Painting a model really makes it look much better, but unfortunately, it's quite a tedious process. What I've done so far is to paint the parts while they are still on the runners, wait for them to dry, clip them, sand down the connection points, assemble the model, touch up and wait for it to dry again. This lengthy process is kind of what puts me off from building more models.
There's actually an alternative to painting though. I've read about this sanding technique which I have wanted to try for some time. Basically, the idea is to sand the parts until the top layer of shinny plastic is gone (it is this shinny layer that essentially make the model look like a cheap plastic toy).
So finally, I am going to give this technique a try on an SD Zeta I recently got (head is sanded down in pic above). As it turns out, sanding is a lot of work too! But as least I don't have to wait for the parts to dry. Also, I have found that having a can of compressed air around is a must, since the sanding create a lot of fine plastic powder that sticks to everything. Other than that, I am fairly please with the result so far, and if I'm successful in using this technique on this model, then I may use it on the MG Strike Freedom which is still sitting in my closet =)
