Bandai Y Wing Build

Thought I'd do a build thread for the Bandai Y Wing while I'm at it. This is the second model I've started with black primer. I really like how it comes out but I've had a little trouble with the Dupli Color being kind of dusty and not sticking extremely well (chips off easily later). This time I tried it with the Adhesion Promoter first but it didn't help. I never had trouble with the Tamiya primer I normally use, so if anyone has suggestions about what I'm doing wrong I'd appreciate hearing them. Luckily everything still LOOKS good, even if it's more delicate than I'm used to, so that's a plus.

I was worried about hitting all the ultra recessed spots with primer after all the tiny piping was installed so I decided to prime the main body before putting those on. This ended up working out well. Here's a pic of my backyard where I do this. It's a dump but I'm lucky to have it- not a lot of access to outdoor space where I live.


Looks kind of cool with primer under the details.


I ended up going black primer> dark grey> lighter grey. It worked really well. There's a really subtle, micro fade to black in the deapest recessed areas. I'll get some close up pics posted tomorrow. It actually works well enough that I'm rethinking what I'm going to do for weathering now, as too much of a wash will just ruin what I've got so far.

That's really nice!

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Murph said:

I never had trouble with the Tamiya primer I normally use, so if anyone has suggestions about what I'm doing wrong I'd appreciate hearing them

Click to expand...

I'm confused, or did you answer your own question? You never had trouble with Tamiya that you normally use, but something else isn't working. Why forsake Tamiya?

Yeah, sorry, guess I was kind of unclear. The Tamiya pimer is great but they don't make black. I've been using Dupli Color after reading many good things about it but I'm having adhesion problems. With the Tamiya I can scrape and sand and really abuse the model later on and I still barely ever get down past the primer. I'm applying the Dupli Color exactly the same way and even after a week or two I can scratch down through all the paint to bare plastic using a fingernail and some force. I'm doing a light coat, heavier coat, then a final full coverage coat- just thick enough to not start odscuring details. I always thought this was the right technique and it has worked very well with all other primers, so not sure what the problem is here.

I just use a flat Tamiya black rattlecan for primer

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

astroboy said:

I just use a flat Tamiya black rattlecan for primer

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

I agree any Tamiya rattle can can work well as a primer. Ask yourself, "what is primer" and consider a lot of paints will work.

I'd recommend washing your sprues and sub-assemblies before painting. I use soapy water with a little dishwashing liquid usually. Removes oils from the injection molding release and your fingers.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Haha, was literally sitting at my desk contemplating exactly that suggestion! (About the primer.)


I've never washed stuff before painting but I know that's supposed to help. I've always been too impatient but I think I'll try it this time, as I want planning on really getting into this x wing until tomorrow anyway.

Back to the Y Wing, this part was a huge pain to mask off. Should've just hand painted it.

It is possible that the Tamiy primer is a true primer, formulated to weakly etch the plastic & thereby giving it much stronger adhesion than coatings that don't react chemically with the substrate materials. That may explain the Duplicolor not having the same effect. Tamiya rattlecans are, IIRC, lacquer based and hence have that etching effect on polystryene.

R/ Robert

Murph said:

I've never washed stuff before painting but I know that's supposed to help.

Click to expand...

Always wash your parts first.
Paint chipping is what happens when your paint doesn't adhere to the plastic,
and that happens when oily residue from mold-release agents or your hands gets between your paint and the plastic.

Like rbeach said, lacquers and enamels are much stickier and form a stronger bond with plastic,
but they have to contact the plastic. They're blocked by oils, too - just like acrylics.
Always wash your parts.

(I learned this lesson the hard way when my masking tape apparently formed a stronger bond with my paint than my paint did with my plastic.
Peeled up my masks, in breathless anticipation of the masterwork I had just created, and all my paint peeled up with it.)