First actual Kshatriya WIP!

Alright, well I've been hard at work, (both at my actual job, and at this) I think I've figured out how to properly mix paint, once I actually figured out how to get it set up and running properly, I haven't had much problems with the airbrush, outside the actual learning curve associated with it. That said I think so far this has been a good project to learn on. It has a good mix of larger parts, and smaller parts, There are a few opportunities to use different colors, so I've gotten some experience in cleaning out my airbrush properly. another important lesson I feel like I've learned is patience. even moreso than with the unicorn gundam. I like to let the paint dry at least a full day before I start touching and messing with the pieces. typically I'll come home from work around 7-8am (I work graveyard shift) and I'll paint a few pieces, and then head to bed. when I get up I'll maybe knock a couple others out until all my little clips aren't vacant. For this project I'm also doing it one part at a time.

I started with the torso, I went through the instructions. I test-fitted each part to see how it worked in conjunction with the other parts, then i disassembled it and put each part on a clip, and strategically placed it on my little foam block. I primed the pieces one at a time using spray cans, and then after that dried I began to use the airbrush. Finally once everything was done being painted, I hand brushed details (the crest on the front of the cockpit, and i did some half-assed panel washes) I think that's how I'm gonna continue with the remainder of this project as I've already worked myself into a nice little groove and I think I'm working at a pretty good pace.

anyway, enough rambling, onto pictures!

This is easily my favorite part of the whole build so far. as soon as i saw this molded in green, I knew what i wanted to do with it. So I painted the entire part gunmetal, and after it dried a couple days, I masked off the pipe and painted the rest green (i think i used olive green for this part)

this piece was a test of my patience as well as a test of my hand. you can see i still have a little touching up to do. but it came out a lot better than i thought it would. so there's that.

i am incredibly happy with how this looks all put together. it's like i can really see all of my hard work and time. 

out of this. the only bad move i think i made was the yellow bits on the back. i might paint over those in green or black or..any color that isn't yellow. or maybe i'll go over it again and smooth it out some and tidy it up. I haven't decided yet.

the next pieces in the build are the head, and i'm going to knock out the first arm/shoulder. so expect to see that hopefully next week. :) another thing i've been working on is my RG Titans MKII. I don't remember where i left the last blog post off, so forgive me for any resposted pictures.

RG Mk II while i wait for my next project to dry.

Okay. well I started 2 new projects. both are 1/144 scale projects. one being the Mk II Titans ver. real grade kit, which since I started building, I have been taken by this kit. I really like how they get you to build the frame first then add all the armor, And I really like all of the little details on the frame, which I have been hand painting, and my other project, which will be my first airbrush kit. and has been going pretty well so far, my 1/144 HG Kshatriya. PICTURES!

aaaaaaaand the kshatriya!

Unicorn gundam update 3! it's finally done!

Well. while this wasn't the hardest kit I've built I think I've learned the lesson of patience with it. I messed up quite a few spots and tried to rush some others and while it's not the best looking unicorn gundam out there, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I also need to start topcoating between doing different things. for this kit I cut parts from the runners, sanded and removed nubs, and then primed, painted, and weathered on top, followed by decals. things may have gone a little smoother if i topcoated after paint, and if i had decaled the kit before i weathered, then topcoated again. but i'm still in the learning process of this. another huge headache was with the actual head display base. all those little vents that the base sits on, i wanted black. and instead of knocking that out and properly masking, and painting it's own color before moving on to the rest of the kit, I just kinda winged it. and came back to it later. and to punish me for my negligence, all my decals came off with the masking tape. AND a lot of the paint bled through, so I had to do a lot of touching up afterward anyway. so through creating lots of work for myself, I have recieved the gift of patience...
now since nobody probably reads any of this anyway, PICTURES!

the funniest part about this picture is that i had the legs angled forward and didn't really realise it. i was just so excited to have him standing.

another thing i normally don't/wouldn't have done was I painted the gun with a satin nickel spraypaint, as opposed to a darker color, and it came out really nice I think.

Unicorn Gundam Destroy mode part 2!

So I hammered a bunch out on the unicorn gundam since my last post. much has been painted; much has been decal-ed. I've still got a lot of work ahead of me. the biggest things are touching up areas where my panel lines look bad/sloppy,  and decals in general. I ordered decal sheets from samueldecal, who I highly recommend, the whole process was pretty easy (you basically just e-mail him asking what you want, and if he's got it in stock he'll tally up a total and send it your way) the decals for the unicorn gundam are reaaaaally nice and pre-cut so i don't have to do any sort of extra work, just cut out my decal and get to puttin' it on. anyway. progress shots!

oh yeah. I also decided kinda late-game to do some weathering. so far it's come out nicely, we'll see how the rest of the parts do!

still need to touch the bottom of the base up. UGHHHH