Last year I built the Entry Grade Gundam. I mentioned how the instruction booklet contained some nice information about the history of Gunpla. What I didn’t mention is that there was something else in the box - a small flier advertising the wonderful world of Gundam Markers:
Okay, so it’s not so much a piece of educational material as it is a sales pitch, but it did teach me about a product that I didn’t know existed - specifically, a chrome Gundam Marker:
Assuming it works as well as advertised, this is an extremely cool idea. I’ve never found an acrylic paint that looks quite like this.
The only trouble is that I had a hard time finding it. In fact, it took me until this month to find one for sale in a shop. I think twice about buying it:
Now it’s time to test it out, and I’ve got the perfect candidates: the Marsfour Weapon Set.
These weapons didn’t turn out nearly as good as I would have liked, and I’m curious to see if the chrome marker will give them a boost.
This is one of those “thick” Gundam Markers, where there’s essentially a chamber of paint on the inside (complete with a mixing ball; you have to shake it before use). Due to its size, the tip of the marker isn’t exactly small. I suppose you could still use it in small spaces if you’re extremely careful, but personally, I don’t think I have that kind of precision. This (for me) is best used on larger surface areas where precision isn’t necessary.
Sure enough, it does dispenses a perfectly mixed blend of chrome paint. It glides on easily, covers thoroughly (without dripping), and dries to a perfect sheen.
Or rather, it would dry to a perfect sheen, if not for the fact that I applied the marker on top of existing paint. If you look closely, you can see some “rough” sections where the old paint was thick or otherwise crusty. It takes away from the look of the chrome pen, but it’s not its fault.
Overall, these weapons still look better than they did before, but the real test of this marker will come when I use it on bare plastic. I’m pretty sure it’s going to look better,, but we’ll have to wait and see.