Bandai 1/12 R5-D4 - first build of 2017!

Automaton

Well-Known Member
First one off the bench in 2017! We had a few nice days so I got to paint. Here's R5-D4, the other half of the R2 kit I built over a year ago. Poor R5 had a bit of a rubbish time of things, and I've rusted him up a little after seeing some other builds that kicked the living force out of him and looked ace.

Sprayed in mainly Tamiya acrylics (no airbrush on this one). The rust is painted on and the are some sand stains made with pastel chalks. All the decals were really annoying. The Bandai decals just seem to stick really badly... however that was quite useful for the head stripes, which I cut down from two pieces into six pieces for easy handling.
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...And finally with his bro-bot R2. They make a good pair. These are such great little kits with a lick of paint!
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Looks great! Did you use the Tamiya metallic blue? I used that on mine and have never been totally sure about it but it kind of grew on me. The blue parts on yours look nice.
 
Looks great! Did you use the Tamiya metallic blue? I used that on mine and have never been totally sure about it but it kind of grew on me. The blue parts on yours look nice.

Cheers! Yes, the blue's Tamiya, but randomly it's the PS-16 polycarbonate-compatible spray. It's a bit light but it looks okay at this scale.
 
Both droids look great. It's a shame you had trouble with the decals. I'm about to apply some Bandai decals myself so I hope the issue isn't typical.

I was going to say I've had the same issue before, but thinking about it, R2 was the same decal sheet so I might have better luck with the other kits. They do stick, but when they're wet the adhesive isn't really stronger than the effect of any damp finger/brush/paper towel. It makes them easy to reposition, although any uneven surface is a bind as they tend to lift off. The don't wrinkle easily, either. My technique with these is to carefully position them with the tip of a blunt scalpel so there isn't much surface contact, don't blot until it's looking dry and then a quick spray of clear coat before I work on anything nearby. What's ironic is that for stickers, the Bandai stickers are really good and will work as a back-up if you wreck a decal!

Hopefully, you'll have better luck.
 
I was going to say I've had the same issue before, but thinking about it, R2 was the same decal sheet so I might have better luck with the other kits. They do stick, but when they're wet the adhesive isn't really stronger than the effect of any damp finger/brush/paper towel. It makes them easy to reposition, although any uneven surface is a bind as they tend to lift off. The don't wrinkle easily, either. My technique with these is to carefully position them with the tip of a blunt scalpel so there isn't much surface contact, don't blot until it's looking dry and then a quick spray of clear coat before I work on anything nearby. What's ironic is that for stickers, the Bandai stickers are really good and will work as a back-up if you wreck a decal!

Hopefully, you'll have better luck.
Did you use a decal setting solution or softener? Mr. Mark works pretty well on Bandai decals , Solveset is even stronger.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Did you use a decal setting solution or softener? Mr. Mark works pretty well on Bandai decals , Solveset is even stronger.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Cheers for the tip! I didn't use those on this - I presumed they'd slip about even more and I still wouldn't be able to blot it, but I'll give that a go on K-2SO. I do usually use Microsol/Microset for stickier decals so I'll break those out. Softener isn't too essential for these as the surfaces are quite flat, but K-2 is a more of a challenge!
 
Nice work!

Did you prime these before spraying? I've got this set in the cabinet waiting its turn, but my hobby time is often pretty limited, so I tend to get frustrated with too many steps. Any shortcuts that still get great results are always welcome
 
Nice work!

Did you prime these before spraying? I've got this set in the cabinet waiting its turn, but my hobby time is often pretty limited, so I tend to get frustrated with too many steps. Any shortcuts that still get great results are always welcome

Thanks! Yes, I did. But I use the Tamiya superfine white and just give the parts one thin coat as it covers so well. If I get everything prepped in advance and a production line going it's pretty quick!

Excellent work, your R2 in particular is pretty spectacular!

Thanks!
 
Thanks! Yes, I did. But I use the Tamiya superfine white and just give the parts one thin coat as it covers so well. If I get everything prepped in advance and a production line going it's pretty quick!



Thanks!

Thanks! The only primer I have is gray and kinda coarse. Which obviously is no fun. Maybe I'll see if they have that at the hobby store, next time I make the trip down to Pittsburgh.
 
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