Again, this is my method, you don’t have to follow it. I use something called cement. No, it isn’t the cement you walk on in the streets. This is a special glue that fuses the plastic together. The brand I use is Tamiya. I use the Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. I don’t really know of an alternative that is easily accessible in the US, but you can order this online.

On to my procedure. Keep in mind, this is a permnament solution.

1. I brush the cement on to area where the two pieces will touch.
2. I push the parts together really tight. If the cement oozes out, don’t worry about it. It’s a good thing.
3. I brush more cement on the seam line.
4. Let it dry for like 20 minutes.
5. Wet sand the seamline.

Try not to get the cement any where else other then the intended part, because it will mess up the plastic. The reason for wet sanding the seam line is because you need to level the surface and remove extra cement left over.

I’ll add pictures in the future!

For those who don’t know what a runner is, a runner is the frame that holds all the parts that you have to snip out from. I really have no clue why it is called a runner, but who cares!

Back to the point. Everyone has their own technique. Some people like to use the wet sanding method, and some people like to do dry sanding method. If you want my recommendation, I would say go with the wet sanding.

Here are some of the reasons why I recommend wet sanding.

• You don’t need a mask, because the water will hold all of the plastic.
• You don’t have to worry about roughing up the areas that you aren’t trying to sand.

Now, you can’t just use normal paper to wet sand. You need to buy it online or at your local hobby store. I, myself, use Tamiya Finish Abrasives. When buying sand paper, there are different grits to choose from. For example, 1000, 600, 400, etc.. 400 is used for bringing that nub down. 1000 is usually used for polishing. The higher the number, the finer the sanding. This is what I normally do, I use 400 to get that nub down, then 600 to clean it up a bit and 1000 to polish it, so it looks sexy. If you do decide to buy from Tamiya and you want follow my method, I would suggest buying the assortment pack. The pack consists of two 1000 sheets, one 600 sheet, and two 400 sheets.

To the pictures! First we have a glossy Gundam (stock/default).

Next we have the flat look.

Yes, I know the Gundam is incomplete. If you look at the chest in the first picture, it is much shiner than the second picture.

Next comparision! Another glossy look.

Now, for the flat look. Since it was my first time spraying it, it coat wasn’t very even.

Now, let’s see them side by side.

Glossy is shinier and flat is not as shiny. I love the flat look! But that doesn’t mean you have to like it. I hope you liked the comparison.

1. Snip all the parts out of the runner.
2. Sand down the “nubs”. Nubs are the little bumps left over from the runner.
3. Put the parts together to build the Gundam.
4. Use a Gundam Marker to line all the panel lines.
5. Give the Gundam a nice flat coat.

I will airbrush in the future,  and when I do, I will give you my new procedure. Until then, I will have to save money to get my air brush and air compressor.