Qubeley

*Update: made some new pics*




*endupdate*

I repainted the gray parts in a darker gray. Looks better now, and I got an Action Base 1 for it.

AMX-004 Qubeley finished!

Yesterday I did some weathering and sumire (panel line coloring) on the parts. The panel lines I painted with a wash of brown email color. The weathering on some parts I did with the dry brush technique with brown email color. Next I dry brushed the internal mechanic parts with silver email color.


Today I added a few decals, clear coated everything with Future mixed with Tamiya Acryl Flat Base for a flat finish and built the Qubeley again.
Here it is:

I will make some more pictures tomorrow when the light is better.

Oh and today my Hyakushiki (+ ballute system) arrived!

The gray Qubeley parts

Airbrushed all the gray parts today. (except the jointed hands, how the hell am i supposed to paint those !?) The gray, I call it sand-gray, turned out really well. For the gray I mixed White, Brown and a bit Black together. I didn't prime the parts before painting, didn't see the point when painting gray.

Color mixing is difficult

I painted some more parts today. As I plan to alternate the color scheme a little bit, I painted the blue parts black and the purple parts in a grayish gun metal blue green with a hint of purple. The color didn't really turn out the way I intended to, but it doesn't look bad. I mixed Royal Blue, Gun Metal, some Purple, a bit Black and a bit White (all Tamiya acryls). It turned out like a dark blue/gray with a bit metallic effect.
Up next are the gray and the pink parts and I'm done with the main coloring.
After that i will do some sumire in a light brownish color and I plan some subtle weathering.
... We'll see how that turns out.

Painting & shading all the white parts.

My second package hangs at the customs, but i managed to fill the dent with glue and lots of sanding. I painted all the white parts with white and a HINT of brown. Did about two coats of that. Then I put some shading on a few parts. At the 'vents' on the wings for example. Last I painted it again, but with pure white, mainly in the center of the parts, for highlight.
Then i added a glossy clear coat of Future for adding some decals later on. The final finish will be matte.
All this stuff i read on forums and tutorials. This video of a professional builder building a Qubeley was helpful too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFixV8jwDLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D64BCJkiKs

Qubeley head modification, priming

I glued the two head parts together and cut out a little bridge so i can fit in the 'eyes' after painting it. This should give me less hassle than masking the eyes and removes a quite visible seam between the two head parts. Sanding away the excessive glue made the seam smooth, but i found another small dent at the front of the head, so i still need my putty :(




Next i primed the white parts with white Tamiya primer. My priming technique sucks! Used up almost the whole can (large) for only the white parts. I think i have to buy another can for the rest of the parts, plus i also need primer for the Hyaku.



Other news is that i got notice from my local customs office, they are holding my package with the Hyaku Shiki and the Putty and want me to show them some bills and stuff.

Qubeley sanding, and some tools

Sanded the white parts with P1000 wet-sanding paper today. All except the head unit as i am still waiting for my second parcel to arrive which contains the Hyaku Shiki and some Tamiya Putty which I need to close some seams in the head unit.



Here's a pic of my airbrush, colors and the German version of Future.

Mission 001 - Building my first Gundam Kit

I ordered my first (two) Gundam model kits from Japan. They will be my first model kits since i was maybe ten.
Got myself a Qubeley and a Hyaku Shiki, both Master Grade. They were shipped in separate parcels and the Qubeley arrived already, so i'll start building that one first.



Snap fitted it first, which was fairly easy and took 3~4 hours.



For a pretty finish i need to airbrush it, so i ordered an airbrush kit with compressor and pistol as well as plenty of Tamiya acrylic colors. Next step will be taking the Qubeley apart again, smoothing out all rough spots and sanding the whole thing before priming.