Mandalorian, The (Beskar Armor) - 1/12 scale Bandai #5061796
The kit itself isn't difficult to assemble...
It's the painting!! And browns!... So many shades of brown!
Sideshow Collectibles tip: When painting silver armor, start with a black primer base. For Mando, the first coat of metallic silver should be hit with a mineral-based gloss topcoat (it will interact with the acrylic) & allowed to dry.
Second coat of metallic silver, then water-based gloss topcoat. Once dried, then brown wash.
Did I mention... Browns?? 😉
Layers of, you guessed it, browns! In curved V patterns. I started with a darker base tone & finished with strokes from a Gundam marker.
Not stupendous, but I was pleased. I didn't trust myself trying that fine line of gold/brass with a brush. It was applied with an improvised tool - the tip of a pushpin! :]
Looking pretty good there, tiger! But...
Something had to be done about that perfectly shaped cape... Time for the nippers & my tiny decal scissors to go to work!
Photo almost captured the subtlety of the 'muzzle' colors. The barrel grip's... not so much. May have to try photographing that again. I really spent some time trying to get the rifles details as close to the reference photos as possible.
I will admit, while I was nervous about this kit (particularly about the "wood," and how to get the armor finish) I believe it's one, if that THE best builds I've done. :]
I still find myself walking by the shelf and stop to look at it - "I did that!?!" 😄
16 March, 13:39
Album info
A different exercise than the Sazabi, for sure. 🙂 So many browns to mix!..
Attempting woodgrain!?..
Making plastic look like [dirty] Beskar armor?!?!?
I must give credit to Sideshow Collectibles' YouTube video detailing the process for their Mando armor. I was able to replicate it here at home and am very pleased! I've never anything done like that before.
Another HUGE thanks to Scott Kaufman for posting so many great photos of the actual Din Djarin (albeit season1) Mandalorian costume and weapons display from the D23 event over at thedentedhelmet.com!
For the rest, especially the scorched right thigh armor, I mostly had to rely on freeze-framing the actual show (Disney's anti-screen capture tech is quite impressive) and keeping a list of episodes and time indices to go back and reference. What a royal pain LOL. You'd think there'd be tons of photos available, but...
Anyway, a rather easy kit to build, but a real challenge to paint and finish, but the result has please me quite a bit.
Lots of tiny detailing and nuances I've not tried before (like colors & metallic finishes on the barrel and muzzle of the rifle).
Roughing up the felt cape (which I also dyed. It shows a real greenish tint in the show, so leaving it brown just wasn't going to cut it with me) was kind of the icing on the cake.
Tom Harris
