TMS02 30 Minutes Missions - Marker Basic Set

A starter set for builders of robots

The starter package of marker pens is aimed at the person who has brought home their first modular robot kit and does not want to buy an airbrush, a compressor and a spray booth at the same time. The shades cover the main areas of the body and limbs plus accessory colors for small details, so that one can leave with a finished model rather than with one painted part and the need to buy the rest.

How it differs from painting with a brush

A pen has two advantages over a brush and one limitation. The first advantage: the color always has the same consistency, so the application does not vary according to how long the bottle has stood open. The second advantage: there is no cleaning, which matters more than it would seem over a short evening session with a model. The limitation is in the area – the tip is built for parts up to the size of a palm; on large flat panels the marks overlap and the difference between strokes can show.

Recommended procedure

The largest areas come first, then the details, and last the dark emphasis of the lines, so that further strokes do not go into it. The parts stay on the sprue until the paint has set; a wet part laid down sticks to the mat and the application lifts with it. Anyone building without glue leaves the surfaces of the pins alone. A more saturated shade is built up by repeating a stroke once it has gone off, not by pressure – that only squeezes out more color than the area can take, and the application then stays uneven. It is good to let a finished model rest for a day before it is moved and before any final clear coat.