Tips on Primer, paint and assembly of a HMM Bladey

[ShadoWolfozo]

My newly bought HMM Blade Liger (the original dull yellow molded teeth and claws kit) is on it's way and I plan on repainting him so;

His blue becomes flat/matte black
His white (and blades) becomes metallic red
His yellow becomes silver
His dark grey/black becomes a medium/light grey

I made a custom bladey cross Liger zero for fun and the paint scheme will be similar (so as per above)

Now to my questions:

I heard using primer spraycans helps as an undercoat for various reasons and I'd probably buy a flat black primer if I can find any however I want to know if it's really necessary to use it.
Will it effect the paint if I don't? Will it effect the model? Has anyone successfully painted a HMM without primer?

Next (noob question but better safe than sorry) the non-glossy paint is called Matte right? So i'll be looking for matte black?

Alright now I have heard and spoken with people on whther assembly before paint is better than the other way round.
Should I prime and paint the sprues, or assemble it and paint it assembled? If I paint it on the sprues, are there any parts in particular that I should not paint? (I'm aware to be careful around rotating bits and such)

A spray on (spraypaint) primer and paint, are they okay? Details and the metallic red I'll do by hand.

I heard some kits need to be washed to get rid of mold agent or something, will this be necessary (i saw somewhere koto are one of the ones that wash before packaging but like the paint question, better safe than sorry) I'm frightened of ruining the pieces in warm water.

Anything else I should be aware of when custom painting a HMM?


Thanks in advance
~Shadow

[Maethius]

Hi, ShadoW... let me give this a shot:

1) Is priming important? Just read a big blog on this. If you are painting with an airbrush, most likely you don't need to prime. Primers are most useful when blending different model part colors together (if you have a red, a white, and a blue piece that you want to all appear green in your final design)... so there is no variation in your top coat. However, primer does serve to point out small flaws that can escape your attention with plain plastic. You can use primer to reduce the amount of final color coats you need; but I don't see any problem with your choices (all are darker or similar). My current custom has 3 main colors and is build from 20 colors of plastic and metal, so I am using two colors of primer: My red and gold pieces are all using Rustic Brown Primer (Krylon), and my weapons are using Flat Black.

#2) Do you want matte colors? IMHO, yes. I've tried matte, satin, and glossy finishes, and the very best stuff I've seen is matte. However, if you like, you can find a matte clear coat (like Krylon's Preserve It! acrylic spray) to provide a great top coat. Mind you, a MATTE clear coat, as far as I can tell, is always closer to satin, so it will lend a little shine to your model. It also tends to make a model look cast in those colors and smooths the transitions of labels/decals, if you are looking for that kind of effect.

#3) Assembly or not? I've found this depends on two things; the similarity of your final colors to your plastic colors and the way individual pieces fit together. If your chosen colors are similar to your molded colors you can easily paint on the sprues and then do touch ups after assembly. Many people find that it eases the detailing process to keep them on the sprues as well. Myself? On most builds I tend to assemble what I can so I can sand, file, and fill little problem areas to make them smooth, then I prime, then base coat, assemble, and selectively add details like soot, dirt, exhaust and weathering.

#4) Spray paint and primer are okay... depending on what you are using them on. They tend to be much heavier than, say, airbrush. Most of the time they preserve details quite well if you don't lay it on too heavy, but especially spray paint can fill and pool in areas and take out sharp edges and details. You have to use your wits with the stuff... doing a Berzerk Fuhrer body would probably be done with an airbrush, the armor could be spray painted.

#5) we are talking about mold release here. Don't worry about ruining plastic pieces in warm water... warm, not HOT. What you really need is a very mild detergent to release mold agents (I use Dawn direct to foam dish soap... it's very fine and a good degreaser... and it only takes 1 pump for a whole very large Zoid). However, I have not run into any release agent issues with my HMMs.

#6) Anything else? Experience! The only way to improve the process is practice. Look online for tips but it will come down to practicing to rock the world.

Hope this helps.

[ShadoWolfozo]

I ended up buying a med grey primer and some flat/matte black spray paint from bunnings yesterday, the other paint I already have.

Thanks for the tips Maethius I'll keep them in mind when bladey arrives

[Maethius]

No problem. Just a note that I painted this custom without any primer:





As you can see, it was made using the bright orange Hasbro version of Dimetra. Using the airbrush required probably 5 light coats of paint, but in the end the orange and the dark blue (the weapon cowlings) appear as a good, solid white. The blue and gold portions were all just hand painted as well.

[ShadoWolfozo]

Oh okay, it looks great!
Well, I'll guess I'll seek more help if it's required when Bladey gets here.

[Hellbound Crow]

For a second Maethius, I thought that was made from part to a jet falcon...before i saw the unpainted pics lol. I like it. What ya call it?

[Maethius]

That's one of my first bitbashes, the RZ-161 Sea Saber. I loaded 100+ of them into my Gallant Mariner seahorse/base for the 2007 Zoids Manifest contest.