Here's kit #4 for 2007, an MG Zaku I for another forum's OOB competition where my entry is non competitive(cos I am the mod there).

Most of the parts pre-shaded and painted.

Colours used were some military green and Gunze 335 for the main body. Pre-shading was done with flat black.



I decided to give the Zaku 1 a more military feel and another forummer suggested to me to perhaps paint the shoulder armour by hand, thereby giving it a textured feel.

A white ID band has been handpainted onto the shoulder, after first brushing on the original green by hand, then stipling it with a stiff stencil round brush.

Although the effect isn't as pleasing as if I'd applied liquid putty to texturise it, I think this still falls within the OOB rules of our competition.

The ID band runs through the centre of the shoulder armour, as a form of identification in the field during firefights. The fact that it's not entirely straight is deliberate, as it gives it a more, IMHO, field-painted feel if you will.





Am left with the smaller parts & touching up, like elbow covers as well as the rifle, then I'm done with painting. :lol:

G-Man:

I must salute you. You are moving fast with your builts. As for me, I am stuck at my stinking work site for the next three weeks.

Anyway, love the white band you have applied on the shoulder armour. I believe most of the MaK modellers I read also use this method of yours. However, why is texturing putty not consider as OOB? Interesting.

Cos under this comp, the OOB is slightly different. It's basically almost like regular IPMS rules EXCEPT we allow the scribing of new panel lines since this is a relatively easy skill to achieve and also, adds interest to the kit. However, with stuff like putty, experienced modellers can form a new joint or shape with it, which then defeats the purpose of OOB in that sense since our aim was to level the playing field for modellers of all levels.

Kit #4 completed but TONS of mistakes. No motivation to do Gundams lately. :(

Pose of this kit is so so at best and I didn't bother posing it in anything more dynamic since firstly I just wanted to finish this and move on and secondly, I didn't want to scratch the thin paint job.

Decals are a mix of spares and Wave decals.

Feet weathered using Tamiya Weathering Master Sand & Light Sand, and the entire kit was given a light dry brush of Vallejo olive green and light sand mixed together. I deliberately only weathered the feet as it's meant to be such, to denote the closeness of the feet to the ground.











I eagerly await the Zaku ver 2.0!!!!! :lol:

Nice weathering work G-man. The preshading came out well. I like the texture you did using putty too.

I've never done any Zakus, Gundams, etc so this is pretty much new territory for me so I hope you will excuse me asking a few questions:

1. Is preshading very common coz I notice some modelers in this area do it and some don't?
2. Is drybrushing the usual or only method of highlighting?
3. Has anybody attempted to paint these kits using military figure painting techniques?

Actually I've been curious for some time and its kind of a crazy project I'm discussing with Argrillion on whether military figure painting techniques (i.e. layering, blending, shadowing,etc.) can be used for painting Gundams, Zakus, etc.

Great work there G-man! The rough texture turns out well B) .

To answer your question beachbum, the finishing of a Gundam kits are up to the individual preference. From my observation, a single mecha usually have a finishing similar to aircraft models while a diorama will have a military finishing. The trend nowadays are shifting towards clean, factory-fresh look for a single mecha.

1. Is preshading very common coz I notice some modelers in this area do it and some don't?
Preshading method is popular in mecha modelling because it will highlight the lines and curves of a mecha. In my opinion, most mecha modeller will put Max Watanabe, a Japanese modeller; as their reference for preshading method.

2. Is drybrushing the usual or only method of highlighting?
Similar to military modelling, drybrushing and oil wash are common in mecha modelling.

3. Has anybody attempted to paint these kits using military figure painting techniques?
I'm not sure if anyone has done it before, but you may try and have a look at some of Takuji Yamada's work. He has a military modelling background and he applies the military modelling method onto mecha modelling.

Another great reference would be at Fichtenfoo.

I'll do some write-up for mecha modelling some time in future.

Many thanks Xamel for answering my queries. I will definitely keep an eye out for the work done by those you mentioned. From your descriptions it would appear than using figure painting techniques of blending, layering, shadowing based on a specific direction of light source do not appear to be common but rather these mechas are painted using AFV techniques.

Sorry G-man on using your thread to go off-topic.

Aiyoo G-man, Chinchai do also very good wat, can't find any major mistake leh... ;)

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys.

Mistakes -

1. Seamline at forearms not completely removed
2. Mold lines at internal skeleton joint between shoulder and arms not removed.
3. Frosting especially along the skirt areas.
4. Uneven sanding at the back of the foot(not visible in pics BUT I know it's there!!!!)
5. Paint scratched off at knee caps joints and thigh area.
6. Decals' edges on skirt visible (ZAKU) word.

:(

Very nice build G-Man. I like how you handle the texture not too much just nice. As far as mistake, I can't really sport any beside the ZAKU decals.

beachbum
I think there's no standard techniques when it comes to building Gundam. Seems like most of the "Master" have their own style of building. And the style will change from time to time.

It'll be interesting to see someone applying all the techniques you mention on a Gundam. :D :D Want to give it a try :P :P