Elysion: Assembly and Completion!

Finally, finally got round to finishing Elysion who's been sitting around way longer than I would've liked. It's been busy for me during these past few days and it's going to get even busier since my parents are coming home for the holidays. I don't think I'll be able to get round to completing the rest of my LBXs (12 in waiting, or something to that number, I've lost count) any time soon, but I really don't want them to reach their first homecoming anniversaries without being built. That just seems...sad ^^;

Looking very, very worn (◍•ᴗ•◍)

Anyway, I've learned a lot of things building Elysion. One is not to apply plastic cement after you've primed. Another is primed surfaces are not friendly to hand brushing, but workable if your paints aren't being stubborn. And Tamiya Metallic Blue (X-13) is fucking stubborn paint.

I had initially painted his blue parts in X-13 and the shiny bits in the paint refused to mix, making the parts looked like they weathered themselves. I went over them in Flat Blue, which kind of did the trick in smoothing out the color.

More learning / progress pics under the cut. 

Achilles: Assembly and Completion!

I decided to spray the parts with Tamiya Pearl Clear (TS 65) instead of Flat Clear like I had originally planned. One reason was that I had a clear plastic bit in one of them but I just wanted Achilles to shine, really, and it worked quite well!

Look at that fayse. That's a happy fayse

Achilles: Painting and Weathering

A week-long process since I was running about completing the requirements needed to enroll in my Masters Program (orientation this Tuesday! I'm back to being a student very soon. Aaah how fast time flies（＠´＿｀＠）)

Tried my hand at some weathering and shadowing. I certainly liked the results (but I sure could improve with practice).

Pieces mounted for Flat Clear spraying

Elysion Cleaning Process

Finally got round to cleaning Elysion who's been swimming in Simple Green far longer than Achilles had.

He's my first LBX as well as my first gunpla, so you can see my inexperience with the clumsy, botched paintjob. But boy I love him so.

Achilles Cleaning Process

Hello!

For my first ever post, I'll be relating how I cleaned my second LBX, Achilles. All his blue parts had been done over with gold paint marker, and a few other parts with silver.

Here he is before the cleaning.

Why did I paint him in the first place? Well, I'd seen other LBX owners paint their own kits in different color schemes, and I thought a gold-red one suited him. I still think it does, but I'd decided I wanted him back in his original colors, along with other mods I soon intend to do to make him resemble his beautiful box art.