![[IMG_4394.png|900]] > [!summary] At a glance > **Completed:** July 2026 > **Primary focus:** Packaging and shipping > **Sculptor:** Bulkamancer > **Techniques explored:** Magnets, protective packaging, and zenithal priming ## Overview This is a kit I have wanted to build but hadn't gotten around to. I ended up building and gifting it to someone as a replacement for an order gone wrong for them. With that in mind, my focus was two-fold: ensure the quality was better than the failed order someone else sent, and ensure it survived packaging and shipping—something I don't do often with kits. I shipped a handful of kits in the past for custom prints of coworkers in [[3D Printed Team]], but several arrived broken and I wanted to focus more on packaging. I've also ordered a few kits from places like Sideshow, and one thing I liked was the use of magnets. I wanted to add magnets to pieces that would ship better separately but would otherwise need glue. It was a bit rough to get started again for reasons unrelated to the kit: both of my airbrush compressors broke at the same time. Rather than get into those details here, see [[Air Compressors For Airbrush]]. I had to replace my Silent Storm, my older Makita had a leak, and I ultimately continued painting with the Sparmax—which I love. In the end, I think the kit came out pretty well, particularly given that I hadn't done a kit or any model work in probably a year. The eyes could be better, but they are very small and I still struggle with details on smaller eyes. The magnets work and are functional, although the placement was not exact; I needed to go a bit deeper on the arm. I hand-painted some yellow details on the base and silver details on the jacket instead of masking and airbrushing them. I thought that would be easier, but it probably wasn't. It was hard to get good, bold coverage and required many layers, especially for the yellow. I probably should have masked and airbrushed those areas. More importantly, it looks much better than the photos the recipient sent of the kit they had ordered from someone else. That one had no depth or detail: the yellow jacket was all one color with no shadows, and the model arrived broken because of poor packaging. ## Build Notes ### Printing and assembly The kit required multiple build plates. I used 3 × 1 mm magnets for a couple of small parts so they could be detached during shipping rather than glued permanently. The remaining pieces felt safe to glue once properly supported by foam. ### Painting The black primer created useful natural shadows, but it caused problems under the yellow jacket. Going directly from black to yellow pushed the color toward green. A gray zenithal layer between the black primer and lighter colors would have preserved the shadows while giving the yellow a neutral base. Some small yellow and silver details were hand-painted rather than masked and airbrushed. The coverage required more layers and effort than expected, so masking would likely have produced a cleaner and faster result. ### Packaging and shipping Pull-and-pluck foam worked well for creating custom cavities around the major pieces. I used one 2-inch foam sheet and one thinner sheet, together costing about $5 from a multipack. A roughly 20 × 14 × 8-inch box aligned well with the foam sheets and cost about $3. With bubble wrap and other packing material, the packaging cost was approximately $10 before postage. That feels worthwhile after the time invested in a kit. The repeatable box-and-foam combination should also make future shipments easier and more consistent. ## Final Photos > [!model-gallery] > ![[IMG_4391.png]] ![[IMG_4392.png]] ![[IMG_4393.png]] ![[IMG_4394.png]] ![[IMG_4395.png]] ![[IMG_4396.png]] ![[IMG_4401.png]] ## Lessons Learned - **Use a gray zenithal layer between black primer and light colors.** Black primer can produce excellent shadows, but yellow applied too directly over it shifts toward green. The better sequence is black primer, gray from above while preserving the deepest shadows, and then the final colors. #lesson/priming - **Mark magnet polarity before installation.** For small parts, 3 × 1 mm magnets worked well as an alternative to gluing before shipping. Install the first magnet, test the orientation of the second, and mark the exposed side with a permanent marker before gluing it in place. #lesson/assembly - **Standardize shipping around a box-and-foam combination.** Pull-and-pluck foam took about 30 minutes to customize and held each major piece securely. Matching reusable foam-sheet dimensions to a standard box size should make future packing faster and more reliable. #lesson/shipping ## Related Notes - [[3D Printed Team]] — earlier experience shipping custom figures - [[Air Compressors For Airbrush]] — compressor failure and replacement notes