Kamado Nezuko | Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃) - Retouching to Enhance Color Accuracy of Model Kit Figure

 Model kit figures from Bandai tend to color accurate to an extent. But for someone who is familiar with the world of miniature painting, it's a matter of it being ... close but no cigar. To make matters worse, they offer only sticker decals to correct this color inaccuracy. Because such solutions are almost never to my liking, I always end up partly painting the model kit figure in question to obtain color accuracy. It was certainly no different for the Bandai plastic model kit figure of Kamado Nezuko from the Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃, Kimetsu no Yaiba ) anime series. Included in this blog update is a series of before and after photos showing you what I needed to do painting-wise.

Before: Nezuko's face, neck, and back of head in their original plastic molded colors

After: Flesh-colored pastels dry-brushed to face and neck, while enamel wash applied to ears

Before: Bamboo shoot, and strips of clothing that secures it, in original molded colors

After: Enamel paints used to panel-line the bamboo shoot and strips of clothing

Before: Ribbon bow for Nezuko's hair in original molded colors

After: Ribbon bow panel-lined with gray enamel paint

Before: Nezuko's hair in its original plastic molded colors

After: Nezuko's hair after brown and orange enamel filters (results insignificant)

 Among the materials I used for this retouching project are Vallejo Model Color acrylic paints, Mr.Weathering Color enamel paints, and Tamiya Weathering Master pastels. To make it easier to reference what I did, I have included the relevant information in the captions of the photos.

Before: Back half of Nezuko's pink kimono in its original plastic molded colors

After: Pattern in pink kimono brought out using gray enamel paint via panel-lining

Before: Nezuko's entire pink kimono in its original plastic molded colors

After: Pattern in pink kimono brought out using gray enamel paint via panel-lining

Before: Checkered-pattern sash around Nezuko's kimono in its original molded colors

After: Red rectangles painted with red/black acrylic paint onto the checkered-pattern sash

Before: Belt A around Nezuko's kimono sash in its original plastic molded color

After: Belt A repainted with acrylics into a light orange hue and shaded with a wash

Before: Belt B around Nezuko's kimono sash in its original plastic molded color

After: Belt B repainted with acrylics into a darker green hue and shaded with a wash

 Most critical to the entire retouch process was accentuation of the flesh colored plastic parts, which were all molded in a monotone hue. To make Nezuko's skin tone more life-like (which I know is oxymoronic seeing that she is a demon), I added shadows and highlights to her skin tone using Tamiya weathering pastels. To see what colors I used, you can refer to a video on my YouTube Channel that I'll provide a link to (in the third last paragraph below).

Before: Nezuko's arms, hands, and legs in their original plastic molded color

After: Nezuko's hands panel-lined with enamels, and legs shaded with pastels

Before: Nezuko's hands and fingernails in their original plastic molded color

After: Fingernails painted light pink using acrylics, and grooves between fingers panel-lined

 Other than painting and panel-lining for color accuracy, there were also some retouching work done to mask the nub marks that were created when parts were cut from the runner/sprue. Unfortunately I forgot to take some before-and-after photos of the repair process. However I did manage to capture the process on-camera, and as mentioned earlier I'll provide the video link near the end of this post.

Before: Ankle wrappings/ribbon bows, and part of Nezuko's feet in their original molded color

After: Ankle wrappings/ribbon bows panel-lined with gray enamel paint, and part of Nezuko's feet e.g. the straps of the slipper were painted in light pink

Before: Soles of Nezuko's slipper in their original plastic molded color

Before: Soles of Nezuko's slipper painted using yellow ocher and pink acrylic paints

 Below is the 'Enhancing the Model Kit Figure via Paint & Panel-lining' video of the Kamado Nezuko plastic model kit figure from Bandai. If you like the video, and would like to see more of the same kind of content, please do subscribe to my YouTube Channel i.e. FourEyedMonster Miniatures.

 When you think about it through the eyes of an experienced miniature painter, the work being done on this particular model kit figure is almost negligible. Yet for hobbyists who are not inclined to paint their kits, there is still a fair amount of work involved. But at the end of the day, what I hope you can take from this blog post, if anything, is to invest the time to paint some of the parts to ensure color accuracy. Don't waste the time you had spent assembling the kit, and not spend a little bit more time to make it color accurate in a good way. By that I mean don't use sticker decals if you can avoid it, because they usually don't look as good compared with a retouched part.

 With the retouch process complete, all that's left for me to do is to assemble the Kamado Nezuko model kit figure and display the final results. In fact I've actually completed this assembly process on-camera, which you can view via the YouTube link above (just click on the image with the YouTube Video). I just haven't gotten around to posting the final photos that I took of the Nezuko figurine, which I'll do in the next post. But if you're impatient to see the end results, then just check out the video above. Well, that's it for today. Until I upload my next update, please be well and happy!