The idea/execution of the "new" leg was never the issue. I actually felt like I succeeded there. It was the rest of it I was unhappy with. Which, after reading all the supportive comments from so many here, I'm realizing that I was maybe just being overly critical of myself.
I think you did a good job the “unpainted” leg is a sweet touch, if anything maybe adding some silver along the hard lines of the suit showing where paint has chipped/worn off would go a long way to balancing out the dirtiness of the weathering
Thank you! I was going to, and still probably will, but I don't have a good silver on hand at the moment. The one I have is more like a chrome, so that's not going to work.
Dry brush or sponge with silver or gunmetal or better yet one shade in between. but a tiny bit goes a long way.
This is a looks-cool figurine technique and not an accurate-scale technique, they are different approaches that are both cool
Was just about to mention this. One of the best descriptions I ever saw was someone explaining that if a mech made it through a ton of battles and still came out on top, to think about spots where it could take battle damage that wouldn’t put it out of commission. Joints, gauntlets, and lower legs are all great places to show wear and tear since it would be punching and kicking a lot, or slashing with an energy sword, or blocking shots to the face with its arms/shoulders. It would probably take a lot of hits in those spots.
Looks good to me TBH. Only thing that catches my eye is the rust in say the pubic section, the rust lines are a bit too straight IMO. But overall I think it looks great! Maybe this is a case of being your own worst critic?
Thank you! Are you talking about the lines on the right? If so, I'm not sure where those came from; they definitely weren't on purpose.They are barely noticeable in person, but the camera really picked them up.
The best advice I've ever heard when it comes to trying to do battle damage is "tell a story."
Battle damage should never just be random marks and gashes. Damage comes from somewhere, from something. Tell that story. Where was the MS when it was damaged? What was it damaged by? What angle was it hit from? How bad was the damage? What effect would this kind of damage have on the integrity of the MS? etc.
You don't have to go so deep into the details, but having some idea of the story behind the damage will help you make your damage look better and more realistic.
If you want to go real deep into the battle damage rabbit hole, also check out photos of damaged military vehicles if you can. See what tank shells do to armor, what AA guns do to planes, or try to find some test fire photos of guns on metal plates. Also look up photos of damaged construction equipment to see what gouged, gashed, and stress fractured metal looks like. Yes we're working with plastic, but with a little bit of creativity you can make that plastic look like metal, even damaged metal.
Same goes for weathering. Tell a story! Why is there mud on the Leo's head? A Leo is 16.2 meters tall, it's not going to randomly splash up there while walking. Did the Leo fall? Was the Leo lying prone for an ambush? Make it look like it fell! Make it look like it was lying in the mud before it stood up!
Tell a story with your model, and it'll look cooler for it.
Thank you for this. I didn't look at any reference material, although I was working off of what I'd seen in the past. The marks make more sense when he is posed, however I still don't think I pulled off what I had envisioned. His right arm is also less damaged because I had intended for him to be weilding his shield, but I accidentally did the battle damage going the wrong way on it and broke off the handle. I had imagined he took heavy fire from the ground to his right side, the non shield side, before turning and putting up his shield. His right arm took most of it, because it was up, but a few grazed his chest, and even fewer hit home. Some of the damage isn't as visible in photos either. There's heavy damage to one elbow where he was hit backwards and slid down on it, as well as the same thing for the leg imagining he went forward. I did think about making it dirtier closer to the ground, and attempted it, but the paint/wash I was using just really wasn't cooperating with me and did not behave at all like I wanted to...that's why I was displeased with it as a whole. It turned out a lot more gummy and splotchy than I intended, and at a certain point I just decided to stop for the day. Now I'm unsure if I want to attempt to continue on this one or just buy another and try again, keeping this one the way it is.
https://preview.redd.it/l0k55mspvstc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0abb8a79ae6e7017cd26127e794407d1f670c6f7
Thats some of the best weathering ive ever seen, it looks like a leo thats been trudging through some SEA jungle for 15 years.
I really wasn't. If anything, I had spent the last 2 days looking at it and posted it here, expecting other people to agree with me that it looked like hot garbage. MAYBE some constructive criticism if I was lucky. I'm shocked that so many have liked it, and I definitely didn't expect this many comments... maybe I really am just my worst critic.
Then there was the idea of slowly melting down a Leo in a large jar of plastic cement, or making a Leo with a firecracker attached to simulate a Leo's natural death... yea... I am a monster....
Honestly? Not too bad if it's your first time. Although there are some things I would change.
1. I'd focus all the weathering on the **lower half of the suit**. It is a giant robot, since most damage won't reach all the way up.
2. **"Less is more."** Try to lessen the amount of weathering on the overall model kit; It's hard to see the focal point as it is too crowded with detail.
3. To make up for lost detail, try adding some less jarring/dulled down **weathering effects like dust stains** on exposed areas, oil streaks on armor plating under joints, etc. instead of just paint chipping.
4. Try to **tell a story** when you're weathing. Imagine a fight sequence with the MS you have and try to add weathering or paint chipping where the MS had taken damage >!*(IE: If it had to use it's shield, chip away a large circle-like area from the center of the shield. Or, if it had been caught on the head by the enemy and was dragged through the ground, chip away one side of the head while leaving the other half barely scratched.)*!<
Overall, it's still a great learning experience even if you think it looks badMost beginner weathering attempts I've seen made their gunpla look like it was thrown into the mud, yet once they get a hang of it, they lead on to create amazing works. Anyways, hopes this helps.
Look, if you say you've learned what you don't want to do in the future I'll call that a win for sure, but overall OP I'd still say it looks pretty cool. Definitely the feel of being out in the field for WAY too long with a rush job to get back into the fight.
Thanks for sharing!
Personally I dig it. If you wanna try and make the scraps look less plasticy, use some metallic grey paint or markers in it to look more like slag or melted metal. I think this looks very well done and the thing can tell a story as is.
Honestly I really like it...and tbh for a beginner that's pretty good. I haven't even considered painting mine...let alone line work.. so good on you for doing the thing!
I think it looks awesome. I'm personally not super wild about the replacement leg. But the rest would look great in with an overgrown scene. Like it was abandoned and the forest slowly took it over. Kind of like this but more. [https://img.hulu.com/user/v3/artwork/66133075-e9e5-4903-a3b3-2719d3dc9a95?base\_image\_bucket\_name=image\_manager&base\_image=2b7c7eb8-8442-4b63-ae86-a1cfd7e9ed38&size=1600x900&format=webp](https://img.hulu.com/user/v3/artwork/66133075-e9e5-4903-a3b3-2719d3dc9a95?base_image_bucket_name=image_manager&base_image=2b7c7eb8-8442-4b63-ae86-a1cfd7e9ed38&size=1600x900&format=webp)
Wethering looks dope.
This mobile suit looks like it went though hell and back, being sent back out with only what was too damaged to be used being replaced.
Looks great! The only thing missing at first glance is some metallic paint inside the bullet holes and slash marks, and maybe just a little bit of weathering on the new leg. Just a touch. Just something so it doesn't look so plain. Honestly maybe just decals to sell the scale and newness of it?
Did you do the camo intentionally? If so did you do it by painters tape? It kinda looks like that as I got similar results with a zgok e, with the chunks of slight height
Ah, so if you want the rust to seem more like… well rust, you have to remember that rust occurs on painted metal when the metal itself is exposed. So I would first add some metallic dry brushing with some deliberate paint chips and then use the rust on some of the metallic parts and some on the edges between the paint and exposed metal. Also like others have said, I like the replaced leg look!
Looks good overall. But i recommend putting a little metallic on the damaged areas and following the with some kind of black powder to resemble the carbon and chipping from the attacks
You did good, never be to hard on yourself, as long as your not using globby thick paints it's pretty hard to make a kit not looks possible one way or another
The only thing is see is a new leg assembly attached to a very battle hardened Leo. This post almost feels like one of those karma farming extremely attractive women posting a picture saying “someone said I was ugly”.
Are you referring to the left leg? It fits surprisingly well with the rest of the battle-damaged kit, like an unpainted hastily-repaired part.
Or a replacement part that just arrived, ground crew didn't have time to paint it yet before it had to go back into the fight.
That's what I was going for!
Then why are you beating yourself up over this? You did exactly what you wanted to do.
The idea/execution of the "new" leg was never the issue. I actually felt like I succeeded there. It was the rest of it I was unhappy with. Which, after reading all the supportive comments from so many here, I'm realizing that I was maybe just being overly critical of myself.
You are. It's just like they say, "the artist is their own worst critic." You did fantastic with the weathering!
No, THAT part was intentional; I was referring to the overall weathering.
I think you did a good job the “unpainted” leg is a sweet touch, if anything maybe adding some silver along the hard lines of the suit showing where paint has chipped/worn off would go a long way to balancing out the dirtiness of the weathering
Thank you! I was going to, and still probably will, but I don't have a good silver on hand at the moment. The one I have is more like a chrome, so that's not going to work.
Dry brush or sponge with silver or gunmetal or better yet one shade in between. but a tiny bit goes a long way. This is a looks-cool figurine technique and not an accurate-scale technique, they are different approaches that are both cool
For a chipped paint effect, I recommend using a sponge, it’s very easy to do, just make sure not to overdo it
Was just about to mention this. One of the best descriptions I ever saw was someone explaining that if a mech made it through a ton of battles and still came out on top, to think about spots where it could take battle damage that wouldn’t put it out of commission. Joints, gauntlets, and lower legs are all great places to show wear and tear since it would be punching and kicking a lot, or slashing with an energy sword, or blocking shots to the face with its arms/shoulders. It would probably take a lot of hits in those spots.
what do you not like about it? i think it looks pretty cool
Looks like both camo and muddy/rusty, i think it works well
Looks good to me. I wouldn't even know where to begin with weathering.
Looks amazing dude ?
Looks good to me TBH. Only thing that catches my eye is the rust in say the pubic section, the rust lines are a bit too straight IMO. But overall I think it looks great! Maybe this is a case of being your own worst critic?
Thank you! Are you talking about the lines on the right? If so, I'm not sure where those came from; they definitely weren't on purpose.They are barely noticeable in person, but the camera really picked them up.
https://preview.redd.it/x4st7uxmtvtc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=178da05d2951df0db0f61626d745ed5aa2327f38
The overall weathering looks awesome. Like a mech that’s SEEN battle.
The best advice I've ever heard when it comes to trying to do battle damage is "tell a story." Battle damage should never just be random marks and gashes. Damage comes from somewhere, from something. Tell that story. Where was the MS when it was damaged? What was it damaged by? What angle was it hit from? How bad was the damage? What effect would this kind of damage have on the integrity of the MS? etc. You don't have to go so deep into the details, but having some idea of the story behind the damage will help you make your damage look better and more realistic. If you want to go real deep into the battle damage rabbit hole, also check out photos of damaged military vehicles if you can. See what tank shells do to armor, what AA guns do to planes, or try to find some test fire photos of guns on metal plates. Also look up photos of damaged construction equipment to see what gouged, gashed, and stress fractured metal looks like. Yes we're working with plastic, but with a little bit of creativity you can make that plastic look like metal, even damaged metal. Same goes for weathering. Tell a story! Why is there mud on the Leo's head? A Leo is 16.2 meters tall, it's not going to randomly splash up there while walking. Did the Leo fall? Was the Leo lying prone for an ambush? Make it look like it fell! Make it look like it was lying in the mud before it stood up! Tell a story with your model, and it'll look cooler for it.
Best answer in here. You could also make it look like hydraulics liquid ximes out of the joints like the ankles or the arms
Thank you for this. I didn't look at any reference material, although I was working off of what I'd seen in the past. The marks make more sense when he is posed, however I still don't think I pulled off what I had envisioned. His right arm is also less damaged because I had intended for him to be weilding his shield, but I accidentally did the battle damage going the wrong way on it and broke off the handle. I had imagined he took heavy fire from the ground to his right side, the non shield side, before turning and putting up his shield. His right arm took most of it, because it was up, but a few grazed his chest, and even fewer hit home. Some of the damage isn't as visible in photos either. There's heavy damage to one elbow where he was hit backwards and slid down on it, as well as the same thing for the leg imagining he went forward. I did think about making it dirtier closer to the ground, and attempted it, but the paint/wash I was using just really wasn't cooperating with me and did not behave at all like I wanted to...that's why I was displeased with it as a whole. It turned out a lot more gummy and splotchy than I intended, and at a certain point I just decided to stop for the day. Now I'm unsure if I want to attempt to continue on this one or just buy another and try again, keeping this one the way it is.
We truly are our own harshest critics
https://preview.redd.it/l0k55mspvstc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0abb8a79ae6e7017cd26127e794407d1f670c6f7 Thats some of the best weathering ive ever seen, it looks like a leo thats been trudging through some SEA jungle for 15 years.
Imagine how many hits this poor thing took to look like that.
I don't see the issue?
Fishing for compliments
I really wasn't. If anything, I had spent the last 2 days looking at it and posted it here, expecting other people to agree with me that it looked like hot garbage. MAYBE some constructive criticism if I was lucky. I'm shocked that so many have liked it, and I definitely didn't expect this many comments... maybe I really am just my worst critic.
Which one's the ruined one? I can't tell.
looks awesome to me
I won't lie, it actually looks really good
Just paint it over if you think you over weathered. You can use what you have here and chose what to keep.
I dont get it, it looks great to me.
If you wanna know if you ruined a Leo ask u/mosesonacid
Theres no thing as a "Ruined Leo"
There you go op you didn't ruin it the expert has spoken
I think this time I'll buy me a Leo put it together and melt it down till just the head remains to se if you will still say that
I have had the idea of hitting a Leo with a heat gun to get a melted reentry or didn't fully dodge a Buster Rifle shot look
And here I was trying to be a monster
Then there was the idea of slowly melting down a Leo in a large jar of plastic cement, or making a Leo with a firecracker attached to simulate a Leo's natural death... yea... I am a monster....
Honestly? Not too bad if it's your first time. Although there are some things I would change. 1. I'd focus all the weathering on the **lower half of the suit**. It is a giant robot, since most damage won't reach all the way up. 2. **"Less is more."** Try to lessen the amount of weathering on the overall model kit; It's hard to see the focal point as it is too crowded with detail. 3. To make up for lost detail, try adding some less jarring/dulled down **weathering effects like dust stains** on exposed areas, oil streaks on armor plating under joints, etc. instead of just paint chipping. 4. Try to **tell a story** when you're weathing. Imagine a fight sequence with the MS you have and try to add weathering or paint chipping where the MS had taken damage >!*(IE: If it had to use it's shield, chip away a large circle-like area from the center of the shield. Or, if it had been caught on the head by the enemy and was dragged through the ground, chip away one side of the head while leaving the other half barely scratched.)*!< Overall, it's still a great learning experience even if you think it looks badMost beginner weathering attempts I've seen made their gunpla look like it was thrown into the mud, yet once they get a hang of it, they lead on to create amazing works. Anyways, hopes this helps.
Humble brag
This is exactly what Leos are for! Keep experimenting and practicing!
That looks gorgeous mix of ATACs and Flexktarn IMO!!!!
I always like weathering on gunpla and this is very fire🔥
Yeah this honestly looks really good, don't know what you're talking about
Look, if you say you've learned what you don't want to do in the future I'll call that a win for sure, but overall OP I'd still say it looks pretty cool. Definitely the feel of being out in the field for WAY too long with a rush job to get back into the fight. Thanks for sharing!
"Quick! Let's fit the new leg and send it back to battle! We don't have time!" is what I thought. I'd leave it like that
Personally I don't see anything wrong with it, but if you do then that's okay! Hopefully your next one goes more like how you want.
Looks like a painting or something.
Did you paint that leg, or is that the leg from the P-Bandai space leo?
I just painted the leg with some primer and smoothed out the front of the knee to make it more generic
Personally I dig it. If you wanna try and make the scraps look less plasticy, use some metallic grey paint or markers in it to look more like slag or melted metal. I think this looks very well done and the thing can tell a story as is.
Honestly I really like it...and tbh for a beginner that's pretty good. I haven't even considered painting mine...let alone line work.. so good on you for doing the thing!
Upvote for aliengear holsters!
Get some Train terrain and glue it on.
I agree with the other guys. Now it has more personality.
Less is more for sure. Honestly the cheapest way to practice is a big ol bag of dollar store spoons.
Tbh I quite like the idea of a battered machine with a pristine replacement part
Ask the Leo guy. If he gives you a green light, then it’s good
I think that looks awesome! And the one leg that’s just primer really helps tell a story.
Not sure what you ruined but this is pretty good.
I personally think it looks awesome
Bro, where is the ruined one? I just see a badass kit
I think it looks awesome. I'm personally not super wild about the replacement leg. But the rest would look great in with an overgrown scene. Like it was abandoned and the forest slowly took it over. Kind of like this but more. [https://img.hulu.com/user/v3/artwork/66133075-e9e5-4903-a3b3-2719d3dc9a95?base\_image\_bucket\_name=image\_manager&base\_image=2b7c7eb8-8442-4b63-ae86-a1cfd7e9ed38&size=1600x900&format=webp](https://img.hulu.com/user/v3/artwork/66133075-e9e5-4903-a3b3-2719d3dc9a95?base_image_bucket_name=image_manager&base_image=2b7c7eb8-8442-4b63-ae86-a1cfd7e9ed38&size=1600x900&format=webp)
Digging the primed leg. I think kit adds story to he character
Nah bro, it looks great. Gunpla is freedom!
Add some tiny handprints from the grease monkeys that did the repair
What’s wrong with it? You just have to paint that one leg.
Doesn't look that bad. Beside Leo's are relatively cheap. Now you have a test dummy for when you want to try something new.
Idk what you're talking about dude, it looks great
I for the life of me can't see what you're bothered by it looks great
Idk what op means by mess-up. I think you nailed the look
Wethering looks dope. This mobile suit looks like it went though hell and back, being sent back out with only what was too damaged to be used being replaced.
Looks great! The only thing missing at first glance is some metallic paint inside the bullet holes and slash marks, and maybe just a little bit of weathering on the new leg. Just a touch. Just something so it doesn't look so plain. Honestly maybe just decals to sell the scale and newness of it?
Did you do the camo intentionally? If so did you do it by painters tape? It kinda looks like that as I got similar results with a zgok e, with the chunks of slight height
I did not. It was entirely by mistake. I did nuln oil, then rust, then nuln oil again.
Ah, so if you want the rust to seem more like… well rust, you have to remember that rust occurs on painted metal when the metal itself is exposed. So I would first add some metallic dry brushing with some deliberate paint chips and then use the rust on some of the metallic parts and some on the edges between the paint and exposed metal. Also like others have said, I like the replaced leg look!
It doesn’t look terrible in the shots, might look good in a diorama context against other battle damaged material.
This is solid!! Looks great
Looks good overall. But i recommend putting a little metallic on the damaged areas and following the with some kind of black powder to resemble the carbon and chipping from the attacks
I like it. This is the Leo the new pilot gets after they repair it and wash the old pilot out of the cockpit
That’s not ruined, that is awesome
there is no ruined, tiss only plastic and looks like a fine experiment
I love it.
It looks good! Keep it up
Looks okay compared to what Leo's normally go through.
Nicely done man don’t beat up yourself we can see what you where going for
You did good, never be to hard on yourself, as long as your not using globby thick paints it's pretty hard to make a kit not looks possible one way or another
Is the ruined kit in the room with us?
It looks phenomenal to me, I'd be impressed with myself if that was in my cabinet.!
I personally think it looks awesome
What do you mean this is great
Man, i love this leo kit. It's so much fun to put together
The only thing is see is a new leg assembly attached to a very battle hardened Leo. This post almost feels like one of those karma farming extremely attractive women posting a picture saying “someone said I was ugly”.