Weathering Without Painting a Rubber Zaku Figure

Just finished this quick weathering project. This project was basically a test, a sort of experiment that you can paint the Vallejo Mecha Colors on kits and figures ( any model surface ), even without priming. And that the paints when dry, will even look like the material of the kit / figure. 

Vallejo also claims that the Mecha Color range were formulated to withstand regular handling and wear and tear of articulated kits like Kotobukiya, Gunpla, StarWars, Transformers and the like.

So I tested the paints! 

I weathered this rubber ( rubber plastic of some sort ) Zaku figure without priming and painting the base colors. I used a ton of Vallejo Mecha Color Paints, but you could reduce the painting to around 8 to 10 colors. I really have to practice painting with sets of 6 to 8 colors ( limited palette ), so that I could share it with other modelers easier. 

MECHA COLORS

• Mecha Color Light Green
• Mecha Color Green
• Mecha Color Dark Green
• Mecha Color Pure Black
• Mecha Color Grey Sand
• Mecha Color Chipping Brown

WEATHERING WASHES & INKS

• Mecha Weathering Black Wash
• Mecha Weathering Eng Soot Wash
• Mecha Weathering Dark Rust Wash
• Mecha Weathering Light Rust Wash
• Mecha Weathering Oil Earth Wash
• Game Ink Yellow
• Game Ink Green

MECHA COLOR METALLICS

• Mecha Color Light Steel
• Mecha Color Dark Steel
• Mecha Color Copper

MECHA FLOURESCENT 

• Magenta Flourescent 

AUXILLIARY 

• Mecha Color Gloss Varnish
• Mecha Color Matt Varnish
• Retarder Medium
• Airbrush Thinner
• Flow Improver
• Distilled Water

MY VALLEJO COLORS WEATHERING PROCESS ( in summary )

1. Hand paint Matt Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
2. Paint lighter colors with Mecha Color Light Green and Green 
3. Dry brush Light Green
4. Paint shadows with Dark Green
5. Paint the chipping with Mecha Color Chipping Brown
6. Hand paint Gloss Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
7. Apply Mecha Weathering Washes in varying ratios
8. Filtering with Game Ink Yellow & Green
9. Hand paint Matt Varnish ( 3 thin coats )
10. Paint Pure Black on details, then Metallics
11. Paint Flo color ( mono eye )
12. Paint rain streaks and armor stains with washes

Asmuch as I want to talk you through in detail. I think it is easier to just watch my Youtube video below. Saludos! 

CONCLUSION

The Mecha Color Varnishes are CRAZY GOOD!

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MG Zeta ver2 verDC23 at Youtube

I just uploaded this commissioned MG Zeta ver 2.0 versus a MG Dom diorama at my Youtube channel.

I am trying to fill my channel with my old works. Unfortunately some have been sold or are commissioned works to begin with. So they are no longer with me atm. Much like commissioned traditional ink illustrations, I am only left with these photos.

Here is the link to the original gallery of this build - MG Zeta ver 2 diorama verDC23

SHOUTOUT as usual!

I only use Vallejo Acrylic paints in all my builds - Acrylicos Vallejo

I get some of my tools from HOBBYMATE Singapore - HobbyMate at Facebook

And get my Vallejo paints from Neutral Grounds Philippines - Neutral Grounds Philippines

I only use Harder & Steenbeck for airbrushing - Harder & Steenbeck Airbrush

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Kotobukiya D-Style Type-J9 Griffon verDC23

I got this awesome Kotobukiya D-Style Type-J9 Griffon kit ( expensive kit for its size ) from my generous partner Greattoysonline.com as usual.

I sanded the parts for a couple of hours last Friday night, I did not even bother with the seam lines ( although I removed them, but did not perfect the sanding ) and just primed it with Vallejo Surface Primer the same night.

I just wanted to test some new Vallejo Premium Paints I got. Vallejo Premium Paints are basically super strong polyurethane acrylic paints used for RC cars and motorcycle helmets that could withstand direct heat and are very resistant to scratches. I needed to see if they cure thin enough to use for Gundam internal parts.

Vallejo Premium paints requires 30psi to shoot from an airbrush ( I have an old monster compressor that can shoot up to 100 psi - lol ). I used my siphon fed dual action .3nozzle airbrush for the job. Did not want to ruin my Badger 100LG Fine tip ( .2nozzle ) for this project. Although you have to shoot a a high psi, the paints went through my airbrush really well. I painted this for around 4 hours including drying time of a few minutes in between coats and it turned up pretty well. I left the kit to cure for around 6 hours while I go out with wifey and kids.

Voila! Experiment was a success! I did not even put top coat on this kit and the candy tone finish is glossy enough! Could be glossier with a top coat but I did not want to waste more paints on a paint test kit. I am solved! I will no longer need to use lacquers ever again. Although I have a handful of bottles of Gaianotes lacquer paints, I am super happy with the results I got and will just use my remaining lacquer paints just for the sake of using them.

I will go as far as saying that the Vallejo Premium Paints has solved my problem! I do not want to switch paint types during painting as that will require different thinning and cleaning agents. I only like acrylic paints as my airbrush can be quickly cleaned in between color change by diving it in a tub of water! I will now exclusively use these paints for the internal parts of my Gundam kits from now on.

Acrylic paints for life for me!

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PP Warmachine Khador Juggernaut Warjack verDC23

Finished this last week. This is an old plastic model of a Khador Juggernaut from Warmachine ( by Privateer Press ) I got way back ( 2 or 3 years ago ). I practically used this to learn how to use the Vallejo mediums and experimented on using Vallejo varnishes as well.

It was my first time using Vallejo Mediums and experimented on some True Metallic Metal Vallejo paints with this build. I primed this with Black Vallejo Surface Primer, did some White Modulation with White Vallejo Surface primer and base coat of Vallejo Game Air Hot Orange. I then applied some glazes and blended colors with mediums for the first time.

I also used Vallejo Liquid Gold ( Copper ) as base color for the metallic parts and Vallejo Liquid Silver. Toned down the brilliance of the metallic paints with Vallejo washes ( Rust and Light Rust ) and Vallejo Game Inks ( Negro Black ).

Definitely not a centerpiece paint job but I did learn a ton in using mediums, glazes, retarders and other auxiliary products from Vallejo. I hope to do a better job on my metal Spriggan model soon.

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

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Warmachine Khador Warcaster Kommander Strakhov verDC23

title="Warmachine Khador Warcaster Kommander Strakhov verDC23"alt="Warmachine Khador Warcaster Kommander Strakhov verDC23photo"

I finished this 30mm white metal ( pewter ) model from Privateer Press a couple of days ago. I added a few highlights and gave it a Gory Red wash. This Khador Warcaster Kommander Strakhov has a really nice sculpt! So many little details to paint and the red Khador uniforn is just so fun to do!

This was fully hand painted with Vallejo Acrylics except for the Vallejo surface primer which I shot with my airbrush. I used so many colors with this build as I am trying to improve my hand painting and trying to improve my color transitions. These white metal models are roughly as tall as 1/48 plastic figures ( in military scale modeling ). I never paint the figures of my Gunpla dioramas like so, I just do not feel like spending too much time on painting small plastic figures. I do feel like spending more time in painting plastic miniatures, much more white metal miniature models as they are expensive and the weight feels so much premium.

Anyways, I hope to improve the color transitions on my future miniature hand painting projects. The photos below show abrupt transitions that needs more blending. As always I think there is so much improvement and learning I have to do to produce better hand painted models. I got a bottle of Vallejo Retarder Medium today that should help me produce better and smoother color transitions using acrylics. The Retarder will retard or slow down the drying process of acrylics, thus I should be able to blend the colors much easier much like using oil paints.

I hope you like this post. Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next completed minis guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

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Heroclix DOTA 2 TideHunter verDC23

It took me a while to finish this commissioned work of a Heroclix DOTA 2 TideHunter figure as I had to wait for my "Kolinsky" brushes for hand painting I bought online. One of the secrets in hand painting with  acrylic paints ( Vallejos ) are the brushes! Crappy cheap synthetic brushes will deteriorate fast as the acrylic paints will eat up those plastic bristles during hand painting. " Kolinsky " or at least Red Sable brushes are a must!

Anyways, this little toy was made a little bit more interesting by removing the Heroclix base and re-painting it. This is fully hand painted with Vallejo Model Color paints, Vallejo Water Effects and sealed with Vallejo ( Resin ) Gloss Varnish. I tried my best to add details thru painting but the sculpt of the toy is just not as detailed as real plastic, resin or white metal miniatures.

It took me a couple of days ( maybe even 3 days ) to achieve the look of the custom base as I had to apply around 4 or 5 heavy coats of Vallejo Water Effects paints and let cure for at least 12 hours. Anyways this was a fun little project fully hand painted with my Vallejos. Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next completed build guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

Before re-painting photo below taken from - realminis.blogspot.com

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Games Workshop Sam and Frodo in Orc Armor verDC23

I realized last weekend that I never posted this quick project here in my blog. I then re-touched some details and highlights and immediately took some photos.

These are Lord of the Rings pewter figures from Games Workshop. Quick and so much fun to do as you just have to scrape off the mold lines and paint away! As usual these pewter figures are painted with Vallejo Acrylics. Vallejo Surface Primer, Vallejo Model Colors, Game Colors, Texture Paints and sealed with Vallejo Satin Varnish.

Any modeler should try their hands on something like this. Cool little figures that are so nice on your office desk. Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

Work in Progress

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