The Energon Pub

[Jones]

Behold, the voyager class Megatron that everyone should have on their shelf...



Tamiya acrylics: flat aluminum (thinned 1:1), gloss red for eyes, metallic grey, custom-mixed purple (consisting of gloss purple, gloss black, metallic grey).
Reprolabels Decepticon logos.

This mold absolutely comes to life with the proper silver paint job. IMO, it is one of the most show-accurate robot modes we've been given. Hope you like!

Comparison with original deco:

Seriously Hasbro, 'brown' plastic on this incredible figure? What were you thinking?

More pics:





And two filtered shots made using the iPhone app, Snapseed...

[SKYWARPED_128]

Damn, barring a bit of weathering, Megs looks like he just stepped out of the screen! Your paint job really did justice to an awesome mold.

Question: You mentioned using Tamiya acrylics. I take it you must have airbrushed this. Now I've tried, and tried, AND tried, and have never been able to hand-paint a smooth coat of paint on a figure using Tamiya's acrylics...and neither have the majority of modelers. Only the very skilled ones seem to be able to do that. If you're one of those talented few, I salute you.

If you haven't already done so, I suggest sealing it with a gloss coat for protection, especially if you're going to be constantly transforming it.

[Jones]

Thanks man! I appreciate that!

I'm happy to say that I did indeed hand-paint this guy. I'm actually quite pleased with Tamiya acrylics and find them very easy to work with. For this figure though, I wanted to be sure to maintain the 'brushed' texture in the plastic so I thinned out the silver with a 1:1 ratio. It took a couple more coats to get the coverage, but the final finish was much smoother than others I've done.

I've been considering getting a cheap airbrush and learning new techniques, but have yet to get one.

Cheers!

[Skyfire77]

That's a great job! Megs definitely looks a lot better with a bit of work. You even made the otherwise iffy cannon look decent.

[SKYWARPED_128]

Thanks man! I appreciate that!

I'm happy to say that I did indeed hand-paint this guy. I'm actually quite pleased with Tamiya acrylics and find them very easy to work with. For this figure though, I wanted to be sure to maintain the 'brushed' texture in the plastic so I thinned out the silver with a 1:1 ratio. It took a couple more coats to get the coverage, but the final finish was much smoother than others I've done.

I've been considering getting a cheap airbrush and learning new techniques, but have yet to get one.

Cheers!

I don't know how you managed to get such a smooth coat of paint by hand-painting, but I am in awe.

Did you thin it with Windex or some other ammonia-based detergent? I've personally tried thinning Tamiya paint with both window cleaner and their own brand of thinner, and the latter causes the first coat of paint to lift when hand-painting the second layer on. When thinned with window cleaner, however, the first layer stays on perfectly.

Still, I wasn't able to get a satisfactorily smooth coat of paint, and eventually ponied up the dough for an AB/compressor set.

If you're in the market for an AB, Tamiya's Spraywork Basic Compressor with AB set is pretty good and functions very well for a budget compressor/AB set. The only thing is that you can't use double-action AB's with it, which might be a bit of limiting factor for some. For me, I get around that by using alternative methods, so it doesn't really bother me.

[TulioDude]

Looks very cool! Well done!!!

[Skritz]

By the Matrix/Allspark/Primus/insert-term-you-like...
This is amazing!

[Jones]

Thanks for the awesome compliments on this figure, everyone! I really appreciate it!

I also did a paint touch-up of First Edition voyager Optimus Prime that I'll post a bit later. Not quite as extensive of a paint job compared to Megatron here, but the two of them together now look incredible side-by-side.

Cheers!