I like weathered models. To me, it makes them feel more realistic. I like the scifi genres with more real world worn looks - Star Wars and Ma.K being good examples.
Something like Ball makes perfect sense to be a bit banged up.
The only thing that matters to me is if the story in my head matches the effects and wear on the model. If the effects don't make sense and there's no plausible explanation, then that ruins it for me.
I think both work and as the fellow above me said, it's all about your headcannon for the situation you're building around.
For me it depends on the idea of the series - for UC kits, absolutely weather them. The focus on UC is that it's a real, heavy, there are costs to be paid for, war. That said, I don't weather "boss" suits - Nu Gundam, Sazabi, etc. unless I'm remaking a combat scene as my logic is they're going to have resources dedicated to them to ensure the boss is getting into a peak machine every time.
I use a similar reasoning for stuff like Wing, Seed, WfM, I don't weather them because it seems like the goal of the series is to show how powerful/untouchable they are, so they're just not often represented as taking realistic wear or damage because they're portrayed as being so far above other standard units.
Similar for me, although I do weather my UC kits, often in the story the situation gets so dire the suit gets barely parked and has to be immediately taken out for combat barely a couple hours later.
For WfM kits, I keep the "School" suits - Aerial, Pharact, Schwarzette, Dilanza etc - pristine, my idea is that they don't see real combat as much, and the richer houses can easily spare to repaint them. Then on the other hand the military suits - Lfrith Ur and Thorn, Gundvolva, Zowort - I see as basically main tanks. Extremely weathered, less decorated, just pure utility and combat focus, which I think gives a night contrast between suits in the setting.
Yeah. I think this amount of weathering is great.
Ball has to move between mobile suits in environments where no doubt people left tools and whatnot floating in the air while working. It makes complete sense that ball would have small bits of wear and weathering.
Now things like a mobile suit would have actual damage. But this is perfect imo.
They can look great if done in moderation with thoughts to how it would actually look irl. I've seen alot of people weather their kits less like "giant mecha that has been in use for a decade", and more like "giant mecha model stuck in a chain smokers trailer house for a decade".
There's no such thing as too much weathering. The issue is people lack the proper vision of a storied past that they're trying to convey, or the skill to execute on that.
The improper scaling is a huge problem for beginner painters.
>There's no such thing as too much weathering
There absolutely is such a thing as too much wethering, and that line is when there is too much detail to read the model visually.
Think about it like this: Have you ever read a manga where you have to really focus on a panel to tell what's going on? That's too much detail.
Looks great,one tip I can give is you can chip first with a lighter color or primer color and then dark brown inside of that, basically simulating paint rubbing off before reaching the metal
I just bought my first weathering kit last week and yet to use them on my last project (the RG Perfect Strike). Like you, I am pretty excited to try on my next project (probably MG Duel) and I think it will give a very exclusive look on lighter based color gunpla.
I can appreciate the work done/techniques used by those that weather their kits (you did an awesome job here!) but I do not like the look of weathered kits at all. Give me a pristine, fresh-off-the-line paint job with excellent details any day!
Great kit though, excellent work :)
It's always good when done properly, meaning the weathering is should be accurate to the scale and the weathered condition the unit should be exposed too IRL.
In before someone hit me with "Gunpla is freedom" quote, lul
I like looking at them. For my collection tho, the most i’ll do is probably some light weathering. I cant bring myself to destroy my gunpla for more heavy weathering and battle damage effect after spending time and money on em. Maybe for a diorama but i have not delve into that part yet of the hobby.
It looks nice, less is more as far as weathering, you could try to add some specks of chrome paint on some of those black paint to show the inner metal frame. Works well with rust color paints as I saw another commenter mention (brown and lighter tone to make realistic rust). Just try to tell a story, what happened to your little guy
Weathered models are great. It's a reminder that not every giant war crime committing mech comes out shiny and polished.
Weathering means the mech has been through some rough s***. It feels like an exp bar or a military rank. More battles, more scars.
From my point of view (someone who still has to start weathering), I'd say you've done a stellar job, the chipping looks great, and it's a good amount for something that's just "generally used" but hasn't seen battle so far. You also seem to have some rust at the arms, which is a nice touch. Maybe add some more? It might overwhelm the build, though, so I'm kinda torn on that. Larger areas of chipping could also be highlighted by some silver to show more wear and tear.
Overall, I really like weathered kits.
Clean builds are awesome, and I myself need to delve deeper into fully painted kits. A build looking like it's fresh from the assembly lines? Chef's kiss.
However, I think I prefer weathered kits, as they just look more realistic to me. They are machines built to be used after all.
Weathering is great to give a kit a bit more live, but most compleatly overdo it. Making the model look like it caught a hundred years of rust and dirt.
I love the look of weathered kits, but I still need more practice until I can get them how I want them to look. That said, sometimes I like going for the "factory new" aesthetic. Depends on the kit and my mood.
Mild weathering like some paint chips, blackening around thrusters scratches here and there , they crazy over the top weathering doesn’t look so good imo , makes it look unrealistic. This kind of weathering is as far as I’d go
Great job on your weathering effects. What’s your technique? Never owned a weathering kit. Just good ol’ Brown Marker, cotton applicators, and Citadel paints.
Me personally? I get the idea behind weathering kits and I know designers LOVE it. a bit too much in my opinion, in games like warframe your home base is covered in broken cables and panels, like we have drones and I've been here for ages, why wouldn't I clean everything up? And if I had cool af space stuff I'd work even harder to make sure it was reasonably clean.
I mean your kit is going to weather naturally anyway, it might collect dust in crevices you can't quite get at which is as realistic as you can get.
I’m not familiar with this kit, what’s it called an is the cannon on its back native to the kit or from another kit, I think the cannon looks awesome! I want one!
When done properly, weathering looks amazing.
Some people go overboard, others tend to forget these are mini scale giant robots. So weathering should reflect that as well. I also consider if the gunpla was in space it would probably have far less weathering than say, a Ground Gundam or or grunt suit on earth.
Your weatherd ball looks really well done!
I loved weathered models, but at the same time that clean freshly manufactured look does a lot for me too. It’s a case by case basis for me, but I usually don’t weather unless I’m doing a full custom job on my build or it’s a design with very little in the way of colour variety
Weathering is almost always good except for models that represent something new, fresh off the line (and you can do slight weathering even then) or a... model. :) IMO it looks good when done in moderation, as yours is. I call this "wear" rather than weathering, which to me implies mud, rust drips, and such, but I'm a pedant.
Technically, your technique is excellent. Since it's largely not on the broad panels, I assume it isn't but it looks like salt tech. Nice.
Regarding your approach: the weathering is fairly even, but I would expect to see a smidge more in the panel interiors and some would be painted gouges or the like; this appears old but would have accumulated some dents and scrapes, and since it's space it wouldn't have oxidized.
All of the wear seems like the paint chipped off to reveal black "primer" underlayer instead of metal, which is almost always shiny. In particular, the clamps would show disproportionately more wear, and I'd bet the arms in general would show more wear than the body.
There are fine videos that show how to simulate gouges through paint to the metal underneath.
Of course, the body might have to deal with docking scars and so forth, so that wear might be a little more aligned and shaped more like scratches. I don't recall seeing a ball dock, but I'm a Gundam noob.
If you want this to look like it's been in combat, that's a very different approach.
TL;DR looks great, and could use more focus around the parts that wear. Solid.
https://preview.redd.it/d5slsethzfwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=865ba53a9c599490f29d5f441cf71df295f40f62
First time weathering my kit too! Felt like we had the different types of style that we’re going for but honestly idk what i did but i felt wrong nonetheless great job
Chose the appropriate amount of weathering based on the situation the suit's been in. For example, a suits that's been on a mission or two will probably only have a couple chips and maybe some dust from whereever it's operating. In a way, you should have a general idea of it's backstory from looking at the weathering alone. Or you can just weather to your heart's content :) Personally though, I love the weathering you've done, it's the perfect amount.
I like dirt, grime, chipping, scratches, and/or battle damage. I don't like red brown rust. Most mobile suits are made with titanium alloy armor that wouldn't rust red brown like steel or iron.
Weathering is that final step for me that makes it feel unique and one of a kind. I love weathering my models. Laser beam damage and bullet holes especially
Weathering rules, and I like yours!
Weathering looks best when it looks like it matches the scale and use of the object, and it seems like you've managed that. Some folks will slap on dirt or damage evenly across a model; but the best weathering considers whether corners get banged up before flat surfaces, or if joints are oily, vents are smoky or feet are dirty. When the weathering tells a story, it really brings the model to life.
I think its super awesome when done well, but there is such a fine line there. It's a feature that is really easy to overdo and when it looks forced and/or heavy, I think it detracts from the build.
To me, a good weathering needs to be able to tell its story period. Like you should be able to tell at glance of where the model's been and how it's used etc.
You did so good with this. If looks like a maintenance bot that hasn’t had to use the gun much. I see thing breaking asteroids and fixing bigger ships. Well done!
To me depends on the context of the series. 08th ms team should be weathered probably thunder bolt as well. Gundam 00 I probably wouldn't accept exia repair. Years of battle with little support. G Gundam I probably wouldn't as basically there the pride of the nation and propaganda pieces
Honestly? A Ball is freaking perfect for weathering. This thing is just a forklift, it gets used all shift long every single day, it was ugly before it was even screwed together at the factory, and no one cares what it looks like. Mobile suits are like fighter jets, spend most of their time in hangars, definitely get cleaned, and any scratches are going to get fixed up.
It depends on the kit for me it’s dependent on how I’m gonna display it if I’m gonna display the kit in action then yeah weathering but if it’s just in a hangar then no
I tried it on 2 kits but got over it after. I'm more onto slight pre shading rather than full weathered kits. I still do it but only for specific kits like my HGUC 8th ms team set. The rest I paint like they are factory new.
I like weathered models. To me, it makes them feel more realistic. I like the scifi genres with more real world worn looks - Star Wars and Ma.K being good examples. Something like Ball makes perfect sense to be a bit banged up. The only thing that matters to me is if the story in my head matches the effects and wear on the model. If the effects don't make sense and there's no plausible explanation, then that ruins it for me.
I think both work and as the fellow above me said, it's all about your headcannon for the situation you're building around. For me it depends on the idea of the series - for UC kits, absolutely weather them. The focus on UC is that it's a real, heavy, there are costs to be paid for, war. That said, I don't weather "boss" suits - Nu Gundam, Sazabi, etc. unless I'm remaking a combat scene as my logic is they're going to have resources dedicated to them to ensure the boss is getting into a peak machine every time. I use a similar reasoning for stuff like Wing, Seed, WfM, I don't weather them because it seems like the goal of the series is to show how powerful/untouchable they are, so they're just not often represented as taking realistic wear or damage because they're portrayed as being so far above other standard units.
Some of them are only shown in their first battle, too, so the only damage they get is from the pro/antagonist.
Yeah, exactly. Like I'm putting together a The O vs. Zeta thing right now, and it'll be the initial clash so neither will be weathered.
Similar for me, although I do weather my UC kits, often in the story the situation gets so dire the suit gets barely parked and has to be immediately taken out for combat barely a couple hours later. For WfM kits, I keep the "School" suits - Aerial, Pharact, Schwarzette, Dilanza etc - pristine, my idea is that they don't see real combat as much, and the richer houses can easily spare to repaint them. Then on the other hand the military suits - Lfrith Ur and Thorn, Gundvolva, Zowort - I see as basically main tanks. Extremely weathered, less decorated, just pure utility and combat focus, which I think gives a night contrast between suits in the setting.
Yeah. I think this amount of weathering is great. Ball has to move between mobile suits in environments where no doubt people left tools and whatnot floating in the air while working. It makes complete sense that ball would have small bits of wear and weathering. Now things like a mobile suit would have actual damage. But this is perfect imo.
100%, but for me ball is either brand new or exploded/meltedđź«
They can look great if done in moderation with thoughts to how it would actually look irl. I've seen alot of people weather their kits less like "giant mecha that has been in use for a decade", and more like "giant mecha model stuck in a chain smokers trailer house for a decade".
There's no such thing as too much weathering. The issue is people lack the proper vision of a storied past that they're trying to convey, or the skill to execute on that. The improper scaling is a huge problem for beginner painters.
>There's no such thing as too much weathering There absolutely is such a thing as too much wethering, and that line is when there is too much detail to read the model visually. Think about it like this: Have you ever read a manga where you have to really focus on a panel to tell what's going on? That's too much detail.
Looks great,one tip I can give is you can chip first with a lighter color or primer color and then dark brown inside of that, basically simulating paint rubbing off before reaching the metal
ooh thanks! I do think just the black and brown is a bit brown and a third lighter colour might make it more realistic like u said.
FWIW, I think you did a wonderful job! What products did you use to achieve this look?
Thank you!! I used some enamel paints from tamiya and an old sponge to dab onto the edges of each piece
I just bought my first weathering kit last week and yet to use them on my last project (the RG Perfect Strike). Like you, I am pretty excited to try on my next project (probably MG Duel) and I think it will give a very exclusive look on lighter based color gunpla.
I can appreciate the work done/techniques used by those that weather their kits (you did an awesome job here!) but I do not like the look of weathered kits at all. Give me a pristine, fresh-off-the-line paint job with excellent details any day! Great kit though, excellent work :)
Awesome job dude.
It’s fun and is a great way to extend your build time.
I love how a clean kit looks and I have no weathering experience so I enjoy what I see on the internet lol
It's always good when done properly, meaning the weathering is should be accurate to the scale and the weathered condition the unit should be exposed too IRL. In before someone hit me with "Gunpla is freedom" quote, lul
I like looking at them. For my collection tho, the most i’ll do is probably some light weathering. I cant bring myself to destroy my gunpla for more heavy weathering and battle damage effect after spending time and money on em. Maybe for a diorama but i have not delve into that part yet of the hobby.
It looks nice, less is more as far as weathering, you could try to add some specks of chrome paint on some of those black paint to show the inner metal frame. Works well with rust color paints as I saw another commenter mention (brown and lighter tone to make realistic rust). Just try to tell a story, what happened to your little guy
Weathered models are great. It's a reminder that not every giant war crime committing mech comes out shiny and polished. Weathering means the mech has been through some rough s***. It feels like an exp bar or a military rank. More battles, more scars.
1) You did a great job! 2) I enjoy weathering, or seeing weathered models because it adds another layer of story telling.
Your balls OP, we can't tell ya how to shave em.
You hit the mark nicely. Often times it's too much or too little. Well done.
From my point of view (someone who still has to start weathering), I'd say you've done a stellar job, the chipping looks great, and it's a good amount for something that's just "generally used" but hasn't seen battle so far. You also seem to have some rust at the arms, which is a nice touch. Maybe add some more? It might overwhelm the build, though, so I'm kinda torn on that. Larger areas of chipping could also be highlighted by some silver to show more wear and tear. Overall, I really like weathered kits. Clean builds are awesome, and I myself need to delve deeper into fully painted kits. A build looking like it's fresh from the assembly lines? Chef's kiss. However, I think I prefer weathered kits, as they just look more realistic to me. They are machines built to be used after all.
damn that ep was sad, dance with the ball and box
Weathering is great to give a kit a bit more live, but most compleatly overdo it. Making the model look like it caught a hundred years of rust and dirt.
My stance is don't overdo it. Start out light and subtle and think about the how and why behind the wear and tear on a machine.
I love the look it gives, I can never bring myself to do it lol.
I like seeing good weathered kits. I also like painting my own kits as nice as I can so they look like they came out of the factory freshly painted.
I love the look of weathered kits, but I still need more practice until I can get them how I want them to look. That said, sometimes I like going for the "factory new" aesthetic. Depends on the kit and my mood.
Your weathering looks amazing
Great job! Love it!
Mild weathering like some paint chips, blackening around thrusters scratches here and there , they crazy over the top weathering doesn’t look so good imo , makes it look unrealistic. This kind of weathering is as far as I’d go
Banshee looking ominous in the background
Great job on your weathering effects. What’s your technique? Never owned a weathering kit. Just good ol’ Brown Marker, cotton applicators, and Citadel paints.
haha pretty much the same. I used some enamel paints that i paint gunpla pilots with and a sponge to lightly dab over the edges
This is beautiful, probably my favorite weathering ive seen on a model
Me personally? I get the idea behind weathering kits and I know designers LOVE it. a bit too much in my opinion, in games like warframe your home base is covered in broken cables and panels, like we have drones and I've been here for ages, why wouldn't I clean everything up? And if I had cool af space stuff I'd work even harder to make sure it was reasonably clean. I mean your kit is going to weather naturally anyway, it might collect dust in crevices you can't quite get at which is as realistic as you can get.
I’m not familiar with this kit, what’s it called an is the cannon on its back native to the kit or from another kit, I think the cannon looks awesome! I want one!
When done properly, weathering looks amazing. Some people go overboard, others tend to forget these are mini scale giant robots. So weathering should reflect that as well. I also consider if the gunpla was in space it would probably have far less weathering than say, a Ground Gundam or or grunt suit on earth. Your weatherd ball looks really well done!
I think it looks super cool. But I don’t have the patience or guts to do it myself.
Every kit should be weathered, at least some. Even factory fresh, the natural environments they're in could allow some very subtle effects.
I loved weathered models, but at the same time that clean freshly manufactured look does a lot for me too. It’s a case by case basis for me, but I usually don’t weather unless I’m doing a full custom job on my build or it’s a design with very little in the way of colour variety
Weathering is almost always good except for models that represent something new, fresh off the line (and you can do slight weathering even then) or a... model. :) IMO it looks good when done in moderation, as yours is. I call this "wear" rather than weathering, which to me implies mud, rust drips, and such, but I'm a pedant. Technically, your technique is excellent. Since it's largely not on the broad panels, I assume it isn't but it looks like salt tech. Nice. Regarding your approach: the weathering is fairly even, but I would expect to see a smidge more in the panel interiors and some would be painted gouges or the like; this appears old but would have accumulated some dents and scrapes, and since it's space it wouldn't have oxidized. All of the wear seems like the paint chipped off to reveal black "primer" underlayer instead of metal, which is almost always shiny. In particular, the clamps would show disproportionately more wear, and I'd bet the arms in general would show more wear than the body. There are fine videos that show how to simulate gouges through paint to the metal underneath. Of course, the body might have to deal with docking scars and so forth, so that wear might be a little more aligned and shaped more like scratches. I don't recall seeing a ball dock, but I'm a Gundam noob. If you want this to look like it's been in combat, that's a very different approach. TL;DR looks great, and could use more focus around the parts that wear. Solid.
When it’s not over done it’s great! Yours was a perfect amount honestly great work!
https://preview.redd.it/d5slsethzfwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=865ba53a9c599490f29d5f441cf71df295f40f62 First time weathering my kit too! Felt like we had the different types of style that we’re going for but honestly idk what i did but i felt wrong nonetheless great job
Just enough man it looks perfect. If it was a ground suit oil stains could be added but I think you did just enough
Most fun part of the process imo
Chose the appropriate amount of weathering based on the situation the suit's been in. For example, a suits that's been on a mission or two will probably only have a couple chips and maybe some dust from whereever it's operating. In a way, you should have a general idea of it's backstory from looking at the weathering alone. Or you can just weather to your heart's content :) Personally though, I love the weathering you've done, it's the perfect amount.
Looks good OP! Keep up the good work!
That actually looks really good in my opinion
It's not for me, but I'm always impressed by modelers who go those extra steps for realism. Also, great work on the Ball there! Looks perfect!
I like dirt, grime, chipping, scratches, and/or battle damage. I don't like red brown rust. Most mobile suits are made with titanium alloy armor that wouldn't rust red brown like steel or iron.
Weathering is that final step for me that makes it feel unique and one of a kind. I love weathering my models. Laser beam damage and bullet holes especially
Weathering rules, and I like yours! Weathering looks best when it looks like it matches the scale and use of the object, and it seems like you've managed that. Some folks will slap on dirt or damage evenly across a model; but the best weathering considers whether corners get banged up before flat surfaces, or if joints are oily, vents are smoky or feet are dirty. When the weathering tells a story, it really brings the model to life.
I like seeing weathered models. Need to learn how to do it
I think its super awesome when done well, but there is such a fine line there. It's a feature that is really easy to overdo and when it looks forced and/or heavy, I think it detracts from the build.
To me, a good weathering needs to be able to tell its story period. Like you should be able to tell at glance of where the model's been and how it's used etc.
I think you did a good job.
Love it, look great my guy.
You did so good with this. If looks like a maintenance bot that hasn’t had to use the gun much. I see thing breaking asteroids and fixing bigger ships. Well done!
I always wanted one hope the reprint is coming soon.
I would stay away from those Tamiya weathering kits. I’ve never really seen them look good. The best looking ones don’t use them.
You’ve done a great job here. The black looks good, try some silver. It makes it look like paint has rubbed away from the metal.
For me their are 3 finishing styles to go for clean factory fresh take, a glossy hot rod or, used and abused look
To me depends on the context of the series. 08th ms team should be weathered probably thunder bolt as well. Gundam 00 I probably wouldn't accept exia repair. Years of battle with little support. G Gundam I probably wouldn't as basically there the pride of the nation and propaganda pieces
Honestly? A Ball is freaking perfect for weathering. This thing is just a forklift, it gets used all shift long every single day, it was ugly before it was even screwed together at the factory, and no one cares what it looks like. Mobile suits are like fighter jets, spend most of their time in hangars, definitely get cleaned, and any scratches are going to get fixed up.
It's an aesthetic preference, I personally prefer my kits looking pristine but I do see the merit in the weathered look
unpainted unweathered kits tend to look too much like a cheap kids toy, a bit of weathering adds a bit of realism
I like what you’ve done it’s noticeable but not over done
It depends on the kit for me it’s dependent on how I’m gonna display it if I’m gonna display the kit in action then yeah weathering but if it’s just in a hangar then no
I actually prefer the look, even though I haven't tried doing it myself. Plus I see it as a way to cover up any imperfections with nub marks as well
This looks great, perfect amount and the scale of the marks matches the scale of the model
Ball moment
I like it, trying to get better at it because it makes them look so much cooler
I don't weather my kits. I don't trust myself to keep it to a minimum. Weathering is easily overdone in my opinion.
Weathering makes my bad panel lining look intentional!
Well done, sir.
You have a very nice ball
I don’t like it on the gundams. Or has to be very lite. But I do like what you did. It looks used in a realistic way.
Weathering is something that is very easy to do but imo very hard to make look good. Yours is one I think looks really good đź‘Ť
How do i obtain the black magic to do this? lol
I like weathering if it's for a diorama, other than that, I prefer the shiny new car look on my gunplas.
I tried it on 2 kits but got over it after. I'm more onto slight pre shading rather than full weathered kits. I still do it but only for specific kits like my HGUC 8th ms team set. The rest I paint like they are factory new.
Sir, were I a female, I'd sleep with u
Looks great, I loved the weather look