1/6 Honda Magna 50 wip # 1

This is a 2010 project for Metallic Vs Weathering Group Build I joined in Zerogunz forum. The main objective of this project is to have a hang on Alclad II's Chrome.

The kit is an old Tamiya kit, an 1/6 Honda Magna 50.

Dry fit the whole thing. Despite its age, I would say Tamiya did a fantastic job.
Wait.... there's something I realise that's not right....

First let's ignore the main problem.....
As a MG gunpla modeler, I really dislike masking and will try everything i could to avoid it.....
As from the diagram, I have gotta do some simple modification in order to "slot" in the engine part after I covered the seamlines for the main body frame.
Yeah, some male pegs will be cut. Ouch!

Before & After













Now...... let's tackle the toughest problem we r having here........ The chrome!!!!!

As clearly seen in the photo, there chrome part is having a serious problem, ripple!
What is the cause of it?
Let's go check it out, which means i cannot use the chrome but have gotta respray everything..... T.T

Use bleach, standard procedure.
Realised  there r 2 defferent colors? That's the problem!
The ripples are actually caused by the layer of base coat for the chrome. For parts without the base coat, everything looks nice.
So now, another procedure to get rid of the fully cured base coat.... That ll be a challenge.....

The base coat doesn't melt on any thinner..... now my only solution is to break the bond in between the coat n the plastic.
The risk will be, during the process, the plastic will get very weak..... let's try.....

Ok, I decided to use hobby thinner for the process.
Manage to talk to a local hobby thinner supplier, My Hobby, and he provide me with a very mild thinner, which I ll use to soak the whole part in.

Initially, just soak them in a few minutes and use a toothbrush to brush....

first round of thinner and brushing..... not good at all,

Bad, bad, bad......

I hv got no choice but to re-do it. This round will leave everything overnight..... The My Hobby thinner is really pretty good.

After over 12 hours in the thinner, voila!!! most of the stubborn ones come off. great!
Plastic seems to be still ok. Bigger size ones definitely no problem.
The smaller size ones seems to be a bit crispy, but still quite durable.

However, for pieces like this, it's the most i could do. I will expect a not-so-sharp detail after painted..... T.T











Next, will be chrome paint and hi-gloss testing......

First round spraying.
Spoon is a very good material to use for hi gloss practice and color testing because it has curves and straight lines.

Something horrible..... The mythical moon surface appear.
Seriously I have no idea why it does. The only wild guess is because I didn't clean the plastic thoroughly enough....
Luckily it only happen to one.
I m so gonna find out the reason...

I used sand paper n sanding sponge.....

After the initial wet sanding, the moon surface thingy seems disappear 90%....

Next round, compound!
Compound is basically a sandpaper in cream form.....
if extremely fun doing compounding as u can really see the difference of the surface....

After Coarse, for paint like this-black, u still can see there's quite obvious micro scratches.

This is much better.

As u can see from the label, I was trying on different brands' of metallic paint, onto different color background.
there r , white/gray lacquer base, silver lacquer base, silver enamel base, black lacquer base, black enamel base.
There's this saying that alclad II chrome stays stronger on a enamel base paint. Due my my weaken plastic, I can't risk more enamel thinner being wet coat onto the plastic. It's just too risky. Hence I was trying lacquer and acrylic base too....

This is the initial layer of chrome powder, under direct light n camera lens, it's pretty clear of the uneven thickness....

While under normal sunlight, the effect seems too insignificant too.....

These are some of the results from different chrome paint on different base paint.... Oh yeah, besides only sitting on black paint, I oso tried on sitting on clear paint. That's for the reason the base coat with clear, it'll be safer for me to compound n get the base perfect n ready.

Finally, I decided, still Aclad II's chrome; still the best looking one.

For part 2 of this project's wip: Honda Magna 50 wip #2