Gunpla Tutorial: Surface Preparation and Taking Care of Seams and Nub Marks

Here is the second part of my tutorial on how I build my Gunpla. Before we go any further, I'd like to apologize because I was not able to take as much photos as I needed to make what I wanted to show you guys as clear as possible. Noob mistake, I'll do better next time :)

Here we see a sample of the snap fit for the kit. Before I go about finishing up the kit I make sure that I do a complete build first to determine the areas that I need to fix and the areas that will not be seen. I do not work on hidden areas because I think that's wasted time and effort and instead I concentrate on the surfaces that will be seen. You may notice from this build of the torso that there are a lot of nub marks. That's ok, we really do not need to be clean here, we just have to check if the kit builds well. (I forgot to take a photo of the whole kit, sorry!)

Here's an example of a nub mark. After determining that this part will be exposed when I first made a full build of the kit, I knew that I had to take care of this.

My filler of choice is super glue. I prefer the ones on a bottle rather than those in tubes because the bottled ones last longer. 

I put a drop of super glue on a scrap piece of plastic and use a toothpick to spread a generous blob of glue on the nub mark. I let it dry for a couple of minutes and then I proceed to wet sand the area.

Sanding the kit is pretty much straight-forward. I use these home made sanding blocks. I placed 400 grit sand paper on them both, one using a simple double-adhesive tape and the other using a foam-backed double adhesive tape. The former I use for straight surfaces while the latter I use for curved ones. 

I mentioned earlier that before I glue my kits, do my snap build first. Remember that part where I shared with you guys how I snip a bit of the nubs at a 45 degree angle so that I can easily separate the parts? That thing will pay off in the next steps.

Normally, separating the parts is a hard task but since we've trimmed the pegs this phase is just a matter of inserting a knife into the parts gap...

... And then using a parts separator to fully pry the parts away from each other. You can actually use your hobby knife to do this but sometimes the metal tends to damage the plastic when force is applied so I'd suggest that you use the plastic separator from Bandai or any plastic card that you can grab.

I apply generous amounts of hobby cement to both parts of the kit to make sure that the cement will ooze off as this will help me in the sanding stage.

Remember to squeeze really really hard on the parts so that there will be a thin bead of melted plastic that will ooze out of the gaps. Set the kit aside and wait for it to dry for at least a day before proceeding to sand.

I prefer wet sanding as this limits the amount of plastic dust in my work area and it helps keep the sand paper from being clogged with plastic and as such makes the job faster.

 

 What I usually do is I dip the part in water and then just sand away.

 

Here's how the part looks like after a few passes with the sand paper. Being a total noob at making a tutorial like this, I totally forgot to take a shot of the part after I have finished sanding it. Sorry!

By the way, I use 400 grit sand paper. Some modelers go and use progressively finer grits to make sure that the part becomes smooth. That's a nice technique and I used to do that too but I have noticed that 400 works for me and sometimes I just use a 600 grit one to further sand down the part but I really do not do that often because the primer I use tends to cover up most of the minute scratches that my sanding process leaves behind. 

Here's a shot of the kit after it has been primed. I use Sphero Automotive Primer that I spray with my trusty Badger 250 powered by a Kawasaki Diaphragm Compressor. I used to prime with Bosny Primers, and I actually swear by that product, but since I tend to run out of spray cans a lot and I do not go out a lot since I work from home I have decided to just stock up on a can of primer and bottles of acrylic thinner (this is not water based, actually its automotive acrylic thinner but when you go and buy from the hardware store, just tell them you need acrylic thinner.) here at home. It's actually cheaper this way since a liter of Sphero just costs around $5 and would last me at least 20 model kits by my estimate compared to the $3 dollars I spend on a spray can that lasts for only 2 or 3 kits.

The most important part of priming is that you get to see the imperfections on your build. I noticed that there were still some seam lines on the kit that I built and that there are some nub marks that I was not able to remove.

Priming, while giving your kit a nice surface to paint on, helps you identify areas that still need work. Often when we are working on a kit, the marred plastic hides the defects. Priming gives you a neutral surface to review and under a good light most areas that need more work are clearly visible. 

After I have checked the parts I sort them out per color and then try to figure out a color scheme for the kit. At this stage I pause and go look for references and then I proceed to mixing the colors that I need.

In the next part of the tutorial I'll share with you the paints that I use and how I go about laying down flat paint using a paint brush. The goal of this tutorial is to show you guys that an air brush is not a necessity for this hobby and that we can go around and build kits using supplies that can be easily bought from art supply stores.

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I really meant to post this update sooner but I really haven't built yet a good enough routine that will help me post on a more regular basis. I planned on writing every Sunday but I've been swamped with tons of work lately and as such was not able to blog as often as I wanted and this is something that I am hoping to address in the next couple of days.

My life has been really hectic, and that's not new. I'm just thankful to the Lord Jesus for giving me as much work as I can handle and for providing for me and for my family through the work that I do. I'm a freelance digital artist, and its a tough market out there and one has to be really diligent in looking for work and maintaining clients. I do my best to practice as much as I can and when I'm waiting for client feedback or on days when I don't have a project to work on I work on personal art that will hopefully reel in more clients for me. Again, its a tough market, and for one to survive in this field one has to be focused while at the same time be unfazed by the difficulties that freelancing offers.

The hours are long, but the work is fun! Plus I get to build model kits during the many mini-breaks that I scatter throughout the day.

More importantly, I know its the Lord that really helps me on a day to day basis. My fiancee and I, along with her sister, are all freelance digital artists. People often think that we work too hard but the truth of the matter is that we've learned that we need to trust that God will provide for us and that He will bring us where He wants us to go in terms of our career and that in order for us to get there we need to work harder and smarter. Faith is never magic, and a belief that God will provide work for you when you are not making art to show to potential clients is a big mistake. That faith should spur you forward, should make you work harder because you know that God is guiding you and the He will not give you anything that will not benefit you at the end of all of your hard work.

Why am I writing this? Well, its just that I'm really really tired right now but I am also really, really happy. I am believing that this year will be more awesome than last year and that God will provide for the faith goals that I have this year. However, should the Lord have other plans for me, I will gladly obey and leave what I have planned for myself behind.

God bless!