Some Commenters suggested that my Progress Posts should feature a “How to” section to encourage other people to try themselves on Kits.Ill try to do these as good as i can but please keep in mind that im a total newbie and that there are probably alot better Tutorials out there.Ill try to link to them if possible.
Lets get started after the Jump!
The first thing youll have to do is pick a Kit you want to build.Id recommend a 1/8 Kit because they are neither too big nor too small and wont burn a too big hole into your wallet.Keep in mind that figures with regular clothes will be easier too paint than babes in fancy clothes /swimsuits.Those usually need alot more work on the paintjob due to alot of details/shading of skintone.
I didnt follow that advice and picked a girl in swimsuit and thatll require alot skintone shading and masking with tape later.
You decided on your Kit,ordered it and its finally on your doorstep.First thing youll have to do now is to check out if the Kit is alright (Resin breaks quite easy) and check if no part is missing.Youll usually get a sheet of paper with content and directions with it.
Content and alot of things i dont understand ^^;;
Alright there are no missing pieces and everythings in great condition.We can start with the first step of the Kit preparation: Removing Flash and Sanding.
This Video by M_candy was what encouraged me to start building a kit
Check out her YouTube Account for more Tutorials!
Another Site featuring great Video Tutorials is GamraBaenre and this Video deals with the Sanding process
If youre looking for a great complete Building Tutorial i recommend you to check out Cody Kwoks Site.
Okay now lets get back to my humble how to ^^
Youll need the following things to get started:
- A Plier (You probably have one lying around somewhere so you dont need to spend cash on it)
- A Bowl of water (Once again for free)
- A Hobby Knife (Ive seen these around the net for 6-7€)
- Wet Sanding Paper (different grids,about 80 cent a piece)
- A breathing Mask (paid around 3 € in a hardware store)
You probably wonder about the last two items.Were going to sand the figure wet because itll make the sanding alot smoother and reduces the resindust alot.The dust is the reason for the mask because resin is pretty toxic and you dont want to breath that stuff in.
You probably noticed that the Kit is still pretty rough in certain parts and that there are pieces of resin around the more delicate parts.Those unnecassary pieces are called flash and come from the molding process.The better the quality of the kit the less youll have to deal with these kind of things but youll never get rid of this completely.The flash may prevent the parts from fitting or just look ugly.Well have to get rid of this anyway.
Flash around a delicate piece
You can start of by removing the flash with the plier but be careful to not go to close to the actual part.The force applied through the plier could damage the main part.Im going to show the process with with Naru`s left arm.
Ahh...My lovely fingers^^
You can see the flash clearly and were going to remove it with sanding paper.I start off with a low grid of 180.Wet the paper in the bowl and sand the flash until its nearly gone.
Its nearly gone but the surface is still rough
Its looking already alot better but were still not satisfied and grab a piece of sanding paper with a higher grid (800 in my case).This time you go over the whole arm and smooth the surface.Youll reduce the general roughness and seamlines with this.Be sure that you dont apply too much pressure.
Nice and smooth
Continue until the piece is nice and smooth and do this with all the kits parts.This is essential for the fitting and overall look of the kit.It wont look good with a rough surface even if your paintjob is superb.
I sanded all big pieces tonight
If you wondered how you look in 50 years now is your chance ^^
The Dust from sanding 9 pieces
Im going to continue with the rest of my kit like this.Im not too sure about how to handle the clear resin parts tough.I fear that itll turn milky if i sand it the usual way.Has anybody some hints?
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I never actually seen a tutorial on Resin kits XD This is nice!! I know people do do resins, and sell it (here) yeah.. that’s about it ^^
zenicals last blog post..Anime Festival Asia – Catch May’n Live in Singapore!
Hey Blowfish ! it would be cool to share your mounting kit on my forum. It’s French language, but you can post in English language without problem. Many of my friends will be happy to see your work.
Do you want the link ?
We’re gunpla fanatics too, but many people on this forum make resin kits.
mikiwanks last blog post..[Anime] Gundam 00 2nd, episode 1
this is great, i’m enjoying getting a glimpse of the garage kit process ^_^
if you want any of those instructions translated just post a high rez picture and i should be able to do any important looking areas
about those clear parts… as you say it does seem like it’ll cloud after sanding… i suppose there must be a technique for buffing the part down afterward to clear it up?
meronpans last blog post..I’m slow with reviews -_-
Yeah, I’m following this for sure and those links to m_candy’s video tutorials are also nice. Maybe one of these days I’ll take the plunge.
super ratss last blog post..Beat Blades Haruka
@zenical
Alot of People (mainly girls) over her paint and sell them too.I dont think its as satisfactory as painting it by yourself tough.
@mikiwank
Sure drop the link and ill post about it.The more the merrier ^_^
@meronpan
No problem! This way everybody is able to learn from my inevitable faults^^ Ill be sure to get back to your offer!I honestly have no idea wich parts could be important ^^;;;
Im still surfing the net about sanding the clear resin.There has to be a simple trick behind it.
@superrats
I like m_candys videos for beeing so simple.The other video i posted may be more pro but it isnt as encouraging.
Im glad youll drop by
Ooh
This is my first time seeing a garage kit too, so it’s gonna be interesting to see you making progress with it~ Didn’t know that resin kits have a lot of ‘flashes’, and o_o at the dust generated with all those sanding!
I’m so tempted to start…but I don’t have the necessary equipment (air brush), space (I’ll probably get kicked out of residence), time (in university -_-) and money (something that all otakus seem to lack). I’ve read a lot of tutorials, but the more I see them the more I want to start…
Out of interest, what kind of paint did you invest in? and what kind of air brush (or hand brush)?
Another thing, I have two of those knives, I got them for $2 each from an art store. If you need brushes, HLJ sells a pack of 2 or 3 (the q-tip is the one I really wanted) for $2.
Anyway, good luck!
@Q
This Kit has very few flash but cheap kits come with an ridiculous amount of it.It saves you alot of work if you buy from trustworthy sellers.
@GNdynames
It started the same way for me.
I started to tell me one day why not and ordered one.
I havent bought any paint yet but im going to use Tamiya paint.Its widely avaiable over here and doesnt smell that bad since its an acrylic paint.May not be the best paint but its easy to work with it.As for the airbrush…Its a cheap Revell model.I didnt want to send big bucks on it since i dont know if im able to handle airbrushing.Ill buy a better one when im sure that airbrush is the right thing for me.
Thanks for the Info!
On a Sidenote:
Does CommentLUV work?I upgraded it to the newest version but it doesnt seem like it parsed the last post of you two guys
wow that’s a really detailed post, great pictures too. I’m almost tempted to do one myself…. if only I had the time!
Andy Bailey´s last blog post..I wanted to join Starfleet
Hi Blowfish, this is link to my forum. Registration is in French, would you want me to do that for you?
hangar-mk.com
mikiwank´s last blog post..[manga] Achat d’octobre
OMG… Your doing the Leaf Bikini Naru! Such an awesome figure… I’d be so worried bout doing a garage kit myself though…
And I was thinking of doing a screen by screen beginners guide or something like it actually. Someone mentioning it too spurs me on to get it done faster lol, instead of forgetting and reminding myself later hehe.
Good luck with Naru!!
Meimi132´s last blog post..Busou Shinki Battle Rondo
Ahhh, the price difference will be due to the kind of sets your getting. The more expensive ones will be the full sets, with the figure, and all the accessories, and the cheaper ones will be the sets of just accessories to put on naked Shinki bodies, like the Schmetterling Butterfly one, the cute pink one, you only get the head and accessores with that, so you’d have to buy another body to put them on, or use a Shink you already have.(I wouldn’t….I’d have to buy an extra MMS body…) Sometimes the cheaper ones will have the bodies too, but just with less accessories, less guns/legs/etc. Hope that helps!
Meimi132´s last blog post..Busou Shinki Battle Rondo
i admire people who can model and paint resin kit. it’s a form of art. looking forward to part 2. ^^;
gordon´s last blog post..Macross Frontier OST 2 and May’n live in Singapore
Ahhh well the cheap ones I got were via a local store, but there are some decent priced ones available through amazon.co.uk on the marketplace shops. (The local place I went to has a amazon marketplace shop lol)
Very pretty choices you made. Those are the light armor ones, compared to the massive boxes you may have seen on my blog. That Panzer one looks so pretty… and it’s got a tie!!! Hauuu… I want more… and will have to pay full price for them I think, since they’re all bout rrp on ebay and other places. Not a problem though. I do love them muchly so it’ll be worth it.
Meimi132´s last blog post..Busou Shinki Battle Rondo
@ Gordon : Why don’t you try it ?
@ Blowfish : Thx to register and post your work at hangar-mk.com
mikiwank´s last blog post..[Anime] Gundam 00 2nd, episode 2
The sanding is the only part i should do easily , the big problem is the painting
i can’t wait to see your painting skills
good luck :p
James´s last blog post..Haruka Takamori 1/8 (Alter) review
@Andy
Yeah the time consumption is pretty high:/
@meimi132
Yeah when i saw her i knew i had to do her^^
@gordon
It sure is! I hope mine turns out acceptable ^^;
@James
Thanks alot!
I cant wait to see my painting skills too ^^;;;
I never used an airbruh before