garage kits.

Garage kits are figurines you build and paint yourself, usually designed by small creators in limited quantities. Below are my notes about different tips and tricks I've picked up since I've started building them.

Photo: Daicon IV soft vinyl garage kit by Nankoku Factory

resin kit notes.

coming soon :)

soft vinyl kit notes.

Sanding

• Don't start any lower than 400 grit for sanding or else it'll scuff, polish up to 800. Instructions suggest 600

Pinning

• For vinyl kits, can fill each piece with plaster and then you can pin them like a resin kit

Putty

• Leona says: TWO TYPES OF PUTTY!! One is for filling in small imperfections, aka the basic white putty. The other is EPOXY putty, this is for filling gaps between parts in large areas.
• Superglue for small pieces, large pieces should get 5 minute epoxy glue

Primer

• Clean kit again before primer, after putty and sanding
• Do thin layer of primer first to check for imperfections
• Correcting putty after primer: Mask area to minimize damage when sanding, apply putty and scrape with hobby knife, dry and sand with fine-grit sand paper, then reprime.
• Next time I would do different colors of primer in different places. White primer is easier to cover up for lighter colors like flesh and white. Grey is pretty good for everything else.

Painting

• Keep the excess vinyl that was cut off for paint test
• When masking try to leave some excess tape that is easy to "pull" on when you're done, because trying to scrape the corner of a piece of tape trying to take it off WILL scratch your paint job
• Leona says: Tamiya is meant for airbrushing and not good for hand painting, use Vallejo for handpainting instead :( People online saying that you can use Tamiya but thin the paints and apply many thin layers. More time-consuming. Thin around 30%?
• Light pressure on the brush and not going over an already painted area prevents brushstrokes. Watch for bubbles and give time to dry completely before doing additional coats
• Next time for airbrushing I would do at least two coats. Cover relatively thinly and let it dry for an hour and them do another one before moving on.
• Also try out not thinning tamiya paint when handbrushing. Some people say that you don't really need to thin it unless airbrushing.

Topcoat

• Use Mr. Topcoat which is acrylic - DO NOT USE mr super clear which is lacquer and is incompatible with acrylic paint (potentially)
• Try different finishes for different parts - did Gloss for suit and shoes and matte for everything else. Matte over gloss WILL dull the glossy look a bit. Next time either need to mask properly or do the matte coat first on everything, then mask off and do another layer on glossy parts
• Even with Mr. Topcoat paint still gets scuffed and scratches easily!!! Try different sealant next time?? Or maybe this is just an issue with vinyl