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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

HG AGE-FX Complete!



The AGE-FX I received for /r/gunpla's Secret Santa is done. Technically, it's been done for a couple days. I've just been lazy to finish building the light box. Last night I had some extra time, so I got around to it and spent a few more hours taking the pictures. Taking pictures for this kit wasn't as easy as it was for the SD Strike, probably because of the extra articulations this kit comes with. It'll be apparent in the pictures, but I'm a total novice when it comes to photographing. You'll notice lots of changes in lighting from picture to picture and in some the figure isn't even upright. I apologize for those mistakes and ask that you guys overlook those mistakes.

One thing I want to mention. On the right side of its blue forehead piece, there's a chunk of paint missing because my dog scratched it off. I left the light box and the kit inside on the floor (I don't have enough space on my desk for it) while I was out getting something from my car. When I came back, the kit was toppled and my dog had a foot on the kit's head. Lifted him off the kit, but the damage was done. Let's just call it a minor damage effect for now. Anyways, enjoy the pictures!































































































That's all. If anyone has any suggestions about photographing, I'm all ears.

Next post will be the RG Freedom!

Questions or comments are more than welcomed!

Thanks for reading!

7 comments:

  1. Looks good, nice job on the preshading1

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  2. It's a nice real job you made here ! Actually I have some questions for you. Basically I need your advice.
    I'm currently doing the same AGE FX model but in SD. And I face the same feeling regarding the funnels. They are just transparent green plastic. I was thinking also to paint in blue the beginning of them like you did but i'm kinda facing a problem. I never painted. So I was thinking about using the gundam blue marker in order to paint that area, what do you think about it ? I mean I saw online there are many ways of painting but sadly I dont have all this airbrush tools so I was wondering if just using some gundam markers for this kind of details would be enough ? If so, do you think I should use some coat before using the marker ?

    The other question is about that black shaded effect on the edge that you did. I'd like to be able to do the same, would you mind explain me how ?

    Thanks for your help and I hope you can give me a hand here !
    Keep on the good work :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for visiting and for the compliments! Those funnels really need some work don't they? I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

      Using gundam markers will be enough, but I suggest you practice using them first because even though they are called "markers," they are still paint based instead of ink so they can get a bit runny. I do use gundam markers once in a while, but only for very minor touch ups. I never got the hang of it so I can't get a smooth finish with those markers. I've seen some very smooth finishes with gundam marker though and most people say it works well. I guess I'm just the exception. Anyways,here are some tips on how to use those markers:

      Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

      Another way to use the markers would be to draw out the ink, thin it a little bit, and then use a brush to hand brush the paint. At this point though, I would rather buy a couple bottles of paint so I can mix them to produce the color closest to the stock color scheme and hand brush it onto the pieces.

      As a side note, the funnel color is mix of purple, shade of blue, and white, so the blue from the marker will not achieve the stock color scheme. However, if you are fine with that then by all means go for it! :)

      I'm assuming by coating you are talking about topcoat? If so, I wouldn't worry about it. If you make a mistake, you can use some rubbing alcohol to wipe away the mistake, but if you had topcoat underneath, things will get messy. The coating part would come after the paints cured to help protect it, but since these funnels will be going into tight slits, the painting at the connecting point of the funnels may chip off.

      The black shaded effect comes from using a technique called pre-shading. I believe this can be only done using an airbrush. It's a technique where you paint the entire piece in a dark color first (black in my case) then by using a lighter color, you highlight from the center to outward to give that gradient effect. Here's a video explanantion if it which should be much more helpful.

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    2. I hope this helps! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask! Good luck!

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    3. Thank you so much for your help !
      I kind of understand way much more about this and i'm gonna give it a try with the gundam markers ! Regarding the shading effect that you did, it seems out of my league for now ... I'll try to think of something else ! I heard about that `weathering` set from Tamiya and they seem to be working quite well actually. It will give a different feeling but definitely help for the volume of it !
      Thanks a lot again for your tips, I'll keep on checking your site for some new stuff from you ! :)

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