1/60 PG Unicorn part 4

The legs of the Unicorn are highly complex and full of detail.DSC01800These flaps open up on the transform and allow you to see their insides, so I used some of the Createx fluorescent green which may just light up nice with the UV LEDs. DSC01801The flaps attach to this sub-assembly which is good as that simplifies the final build of the already complex legs. I painted the centre curved section white and masked off the primer on the edges to keep them grey. It’s tricky to pre-visualize exactly where you want the shades on the component parts, but it does get easier with practise.DSC01802 The lower leg sub-assemblies do open up nicely though!DSC01803 DSC01804 Here’s where the main part of the leg frames are at. I’d tried to do just the frame and leave the armour right until last, but this is about as far as I can take that strategy, so I had to paint up the D runners.DSC01805 The knee sections are well detailed.DSC01806 For the frame behind the knees I went with Alclad polished aluminium on the inner articulating section to add interest.DSC01807 Just a bit of masking on the bevelled edges.DSC01808 DSC01809 Assembled it’s subtle where the masking left the bevels grey, but I really like the effect of added detail and contrast without being over-the-top.DSC01810 However, for the upper legs I decided to go a little more bold with the colouring! The very upper part of the legs will be a bit hidden with the skirt section, so I went for my middle shade of grey/blue. For the masking I did the paint in three stages – paint grey primer, mask grey sections, paint white, mask white leaving just the grey/blue sections to paint.DSC01811 For the upper leg that forms around the lovely knee joint, I used my lightest grey/blue.DSC01812 DSC01813 When pulling off the masking tape I noticed that some of the grey/blue paint had leaked under the tape and onto the white. Ouch!DSC01814However, the grey/blue paint is Createx acrylic, so it’s not that tough. The  white is Alclad white primer which is very tough, so I gently used the edge of my scalpel blade to scrape off the unwanted grey/blue paint. That worked well but I also managed to scrape a thin line off the wanted area showing white through.DSC01815A quick mask (it didn’t have to be that accurate) and a drop of paint fixed that. In this photo the paint is not dry yet so you can see it as a lighter coloured region. This paint mix does change colour quite significantly as it dries. DSC01816 Three of the pieces had similar issues and with careful scraping I fed them all up, and top coated them with Future Finish to protect the paint.DSC01817 Here’s a piece complete. The white, grey and grey/blue work great together and this will help tie the colours of the kit together very well.DSC01818 I didn’t have too much masking to do here, but I did leave the edges of the pieces grey primer. This will add some subtle depth.DSC01819 Feeling bold, I thought these circular indents would look great in fluorescent green! I panel lined with black fine-liner (currently using a Sigma Microperm 0.1mm and it’s quite excellent), and as the paint dries you’ll see the black line show through.DSC01820 DSC01821 Next up is the LED wiring. Bandai have tried really hard to make the wiring work well. The system feels robust and the instructions are decent. However, that doesn’t stop the process from being “rather tricky”.DSC01822 You actuality have to dislocate the knee while putting the wiring in. Ouch!DSC01823 Getting these upper leg armour pieces on was rather tricky. It was as if the psychoframe wasn’t fitting right, but as it’s semi-transparent you can see that indeed the frame is sitting right, so perhaps it’s just tricky!DSC01824 DSC01825 The leg is really coming together now. I’m so enjoying how the colours work together and the small green dot ties into the green line around the back of the knee joint.DSC01826 The back of the leg snaps nicely into place.DSC01827 As does the front. The grey masked area on the side pieces leaves a nice grey channel where the front armour joins on.DSC01828 After doing the transform for the ankle  we can just press on the side sub-assemblies from earlier.DSC01829 They fit remarkably easily!DSC01830 Now we’re just missing the knee section.DSC01831 DSC01832 The knee goes on. I just pressed and pressed until it held. The variegation in the colours works well! DSC01833 DSC01834 I really like the details on the back of the knee.DSC01835 DSC01836 DSC01837 DSC01838 DSC01839 DSC01840So here’s one leg complete and all the parts painted for the other leg to be assembled next. This is going to be a rather large kit when complete. The leg is long enough in this form, but it’s only going to get longer when transformed!

Update

DSC01842 The second leg and skirt section are complete! This mech is big. It’s already an imposing sight and it’s no-where-near finished.DSC01843 The skirt sections went together well. I used the light grey/blue on some of the upper pieces to help further tie the colour scheme together.DSC01845 For the rest of the parts I went with the masked grey primer on the bevel edges and some of the panels.DSC01846Oh my! I can’t wait for the completion of this kit. I feel very good about the colour scene, and I’m looking forwards to the arms next!

8 thoughts on “1/60 PG Unicorn part 4”

  1. I’m getting so much masking practise with this kit! I’ve also ordered a few more rolls of the Tamiya masking tape….

  2. You should go direct to Tamiya, get a bulk discount 😉
    I know that I an actual friend, and possibly could be considered just a lil bit biased. This GN, this,will she’s Stunning!! so far.
    I think the colour scheme is hanging together brilliantly. 😀

  3. I’m continuing to work the theme through on the arms. I’m getting more confident with how the grey/blue areas look against the bulk of the white/grey.

  4. Magnificent job and thorough W.I.P., VERy useful! Did you use Future over Alclad (chrome or alluminum)? Does Future dim the Alclad brightness?

  5. Yes, I put Future Finish over the Alclad. I think it does diminish it slightly, but the protection is more than worth it. On the weapons where I used the Alclad aluminium, the Alclad flat coat goes on and ends up looking very realistically aluminium-like.

  6. Thanks! I can’t wait to get back to more model building and blogging, but with the new baby in the house, the kids are eating my free time.

    I’ve been looking at the nice Bandai Star Wars kits and I’m half-way through Boba Fett, but his paint job is a bit more intensive than the rest which come with many pieces already moulded in the right plastic and needing little in the way of extra paint.

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