Best Paint Match For 1/48 White

[ghostryder]

Has anyone found a satin off-white paint that matches the Yamato 1/48 white ABS color? I prefer a more durable enamel that needs no clear coat for play-durability.

thanks

[do not disturb]

as far as i know, people have come close but theres never been an exact match....white seems to be the most difficult to color match.

you can either paint the entire thing white and start your custom from there, or you can strip all the stock paint off using the steelwool and brasso method. there might be other options for paint stripping but this is the method thats worked for me on my past 3 customs.

hope that helps, good luck with your custom and make sure you post pics!

[ghostryder]

Thanks for the tips. Actually, I just wanted to add some minor trim detail to a CF to make it slightly less blahh... so maybe a perfect match won't be necessary .

[GutsAndCasca]

If you wanna' get a decent white paint match, here's what I suggest: (of course... I've never used enamel, so. This is just acrylic here!)

Put some white paint in a small empty clear container. Add a little bit of tamiya thinner. (make it about 70% paint / 30% thinner) Now add like one tiny drop of black paint, probably even less than a drop. Shake it up, see what it looks like. Add a tiny tiny bit of orange paint. (less than a drop) Shake it up. It should be looking pretty close. Add more black paint, shake. (make sure you have something like a tiny marble inside of the can you're shakin'... but you probably already know that) You'll notice if you look close that Yamato's stock white is actually grey. So you're shootin' for a really light shade of grey. Keep holding up the clear bottle to a piece of your valk, compare, etc. Eventually you should get a near perfect match.

Hope this helps... maybe this would work for enamel paints? I dunno'.

[ghostryder]

Thanks, I will try this!

[ghostryder]

BTW, this is all the white I wanted to add (bow down before my awsone MS Paint skilz!). Maybe there's enough variability between the plastic white and the existing white paint on the wings and fins to give me some room for error on the color match...

[do not disturb]

ooo, that does make it look a bit nicer and its actually a spot where there won't be much wear and tear....i might have to borrow your idea.

[ghostryder]

ooo, that does make it look a bit nicer and its actually a spot where there won't be much wear and tear....i might have to borrow your idea.

411765[/snapback]

Hah, I'm not sure whose idea it was originally. I did up a Bandai CF like this before the 1/48 stealth came out, but I know some MWers have also done some custom 1/48 low-vis schemes with a different trim color along the chest plate chamfer.

Edited June 27, 2006 by ghostryder

[David Hingtgen]

If you're really concerned about the match, test a sample and let it dry. Colors can change a lot when they dry. (though this affects pale grey/white less than most)

[GutsAndCasca]

It looks way cool! Nice work!

[ghostryder]

It looks way cool! Nice work!

412169[/snapback]

Thanks! ...uh....but that's just a touched-up picture . I can only hope to get it to look that good for real

[GutsAndCasca]

I wanna' see battroid mode!! By the way, do enamel paints not chip/peel as easy as acrylic??

[ghostryder]

Well, close enough for guv'ment work. Testors white (about 1/3 bottle) with 2 drops black and 1 drop brown (this is Testor's standard orangey-yellow diarrhea brown). After filling in the verniers black and paneling the trim, I want to use a nice dull clearcoat that doesn't yellow to protect the paint. Any suggestions? Do acrylic clears yellow less than lacquer clears?

... and the battroid mode pics will have to wait until I finish my 1J head

Edited June 29, 2006 by ghostryder

[David Hingtgen]

Generally, yes. (go for acrylic)

[GutsAndCasca]

If enamel doesn't chip or wear as easily... then why shouldn't I use enamel? I mean, I like using acrylic, BUT, if I can get paint that won't flake off without having layers ontop of it for protection and then STILL being in fear, that'd be great.

[ghostryder]

If enamel doesn't chip or wear as easily... then why shouldn't I  use enamel? I mean, I like using acrylic, BUT, if I can get paint that won't flake off without having layers ontop of it for protection and then STILL being in fear, that'd be great.

412439[/snapback]

I'm no modeler, but based on my limited experience years ago - if you're using waterslide decals and will need to put a clear coat anyways, acrylics are the way to go due to easier to application and cleanup. If you'r half-a$$ing it like I do with spot paint and Takatoy stickers, enamels are the way to go for more durability. I PLAY with my toys, so another top coat over model enamels would even be better. For stuff like Krylon or Rustoleum, I don't bother with the clear coat.

Anyone try waterborne finish on a custom toy? That stuff is tough as nails and won't yellow, but doesn't conform to parts as well. I finished a 1/60 with that stuff, and all went well except for the stuff not adhering at all to the stock Yammie stickers.

Edited June 29, 2006 by ghostryder

[GutsAndCasca]

*snap*

[GutsAndCasca]

I don't have three of every valk I own, so I end up having to transform them from time to time. this is especially so for my customs. It would be nice to have a paint that's durable.

[ghostryder]

I've done some searches on this site, and the general consensus is that NO custom paint job will be 100% play-proof. Chipping and wear will be a given. The best you'll be able to do is use automotive paint, like Skull-1 uses, but then color choices will be limited.

[GutsAndCasca]

Automotive paint??? Geesh. Sounds pretty hardcore. Where would I go about getting that, and how much would it be, and how do you apply it, etc? Any help is appreciated! Someday I'd like to have customs that I can transform without having to spew out foul language everytime I nick up a decal/paint/etc.

[ghostryder]

Guts...

I have not used automotive paint, so I wouldn't know. They have touch-up paint that comes in 12-oz aerosol cans.

I've only seen people use auto paint on 1/55s, I DO NOT KNOW HOW THE PAINT WILL REACT W/ YAMATO ABS!!! Auto paint usually has MEK, which could melt certain plastics. There, you've been warned

I shot the trim tonight w/ some Minwax Polycrylic (waterborne)... seems pretty tough. This comes in both aerosol and open-top can, but for a small job like this I chose the aerosol. I was going to use Varathane waterborne, which is uspposed to be harder, but this will do for a piece that doesn't get banged around during transformation.

Edited July 14, 2006 by ghostryder

[David Hingtgen]

MEK will melt MOST plastics, as it's a ingredient in many model cements/glues. Many people use raw MEK for gluing models together, few things are better (nor brain-cell-killing).

[GutsAndCasca]

So is MEK destined to make mince-meat of a 1/48?

[ghostryder]

According to this, yes...

Chemical_Compatibilities_Housings_1_.pdf

[GutsAndCasca]

MY question is this now: How can we get ahold of the exact same paint yamato uses? What exactly are they using? Would they sell some?

[ghostryder]

MY question is this now: How can we get ahold of the exact same paint yamato uses? What exactly are they using? Would they sell some?

412820[/snapback]

Honestly, it may be just some type of industrial acrylic - it find that it chips almost as easily as amateur jobs (e.g., stripes around back hatch, paint on leg pegs). It also comes off very easily with 90% isopropyl (well, at least the red stripe on the Hikaru 1J head did). The trick may be to just prep the plastic with rubbing alcohol and don't apply too thick od a layer.

[GutsAndCasca]

Gotcha'! Thanx Ghost.

[UN Spacy]

Since wer're on the subject of paint matching anyone know what's a good paint match for Hikaru's RED and Max's BLUE on the 1/48 VF-1A's?

I'm looking to make a custom 1S head and would really appreciate it. I'll probably use the testors in those small bottles.

[UN Spacy]

Anyone think these are a direct match?

[Fly4victory]

For Max try Model Master Acryl French Blue #4659. Used it to make a VF-1S Max looks the same as VF-1A.

[UN Spacy]

Awesome.......and it looks like those choices for Hikaru's were wrong.

LOL. Anyone know what it is?

[David Hingtgen]

While that is among the most accurate paint charts I've ever seen on a computer monitor (most are so off they're utterly worthless) it's still not dead-on. I've bought most of those paints, and in real life they're all a bit brighter. If I had a Hikaru, I'd give a suggestion. Italian red is "Ferrari red" though. Guards red is "Porsche red".

I like Chrysler engine red myself for a bright red---no other "hue" in it.

And while we're on the subject--I asked before but no one answered: Is the white plastic used on Max and Milia the same as a Hikaru? (1J for all)

[do not disturb]

Since wer're on the subject of paint matching anyone know what's a good paint match for Hikaru's RED and Max's BLUE on the 1/48 VF-1A's?

I'm looking to make a custom 1S head and would really appreciate it. I'll probably use the testors in those small bottles.

pick a red/blue thats close and just paint the arrows. even if they don't match perfectly, its nearly impossible to tell since theres no other red/blue highlights on the S head to draw a comparison to. seriously, unless you 're holding a swatch of the red/blue next to the head, you'll never be able to tell.

if you want a really close match and don't want to paint at all, you can use the left over leg armor arrows stickers from the FP kit.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/uploads/po...-1095874328.jpg

And while we're on the subject--I asked before but no one answered: Is the white plastic used on Max and Milia the same as a Hikaru? (1J for all)

i checked out the M&M's and the nose cones on the rest of my valks and the M&M nose cones are definitely a brighter shade of white in comp to the rest of the valks.

[David Hingtgen]

Thanks