First attempt at painting

[TommyC]

After cracking my original shell after 10 minutes of ownership I thought it’s about time I got another. Had I have realised how expensive it can get I’d have just bought a pre painted one!

 

I tried some more complicated designs with the masking tape but wasn’t happy with the way some was sticking on the curves. I’ve still ended up with some bleeding but I’m generally pretty happy with the result for a first attempt. The PS-16 blue looks awesome. 
 

Didn’t bother doing clear windows as I’m going to strengthen this one.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14 by TommyC

[Stormbringer]

It turned out well 

[BlackSeaRC]

I know what you mean about cost.  Sometimes I think people who buy kits overlook the cost of paint, masking, sand paper, etc.  Polycarbonate bodies are not so bad but on a recent hard body paint job, I used 2 colours and multiple cans of each, plus primer and clearcoat.  The overall cost was close to 100 GBP just for painting the body and accessory parts!

[Stormbringer]

yeh we tend to forget how expensive a clear body shell can be 

[TommyC]

I was hoping to have enough paint left to do a tamiya shell I have but I’m not sure there’s enough of one colour left. So that’s £20’s worth of paint used on this, £28 for the shell (a painted one is £22?!?), £5 on masking tape, plus £15 spent on some curved scissors and reamer. 

is it as expensive to airbrush and use liquid mask? Assuming you already have the tools? 

[wolfie1]

Are the clear bodies not stronger than the stock ones for the maverick though?

Edited April 15 by wolfie1

[TommyC]

40 minutes ago, wolfie1 said:

Are the clear bodies not stronger than the stock ones for the maverick though?

I wasn’t aware but now you say it, the new one does feel a bit stiffer than the stock one. I’ll still strengthen it as I want this one to last.

[ad456m]

23 hours ago, TommyC said:

is it as expensive to airbrush and use liquid mask? Assuming you already have the tools? 

Probably not quite as expensive I wouldn’t imagine. 53 quid ya spent on that one(I’m not including the reamer etc as they are still there for the next one).
I have a mate that does airbrush and he sings it from the roofs every single time I mention paint. I once showed him a short course body and he told me I’m better off with cans for the coverage size. 
He decants the Tamiya cans and gets a lot more for his money but I feel what I save in cash I’d spend in time, mixing, decanting, cleaning, and then there’s thinners and stuff for cleaning the brush. 

 

Liquid mask is cool stuff, I prefer tape as my scalpel skills aren’t up to it and I reckon I’d fill the shell with cut marks ready to snap on the first roll. 
 

This is not meant to be a dim view on it, just my straight opinion. I would like to try airbrushing sometime but that’s far in the future once I’m better as some of the things I’m learning and practicing at the moment.

[TommyC]

Strengthened the shell today. Used standard scrim tape and Soudal fix all crystal sealant and adhesive. £7 a tube and only used a fraction of it. Managed to get a single layer down without too many overlaps. Not sure if that was a better idea than layering up but figured it would stay as flexible as possible this way.

Edited April 18 by TommyC