I told you I’d give you photos of my painted-up Prime Ratchet toy! And here they are. I couldn’t begin to tell you all that I did in exacting detail. Suffice to say I added a lot of red and silver and tiny amounts of black and yellow. The one important detail that’s still beyond my skill levels is the thin red zigzag line that runs down the side of his vehicle. Maybe mirrorverse David can paint that in a way that will not end in tragedy, but I sure as hell can’t.
Seems like a good opportunity for a stencil or some masking tape. (Someone buy me one of these toys so I can learn how useless that idea is because of detailing or whatever)
I remember when I tried using masking tape on Customization Class Minerva at last year’s BotCon. I painted some red over some white plastic, and when I removed the tape, there was this flood of red that had bled everywhere underneath the tape. I ended up washing and sandpapering and starting over.
Anyway, I don’t trust tape, long story short.
Was this regular old making tape? That stuff always leaks for me. However, Hobby Lobby sells an imported Japanese precision hobby masking tape that is like a whole other species. It’s magically invincible against unwanted paint leaks. I don’t remember the brand name, but it’s got a bunch of katakana on the tiny plastic pouch it comes in, so it should be tough to mistake it.
Mirrorverse David can paint tiny lines – but can’t draw a penis exploding out of a muffin on a pony’s ass.
Shame about your first tape experience. one thing i find usefull and helpfull for that sort of task is using left over sticker bits to do the masking. our typical transformers silvery sticker sheet edges can be cut to many fantastic shapes and resit paint quite well.
David, what kind of paints do you use to touch up your transformers. I’ve tried a couple different ones and they never really come out very well.
Mostly acrylic paints I find at hobby stores.
Otherwise you could go to Hobby Town – they sell a special type of masking tape for hobby painting. Thin, durable and allows you to create a strong edge to prevent paint leaking.
That’s what I was using!
I’ve had decent luck using automotive pinstriping tape on my customs. You can get it really thin, and in red, though the color may not be a perfect match. If you mess it up, it’s fairly simple to peel back off, but once it’s smoothed out, it stays stuck. It should be available at any auto parts store, so it ought to be easy enough to find, and relatively inexpensive.
Mirrorverse David is incredibly talented. He does this comic strip about a weird evil black version of Glit that doesn’t say anything most of the time.
Masking tape and a fine point red sharpie? Maybe custom cut a red sticker? He NEEDS those red zig zags!!
You could try painting a piece of paper the same red color you used, then cut the red zigzag yourself, and use Decoupage to adhere it.