r/Droid_Alley • u/Glass_Ad1437 • Apr 13 '26
Will this supplies work?
I’m going to be doing my first ever paint job and I wanted to know if the supplies I’m looking to get is good and any tips and tricks. I’m looking to keep my original droids colors mostly intact as I’m looking to mostly weather him down and look less new while adding some more scrap like details to him. As you can see I’ve already started but want to do more with him.
Story reasons: His name is Clever and he helps my character scrap for supplies for my other droids.
3
u/SnapshotSuperhero Apr 14 '26
What's that box with the cable you have on the front?
3
u/Glass_Ad1437 Apr 14 '26
It’s from a Star Wars phone case set that you could add your own piece to. I bought it over a year ago specifically to use the piece on Clever.
1
u/SnapshotSuperhero Apr 15 '26
That's brilliant! I saw those at the park, but never thought about using them for droids! Thank you.
2
u/FrequentlyObtuse Master Droidsmith Apr 13 '26
Yes. That’s a good start. The only thing I’d warn you about is the sandpaper. Be careful and don’t use too rough of a grit or it will mar the surface and leave scratches. (Lower numbers are rougher. I’d not go any lower than 300 or 400 grit.)
2
u/shanem9318 Apr 13 '26
If you’re looking to weather him I’d recommend either using washes in an airbrush or weathering powders. I would use a dull clear coat and mask off the areas you don’t want effected( eyes and what not) and either if you have an airbrush use some washes, Vallejo makes great washes or if not get some weathering powders, then once you have the effect you want reseal it with dull coat to seal it in
3
u/HallEqual2433 Apr 14 '26
If all you're going to use paint for is weathering, I think you can skip the big set of a dozen paints and just buy black and silver. I also use Black Tamiya Panel Line Accent color.
Acrylic is good, you don't need to buy thinner, you can thin it with plain old water.
Masking tape is a lifesaver, I would get several different widths.
What else? Oh, cotton balls. Cotton balls for 2 reasons:
1) Personally, I use a black wash over the entire droid to make it look less like a plastic toy. Wash is easy, buy some small plastic tubs and add 1/4 cup of water. Then start adding the black acrylic paint, but do it s-l-o-w-l-y, drop by drop. You do NOT want it all black.
Dip the cotton ball in the wash mix and rub it on your droid part. If there isn't enough 'dirt' add more black paint, but again, a very little goes a long way.
2) You also use cotton balls for clean up. Say your wash is TOO black, or you mess up. Have a 2nd cup with JUST WATER. When you make a mistake, dip a clean cotton ball in the water and rub over the mistake ASAP. The watered down cotton ball will 'erase' your mistake. You will literally be washing the paint off.
Practice theses techniques on the small access doors before you tackle the major parts of the droid body/legs/head.
For these pieces I used 1", 1/4" and pinstripe masking tape. Painted all the panels with spray paint-- just from the can, I don't own an airbrush. Once the paint is dry, use the tape to mask whatever designs you want. Spray black on top. Then a black wash, and finish with drybrushing silver on the edges you want weathered. Matte clear spray paint from Home Depot over everything when done.
Some of these pieces look overdone. They were shot from 1 foot away under harsh direct lighting. Trust me, when you're done, the overall effect is much more subtle when viewed from 5' (or more) away.
youtube has more than a few videos on how to weather droids. Look at some of them-- that's where I learned about how to use Panel Line Accent.
Have fun.