It’s been a while since I’ve blogged a build, so let’s go with MG Hyaku Shiki Ver.2.0.
I like gold Gundam. Akatsuki was great fun, but it’s quite a simple build because it’s a no-grade. MG Hyaku Shiki isn’t the most complex MG I’ve built, but there’s enough going on to make it fun.
I decided to just detail up the golden pieces rather than strip and re-paint them, however all the other pieces are painted.
I like how red goes with the gold colour scheme, so I’ve used red accents on the ball joints. 
The blue is just Createx pearl blue with a nice top coat of Future Finish to make it extra shiny. The grey parts are Tamiya gunmetal with a coat of Tamiya smoke over the top. I used white oil paint for the panel lines and details as it contrasts so nicely.
I used Tamiya gunmetal (thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner) as an undercoat as it sticks super-well to the plastic, and I could mask off section to add to the detail.
Nothing too special on the head. I again used Tamiya gunmetal for the dark parts, Createx fluorescent green on the inside of the clear parts for the cameras, and Tamiya smoke to add some detail to the gold parts along edges and panel lines.
The inside of the feet have great detail, although will be hard to see on the complete kit. Over Tamiya gunmetal I used Alclad aluminium for the metallic look, hand-painting Tamiya clear red for the details.
The backpack uses the same paints as the body. I masked the central section to allow the gunmetal to appear through, giving extra interest to this part.
I really like how the power pipes came out. I used Createx pearl red over the Tamiya gunmetal base, top coated with Tamiya clear red then Future Finish, and then Tamiya smoke into the crevices to add depth and detail.
Again, white oil paint brings out the subtle details.
The guns are fairly simple, just flat coated Tamiya gunmetal with Tamiya smoke details.
The waist is a fairly simple piece, but with an interesting arrangement to allow for wider leg movement.
The legs are the nicest frame sections on the kit. The red parts are as before using Createx pearl red and Tamiya clear red.
Again, the same red on the feet, which goes so nicely against the gold.
The legs are assembled. I’m still adding some details to the gold pieces with the Tamiya smoke. This is such a useful paint.
The body is assembled!
The wings are just getting some Tamiya smoke to add some detail.
Another view of the legs. You can just see where I used some gold Gundam marker to hide the nubs. Most of the nubs on this kit are nicely undergated which is great for the special gold finish, but in the odd place you need to do some touchup.
The body is patiently waiting!
Next, I’ll be looking at the stickers / decals and final assembly!
Amazing work as usual! I’m going to start my MG Hyaku Shiki (keeping the nice gold and painting the rest of the parts) and I’m interested in the clever use you did of the Tamiya acrylic smoke: did you thin it in order to obtain a sort of acrylic panel accent or you apply directly from the bottle? Before applying the smoke did you gloss coat the gold to protect it? If the answer is yes did you use some particular lacquer gloss varnish? Sorry for bothering you with all these questions but I find often your work both beautiful and inspirational and I like to learn new stuff from artists I admire! Keep on with the good work!
I thin the smoke with a little Tamiya acrylic thinner. Depending on the detail I’m painting I’ll thin it more or less. I didn’t protect the underlying gold finish, being brave that I have a steady hand and would get it right!
Thank you very much for the quick (almost instantaneous) answer! 🙂
You were very brave indeed but the result is on your side! Grazie!
I got into bother on the HiRez Barbatos using the same technique. I managed to touch the piece before properly dry and it pulled off the special finish, necessitating a complete re-paint of the blue pieces. End result looked good, but it was still painful.
For special finish pieces, I’d recommend using something like Future Finish over them, making sure they’re nice and dry and then doing the smoke. And then be really patient and let the smoke fully dry before even thinking of touching the pieces!
Thank you for going further in the explanation! I was looking exactly for this kind of info! 🙂
Hi, your model look amazing!
Any recommend for gold part touch up?
Will gundam marker is enough?
Thank you for your time.
It’s not a perfect shade of gold match, but should work well. For the most part you don’t see much that needs touchup.
Thank for the reply.
Is a Tamiya gold leaf better option for the touch up?
Alclad pale gold would perhaps be the closest match to the gold of the kit.
Whatever happened to part 2? Also is the method you use for smoke detailing dry brush? Or wash? Maybe both depending on where it is? Finally, do youtake commissions lol.
The kit was completed (or thereabouts) at the end of part 1, and I never progressed to putting up some “nice” photos of the completed kit.
For the smoke detailing I just hand paint, somewhat like a panel-line wash but without any expectation I can remove the excess.
And no commissions – I barely have enough time to build at all these days.