The Kämpfer is finally complete. And boy what a pain in the butt it was to paint.
To compare, a traditional Federation-style suit is going to have lots of straight lines and clean angles. When topcoating a Feddie model, you can lay an arm or a leg or a torso down flat, spray it, and easily cover most of the piece.
But Zeon suits are not so easy. They’re bulbous and ornate. Convex flows into concave, domes are layered upon curves, etcetera etcetera. Compared to their Federation counterparts, Zeon suits have more nooks and crannies, and as far as I can tell, a larger surface area in general.
When it comes to painting, this makes the job more difficult. You have to make sure to get an even coat while also making sure you don’t miss any hard to reach places. And the large size of the pieces means you’ll be going through more paint as well.
So, how did I deal with all these factors at once? I couldn’t tell you. The Zaku was probably my worst paint job (albeit my first as well), and this Kämpfer may be the runner up.
Remember how the new Krylon spray paint I was using worked so well on the weapons? When it came time to paint the model itself, I got wildly different results. If I sprayed too far away, the paint barely took to the plastic. Too close up, and I got that cloudy, white look that tells you you messed up. When I did things “right”, the paint sometimes dried to a matte look with a bit of iridescent sheen. Other times it has the truer, glossy look I got on the weapons.
Paint doesn’t have a mind of its own. Some other variables are responsible for this inconsistent look. I just don’t know what they are. Was it the temperature outside? The humidity? My poor technique? Was the paint not shaken enough? I wouldn’t be surprised to know it was a combination of all these factors, but unless I know for sure I don’t know what to do to prevent it from happening again.
The only thing I do know is that I got the matte look one night, and the glossy look the following night. So perhaps the weather is at least partially a factor.
As it stands, most of the unit has the glossy look, but some parts don’t. I still have some paint left, but I’m leaning towards leaving it be. I’ve already applied several coats, and I’m afraid of what one more might do (especially if I get the “wrong” kind of results).
Overall, the whole kit has some semblance of shine and sheen, but some pieces are more noticeable than others (the front and back of the chest are a good example).
On the plus side, the paint didn’t cause my panel lining to bleed. For that reason alone I think I’ll stick with Krylon, but I’ll probably switch to their regular matte coat. I feel like getting the matte look is a lot easier to achieve.
Oh, and I should mention that the Sharpie marker detailing turned out better than expected in the end. The color isn’t perfect, but it also didn’t end up looking too streaky. I also found that after applying topcoat, the marker stuck better to the inside of the thrusters. This solution might actually work for minor touch up and enhancement work.
Other Thoughts
When building the RG Zaku II, I used almost two cans of Testor’s topcoat. I thought it was due to the fact that I was a novice. For the Kämpfer, I used almost a full can of the Krylon paint, which is at least twice as big (if not bigger). Meanwhile, the EZ-8 used less than a single can of Testor’s . A pattern is emerging here.
At this point, most of my building woes have been related to top coating. I should have gone back to the web years ago to look for tips and advice. But I don’t, because in the back of my mind I can’t shake the feeling that most of the tips I’m going to find are going to be things like “use Tamiya paints only” or “paint indoors, and set up an exhaust system to help remove the fumes”. You know, things that are nonstarters for me. But I’m still going to look, because at this rate I’m going to seriously ruin a kit.