Sakura Pigma Fine-Tip Markers Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

Sakura produces artists' pens in a wide array of colors and tip sizes, and are widely available in art stores and online. What was new to me were a series of extremely fine tipped pens that could be used on panel lines and to bring out molded-on details without being obnoxlous in the process. I decided to try one of their black pens with a .15mm tip on an current build project. Below is a 1/12 race car engine and you can see some nice surface detailing on the parts. I used the pen to trace the recesses on the left side of the engine which you can see on the left-side intake manifold which the right intake manifold is not marked.

Here's a look from the other side with intake manifold and parts of the cylinder head traced in black. You can use the .15mm or .20mm tipped pens with black or sepia (brown) inks to bring out different details. When I detailed the weapons bays of the Italeri 1/32 F-35A, I used gray and black washes to bring out the details, but these pens would eliminate the need for repeated washes and touch-ups to achieve the appearance I was working toward.

Whether you're working on 1/72 wheel wells or 1/12 engine blocks, these pens provide another useful tool for precision detailing.

My thanks to HobbyZone USA for the review sample. They have these pens available here:

• Sakura Pigma 0.15mm black pen
• Sakura Pigma 0.15mm sepia pen
• Sakura Pigma 0.20mm black pen
• Sakura Pigma 0.20mm sepia pen