Thanks, wm, that's a great explanation.
Max style is the method perfected by Hobby Japan lead Gundam modeller Max Watanabe, and often emulated by other modellers. I've had no luck trying to do it, though.
For example, imagine he's painting a white part. He'll first paint the whole part black. He will then paint it grey, so the black remains just around the edges. He'll then paint white in the middle of the grey, so it ends up with a gradient between the white and black. This is a simplified example, he'll sometimes use three of four shades of grey on a part.
For another color, say, red, he'll start with black, then a maroon, than a red. Or, if he does black, he'll start white and than grey, than black in the center.
Needless to say, because this form of shading is sort of working backwards, it's not easy to accomplish with good results. In addition, it yeilds cool looking, but very unrealistic, results. I'll see if I can find some good pics of the technique.