Work in Progress #2: NG Vayeate x HG Leo - Surface Detailing + Painting

The next stages of this project involves repairing all surface flaws, adding surface details, and of course, painting up the kit.

Surface Detailing

Although the first pass with Mr. Surfacer unified the colours, there were a ton of surface flaws (uneven putty, small pits, etc). The first step was the address these flaws with putty and a lot of sanding. I then added small pla-plate details and scribed new panel lines.

Here's the torso unit after these modifications and re-priming. I especially wanted to reshape the head to to give it a sharper angle.

Painting

It took a while to get the mix of colours I wanted. The original kit's cobalt blue was too cartoonish. I went with the following colour combo using Mr. Hobby lacquer paints. They were mixed on the spot so I don't have precise proportions. I added a touch of white to the mix for highlighting.

• Pale blue (main body)
• Sky blue (waist and shoulders)
• Purple-grey (inner frame + vent details)
• Dark grey (weapons)
• Orange yellow (details)
• Dark blue (details)

Blue and grey pieces after base coat

Detailing

Next was adding details (mostly by masking) to achieve colour separation using different blues. I also hand brushed other surface details using light grey, orange yellow, and light green enamels.

Masking the feet.

Painting the reactor by masking.

Masking the central hatch + adding enamel colours

Gloss coat, Decal, Panel lining

A bit of a condensed process here. After the painting, I sealed the base coat with Mr. Super Clear Gloss and applied enamel wash using Mr. Weathering Color. I then sealed the panel line using more gloss coat and applied decals using Mr. Mark Setter (+ Softer for curved surfaces). I sealed the decals with a third coat of clear coat.

Leg, gun, and reactor, all gloss-coated.

Matte Topcoat

The last step is to remove the shiny gloss. I used Alclad Klear Kote Flat. This achieves the matte finish that I always prefer on my non-metallic paint jobs.

Effect of the matte finish

Completed pieces drying before assembly.

Next steps

All that's left is the final assembly and photoshoot. I do plan to add some small metal details to the gun for instance for an added touch.

Photo album coming in the next blog post!