The Energon Pub

[AutobotJazz]

OK guys, here's a good place for you guys to throw out brands of paint you like, various tutorials, resource sites, or other tips and tricks you've picked up along the way. We've got a good mix of veterans and interested beginners. Let's share and pool together our strength and resources.

[MacrossFA19]

I have always liked the testors brands paints. The Model masters seem to be the best of thier line. And the airbrush kit is an o.k. addition.
Krylon fusion is another great invention. Just follow the directions and voila.
Krylon metals great for Titanium repainting.
And Tamiya paints are now becoming my favorites. Especially the clear colors. Great for windows, light piping projects, and weapons

Though these are just my opinions. There are other vetran basher/reapinters out there that prefer other paints.

[Godmodule]

Gundam markers. Cheap, removable if you mess up, and simple panel lining adds so much detail to your project...

[Ramrider]

I concur that the Tamiya clearcoats rock somewhat, but I find the normal paints to be hard going, taking too many coats to get any kind of smooth coverage.

I use a mix of whatever paints work; I mostly use Inscribe acrylics, which have generally very good coverage, and really good value (most are 99p for a 59ml container, which is at least 5 times better value than most paints). The range also has some great clearcoats, like Pearly Glaze and Glitter Glaze, which make for some stunning effects.

There's also a fairly new line from Revell called AquaColor, which I only have couple of colours, but I'm loving the satin black especially.

Gluewise, I've developed a love for Loctite's Easy Brush superglue. As it says on the label, it brushes on easily, comes in a handy, hard-to-knock-over pot, and unlike tubes, the lid doesn't fuse to the container before you've even used half of it. It's got better adhesion than any superglue I've ever used before (I've stuck things that weren't remotely flush, and they still hold beautifully), and it's the only superglue I've used that doesn't develop that oh-so-tasteful white crust when it dries. I've also found it serves really well as a clearcoat to protect high-wear surfaces (when I've painted a gun handle, for instance).

[Leonardo]

I think this is the best thread for this question; I'm looking for advice.

I want to begin my first repaint, in particular, Classics Megatron into more G1-accurate colours.

Is there anything I should be especially careful of when disassembling this figure? Are some joints/pins/screws easier to remove (and subsequently replace) than others? I'm worried about the pins holding the back 'wings' on the trigger. Will that be easy to push out / in?

Also, how does one go about changing the colour of the light piping?

I'm wanting to achieve this:

[Dr. GM1983]

Panel Lines and how to Paint Them

This is a question I get from many kitbashers/modelmakers both new and vets. Forget trying to paint them in with a brush, 9 times out of 10 you will either ruin the brush or just make a mess.

The best way I've filled in the panel lines on a mech, or anything else that I wanted them to be visable, is to use .001 tipped pen. Yes, its an ink pen. You can find them readily at most craft and hobby stores and from time to time in the crafts department of Wal-Mart with the prices varying from $1-2 US.

Tips

These pens are not ball point nor are the felt, to be honest I'm not sure what the tip of them are made up but with it being so fine they can and will break if too much pressure is applied so be carefull.

When filling in panel lines be sure to take your time. In most cases these pens have a very steady flow of ink and wont blotch/build-up if you leave it in one spot for a few seconds. However a few of the cheaper ones have a very heavy flow which can overflow and "spill over" onto the rest of the peice your painting.

If this happens you can easily wipe them off or, if your looking to put some "weathering" on your model, use a napkin to soak up the extra ink and gently rub the remainder on the peice. In the case of mecha it usually ends up looking like a grease stain or smudged earth. The exception to this method is if the peice your painting is white. If you smudge the ink it will usually end up looking yellowed, like the butt of a smoked cigarette and not very eye appealing.

If this happens you have a few choices:

1. Soak up the excess ink with a napkin, usually the very soft "gentle" types work best but sometimes leave a little felt. No worries, you can get that off later.

2. If its an airbrushed peice, just wait for everything to dry and do a quick touch up. In most cases its usually just a very small splotch and easy to cover up.

3. If it becomed yellowed and dried, you can try to use paint thinner but in my experiance, its better to just repaint the entire peice.

It does take a bit of practice and a steady hand to use these pens but in the end its worth it. If I get my hands on a digital camera I'll take some pics of what I've painted with them.

EDIT
I forgot to mention that this method can be used on action figures as well. The key to getting it to work is cleaning the figure. Virtually all plastic figures from mechs to humanoids have some residual grease on them from the mold that can and will mess up any type of paint job you attempt.

I just put the figure in a large bowl of warm water with a few drops of liquid Dawn and let it sit overnight. Now all the grease should be off in the morning when your ready to fill in those lines. I slowly pour out the water so the grease doesnt get back on the figure then put it under a running tap of hot/warm water for a rinse for about a minute. Allow time to dry and begin filling in those lines.

For those figures that have stickers on them, use your best judement. I would recomend using a very soft bristled toothbrush to clean away the areas you plan on filling in with a small amount of dish soap on it so it doesnt sud covered in suds. It shouldnt take too long to clean off and dry, maybe 10 minutes at most.

[Dead Metal]

Shot wounds and fire damege. Is quite easy as I found out, just take a knife and cut, scrape of parts of the plastic and then burn them with fire. Very easy and efectiv as my old carbot sale Prime found out.

[Devastator]

I usually used Testors brand arylic paint. I used to order my paint online from the Testors website, but I found that towerhobbies.com carries a bigger selection of Testors paints at lower prices and they actually have pictures of most of the products.

To paint large areas I use a Testors airbrush. I use the kind that sprays the paint directly from the bottle with the use of a special cap rather than the kind where the paint is sucked into the tip of a nozzle and then forced out of a hard to clean tip. For areas that are too small to paint with my inaccurate airbrush, I use Testors paint brushes. After the bristles get damaged I pick up a new set.

[Autobot032]

I have a few paint questions.

I saw Walky's touchup on Shortpacked, in which he detailed movie Ratchet. I followed it (gotta say, he looks fantastic with everything detailed...oooh.) but he just said paint pens. He didn't mention which brand, whether or not it was acrylic, or enamel, etc.

I ended up buying Sharpie brand paint pens, and it's been about 5-7 days since Ratchet was painted (touchups included) and when you touch the spots, it's nothing like glue, but they do have a slight stickiness to them. Fortunately, fingerprints do not stay, the paint's pretty much solid at this point, just..slightly sticky. One nice thing about 'em though, it was almost dry to the touch within minutes after painting. Of course if I had been rough with it, it would've damaged the paint.

So...here are my questions:

1.) Which type of paint is in the Sharpie pens?

2.) What's the difference between Acrylic and Enamel?

3.) Which one's the better of the two choices?

4.) How long, on average does it take for paint to fully dry to the touch with no problems?

[Ramrider]

1) In normal Sharpies, I think it's a standard alcohol-based ink, much as you'd find in any permanent marker; most paint pens, I think, are likely to be enamels.

2) Short answer - Enamel's oil-based, acrylic's water-based.

3) That's pretty much up to you. Most people (myself included) will probably tell you that acrylics are better.
For one thing, they smell a lot less; because enamels are oil-based, you need to use turps or white spirit to keep your brushes clean, and that's gonna stink the house out quickly. Acrylics, as a water-based medium, only need water to clean up, which is a lot more pleasant.
Acrylics also tend to dry more quickly; more often than not, within a few minutes of painting a coat, it's dry and ready to take another.
I've also heard that enamels can cause damage to plastics after several years. Since I haven't actually used them in ages I can't personally confirm or deny this, but still, it's something to consider.
Actually, I can't offhand think of any advantages that enamels have over acrylics, even though I wanted to present an unbiased view.
Bugger. Maybe an enamel user can help to enlighten us both...

4) That depends a lot on factors. Acrylics usually dry pretty quickly, but the actual length of time it takes will depend on what you're painting on, how much you've diluted the paint and how much you've applied. I think certain formulations of acrylic do tend to take longer to dry (Tamiya's certainly seem to).
I believe enamels are even more subject to variation, particularly in reference to the material on which it's painted. I've heard of cases where a fig's been painted with enamels, and while most areas have dried normally, on particular kinds of plastic the paint has never truly set.

Hope that's of some help.

[Autobot032]

1) In normal Sharpies, I think it's a standard alcohol-based ink, much as you'd find in any permanent marker; most paint pens, I think, are likely to be enamels.

2) Short answer - Enamel's oil-based, acrylic's water-based.

3) That's pretty much up to you. Most people (myself included) will probably tell you that acrylics are better.
For one thing, they smell a lot less; because enamels are oil-based, you need to use turps or white spirit to keep your brushes clean, and that's gonna stink the house out quickly. Acrylics, as a water-based medium, only need water to clean up, which is a lot more pleasant.
Acrylics also tend to dry more quickly; more often than not, within a few minutes of painting a coat, it's dry and ready to take another.
I've also heard that enamels can cause damage to plastics after several years. Since I haven't actually used them in ages I can't personally confirm or deny this, but still, it's something to consider.
Actually, I can't offhand think of any advantages that enamels have over acrylics, even though I wanted to present an unbiased view.
Bugger. Maybe an enamel user can help to enlighten us both...

4) That depends a lot on factors. Acrylics usually dry pretty quickly, but the actual length of time it takes will depend on what you're painting on, how much you've diluted the paint and how much you've applied. I think certain formulations of acrylic do tend to take longer to dry (Tamiya's certainly seem to).
I believe enamels are even more subject to variation, particularly in reference to the material on which it's painted. I've heard of cases where a fig's been painted with enamels, and while most areas have dried normally, on particular kinds of plastic the paint has never truly set.

Hope that's of some help.

Indeed it is, thank you. I just hope they stop feeling sticky past a certain point. I've used enamels on Armada Optimus Prime and Jetfire (to name but a few) and it's been years so those paint applications were done. The plastic seems no worse for wear (fortunately) but I don't remember it taking this long to dry. Each day it gets a little better (and I do emphasize on little...) so hopefully it'll dry and seal all the way. Perhaps a clearcoat would help...do they tend to dry fast?

[Ramrider]

I don't see that it'd help, to be honest. If the base coat isn't fully cured, then the top coat won't help it do so. Think of it as akin to painting on ice. You might be able to do it, but if the ice melts, it'll take the paint with it and you'll be back to Square One.
If it's taking that long to dry, you might be better off cleaning it up as much as you can and trying something else.

[Sonray]

Does anyone know where i can find a spare classics bumble bee head?

[Windracer]

Does anyone know where i can find a spare classics bumble bee head?

I don't know if any repro sites are making classics heads/parts or not, but If you're willing to pay, you can always check out Carbombya and see if anyone has any junker Bumblebees they're willing to part with. Other than that, I don't know how to help outside of telling you to buy another one. Usually if you watch BigBadToystore they'll eventually get loose/incomplete Transformers of varying quality, sometimes pretty cheap; that's where I got my last base figure, actually.

[Jin Saotome]

*cracks knuckles* Oh boy... here I am waist-deep in my favorite stuff!

Let's see... customizing/painting/tools/resources/modelling compounds/etc:

http://www.jinsaotomesdangeroustoys.com/guides.html

To change the light-piping in the eyes you can either A: Miz some clear red with clear epoxy and drip it into the empty sockets while it starts to set up, or just repaint over the old eyes with the clear color of your choice. I did both to my Classics Megatron repaint and they turned out basically the same. http://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotom ... atron.html

[Ramrider]

Yay Jin!

Actually, there's another way, which I usually use, of changing or adding light piping... hot glue. Note this will only really work well if the head already comes in half, as you'll probably have trouble pumping the glue into the eye sockets otherwise.

If the fig already has light piping, then no problem, you just need to remove the clear piece. If it doesn't, you'll need to drill into the eyes and through the front of the head, then use a sharp knife or scalpel to carefully shape them.

You'll also need to cut a big chunk out of the back of the head where the light inlet piece will go. Once they're cut and smoothed, take your glue gun and pump hot glue into the front of the head, making sure that it more or less fills the eye sockets. Fit the halves of the head back together, and pump more glue into the gap in the back of the head. You'll want to overfill this area.

Once it's set, you can shape the light inlet piece with a sharp knife, then smooth it to the shape of the head using a fine file (I use a needle file for this).

The glue is translucent, so you'll be able to paint the exposed areas with any colour of clear paint and it'll glow like a charm!

[Jin Saotome]

Heya Ram! Nice forums you all have here BTW.

In regards to hot-glue, what brand do you use? I've actually tried that before but noticed the longer you have it out in the light (especially sunlight) the more yellow it turns over time after it's been heated. Same with certain kinds of epoxy. This normally doesn't affect the light-piping (especially in the case of yellow, hah!) but I always wondered if it would turn blue eyes green after a year or so?

[Ramrider]

My glue sticks are apparently made by ParkSide (I never bothered looking till today). Suffice it to say, they're hardly top dollar stuff - I got two packs of 32 long sticks for two quid each.

As for the yellowing... well, I couldn't say for certain, but I'm doubtful. For one thing, to yellow the glue, the sunlight would first have to get through a layer of coloured clearcoat. If it did actually do anything to the glue, I don't see it making a marked difference to the colour of the eyes when you shine light through them.

I've certainly never noticed any yellowing on mine, but maybe I'm just unobservant...

[SnipeShade]

I have a question... I was going thru some of your links and stuff. And even looked up thinks on Wiki. But what is Kitbashing exactly? Are you guys making the models? Or just repainting regular toys?

^_^;; I've honestly never heard of this before. Unless it's like those Gundam Models where you have to paint the thing yourself.

[Sonray]

I have a question... I was going thru some of your links and stuff. And even looked up thinks on Wiki. But what is Kitbashing exactly? Are you guys making the models? Or just repainting regular toys?

^_^;; I've honestly never heard of this before. Unless it's like those Gundam Models where you have to paint the thing yourself.

We are making the models, from kits. We take transformer figures, strip them down to their bare skeletons, and then replace the old parts like car body panels with parts from a car model kit. Like turning classics bumblebee from a non descript hatchback into a VW beetle.

Thats considered the more advanced stage of kitbashing, as it scratch building where we build our own new parts entirely from scratch.

Re-painting is just taking a figure and painting it or certain componants, or both, a different color to make it look like a different character or something.

I dont know ehere the word kitbashing originally came from...i think it had something to do with the model railway community.

[Ramrider]

Yeah, in the short form, it's basically customising toys. Some Transfans do it to make more show-accurate characters, some to turn them into entirely different characters, and even creating their own.

It can be as simple as repainting, from touching up some details, to changing the whole colourscheme. But that's not really kitbashing, even though it's all part of the same hobby.

Proper kitbashing involves making actual physical modifications to the fig, maybe adding a new body kit to an Alternator, or changing the face to make it a different character. Some people like to take existing figs and make them more articulated. Some take existing figures (especially Alternators) and re-shell them; that is, taking the external bodywork off and replacing it with a matching-size model kit to turn it into a different model of vehicle.

At the far end of the scale is scratchbuilding. Not really kitbashing as such, since there are rarely any actual kits being bashed, but as with repainting, most hobbyists that do one will do another. Scratchbuilding is making models from scratch (natch), through sculpting, assembly of raw materials (styrene sheet and tubing is a popular and versatile material), and attaching junk parts.

It's really rewarding, and a great way to get hold of the toys that you want, but you know will never be made...

[Sonray]

speaking of styrene tubing ramrider, i cant find any on ebay and i doubt HobbyCraft even stock normal styrene yety alone the rods.

[Ramrider]

'Fraid I'd have trouble helping you there. I also have my doubts about Hobbycraft having any - I don't think they do at my local - and I've never bought it online, so I don't have any sites I could recommend.

I buy most of mine from Gee Dee Models, in Nottingham. If you've got any model shops nearby, like model trains and such, that'd be the sort of place to look. If they don't stock it themselves, they might be able to point you in the right direction, especially since they'll probably have hobbyists working there.

[Sonray]

'Fraid I'd have trouble helping you there. I also have my doubts about Hobbycraft having any - I don't think they do at my local - and I've never bought it online, so I don't have any sites I could recommend.

I buy most of mine from Gee Dee Models, in Nottingham. If you've got any model shops nearby, like model trains and such, that'd be the sort of place to look. If they don't stock it themselves, they might be able to point you in the right direction, especially since they'll probably have hobbyists working there.

Nearest one i know of is 10 miles away...this area sucks.

[Ramrider]

I've just found a couple of possible sources.

http://www.terrainwarehouse.co.uk/
This one has a decent range of angles and such, but don't seem to have much in the way of thinner sheets. But they do have a 15% discount if you're with a gaming or modelling club...

http://www.expotools.co.uk/1261_1.html
This looks like a much better range of materials, and they have both Evergreen and Plastruct stuff, which should cover a fair bit of choice. I'm baffled by the prices, though. Some stuff seems really expensive, others quite reasonable, and some I can't see either the price or how much you get. But may be worth contacting if you're interested.

Here's the search I did; there are a few on there you might want to check out.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&clie ... tnG=Search

[EDIT] Actually, I've just noticed it specifies "client=opera" in the URL, so if it doesn't work, the search was for "plastruct uk" - "Evergreen" and "styrene" came up with too much unrelated material, but most shops that stock Plastruct will probably stock others as well.