I’m going to do a little more work on Akatsuki before I declare the model complete, but as there was little painting to do on the kit, it got me thinking that if I just did plain out-of-the-box builds, I’d go through kits so quickly that Gunpla would become a hideously expensive hobby! Fortunately, I find the painting one of the most pleasurable aspects of Gunpla, and I really enjoy giving nice detailed paint finishes on the kits, especially now that I own an airbrush.

My most recent Hobby Link Japan order arrived way ahead of time (thanks HLJ and Fedex), and this time I bought more than kits – I added in some Gundam Markers to try, some Vallejo metallic paints and two Tamiya Weathering Master sets. It always amazes me how quickly these parcels can travel around the world. I think it also helps that the local Fedex guy is so friendly and helpful.

I’ve just had a quick go with the Gundam Markers on the foot hydraulic piston area on the Akatsuki and I think they’re going to be great for adding quick and easy detail to kits where getting out the airbrush and masking would be just too time consuming to contemplate. I also tried the weathering with the gunmetal on the gun, and it really added some depth to the piece, so I’m really looking forwards to trying these out more on the new kits.

I’m also awaiting an order of paints from Great Hobbies to bring me more Alclad metallics and Tamiya colours. I don’t know how much I can start on PG 1/60 Char’s Zaku II or MG 1/100 Unicorn Full Armour until the paints arrive.