Level Up Your Gunpla: Pro Brush Painting for Weapons

Standard Gunpla weapons often lack the visual impact of the main mobile suit. Even highly detailed kits like the RG Wing Gundam feature beam rifles molded in flat, uniform plastic. You do not need an expensive airbrush setup to fix this. With the right preparation, chisels, and brush painting techniques, you can transform plain plastic into a professional display piece. We documented this entire process in our latest video tutorial.

Watch the Full Build 

Step 1: Gap Removal and Preparation Before painting, you must create a seamless canvas. Many weapons are constructed in two halves, leaving an unsightly gap down the middle. Use a part separator to gently widen the seam, apply plastic cement, and squeeze the parts together until melted plastic oozes out. Once fully cured, lightly sand the area with a 1000 grit sanding sponge to create a perfectly smooth surface.

Step 2: Enhancing Details with Scribing Panel lining requires deep recesses to flow correctly. Pass a 0.125 mm chisel over the existing edges of the weapon to sharpen them. For the smaller vents and cylinders, use a fine scribing needle. The needle ensures the corners remain sharp without damaging the surrounding plastic.

Step 3: Priming for Hand Painting Mask off any clear or coloured plastic you wish to keep original using high quality scribing or masking tape. Apply a black primer to areas designated for metallic paint, as metallics require a dark base to achieve a smooth finish. Apply a white primer to the rest of the weapon to ensure your standard acrylic colours remain bright and vibrant.

Step 4: Brush Painting and Colour Theory Always thin your paints on a wet palette to maintain the perfect consistency and prevent them from drying out during your session. Apply your colours in a specific order. Start with the metallics like gunmetal and meteorite black. Once dry, move on to your main colours, working from darkest to lightest. If you make a mistake, covering a light colour with a dark colour is significantly easier than the reverse.

Step 5: Detail Painting and Varnish Use a fine tip brush to add metallic red, green, and blue to the weapon sensors and indicators. Once the paint is completely dry, seal the entire weapon with a gloss acrylic varnish. The gloss creates a smooth barrier that allows your acrylic panel wash to flow easily into the lines you scribed earlier. Clean up any excess wash with a damp cotton swab.

Step 6: The Final Topcoat Once the panel lining is complete and dry, apply a flat topcoat to bring the scale effect together and eliminate the unnatural plastic shine.

Achieving these results requires the right equipment. Every tool used in this weapon transformation is available directly in our shop.