FINISHED - Bandai 1/100 Scale F71 G-Cannon

[Blastvader]

Hello all,

Tis' I.

Just thought I'd share what I'm working on at the minute.

In a desperate attempt to get over the modeller's malaise that struck me hard within months of coming back in to the folds of those fanciers of plastic crack (leading to three incompletes on various Group Builds) I decided to dig this old lad out of the attic. It's a 1/100 scale F71 G-Cannon from the Mobile Suit Gundam F91 film. Originally released in 94 (I think) I picked him up off of ebay in 2001-2 when I was 14 of 15, badly stuck him together and then left him languishing in a box in my mum's attic for over a decade.

Being that I've always liked the design and being, in my mind at least, partially complete I thought finishing him off might be a good way of getting myself energized again. And in it's own way it's working, though it wan't as easy as job as I'd first anticipated. Mostly because of the bloody awful job younger me had done to the poor lad. My overzealous self had carved some rather severe trenches in the plastic in an attempt to clear seamlines (very prevalent on these early Bandai kits, and always in awkward places) and absolutely destroyed his hands.

Anyway, my best efforts with Mr. Surfacer, lots of sand paper and some primer resulted in this:

Which really needed a rub down with some micromesh (which I'm not sure how to use, do you cut strips off it or just use it like a polishing cloth?) and a few touch-ups; but being the lazy and also impatient goit that I am I thought I'd just attack it with the airbrush (if I could remember how to use it and as of tonight this is how it looks:

This is after two coats of future (which never takes on a glossy, glassy sheen for me like it does when you proper modellers do it) and needing one more before the decals go on (the early No Grade 1/100 kits actually came with both stickers and decals which is nice). Then it will be some more future and a panel wash. Now, here's where I need you professhunals help...how should I go about doing that last part? I've seen some great work on these pages but my last attempts at panel washes turned out a bit pap if we're being polite (check the sig) and so I'd like some advice. What are the pre-prepared washes like, and how should one use them? Also, filters: Yes/no?

Help me Britmodeller.comWork-in-ProgressSci-FiandRealSpace-Kenobi you're my only hope!

TTFN and that.

Paul

Kisses.

Edited November 29, 2015 by Blastvader

[Will Vale]

I would do a test on some sprue with whatever weathering product you plan to use. I've had enamel washes and things work fine on Bandai plastic but others have had it craze or go brittle. It seems to depend on the kit.

I'm going to have to post the Guncannon I'm working on now!

Will

[Blastvader]

Well oils didn't work. Stripped paint off when trying to remove the wash. Even after what feels like 1 million coats of future. Back in the box it goes. I doubt it shall ever come out again.

Incidentally how do you get a nice gloss coat of future? I've had this problem on every single model I've done so far (all four of the malformed abortions that they are). Airbrushing it doesn't work, I can put coat after coat on with plenty of time between each and no mater what distance pressure or black magic rituals I invoke it's still an orange peel mess and brushing it on is no better, it just pools no matter how much or little I try.

Are there any better acrylic varnishes I should try?

[Will Vale]

Oh dear, hope you can rescue it! What thinner did you use to mix and remove the oils? I've used the AK/MIG enamels with Tamiya X20 on unvarnished matt paint before and not had any real problems.

I brush Klear on but try and remember to unload the brush first, and watch for bubbles. I either stab them with the brush or breathe on them gently. I wouldn't say that gives me a glassy surface but it's not too bad. Any remaining bubbles or dust I take care of with 1000 or 2000 grit sandpaper after it's properly dried.

I haven't tried to airbrush it. I have airbrushed the Alclad Klear-style varnish (Aqua Gloss) and it was great once, and orange-peely another time.

Will

[Andy Moore]

Like Will, I always brush on future (and Aqua Gloss, Astonish etc.). It self levels, so there shouldn't be any brush marks. When I have tried to spray it, it usually comes out with orange peel.

I use a wide, flat brush, dip it in the varnish, then wick off any excess on a paper towel. I always try to brush it on in one direction and as thinly as possible. If it's pooling, you've probably just got a bit too much on the brush.

Andy

[Blastvader]

Oh dear, hope you can rescue it! What thinner did you use to mix and remove the oils? I've used the AK/MIG enamels with Tamiya X20 on unvarnished matt paint before and not had any real problems.

I brush Klear on but try and remember to unload the brush first, and watch for bubbles. I either stab them with the brush or breathe on them gently. I wouldn't say that gives me a glassy surface but it's not too bad. Any remaining bubbles or dust I take care of with 1000 or 2000 grit sandpaper after it's properly dried.

I haven't tried to airbrush it. I have airbrushed the Alclad Klear-style varnish (Aqua Gloss) and it was great once, and orange-peely another time.

Will

Hi Will,

I used odourless turpenoid from Winsor and Newton to thin and remove the wash. Though the oil paints were not the best of quality and left quite a gritty tide mark. In the past I've used enamel paints and lighter fluid, which I've found to leave a more pleasing result.

Ref: Future. Every day is a school day, though it's good to hear that I'm not the only one to have issues with spraying future. I'll look in to picking up some Aqua Gloss in the future (f'nar f'nar!) and see if that will work better for me.

Like Will, I always brush on future (and Aqua Gloss, Astonish etc.). It self levels, so there shouldn't be any brush marks. When I have tried to spray it, it usually comes out with orange peel.

I use a wide, flat brush, dip it in the varnish, then wick off any excess on a paper towel. I always try to brush it on in one direction and as thinly as possible. If it's pooling, you've probably just got a bit too much on the brush.

Andy

Thanks Andy. I'll try your and Will's technique for brushing on future. Do you find just a single coat is enough in that just a single coat is enough when brushing it on?

Anyway, I've calmed down a bit, though I was never really angry, just dissapointed. Like when your parents caught you smoking. I get very little modelling time, with two jobs and a young family and it may not look it but there's been three months worth of on and off work that's gone in to this thing and I really wanted to have it finished for our club's little christmas meet-up. Hence why I went off in a bit of a huff.

I've managed to get most of the gunk off without removing too much paint. There's three spots where I'm going to need to mask parts off and re-spray but that shoudln't be too much of a drama, then I should be able to apply the decals (which I should have done first) apply a coat of future properly following you pair's advice. Which, by the way, I'll need more of when it hits the weathering stages.

TTFN

Paulo

[Will Vale]

I'm glad you've managed to recover it - sometimes stepping back for a bit helps. I remember scratch-building a railway loco and then totally ruining it with too-thick lacquer primer. Runs, filled in detail, I was so sad. Eventually I came back and managed to clean it all off again with lacquer thinner and a million cotton buds, and the finished loco has been running at exhibitions for years now

You might want to ask Mike (site owner Mike) about Aqua Gloss - he reviewed it and got on really well with it. TBH it might just be that spraying varnishes is hard, especially gloss varnishes because you can't easily see the thinner flash off like you can with matt finishes. (You know the thing, where you see the paint land wet and then dry in place and you know you're doing it right-ish?)

For the weathering, in my opinion the absolute easiest and most bang for your buck things to do are chipping and streaks. You can add paint chips on edges that are likely to get worn using a bit of torn sponge and a suitable acrylic colour (dark grey-brown often works well). Put some paint on a palette, dip the sponge in it, then blot it on kitchen paper before applying to the model. It helps to turn it around a bit between dabs to avoid getting a repeating pattern.

Streaks are easy using enamels, especially the pre-mixed stuff from AK/Ammo/MIG etc. You paint thin vertical lines, let them dry, then moisten a flat brush with enamel thinner, remove it all again on kitchen towel, and brush the streak gently up and down to blend it.

You can use different brush shapes and pressures to get different effects - I quite like the ones where the end is cut off at an angle.

If you paint little bits of rust colour in the middle of the bigger chips you can combine the two by starting streaks from the rusty spots, it looks really nice.

Of course, another weathering option is not to do it! I've seen many excellent "clean build" Gundams.

HTH,

Will

[Blastvader]

Thanks for the tips Will. I must admit that I was intending on having this one 'clean' but after all that's happened to the poor chap there are some massive boo-boos that need to be covered up by some judicious 'battle damage'.

I've taken an hour to myself this evening and managed to cover up the worst of the paint damage (freehand with a 0.2mm needle, 10psi and heavily thinned model air) and applied a couple of decals. One thing I noticed is that even where I haven't used oils or thinners the paint is wearing very easily. I think there might be more to this issue than my heavy handedness as on sharp edges it's wearing through to plastic...I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I didn't get all the mould release off or whether Halford's grey primer hasn't keyed to the plastic as well as I would have thought.

Things to ponder anyway.

[Will Vale]

I had a lot of paint wear on mine as well - I used a lacquer primer and didn't wash the parts, but I haven't felt I needed to before with Bandai.

I think it might be more the many sharp angles and difficulty of handling? I'm hoping it'll get hidden under chipping

Will

[Blastvader]

That's probably it to be honest. I might try wearing gloves next time Iget the chance to do some work on it. See if it makes any difference.

[Blastvader]

Small update. I've started the weathering as can be seen below. I've been doing it with a fine (ish) brush as I didn't like the effect I was getting with a sponge. But it's all about learning, so I might give it a go on another part. The feet will be the most weathered parts obviously. There's a few bits that need some touching up but they look ok (especially from a foot or so away, macro photography is rarely kind) so I'm happy enough to proceed. Which I better be as I have until the 7th to get him finished.

Incidentally, has anyone used Abteilung 502's brushes? I bought their chipping set from an Amazon seller months ago and have only just broken them out. None of them hold a point. At all. Ever. The 10/0 is the worst and is actually forked. I sense an angry email coming. Too bad it's too late to get a refund/replacement from the seller. The 'Model Painter' brushes I bought from ABC brushes are also awful (and I'd heard they were good too), so I'm not having much luck with them at the moment.

[Hunter Rose]

Kudos for working through your troubles Blastvader, it can be so demotivating when that happens! What you've done with the foot looks amazing, very nice chipping.

[Blastvader]

Thanks Hunter. I think it looks a little stark at the moment but I think I'll try and blend it in with a filter or some pigments later.

Got the other foot done, and did all the staining on the thruster bells. Remembered I had the wepons to do as soon as I'd finished cleaning my AB.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Blastvader

[Will Vale]

The chipping looks great, it must take ages to do the light-then-dark thing like that.

[edit] I haven't tried the brushes you mention, but FWIW I find I rarely want a brush smaller than an 0 or 00 provided it has a good point. The figure painters all swear by Winsor and Newton Series 7, I like the Tamiya Modelling Brush Pro line. Both are Kolinsky sable which is what you want to look for.

Will

[Blastvader]

Cheers will. It is a bit time consuming but I can't seen to get a hang of the ol' sponge. The Abteilung brushes are made by MIG and are kolinsky sale as far as I can tell (they're the correct ginger colour at least).

I've started on the rest of the green parts but it doesn't look so great. Any suggestions on how to blend them in a little?

[Will Vale]

The usual advice is don't do too much, and think about where things could bang into each other. For blending, you could add some dust or a filter afterwards (but be careful with the thinners) or perhaps mix a dot of dark green into the chipping colour to bring it closer to the base paint?

With the sponge, I find that it gives a decent random-ish starting point but you need to join up some of the dots and go along edges with a brush to make it all make sense. It's also useful (on a varnished surface) to very gently use a wet cocktail stick to edit the blobs if they're too big or not natural looking.

Personally I'm a bit wary of brushes from companies that don't make brushes, but feel compelled to have them in their line-up to stop people looking elsewhere I made an exception for Tamiya because I trust Mr. Tamiya implicitly Also the guy in the shop showed me some very fine work he'd done with one!

W

[Mike]

I'm going to drone on about the WInsor series 7 in a second when I've finished congratulating you on that chipping effect. Nice

Windsor Series 7 (pause while most people switch off... he's at it again) are flippin' expensive, but mein gott are they good! (rhetorical question). Allegedly they were developed back in the olden days as Queen Victoria's personal brush, and then later sold online in shops on the Victorian Steam Telegraph System. They are the best you can buy... or rather, the best I've ever bought. I have one that I have had for several years now. Maybe 6? That brush still holds a point beautifully, and doesn't seem to want to die. I bought another a wee while back in case it went south, and have yet to take it out of its tube... must be a couple of years it's been sitting there. Grab yourself a 000, which should cost you less than an Airfix 1:48 Spit (around £8-9 I think?), and enjoy the sheer ready-for-action pointiness of the Queen of Brushes.

I've finished now. As you were

[Blastvader]

Thanks Mike. It's an effect that I think has legs I just need a little more practice. I've given everything a dusting of Mig industrial city dirt and it has toned it down a little and made it more natural and I'm relatively pleased with it now as it stands.

I'll certainly look in to the series 7 brushes as you suggest. I used to be a figure painter/Wargamer and always used to use GW brushes but most of my collection of 40 or so are now well past it so a few S7's sound like a good investment.

Cheers,

Paul

[Blastvader]

Well it's finished. Am I completely satisfied? No. But this is a learning experience and so I'm going to treat it like one. I'm just glad I got something finished. HLJ still haven't come through with the hands so I used a pair from an HG 1:100 Gundam Death Scythe Custom that I was about to throw in the bin. Ignore the seams they're only temporary.

I'll need to wait for some natural light to get some better pictures for the RFI post but these will do for now.

Cheers,

Paul

[Hunter Rose]

Wow that looks great Blastvader. Love the colours and the weathering/shading, not in your face and better for it! Nice one

[Will Vale]

Wot he said, that came out great! I'm glad you persevered after the trouble earlier on.

I really like the big thrusters, they give it a brutish look.

Will

[Dazzio]

Very nice work there Blastvader, love the chipping... something I have got to learn (as I have said before). Did you pre-shade any of it??

Whats wrong with Deathsythe? One of my favs.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

[Andy Moore]

That looks fantastic. A brilliant recovery from the set backs you had.

Andy

[Blastvader]

Thanks chaps. Much appreciated. I'm glad I managed to push it over the line too. Like I said before, I just need to persevere and realise that it's all about learning and I'm not going to be able to emulate some of the fine work displayed on these fora for some time.

Now I just need to get some proper pictures.

Very nice work there Blastvader, love the chipping... something I have got to learn (as I have said before). Did you pre-shade any of it??

Whats wrong with Deathsythe? One of my favs.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

I did pre-shade it yes Dazz. It just doesn't show so well in the slightly crappy pictures I have up at the moment.

The Deathscythe (as well as me not liking wing stuff much) was snapped together and badly painted by me about the same time I started this G-Cannon, so 14-15 years ago, and was in a pretty poor state of repair. So I took would I could for spares (the scythe itself mainly) and binned the rest.