I wasn’t the most happy with my Jigabachi paint job. I airbrushed but kept getting a rough texture. I was using 15-18psi with pre thinned lacquer paints but especially on larger pieces something wasn’t working right. Took a break then figured that the mini tachikoma that came with that same model would be perfect for some trial and error.

This time I used a can of primer instead of the Mr surfacer bottle. I used all the same paints but decided to build up the color more gradually. This is where I had the problem I think. I read that with gloss and metallics you want to put on a nice wet coat but I know that orange peel/ rough texture can come from putting the paint on too thick/fast.

I started with a super fine misting of the color before setting it down and getting to other pieces. Once done, say 5-10mins I’d go back to the first piece with about the same type of coating. 5 or 6 passes latter and the color was basically where I wanted. I then did a wetter coat, wet enough that I could see a glossy sheen, and that was my last coat for the paint. Let dry for 24hrs and hit it with a gloss, let dry another 24, then did the detail paints by hand. Red enamel for the lights, black for the “eyes” and other dark marks, and silver for the bare metal.

I’m super happy with the result. I think I found my airbrush problem and I did decently well with the hand painting. I have two more of these mini Tachikoma so I think I’ll try to get the colors for the others from the episode where the three Tachikoma break out to save Batou. Yellow/black construction type and I think the other was like a rnd style grey. Or maybe a red one like the Arise model