylics, and right now I do everything by brush and hand. Getting a perfectly smooth finish with a brush is nearly impossible, and up close you can see that this was done by brush, but there's a technique to getting it as smooth as possible. I did a lot of plastic models when I was a kid, so I do have some experience in it.

I use a very fine brush for most of the work, but when I do large smooth surfaces (like the hood, his shoulders, and his side panels) I use a #4 round brush. I make sure to keep the brush loaded with paint, not dripping, but dip often. The key is to use very smooth, long and steady strokes in the same direction. Put one quick coat and let dry. I added three or four coats to his hood just to get the best finish on it.

This doesn't do well for the detail work or nooks and crannies (like his legs), but for any large smooth surface it tends to work pretty well.

Sideswipe was actually easier to paint than my last one, which was a repaint of a DOTM deluxe Bumblebee. Check it out here if you want: viewtopic.php?f=143&t=92572

Cheers!

You took a mediocre mold and turned it into something epic. I love it !

xyl360 wrote:You took a mediocre mold and turned it into something epic. I love it !

Thanks! I appreciate that!

Jones wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Awesome repaint!

BTW, when you said Tamiya paints, did you mean their TS spray cans or the bottled acrylic paints? If it's the latter, did you use an airbrush? Because I can't for the life of me get a smooth coat of paint using the bottled paints with a paint brush.

Thanks! I appreciate that!

The paints I used are the bottled Tamiya acrylics, and right now I do everything by brush and hand. Getting a perfectly smooth finish with a brush is nearly impossible, and up close you can see that this was done by brush, but there's a technique to getting it as smooth as possible. I did a lot of plastic models when I was a kid, so I do have some experience in it.

I use a very fine brush for most of the work, but when I do large smooth surfaces (like the hood, his shoulders, and his side panels) I use a #4 round brush. I make sure to keep the brush loaded with paint, not dripping, but dip often. The key is to use very smooth, long and steady strokes in the same direction. Put one quick coat and let dry. I added three or four coats to his hood just to get the best finish on it.

This doesn't do well for the detail work or nooks and crannies (like his legs), but for any large smooth surface it tends to work pretty well.

Sideswipe was actually easier to paint than my last one, which was a repaint of a DOTM deluxe Bumblebee. Check it out here if you want: viewtopic.php?f=143&t=92572

Cheers!

Thanks for the pointers, Jones!

BTW, what ratio do you thin your paints with? What do you use?

I tried using Tamiya's own acrylics thinner, and it only serve to peel off the first coat of paint when I tried to paint a second coat onto it. I've had better luck thinning it with a glass cleaner called Kao Magiclean.

How long you you wait between coats?

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:
Thanks for the pointers, Jones!

BTW, what ratio do you thin your paints with? What do you use?

I tried using Tamiya's own acrylics thinner, and it only serve to peel off the first coat of paint when I tried to paint a second coat onto it. I've had better luck thinning it with a glass cleaner called Kao Magiclean.

How long you you wait between coats?

Actually, everything I've done so far has been straight from the paint pots. No thinning.

Ideally I like to let it set overnight before working another coat, but an hour is usually sufficient to reapply without worry.

Jones wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:
Thanks for the pointers, Jones!

BTW, what ratio do you thin your paints with? What do you use?

I tried using Tamiya's own acrylics thinner, and it only served to peel off the first coat of paint when I tried to paint a second coat onto it. I've had better luck thinning it with a glass cleaner called Kao Magiclean.

How long do you wait between coats?

Actually, everything I've done so far has been straight from the paint pots. No thinning.

Ideally I like to let it set overnight before working another coat, but an hour is usually sufficient to reapply without worry.

Thanks for the tips! I'll try that when I finally get around to customizing that WFC Soundwave of mine.