"Help!" for: Painting

[Hickeydog]

ok I'm nearing the painting phase of my armor so I have a few questions:
1) How many cans of Primer, and how many cans of paint does it take to paint the whole armor set?
2) Is there any specific type(not color) of paint i should get?
3)Do i seal the paint up with anything afterwards?

You will need 3-6 cans of both primer an paint (6-12 cans total)
Not really. I used automotive paint, only because I was getting sandpaper, Bondo, and resin at the time.
Don't need to seal it with anything.

[DR4296]

OK, I'm building War Machine armor (resin on the outside, rondo on the inside) as per forum information here.

It seems to me that I've seen two "looks" to War Machine armor:

1) One like a lot of the promotional photos for Iron Man 2... where the armor looks like really shiny / polished metal. (http://toonstar.files.wordpress.com/...chinelarge.jpg)

2) One that seems more "gritty", where the metal looks more "solid", like unpolished iron. (http://ohellnawlblog.com/newohnblog/...des-rhodey.jpg)


Any thoughts on how one can best recreate either of these "looks" (when painting what is essentially resin-covered paper)?

[~rumble]

I believe the suit starts out shiny and by the end of the tangling with Iron Man, it's a bit more scuffed up. The second shot is also from a dark scene so that will make the metal look different. I don't believe the suit is actually that dark when he shows up in the day later. The picture resolution also looks kinda off. I'd pull more high res screenshots from the movie to make sure - can't remember exactly. A weathered suit will be definitely easier to maintain.

For the shiny suit, I think that investigating metalic silver paints will help. I'm sure there's guys on here that can help on what they used for War Machine. For the weathered suit, you'd still start with the shiny color (because that's what the suit starts out as), get your scratches with a resist, but then weather the top coat down heavily with black wash and black/dark gray acrylics.

[docbayless]

For unit markings: I have used transparancy sheets over the original design and then cut out the details with the exacto knife. If there are several colors or designs incorporated you can overlay several different ones to get the effect. Kind of like silkscreening. Touch ups for over spray can be done with a small brush and the base coat color, somewhat like dry brushing.

I have an Aztek airbrush, but like it was said, it is a lot of work. The parent company is Testors, like the old modelors used to use. You need to clean it or your out what you paid for it. Those azteks are around $300 bucks and have to be tended to when your not actually spraying anything, because the get gummed up inside and are useless if you don't. Not to mention you need a small compressor to run them. They do a great job shading though. I have used the canned air pressure type along time ago, but they are not reliable for detailing. Matching colors sucks to. You would have to use one type of paint, either spray can or modelers paint, on the whole thing. it is too hard to match them seperately. Doc

[J326]

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/stor...ronman2_08.jpg
I believe that's the movie accurate paint scheme you're looking for. More gunmetal then anything else, since he is a tank concept he isn't meant to be shiny.

[DR4296]

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/stor...ronman2_08.jpg
I believe that's the movie accurate paint scheme you're looking for. More gunmetal then anything else, since he is a tank concept he isn't meant to be shiny.

Thanks very much for that photo!

Hmmmm..... I guess I'll experiment with various paints and see what I can come up with.

[Spartan-010]

One way you could do it, is like this:

1. Paint your armor your chosen color and let it dry.
2. Take a 'bristle' paint brush and dip it in the silver chrome color.
3. Point the brush at the desired spot and quickly rub your finger over the corner of the brush.

Your end result "should" come out as random, "damaged" areas of your suit. Kind of like splash damage~ from an explosion or something like that.

Hope this helps.

[laxmaster]

hey guys im nearing the bondo stage of my helmet and i was wondering if u put the bondo on first or the primer becuz i got really confused as to what i should do...... thanx

[J326]

hey guys im nearing the bondo stage of my helmet and i was wondering if u put the bondo on first or the primer becuz i got really confused as to what i should do...... thanx

Add the bondo and sand it to what you want. then primer it. Primer also helps point out sanding imperfections by making them stand out so you will know if you need to sand or put more spot putty and sand some more. Eventually you will give the final priming and you can wet sand the primer too and give it a better smooth glassy look, then you give your final coat of paint. that's what i gathered on the forum anyways... i've personally skipped a lot of painting steps cuz im in a rush with time constraints.

also I have a question as well. Should I prime and paint the inside of my armor even if the section won't be seen and be covered with foam padding?

[Hickeydog]

also I have a question as well. Should I prime and paint the inside of my armor even if the section won't be seen and be covered with foam padding?

You can. It will add a little more "realism" if someone happens to catch a glimpse of the underside of your armor. I like to give the inside of my armor a coat of black paint. The paint doesn't do anything else. It's strictly there for aesthetics.