Mr. Hobby: Mr. Super Clear, Mr. Color, Surfacer and Markers

What Mr. Hobby makes

Mr. Hobby is the hobby brand of GSI Creos, a maker of model paints, finishes and tools. The Mr. Hobby site carries the GSI Creos logo, and its footer reads GSI Creos Hobby Dept. On Amazon US, the products appear under both names.

The site sorts the range into five groups:

• Paint, thinner and spray: Mr. Color, Aqueous Hobby Color, Gundam Marker and more
• Top coat, surfacer and primer
• Cement, putty and materials
• Compressors, airbrushes and painting tools
• Tools

The Mr. Hobby listings in the grid above cover each of those groups:

• Mr. Color paints: 16 listings in C and GX numbers
• A top coat: the GX112 Super Clear III UV cut gloss
• A surfacer: Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray
• A cement: Mr. Cement Deluxe, economy bottle, brush type, 40 ml
• A decal softener: Mr. Mark Softer, 40 ml
• Markers: seven Gundam Marker and panel line listings
• Airbrushes: three Procon Boy models
• A tool: a G Tool item, GT-108B

Mr. Super Clear: the clear coat family

A clear coat, also called a top coat, is a coat of clear paint over the finished color and decals. It protects the paint, evens out the shine and hides the edge of a decal film. Every clear coat has a finish: gloss is shiny, matt is flat, and semi-gloss is in between.

Mr. Hobby's own top coat page lists six Mr. Super Clear products:

• B513: Mr. Super Clear Gloss
• B514: Mr. Super Clear Matt
• B516: Mr. Super Clear Semi-Gloss
• B522: Mr. Super Clear UV Cut Gloss
• B523: Mr. Super Clear UV Cut Spray Matt
• B530: Mr. Super Smooth Clear Matt

Its Mr. Color page adds a GX version: Super Clear III UV Cut, in gloss and flat, plus a GX Super Smooth Clear flat. The grid above lists one of these, the GX112 Mr. Color GX Super Clear III UV Cut Gloss, 18 ml.

UV cut is the maker's label for a clear coat with ultraviolet protection, per the product names. My garage window faces west. I take UV cut personally.

Gloss, then decals, then the final finish

A common order for a car or an aircraft:

1. Color coats, dry
2. Gloss clear, so decals have a smooth surface to settle on
3. Decals, with a softener if the surface curves
4. Final clear coat in the finish you want: gloss, semi-gloss or matt

Gloss under the decals isn't decoration. Builders use it because a smooth surface leaves the decal film fewer places to trap air, and trapped air shows as a silvery patch. The final clear evens the shine across paint and decals alike.

Mr. Color paints in the grid

Mr. Color is Mr. Hobby's main paint line. In the grid, the C-numbered listings that state a size are 10 ml, and the GX-numbered ones are 18 ml.

C numbers

• C33: Flat Black
• C57: Metallic Blue Green, 10 ml
• C77: Metallic Green, 10 ml
• C78: Metal Black, 10 ml
• C338: Semi Gloss Light Gray FS36495, 10 ml
• C529: IDF Gray 2, 1981 Golan, 10 ml
• C530: IDF Gray 3, Modern, 10 ml

Some names carry a color reference number, like FS36495, or a time and place, like 1981 Golan. Those tie the paint to the color a model's instructions or references ask for. Theo saw FS36495 and asked if it was a zip code. It isn't. It's a color with paperwork.

GX numbers

• GX1: White, 18 ml
• GX101 to GX107: Clear Black, Clear Deep Red, Clear Deep Blue, Clear Green, Clear Pink and Clear Purple, 18 ml each
• GX207: Metallic Violet, 18 ml
• GX112: Super Clear III UV Cut Gloss, 18 ml

Clear colors are tinted, see-through paints, like colored glass in a bottle. Builders use them over a metallic base for a tinted shine, or on clear parts like lights and lenses.

Mr. Surfacer: prime before you paint

A surfacer is a primer-like first coat. It gives paint something even to grip, and it shows flaws in the plastic before the color goes on.

Mr. Hobby's FAQ explains the numbers: 500 is the coarsest grade and can fill fairly large scratches, and 1500 is the finest and gives an even surface. The FAQ suggests the coarse grade for scratches and the fine grade for base coats.

My one opinion on this page follows from that. On a kit with no deep scratches to fill, start with the fine grade. The maker says 1500 is the one for base coats, and a coarse grade on a clean part adds texture you'll sand off again. The grid has Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray.

Gray is a neutral base, and it makes flaws easy to spot.

Mr. Cement and Mr. Mark Softer

Mr. Cement Deluxe

The listing is the economy bottle, brush type, 40 ml. Plastic cement softens the plastic on both parts so they join as one. A brush in the bottle lets you put it exactly where the seam is.

A note on clear parts, from my own bench. In 1989, on my first airplane kit, I glued the clear cockpit canopy with the same glue I'd used for everything else. The fumes fogged the canopy, and it stayed fogged. I keep a separate glue for clear parts now, on its own labeled shelf. Read each cement's label for what it's made for before it goes near a canopy.

Mr. Mark Softer

Mr. Mark Softer, 40 ml, is a decal softener, per its listing. A softener helps a decal settle into curves and panel lines instead of sitting on top of them.

A decal softener persuades a flat sticker to believe in curves. Use it sparingly, and don't touch the decal while it works.

Gundam Markers and panel line markers

Seven listings are markers:

• XGM01: Gundam Marker EX New White
• XGM07 and XGM08: EX White Gold and Yellow Gold
• Gundam Marker 250: Yellow
• MS105: Gundam Marker Basic Set
• MSV Mobile Suit Variations Set: 6 colors
• AMS-110 / GMS-110 Hososaki Type Fine Edge Set 1: 6 colors
• CM101: ultra fine tip brush pen, black, panel liner type

Panel lining means running thin dark color into the molded grooves on a model so the panel lines stand out. The CM101 says panel liner type, and the Hososaki set is a fine-edge set. The EX and colored markers are for coloring parts and details.

Markers are the quick way into painting a Gundam kit or any snap-fit kit molded in color. They don't need thinner or an airbrush. The label still decides where and how to use them. For more on these kits, see Gundam model kits and best PG Gundam.

Procon Boy airbrushes

Three Mr. Hobby airbrushes are in the grid:

• PS-270 Platinum: 0.2 mm nozzle
• PS-276 WA: double action, 0.3 mm, side cup
• PS-771 Custom Supreme Detail: 0.18 mm nozzle

Double action, also called dual action, means you press for air and pull back for paint. A side cup clips to the side of the airbrush instead of sitting on top. The PS-771's 0.18 mm nozzle is one of the finest in the whole airbrush section of this site. See airbrush kits for how these compare with other makers.

An airbrush needs an air supply. None of these titles mention a compressor.

How to pick Mr. Hobby products

Start from the job, not the bottle:

1. Prime: Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 for an even base
2. Paint: Mr. Color in the numbers your kit's instructions list
3. Seal for decals: a gloss clear coat
4. Decals: Mr. Mark Softer on curves
5. Finish: Mr. Super Clear in the shine you want
6. Lines: a panel line marker, on snap kits or painted kits as the marker's label allows

For a first order, a surfacer, the few colors your kit needs and one clear coat cover most of a build.

Two starter shelves

Here's what I'd put on the shelf for two common first projects, using only what's in the grid.

A snap-fit Gundam kit, molded in color:

• A panel line marker, like the CM101 or the Hososaki fine edge set
• A colored marker for small details, like the Basic Set
• A clear coat to even the shine, if you want one

No cement, no surfacer and no airbrush needed for a first one. Check the kit's own listing for whether it needs glue.

A glue-together car or aircraft kit:

• Mr. Cement Deluxe for the plastic parts
• A separate glue for clear parts
• Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray as the first coat
• The Mr. Color numbers your instructions call for
• A gloss clear for decals, then a final clear
• Mr. Mark Softer for decals on curves

The car shelf is longer. It's also the shelf that teaches you the most about paint.

Ventilation and drying

Airbrush, solvents, cement: Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves.

The EPA lists paints, solvents and hobby supplies among household sources of volatile organic compounds and says to increase ventilation and meet or exceed label precautions. Mr. Hobby's own FAQ says leftover paint should be dried in a well-ventilated, shady area, because it can ignite in the worst case. The same FAQ says to avoid painting on rainy or snowy days, when humidity can turn a finish cloudy.

Keep paints, thinner and cement on a high shelf, closed, away from kids.

Prime fine, clear in gloss, and save the flat coat for the very end.