MrHolister wrote:

Mobius wrote:
This is why I usually avoid Ebay like the plague. That and any one Shinki that I try to bid on apparently has some sort of automated bidder against me, raising the stakes fifty cents to a dollar higher every time >>

As a status update, Natsume's recoloring is proving to be somewhat difficult, I want to get her nice and done before I upload any pictures.

I know about the risks of ebay, and yeah, that was someone's autobid outbidding you. Basically you put the highest amount you want to pay and everytime someone else bids it outbids them by a few cents until your limit is reached. Takes a few seconds though, so these folks don't always win last second bidding.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend VHT vinyl dye.. (BTW, this is just a site I saw that had a color chart.)

http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraypaintdepo ... PAodHCAAXw

There are lots of color choices, and it is extremely durable. No primer needed and bonds hardcore with plastic. They have a few decent base colors to work with too. I was tired of "plastic" paint and paints that required primer and would then still flake off or just look crappy.. This coats real evenly, and can be resprayed several times to even the color with little possibility of runs..

I'm even repainting LEGOS with it with decent success (it scrapes a little where it pegs, but overall good)

It might be a bit of too little, too late as I've already gone through with painting. I could do it, but then that'd mean getting all that paint off, which is about as much of a nightmare as getting it on.

Will you use a "topcoat" as a sealer?

Ranalcus wrote:Will you use a "topcoat" as a sealer?

Tried that once already with... arguable results - the feathers still got blemished, but the rest worked rather fine.

Mobius wrote:

Ranalcus wrote:Will you use a "topcoat" as a sealer?

Tried that once already with... arguable results - the feathers still got blemished, but the rest worked rather fine.

I used the vinyl dye over the painted ammo case she comes with, and it turned out fine.. Just fyi if you are worried about spraying over paint..

MrHolister wrote:

Mobius wrote:

Ranalcus wrote:Will you use a "topcoat" as a sealer?

Tried that once already with... arguable results - the feathers still got blemished, but the rest worked rather fine.

I used the vinyl dye over the painted ammo case she comes with, and it turned out fine.. Just fyi if you are worried about spraying over paint..

Well, good news - I think I isolated the problem - it's the primer. I scraped it off (ruining one of my files in the process), made it smooth as possible and put a layer of Tamiya red on it. The damage has been done - it's going to look uneven in places if seen up close, but it's far better than what was before. From this point on, I will NEVER recommend Testors primers to ANYONE. EVER. Stick with Model Masters, great coat, dries quick, but you may only get enough for one or two projects out of it.

Better news - I got more paints for Christmas. So many paints. Paints, paints everywhere. (Now up to near 60 Tamiya paints). This includes some new reds I can experiment with - Hull Red and Flat Red to be precise. Gonna try and see if these may do something nice (Hull Red likely for the hair, flat for a different, less glossy finish)

Edit: With how I emphasize it, one may very well think I was on Tamiya's payroll (I wish). I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had the best experiences when it comes to Tamiya paints. The quality, the larger bottles, the quick drying, it all makes for a very lovely (if a bit expensive) package. Granted, I don't usually see more 'niche' colors like skintones but hey. We have Citadel for that. Also, haven't picked up their sprays, though I am thinking about it.

Well, it's been a while since I posted, but life always goes on, right? Like say...
Having two girls come home from what appeared to be a roadtrip while I was out - got these two off of Vagabond Elf, thank you good sir!
Natsume instantly went for Howling, dubbed Fianna (or Fia for short) - silly girl thought she was a pet. Oh I hope those two get along.
I had originally thought of just getting Howling from the good sir, but after coming to an understanding of what the Arnval Tranche 2 model had, I decided to get her as well as an upgrade for Charlotte - thus giving me a spare Shinki to either experiment with for the resin casting idea (yes, I'm still on that) or an EX Set.

More pics to come later!

I promised new pic, and here is new pic - Charlotte wanted to try on all the things. Not the new things, ALL THE THINGS. She even wanted to keep her old weapons - to which I said if she can figure out how to hold them all at once, then I have no problem.

Well...
I have the distinct feeling she may like overkilling things a bit too much

There's no overkill, only 'Open Fire' and 'I need to reload'.

Shikaze wrote:There's no overkill, only 'Open Fire' and 'I need to reload'.

Never enough dakka. (Ha.)

I think you still have some space for a bit more gear. The spare connector pieces should come in handy right about now. XD

Congrats on the nice gets!

Adventwings wrote:

Shikaze wrote:There's no overkill, only 'Open Fire' and 'I need to reload'.

Never enough dakka. (Ha.)

I think you still have some space for a bit more gear. The spare connector pieces should come in handy right about now. XD

Congrats on the nice gets!

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, I might have space for more gear but at this point it would start to monopolize on the other Shinkis' accessories. We can't have that now, can we?

The first girl I plan on getting new armor and weapons for is Natsume, since 1: Painting her default equipment turned out to be a nightmare of nightmares and 2: It's partially my fault that it got so bad and damaged, so this is my way of making up for it. Fia's probably going to be next, and opt to use some of those Kotobukiya MSG weapons or the Bandai equivalent.

Meanwhile, I tried to see if I could make my pictures more crisp by working on them on the computer's stock photo editor, to little avail, especially on close up shots. So for now, here's Charlotte's first outing in her Tranche body; she wanted out to exercise her stiff joints.
Took Charlotte a bit to actually climb up there, silly girl wanted to do it herself without her armor for some reason.

Today was Fia's turn as well, though instead of going for poses or climbing things, she wanted to find a waterfall she could train under. Maybe letting her have free reign and going through all the manga and anime I have was a bad idea.