Gundam Real Touch Markers to color TBLeague seamless body

Stryker2011 wrote:Ahh, okay. Interesting. Thanks for telling me/us, Ian.

No problem. But that would work for Darth Talon, too. After the earlier experiments, which seemed very promising at first but more qualified successes after, I'm a bit queasy handling these, but actually the Gundam Real Touch experiment seems to be a success so far.

I split this off from the other thread, as it had nothing to do with the shoe cream technique.

Ian, do you have a link to your 3rd Maul (searching in this section seems to be more than a little problematic)? I really want to get a nice deep shade of red for Talon, and for the right pens to use for her tattoos. Thanks.

Stryker2011 wrote:Ian, do you have a link to your 3rd Maul (searching in this section seems to be more than a little problematic)? I really want to get a nice deep shade of red for Talon, and for the right pens to use for her tattoos. Thanks.

Sure. Keeping in mind my first photos did not do the coloring enough justice (depending on the light, it is hard to capture well), I give you a few links below to see it better and in comparison to the oil pastel ones (which had the black "tattoos" in other markers which were in various ways less successful). In the photos with all three Mauls, he is the one wearing the pants and the big tongue-like loincloth. That sounded weird, didn't it?

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t260p360-painting-seamless-bodies-nsfw#57172

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2773p45-star-wars-updated-darth-maul-custom-part-v-maul-3-0-updated-may-13-2021#57173

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2799-star-wars-the-further-adventures-of-darth-maul-updated-with-part-iii-may-2021#57167

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4151-oops-photo-heavy

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t5164-merry-christmas-and-happy-new-year-special-programming-mildly-adult-humor#71530

Hope this helps.

Ian, which technique did you use for the Maul in the middle? And which Gundam markers did you use (there seem to be a few different variants)? Thanks.

Stryker2011 wrote:Ian, which technique did you use for the Maul in the middle? And which Gundam markers did you use (there seem to be a few different variants)? Thanks.

The taller Maul in the middle is Maul 2.0. See here for more details:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t260p225-painting-seamless-bodies-nsfw#39904
and here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2773-star-wars-updated-darth-maul-custom-part-v-maul-3-0-updated-may-13-2021#39902

Maul 2.0 had an Staedtler red oil pastel blend with the black details in Markal Pro-Line XT Paint Marker. For small details you need to squeeze/pump some of the paint out and apply with a thinner applicator (toothpick, whatever). Do not apply on stretched TPE! Also, eventually, I noticed a little bit of flaking/cracking (though not as bad as early experiments with acrylics or acrylic markers).

For Maul 3.0, the Gundam technique is discussed in the relevant section of painting seamless bodies or custom Maul. But anyway, these are specifically Gundam Real Touch Markers (not regular Gundam Markers, which would not work). Set 1 includes red; Set 2 includes black. Amazon links below. I'd say get yourself a couple of sets of each, just so you don't run out in the middle of working on it (at this point I don't remember how much of a problem this was -- or not).

Insofar as I remember it, the technique is as follows. The Gundam Real Touch markers have two tips, one finer and one wider (the caps are counter-intuitive), so select what you need at different points of the application. Apply a little bit at a time, in single layers over a limited area, so that you can soak up immediately any of the extra paint left on the surface with (ideally) a cotton swab (q-tip) -- this works best. Soaking up is key. If you are using the red first as a base for most of the body (you can skip it in any larger areas covered by black), you don't have to worry much about smearing it outside of its intended area, but you still want to soak up the extra paint. With the black, for the most part you will be trying to go for precise lines (at least wherever it borders on red), so soaking up carefully with a clean cotton swab surface is more critical -- make sure not to smear or smudge as you are soaking up. For the smaller detail, remember to use the finer tip of the marker. Everything can be retouched, a little later, after soaking up the extra paint and letting it dry for a while. Between major stages of the work, and when you decide you are done (even if you end up touching up something later), wrap carefully in paper towels (Viva cloth-like paper towels might be best) and let it be for a day or a few. You can gently massage the surface (but fairly statically, so that you do not potentially smudge), to try soaking up any remaining extra paint. Repeat with new paper towels until you see now transfer of color. After this, it should be safe to handle the body, although I would still advise some caution, especially in the first days and weeks.

If you absolutely need to undo an erroneous stroke of the marker, try to do so immediately, and some determined washing with soap and water is likely to work. But I suppose working in thin layers in small areas at a time and being extra careful with the black details, would minimize the need for resorting to that. 

Amazon links for the two sets (maybe you can find them for less elsewhere) --
https://www.amazon.com/GSI-Creos-Gundam-Marker-Markers/dp/B0009AFN08?th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Gundam-Marker-GMS113-Touch-Color/dp/B0009AFN0I?th=1

Thanks for all the details and the links, Ian. There still seems so many different ways to do this, and many of them don’t seem completely stable (or easy).