3++ is the new black. | Kirb your enthusiasm!: Kirby requests assistance

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Kirby requests assistance - Airbrush

Posted by Unknown

I'm rather interested in getting an airbrush. Lauby has helped me out on what type of things I should be looking out (though I can't remember them, I did write them down!) but I would really like to try one before I sink the cash into one. I know there are cheap versions but not sure I want to try those in case they are really terrible and it puts me off them.

So anyone in Sydney please read on! Everyone else can bugger off :P to the next paragraph. I'd like to try one obviously so if you have an airbrush and are willing to let me use it (i.e. like an hour) to test it out that would be awesome. I'm free Mondays and Wednesdays generally and can occasionally find time on the weekends but if you're interested please send me an e-mail and we can see if we can work something out.

Otherwise I'd love to hear testimonials from people who have used airbrushes before. Are they easy to use and would you go back to brushes? Do they waste a lot of paint or is it marginal in the long run? etc.

Thanks for your assistance guys :).

Comments (18)

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Shanks · 734 weeks ago

check out Les Bursley's awesome paint job on youtube if you haven't already. He does some great things with an airbrush.

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Messanger of Death · 734 weeks ago

Did you get my email? Sent it shortly before you posted this lol

1 reply · active 733 weeks ago

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Kirby 118p · 733 weeks ago

Yes; cheers.

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rosvojaska · 734 weeks ago

Airbrushes don't really replaces brushes as much as they complement them. But once you've tried it, you'll never want to go back to just using brushes. You get better results faster and easier with an airbrush than you could ever with a brush. Paint usage isn't really an issue. Just get some Vallejo airbrush paints. They're great, because they don't need any thinning. If you are using stuff like GW paints though, I'd suggest you get some thinning medium for those. Water dries up in the pot real fast and you end up wasting paint.

Don't bother with the cheap ones. If it costs less than ~150 aud it's probably worthless. I've been using Badgers Renegade series' Velocity and it's been great.

Just remember to get some airbrush cleaner while you're at it, because that's the bad part about airbrushes - keeping them clean.

1 reply · active 734 weeks ago

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Comrade · 734 weeks ago

This. Exactly this. Everything right up until the "If it costs less then 150$", which is nonsense.

Well. Okay. Its not, but it depends on what you want to do with it. I picked mine up (A gravity fed dual action STC, avoid the bottle fed ones) for something like 80$ australian from an Auto store, and its perfect for basecoating, stencil work and other airbrush worthy jobs.

Vallejo is the way to go, but I'd suggest you pick a bottle of Vallejo thinner as well. Just trust me on that. Just a little squirt clears a fair few headaches. Also, a moisture trap with a an airflow adjuster (The bit that lets you adjust how much air you want going to the gun itself,) I picked mine up for a modest price from a local tool shop as a two-in-one combo.

Other then that, just practice and patience. Tape a sheet of paper to a cardboard box and practice spraying dead straight lines. This'll get you used to the ratio of air to paint you need on the dual action (Something that is easier to bugger up then it sounds, too much air and you'll end up clearing the nozzle every five seconds)

Best of luck.

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@the_antipope · 734 weeks ago

I use a Badger Crescendo 175 however I wouldn't recommend a siphon feed airbrush. Rather go for a gravity feed since you can use much lower air pressure with it. And obviously you want dual action and internal mixing. I would my airbrushes is invaluable for me these days since I can get a smooth basecoat on my minis (especially for "difficult" colours like red and yellow) and also do a bit of blending (if you check my BA Vanguard Veterans). But there is still a lot of brushwork to be done on each model.

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Warboss Stalin · 734 weeks ago

there's an Awesomepaintjob.com video has a good deal of info about what aribrushes he uses

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Dahlberg · 734 weeks ago

this link was actually posted on the Painting Corp blog today..
http://www.akaranseth.com/blog/tutorials/airbrush...

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Marc-Andre Renaud · 734 weeks ago

I support a lot of the comments that have been posted thus far and I'll add my own two cents:
Spend good money right the get go, you won't regret it one bit in the short, medium and long term.
Get a gravity-feed, dual-action brush with internal mixing.
Get a compressor with the deal if you can, make sure it has a water trap.
Get a braided hose rather than the standard rubber one. It's more flexible, typically longer, and thus provides more ease of painting.
If you can afford it, get an airbrush that has both an air mixture micro-adjustment valve and a air pressure lock-out screw (just like the one you have pictured at the top of the post.

For the record, I play nids and own an Iwata Eclipse HP CH plugged into an Iwata Studio Series Power Jet Lite 2x via a braided hose and a quick release valve. The whole kit cost me about 550$ (that's canadian dollars mind you) 3 years back. It might sound like a lot at first but honestly, this kit (or any similar similarly high-level setup) has been a gift beyond compare.

Would I go back to painting with brushes alone? Nope. Nothing comes remotely close to the level of control and speed of painting when you need to get consistent thin coats of colour on large amounts of models.
Paint Consumption: very reasonable. Primed 150 nid models in 2 days with 1 bottle of tamiya paint (4$). Prior to using the airbrush, I would go through 1 tall can of spray primer (5$) for roughly 40 models. In other words, less than 1 third the price for more coverage with a paint that doesn't need to be applied outdoors or in a spray booth. Just keep the windows open and you'll be fine.

In the long-run, your paint costs will be a lot less especially if you use Tamiya or Vallejo paints instead of GW. While you will need time to tweak your paint recipes, for example, how many drops of rubbing alcohol and future floor wax to add to your paint depending on how glossy or matte you want the final finish to be, the quality of your paint jobs will improve because your base coats will be thinner and leave much more figure detail intact.

If you live close to Sydney you might want to look up Zac Soden, a.k.a. Mangozac on ATT, a.k.a the builder of the resin Tau Walker on Resin Addict(.com). Last time I checked he recently got an airbrush. Or you drop me a line if ever you get close to Vancouver Canada and I'll gladly lend you my setup for a test-run.

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Mathieu · 734 weeks ago

Lots of input already! I'll jump in to add that airbrush is another tool for the miniature painter, not a replacement. I'd definitely look into a dual-action airbrush, I personally use an Evolution (Haarder & Steinbeck).
Be prepared for lots of frustration at first when you discover the thinning ratios that work for you.
Be also prepared for lots of frustration when experimenting with news techniques available with an airbrush (e.g. using stencils).

Airbrushs do wonder for
- priming: Vallejo makes a sprayable grey primer. Now you can prime inside no matter what's the weather condition outside!
- general basecoating and zenithal lightning
- vehicles color scheme and camo

You can also use an airbrush to prepare the edge highlighting for vehichles, but the final lines are much easier to handle with a brush!

1 reply · active 734 weeks ago

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Keith · 734 weeks ago

The Vallajo paint you mentioned, Model Air Primer Grey, is NOT a primer. It is just a shade of grey named for the primer color you'd see on military vehicles and such. I sent Vallejo an email and they confirmed this.
Reaper does have black and white brush-on primers that I use in my airbrush.

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Wyrmnax · 734 weeks ago

Ohhh... you are in for a lot of fun...

Try it first on something you dont mind ruining. That also means the table below it. And the wall behind.

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Dave · 734 weeks ago

I currently use a Paasche single action. It isn't too good for fine detail work, but it is amazing at laying down smooth coats of paint over large areas or a large number of models. I do commission work and when I can lay out models and airbrush them all at once, I do. Using an airbrush is also the best way, IMO to make a streak free, smooth finish on a tank or other transport. Airbrushes are great!

1 reply · active 734 weeks ago

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rkik 37p · 734 weeks ago

I have a similar setup. It's a Paasche H single action brush with a small, cheap-ish compressor that I got in a bundle on Ebay for $170.

It took me a while to get used to it, and GW paints definitely need to be thinned with airbrush thinner, not just water. But once I got things working alright it worked great. I use it mostly for basecoating tanks and large minis, but I plan on working some stencils in for unit markings and some larger details on tanks.

I don't think I'll ever be able to use just an airbrush, but if you put in the time and effort it is possible. If you want to do more than just basecoating and large details, then I would definitely suggest the gravity fed, dual action brushes.

Finally, testing for an hour is a decent idea, but you really won't get a good feel for it. It took me several days and a few test models before I really started to be even remotely happy with what I was doing. That said, I was figuring it all out on my own, while if you had someone able to show you the basics, it would be very helpful.

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feuermann · 734 weeks ago

first search a cheap one(a starter kit if posible) and when you learn how to use it and how to clean it(please, an airbrush is very fragile)

abd seach masks, like vallejo liquid mask and tamiya masks ;)

take a look http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1858/cimg1355.... it's mine (i must finish it ^^U)

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Digilante · 734 weeks ago

I use an (admittedly crappy) airbrush I bought at Harbor Freight (a cheap tools outlet in the US). Paid $80 for an dual-action siphon feed airbrush and oil-less piston compressor. Sure they're no-name knockoff brands, but they do an excellent job for the price. I mostly use it for base coats and pre-shading, and it works fine.

Just wanted to counterpoint the folks saying you have to spend $200 to start airbrushing. If you want to become a super awesome free-hand airbrush master you should go for broke, but if all you're doing is laying some basecoats and doing some simple shading a <$100 setup may be all you need.

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Kirby 118p · 733 weeks ago

Thanks for the input guys :) .

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Wyrmnax · 733 weeks ago

One more thing:

You will be unimpressed y your first couple jobs. But once you paint the cat a couple of times, you will realize how much quicker it is to make the base painting with airbrush instead of standard brushing.

But it will take a bit of time for you to get accostumed to the process. And a couple of non-intended paintings