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The Making Of Rei Ayanami Race Queen |
The following are the in progress shots and methods that I took to get 1/8 Rei Ayanami Race Queen garage kit completed. Note that this is my second garage kit and the methods shown here might not be refined.
Removing Flash and Sanding
Construction started with counting all the resin parts and make sure it is tally with parts
shown in your instruction manual.
The red arrows indicated the flash excess. This garage kit is somewhat an old re-cast and the flash located at the end of the stocking really a bad location.
Flash is cut out using a wire cutter and in order not to damage the resin surface, I only cut out 75% of the flash. For the balance, I am using a craft knife to chip it off and then sand it using a metal file. Finally, the area is fine sand using 1200 grit sandpaper.
Pinning and Test Fitting
This kit is then test fitted by combining both parts together. Most kit comes with some
pinholes marking that facilitate drilling. I use a 1/16 inch drill to drill the pinholes.
I use to use some metal wire as with in my previous Takai Sayaka kit. Wires are too soft for a standing figure and I replace it with brass rod that I bought from the hardware shop. Note that from the first photo, I am using a total of 6 brass rods on this figure.
In my previous kit, I am using some blue tack to stick the kit together. The result is horrible, as the mentioned kit is not perfectly fitting. I am changing to masking tape and tape from the outside.
The seam lines is then sanded using a sanding sponge and smooth with a 1500 grit sandpaper.
This recast quality is not that good and there are tons of gaps in this kit as indicated by the red arrows.
About a year ago, I have test fitted and putty this kit. Since I am changing the wires to brass rod, the gaps runs again. Notice from the photos the epoxy putty I previously put on for test fitting.
Puttying
Before puttying, I have to wash the kit first with water and some dishwashing liquid.
Next is to pull out the puttying tools, Tamiya 2-Part Epoxy Putty, Lip balm, and a craft knife.
The lip balm to put on one side of the surface so that when the parts are taken out on the next day the putty will not stick to both sides. Tamiya Putty requires about an overnight to harden.
Notice that the hairline, chest and legs are puttied. I am putting additional putty to increase the volume of Rei's bum.
Note that from the first photo, Rei's left arm is extended by 4 - 5 mm. This is to get her to hold the umbrella properly. Her hand is still too short and the umbrella's handle is extended by about 5 mm (not shown).
Rei's leg rocks left and right during test fit. Thus, her stocking is puttied to get the correct slanting position and the correct orientation of her shoe to her feet.
In order to ensure a balance figure, I am using an acrylic block (or anything flat except your table) to get a balance level.
Priming and Sanding
Priming is done using Mr. Resin Primer Surfacer, which is gray in color. Once it is
spray on, the thigh area that I puttied earlier is giving some very ugly crater and scars. I
remember sanding it thoroughly and feel it with a finger for evenness and smoothness. I
thought I have sanded it to perfection and I was wrong. The primer is the best revealer of
uneven surface.
The photos below show that the part is in white. This is because I am spraying on Mr. Surfacer 1000 onto it trying to cover the scars. The scars are marked with red circle. I applied multiple layers of Mr. Surfacer onto it, making it thick and wish for the problem to go away. Yet the scars are very persistent.
Well, I have no choice but to sand, prime and spray Mr. Surfacer on it again. The sanding results are shown as below.
The photo shows the figure eyes are masked with Liquid Mask. This is to prevent paint getting onto the eye whites.
Painting
Mixing flesh tone is a very tricky business. I screwed up on my first kit (Takai Sayaka)
with too much yellow. This round I tried mixing the proper flesh tone.
I am using the flesh base (second bottle from the left) that I have mixed about a year ago with tons of flat white. The color is tested on a white piece of paper. I slowly add more red (first bottle on the left) into it.
The photo shows 2 tones here, actual flesh (A) and a highlight (B). The final tone you get might run when you stack those paints in layers. I tried testing the actual flesh by putting on flesh color and then put on the highlight on top of it when it dry (C).
I actually mixed 3 tones where the third is the shadow. It is mixed from flesh then carefully mixes with a drop or 2 of blue.
Painting is started by a layer of flesh tone and then highlights and then shadow. Finally, it is then misted with flesh tone again for evenness.
Her hair is painted with Sky Blue straight from the bottle without mixing and highlight with mist of purple.
Bikini white area is masked before painted with blue then highlight with light blue. It is then misted with a very thin purple.
The last picture shows a big screw up here. The paint runs and I tried repairing it with oil. I tried panel lining with black and highlight back of the bikini with cyanine blue. The result is a total disaster as the oil dirtied the bikini. My control of oil paint is still too amateurish.
I tried many methods like painting it with white, dry brush with white, flat coat and tons of other way. All attempts failed. I gave up and do the last thing that I can do here. Masked the blue area and then mist flat white back to the bikini. This way I lose the gradation painted on it but save me from paint stripping and repaint.
Painting Eyes
Another round of test fit after painting (wait for paint to dry first) and repairs the
paint run or unpainted areas by hand brushing with the leftover paint.
I tried painting the eyes with Mr. Color black. My hand brushing skill is getting rusty ever since I got an airbrush. The mascara and eyebrow is painted with Mr. Color but the iris is drawn with 0.2 pigment pen. Next, I put a drop of Gundam Marker red on the iris. When the paint is half-dry, I put a drop of white Gundam marker for highlight.
The result is by chance, the white paint spread and blend with the red. When the paint is almost dry, I am putting back the drop of white for highlight or reflection.
I am still impatience in painting the eyes. I should wait for the paint to completely dry before applying the second color.
Final Assembly
The final assembly is the risky part here.
I am using both epoxy glue and super glue here. Epoxy glue takes 10 minutes to dry and I do not have the patience to hold each joint for 10 minutes. I use a drop of super glue on some key area to gain an instance bond while the epoxy glue is drying. This way, I do not need to clamp the pieces together. Epoxy glue gain maximum bond overnight.
The danger of super glue is it is hard to control. For example, Rei's hair has some glue oozing out as too much super glue is applied.
I tried repairing it with sanding and touch up using sky blue. It is then blend with purple. It is not the best result but I am just too lazy to repaint again.
The umbrella is the last part to paint here. It is hand brushed and it took me more than 2 hours to get it done. Handle is painted with wood brown. Silver area is painted with 0.2 silver pigment pen and Gundam Marker silver.
The completed garage kit can be found at 1/8 Rei Ayanami Race Queen.
Document Date : 16.11.2005
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