MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.3.0 [WIP Part 1 of 3 Core Fighter : Priming and Painting Strategy]

By and large, each scale model kit genre requires its own painting strategy. Even within a particular genre - be it armored fighting vehicles, miniature figurines or mechas - an individual kit may call for an approach that differs from the norm of its peers. As with most Gundam kits, the RX-78-2 requires a multitude of parts to be painted separately before they're combined to build a specific section of the mecha. While this is both challenging and time consuming, there is a certain perverse satisfaction to be had when it all comes together. This then is my painting strategy for the FF-X7 Core Fighter.   

RX-78-2 Gundam Core Fighter work-in-progress: Painting the individual parts that make up its whole

FF-X7 Core Fighter; designed to be a space fighter which doubles up as a cockpit for the RX-78-2 Gundam 

What then is a Core Fighter? In short, it's a space fighter that transforms to become the cockpit of a Gundam. Its alternate form allows it to fit into the mecha's torso. Priming for the individual Core Fighter parts was done in two main colors i.e. light gray and black. A few parts that were initially primed in light gray had to be re-primed in black. It was a straightforward mistake on my part as I wasn't paying attention to the eventual hues to be painted (i.e. metallic and dark grey) on those parts (i.e. engine vents and thrusters), which actually necessitated a black primer coat.     

Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (Light Gray) and Mr.Hobby Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 (Black)

Primed and un-primed: all the indvidual parts that will make up the RX-78-2 Core Fighter

O Gundam, Gundam, how doth I even prime thee Gundam? Admittedly a few parts did not require any priming (see below). These are either parts that will be completely hidden from view therefore will remain unpainted or ones that are best in their original state e.g. clear parts. As for parts that needed priming, it was done in a variety of ways (also see below). Some were stuck on the end of a bamboo stick while others were secured on old vitamin bottles (only caps are shown). Either choice depended on which platform afforded the most stability to the part being held while painting.   

Miscellaneous parts of the Core Fighter that wasn't primed because they won't be painted

Parts stuck to the end of a bamboo stick for priming: Blue sections of the main body including nose

Parts too small (or unstable) to be stuck to the end of a stick: Canopy front structure, tail fin and pilot seat frame

Because it was an all clear part, the cockpit canopy needed special masking before it was primed. So apart from its supporting framework, the rest of the canopy was masked (see immediate photo below). Meanwhile sufficiently undergated parts (i.e. parts connected to the sprue at locations that will be hidden after assembly) and parts requiring minimal touch up work after being snipped off the sprue were both primed on the sprues itself. In fact the best way to secure some of these parts for priming was to actually leave them still attached to the sprues (also see below).   

Parts that require careful masking before being primed: Cockpit canopy

Parts primed on sprue (sufficiently undergated or require minor touch-up): Wings, missile pods, pilot, and body sections

Extreme measures were taken when there was a likelihood the primer coat may affect the assembly of the snap-fit parts. In such cases, the sub-assembly was put together first before being primed. The piece was then disassembled before the separate pieces are painted up. An advantage of this method is that the primed areas of the disassembled pieces show where paint is specifically needed. Surfaces that eventually form the snap-fit joint areas had been left unprimed thus giving a clear indication of where not to paint. This prevents a layer of primer/coat from making the fit too tight.

Parts (rear thrusters and main fighter body) put together into a sub-assembly before being primed ...

... and then disassembled back into its component parts for painting

At this early stage, mostly only basecoat colors were airbrushed onto the parts. One issue I had was the suboptimal coverage attributes of the Mr Color 001 Gloss White paint, at least on a light gray primer coat. I'm assuming that's why Mr.Hobby came out with the Mr.Color GX line that supposedly affords better paint coverage. I had no coverage problems with the Mr.Color Gundam Color paints. For the blues, I used UG02 Blue as the base color followed by UG14 Light Blue as a highlight color, then a reapplication of UG02 Blue to tie the blue hues together. For reds, I used UG04 Red only.

Whites airbrushed using the Mr.Color 001 White (Gloss); paint coverage was suboptimal

Masking tape removed from the cockpit canopy to reveal its structural framework

Blues airbrushed with Mr.Color Gundam Colors i.e. UG02 Blue and UG14 Light Blue; paint coverage good

Reds airbrushed using Mr.Color Gundam Color UG04 Red; paint coverage good

For parts painted on sprues, additional work was required in the form of paint touch ups. Separating painted parts from the sprue will inevitably leave blemishes on surface areas previously connected to the sprue/part. Thankfully careful planning beforehand had minimized occurrences of such blemishes, which were then easily covered up with Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray followed by Gundam Color UG04 Red. Both were hand brushed onto the affected areas (see below). 

Parts painted on the sprues such as the wing assembly were then snipped off ...

... and the blemished areas previously connected to the sprue was touched up with hand brushed paint

It was only after the basecoat layer was applied that I realized the core fighter's tail fin was supposed to be in two colors. This oversight necessitated further masking, priming and painting of the part. 

Certain parts like the tail fin required further masking and additional paint

Color separation of the tail fin is clean thanks to the effective masking process

Meanwhile I also tried out a new specialized thinner for metallic paint. As I understand it, the Gaianotes G-Color Metallic Master Thinner T-09m suspends the metallic particles/pigments of the metallic paint (in this case, Gaia Color No.20 Gun Metal) better and for longer. In theory, this should result in less flakiness of the metallic paint. Cost-wise the specialized thinner costs almost twice the price of a regular Gaianotes lacquer paint thinner. There is still some flakiness to be seen but that could be my bad as I may not have properly mixed the metallic paint in the airbrush paint cup. 

Gaianotes metallic paint was thinned with the specially formulated G-Color T-09m Metallic Master

T-09m Metallic Master thinner supposedly suspends metallic pigments in the paint longer for a less flaky result

Parts that won't be painted remain unprimed while the pilot seat is re-primed in black

As you would've gathered by now even from just the photos above, painting Gundam isn't for the faint-hearted. It's a lot of planning. It's a lot of work. It's time consuming. Will it be worth it at the end. I'll let you know when, at the very least, the FF-X7 Core Fighter has been painted and fully assembled. Next up is painting the tiny details and applying sticker decals. So see you soon.