Custom Metrotitan

[M-bot]

...I must be some kind of masochist after doing the mammoth Metroplex custom last year that I'm ready to go back for seconds, but here we are...

I'm too time poor to hurry, and there's a lot more to repainting something in a different colour to the base model. Unlike Metroplex, I'm not going to all the painstaking trouble of filling all the gaps in the mould.

I'll post up WIP shots as I'm going.

The disassembled pieces primed, using Alclad II primer.

Metrotitan WIP by M-bot2011

Some of the pieces masked and at least partially painted, using the airbrush to lay down multiple thin layers.

DSC_0609 by M-bot2011

The gun is going to be black and white. I decided to do the dark colours first, because I figure if the lighter colours bleed onto the dark, that will be easier to fix than the other way around. The yellow tape is Tamiya masking tape. Great stuff.

DSC_0611 by M-bot2011

Some other bits. I looked at Metrotitan customs that others have done and find myself making slightly different creative decisions in some places. Case in point, the bits pictured here that attach to the kneecaps, which do not exist in the original toy (despite the mark similarities between the G1 toy and the Generations one, in terms of transformation).

DSC_0612 by M-bot2011

Said kneecaps, about half finished in terms of paint layers.

DSC_0614 by M-bot2011

The central pieces of the body are painted gloss black. That's also needed as the base coat for the Alclad II metallic lacquers, so after a couple of coats and some curing time, most of the body pieces are masked, leaving only the pieces to paint up metallic.

DSC_0613 by M-bot2011

Here's some of the metallics done on the front part of the legs. Here, I've used Alclad II White Aluminium. Looks grey in the pics, but in RL it's quite a nice colour. A layer of gloss later will bring it out nicely.

DSC_0610 by M-bot2011

More pics when I take 'em. I will leave you with a final little piece of info: When he's done, he will be for sale. Probably not cheap. No expressions of interest yet please!

[theshape]

looking forward to see more

[UltraMarginal]

Nice work so far, I really like the blue your using.

[Hursticon]

IT HAS BEGUN!

[gamblor916]

Looking good!

[iamirondude]

this is gonna be sweet. can't wait to see the end result.

[bassbot]

Epic start dude. Love seeing these pics and your devotion and creativity are amazing

[VGMStudios]

Had no idea who this was till I looked it up.
If its anything like your other one, this will look really good!!
Looking forward to this WIP.

[M-bot]

A new post - a good reminder to post some more WIP photos tonight...

[M-bot]

(Note to mods - Flikr has changed their layout, and no BB codes are available any longer it seems. I understand that hotlinking is prohibited but I'm not sure what follows is that or not. Happy for you to delete this post if I've stuffed it up and I'll try and post the photos a different way when I have more time.)

Some further WIP pics. Slow going, but it's coming along really really nicely. I'm getting better with the airbrush all the time.

First, the (virtually) completed blue forearms and knee caps. I reckon I've done at least 6-8 very thin layers of paint, very very slowly building up the colour until it's a really deep, vibrant blue.


The first coats of some of the white pieces. Putting down the primer layer first has really paid dividends. Again, building the colour slowly seems to be the trick, especially when using an unforgiving colour like white. The finish is really nice and smooth. Super happy with the results.


I've redone the "silver" with Alclad II White Aluminium (on the right of the photo) and painted the left side of the piece pictured here with the same colour. Really nice results, although the Alclads seem to run out very quickly! At ~$14 a bottle at my local hobby shop, I think if I want to keep using it, I might need to find a cheaper supplier.


Here's some picture of the same White Aluminium airbrushed on the inside of the "cockpit" of the main body. It will be further detailed down the track.




More WIP pics as I progress.