Kyle

lol I just let the paint do its thing. Been pretty impressed with digital armory's ultralumen and how it's worked with alclad enamels/2k clear coating

Thank you!

HG qubeley from behind/right

HG qubely from behind/below

And from the back. Left some of the Tamiya racing blue naked in the rear binder stripes as a future reference for myself, I've ended up a big fan of this glossy deep blue.

Tamiya GX metal ends up showing through much stronger than Tamiya's metal lacquers under matte finish for me.

Gold HG Qubely from the left

Gold Qubeley posed on a stand from above

Gold HG Qubely posed on a stand from the left

Recording a couple extra angles.

Lot of part separation on this version, made it more relaxing to finish. I'd happily pick another up another if I came across a used one to try another deco/paint on.

HG Qubeley fully painted: - Mecha Empire 2k gloss black, Digital Armory ultralumen, mix of ME 2k gloss clear and DA golden god tint - Tamiya racing blue, gray (Sasebo) - Mr Color GX metal red (Eyes are small mix of Mr Color yellow/green with Tamiya NATO black backing) - Alclad Klear Kote semi matte

HG Qubeley fully painted: - Mecha Empire 2k gloss black, Digital Armory ultralumen, mix of ME 2k gloss clear and DA golden god tint - Tamiya racing blue, gray (Sasebo) - Mr Color GX metal red (Eyes are small mix of Mr Color yellow/green with Tamiya NATO black backing) - Alclad Klear Kote semi matte

HG Qubeley fully painted: - Mecha Empire 2k gloss black, Digital Armory ultralumen, mix of ME 2k gloss clear and DA golden god tint - Tamiya racing blue, gray (Sasebo) - Mr Color GX metal red (Eyes are small mix of Mr Color yellow/green with Tamiya NATO black backing) - Alclad Klear Kote semi matte

HG Qubeley fully painted: - Mecha Empire 2k gloss black, Digital Armory ultralumen, mix of ME 2k gloss clear and DA golden god tint - Tamiya racing blue, gray (Sasebo) - Mr Color GX metal red (Eyes are small mix of Mr Color yellow/green with Tamiya NATO black backing) - Alclad Klear Kote semi matte

HG Qubeley (revive) gold deco, partially based on the Hyaku Shiki. #gunpla #gundam #shiny

I'll definitively be looking to use more of this tint in different shades/mixes

Original (left) vs new 'revive' (right) HG Qubeley side by side comparison

Original (left) vs new 'revive' (right) HG Qubeley side by side comparison

Quick comp shot of the original vs revive HG Qubeley while I don't have the shoulder pieces on for one of them, allowing for side by side.

I hadn't noticed the newer version being larger/taller until now

Two gunplay pieces up close with a chrome finish applied, under a tinted 2k clear, where the tiny details of the chrome finish are still visible

Side-note from same test, getting better at applying ultralumen chrome without freckles: About 13 psi, very quick passes (so fast I miss the piece occasionally lol), about 6 inches away. Like alclad chrome but even lighter.

Had to turn off the fan next to me, was affecting the spray

Six Mecha Empire 2k gloss black + Digital Armory ultralumen test spoons with gold-tinted 2k clear applied in various ratios, from zero (for reference) up to two drops of tint per ml of 2k solution

Results of Digital Armory's golden god 2k tint over some ultralumen test spoons, somewhat haphazardly applied at the same time as a kit a month ago

Approx amounts in drops/ml: None, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2

Gonna find a case to use the richer 2+ dr/ml tone in a trim in the future, I like that color

HG Qubeley standing, from the front

HG Qubeley posed on a stand, from the front

HG Qubeley standing, from the left

HG Qubeley standing, from the right

HG Qubeley MK-II gloss deco.

First test-shot for applying candy enamel and 2k on a larger medium. Rough outcome but good learning experience.

Arms remind me I need to find some acrylic/enamel primary colors to mix for non-black/gray panel lining, would have liked to add more red

#gunpla #gundam

Realized I actually had pics to add to one of these chains for once

Here's 3 #gunpla builds to get to know me

Close-up of HG Qubeley head with green eye against black backing, from the left side

Appreciate when details like eyes are raised up, all I have to do is put a small square of tape over them and the background spray finds the edges without issue. One mark in favor of the revive Qubeley over the earlier HG version in my opinion.

No extra work on my end, just application of the manufacturer's recommended 4:1 clear-to-hardener mix out of an airbrush.

I've seen people mix even higher amounts of clear for extra shine, when sealing a plain chrome finish

Candy blue and white binder pieces, where paint chipping is present at the top of the white pieces due to a lack of room from a millimeter or so of added material from the candy blue processes squeezing the inlaid white piece when assembled

On top of the prior flaws, this was the first time I had major issues assembling after painting.

Inlaid binder pieces didnt have enough room and chipped at the top, and the cap on top of the backpack needed major shaving/clipping to even marginally fit on.

I'll have to plan a little more next time

HG Gaza-C painted, from the front. Paints include: -(candy blue): Mecha Empire gloss black base 2k, Digital Armory ultralumen, Alclad candy electric blue, ME gloss 2k -Tamiya insignia white, metallic gray, IJN gray green -Mr Color midnight blue, GX metallic red -Alclad clear kote semi matte

HG Gaza-C painted, from the left. Paints include: -(candy blue): Mecha Empire gloss black base 2k, Digital Armory ultralumen, Alclad candy electric blue, ME gloss 2k -Tamiya insignia white, metallic gray, IJN gray green -Mr Color midnight blue -Alclad clear kote semi matte

HG Gaza-C painted, from the right. Paints include: -(candy blue): Mecha Empire gloss black base 2k, Digital Armory ultralumen, Alclad candy electric blue, ME gloss 2k -Tamiya insignia white, metallic gray, IJN gray green -Mr Color midnight blue -Alclad clear kote semi matte

HG Gaza-C painted, from the rear. Paints include: -(candy blue): Mecha Empire gloss black base 2k, Digital Armory ultralumen, Alclad candy electric blue, ME gloss 2k -Tamiya insignia white, metallic gray, IJN gray green -Mr Color midnight blue -Alclad clear kote semi matte

HG Gaza-C, a test-shot/practice on candy blue application.

An interesting design, if a bit clunky to move/adjust. The rubber cables are fun in my opinion.

#gundam #gunpla

HG Hyaku Shiki close-in on the front

HG Hyaku Shiki focus on the rear binder fin fron the left

HG Hyaku Shiki posed on a stand, from the back

Lol *deco

Other angles, I need more large/flat pieces to show off how the chrome actually survived the candy process.

This HG kit takes paint pretty well, no scratch or rub on anything when posing, even the arm/leg joints

HG Hyaku Shiki close-in shot from the front

HG Hyaku Shiki posed on a stand from the front

HG Hyaku Shiki posed on a stand from the left

HG Hyaku Shiki posed on a stand from the right

HG Hyaku Shiki (revive) take on a red decoy #gunpla #gundam

HG Hyaku Shiki's two weapons, top in Tamiya "Gun Metal", bottom in "Dark Iron" (Mr Color "Rough Gold" cables)

HG Hyaku Shiki from the front with accessories at each side, Alclad/Digital Armory candy chrome red paint scheme with dark color accents.

Finally all painting done on accessories, a good opportunity to test out a couple of Tamiya's metallics.

My application of the candy-chrome was heavy on the basing (too heavy/lost some details) and last coat was imperfect (ex top-front right shoulder) but a fun first test.

Yes, golden god mixed into Mecha Empire's 2k gloss clear, 8 or 9 drops into 15 ml clear in this specific case

HG Qubeley parts with gold tinted 2k clear over a chrome finish arrayed in a box for drying and dust protection

Qubeley gold-ification complete.

Separated upper and lower parts in the two-round application just in case the mixing was slightly different between batches, seems I didnt need to worry though

HG Qubeley parts with Digital Armory ultralimen chrome parts on top, then more parts with a layer of 2k clear mixed with DA gold tint arrayed in a box to dry out

Work in progress, part one of this "golden god" 2k tint I'm testing. So far not bad, getting the reflective gold I want.

Its expensive up front ($20!) but getting an ounce of something that is used in tiny drops probably means I'll never run out. Hope to find a smaller sample pack of other colors

Candy-chrome red over gun metal painted frame HG Hyaku Shiki legs

Legs pieces don't have as many flaws as the other, wish I'd been able to pull off the whole thing at this level.

Candy chrome red scheme Hyaku Shiki torso from the front

Candy chrome red Hyaku Shiki torso closer in on the head from the front

Red Hyaku Shiki right about at end-of-Zeta-Gundam completeness level

Bits of crud in a bad 2k clear job

Decals being pulled away from the enamel underneath, edges range from bad to real bad

Blue pulled away from the edge of a piece in a way that didnt happen on the other piece, not gonna look great together

Naturally, as one test goes well I have to absolutely eat shit on another to balance things out

-Bits of paper towel from a lazy clean job
-Bandai decals failed bad, maybe 10 hours not enough dry time?
-2k pulled the enamel further from the edges in this case. First time I've seen this result

HG Hyaku Shiki torso and feet. Regular paint colors are Mr Color metallic red and Tamiya metallic black/gun metal

Enough done to get a good idea of the tamiya Metallic Black and Gun Metal scheme against the red.

HG Hyaku Shiki parts painted candy-chrome red in a box, parts to the left are unpainted

HG Hyaku Shiki shoulder piece with a sticker applied and a clear polyurethane layer applied over that

2k cleared, now these get to wait and dry out while all the other stuff all gets painted up.

Sticker decal wasn'texactly hidden by the clear, but not terrible, OK from strait-on perspective now.

Alclad electric blue over ultralumen on HG Gaza C parts, freshly sprayed and outdoors

Alclad electric blue over ultralumen chrome in HG Gaza C parts, about 3 hours of drying time

Alclad electric blue over ultralumen chrome on medium-to-large parts shows a gradient of coverage around lines/edges.

Not that I dislike the result, maybe a slower layering will give me even coverage

Candy red HG Hyaku Shiki parts up close to show imperfections in the chrome (small specs) that you can see up close

Candy red Hyaku Shiki parts on holders

Alclad candy red over ultralumen chrome complete. Got all ~40 pieces at once without issue.

I guess the lesson from my last test is actually that 2k is just so gnarly and sticky it takes a couple cycles to fully un-gunk my particular airbrush

HG revive Hyaku Shiki assembled with various amounts of panel liner

Next test: Make a red Hyaku Shiki from a used HG (revive).

Previous owner left me the two spare shoulder stickers, wonder how those will look/react to a 2k clear

Here's a comp of what I got with some clears while prepping tests on Alclad transparent blue.

Left: naked ultralumen
Middle: alclad aqua gloss applied
Right: 2k gloss applied

AG slightly darkened the color with a little haze added. 2k darkened slightly more while retaining more reflection

Close up of red spoon with rub marks in the chrome base visible on the top right corner of the spoon

Yeah I'm happy I can put stuff over it to seal it up given it otherwise seems to take a long time to dry.

Scratching the results 4 days later still left streaks (top of red spoon), but didnt interact with the top later yet.