Mighty Strike Freedom Dark Blue Semi-Gloss

The dark tone of the main machine

The title robot of the film continuation received a reworked armor against its older form and with it a darker blue, which appears on the chest, on the flanks and on the shoulder guards. The dark tone makes the machine look slimmer and lets the gold and white parts around it stand out. On a model it is useful beyond its subject as well, for instance as a base for layering blue shades or as the color of shadowed areas on other machines.

Working with a brush

Dark shades forgive a brush better than light ones, because any streaks are not visible. Even so it holds that a brush should not be taken back into a place where the paint is starting to set – lines would be dragged out of it. The ideal is to pick up little paint, pull in one direction and lay the second coat only once the first has dried completely. Thinning with a few drops of water lengthens the time in which the strokes still flow together by themselves.

Thinning and storage

The bottle is stirred properly before every use; the pigment settles at the bottom and without stirring the shade comes out lighter. The remains of thinned paint are not returned to the bottle, because thinned binder in the bottle shortens the life of the whole contents.

What to do about fingerprints

A semi-gloss surface is pleasant to the touch, but on a dark area every greasy fingerprint is visible. Before the finishing coat it is therefore worth degreasing the model; a soft brush and a little denatured alcohol on a cloth that does not touch fresh paint are enough. Otherwise the grease shows through even under the finishing coat and on a large dark area it is then clear where somebody held the model.