So I finished this model a few weeks ago. Struggled with the airbrushing and wasn’t fond of the result. After a while I came around on it. Still idk why my black gloss coat got so bumpy but meh, gotta go practice some more on spoons.
Recently I posted this on r/Gunpla over on reddit only for the post to get removed by the mods. They always let mech plamo in before. I asked for clarification and the mod swears the this isn’t a mech. Anyone have any thoughts on that. I’m pretty sure it meets the def of mech. Noun; Large piloted combat robot.
One could argue a mech is more humanoid. I'm not sure what's robotic about your model as I'm not too well versed in GITS, but it clearly look more like an attack helicopter, rather than what most would consider a mech. In any case, the consensus here seems to be as long as the model is mecha/anime related, it's fine. We don't exactly have an abundance of content here to be super granular with what's allowed. I actually asked the question a few weeks ago:
https://www.lemmy.zip/lemmy.zip/post/39092875
In regards to your paint, what kind of paint was it? Did you use thinner? What kind? When you say bumpy, do you mean like an orange peel?
Fair enough. The whole robotic abdomen and targeting always screamed mech to me but I get how it’s debatable. Anyway glad lemmy is being more lenient.
On the paint, yeah it was orange peel. It was hobby mio pre thinned gloss black lacquer paint. I’ve used it before with much better results. I tend to use 18-20 psi on mat paints and drop the psi to about 15-16 for gloss and metallic. I usually paint in smaller sections so I think my distance management might have been off. That or I tried to build up the color too fast but I know with gloss and metallic you want to lay down wetter coats of paint
I've used used Hobby Mio paints before without issue. Like you're suspecting, it sounds like your coats aren't thick enough, which is usually the case with the orange peel effect. There isn't enough paint on the piece for it to level out, causing the little dimples. Try practicing on a couple more spoons and you'll be fine :).
Thanks for the advice. I think I’ll go back to my former method too. I usually paint all the pieces while separated, on this model I tried to put it into mostly one piece. I was trying to remove seam lines but meh. More spoon practice here I come. I’m going to have the best most assorted colors of spoons lol
I paint at least one spoon every time I try a new color or technique. Much cheaper than botching a kit. I keep all the ones with new colors, write the name of the paint on the handle, and keep them as a color guide.
If you want to remove seam lines, you'll want to use putty, sprue goo, or a surfacer like Mr Surfacer 500, then sand prior to painting. Using just paint by itself isn't thick enough to fill in any seams. My process is sand > sprue goo > sand > Mr Surfacer 500 > sand > surfacer and sand again if needed > paint. For things like mold lines, I can usually get away with knocking down the ridge with a hobby knife > sanding > surfacer > sand > paint.