Hello Everyone: I am thinking about getting an airbrush to do some painting of
my minatures and I have a couple questions.
1) What type of paint should one use with the airbrush? A laquer type paint,
acrylic, water bases, oil based what? 2) How many coats of the paint does one
normaly have to use to ccompletely cover a minature? 3) How narrow (wide) of a
area can one paint with one pass? 4) The paints at the hobby store for models
are expensive. Can I use something from Home Depot or a hardware store?
(related to Q#1) 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
If some people could help me with these questions (or any I have not thought
of) I would appreciate it.
Thanks
Hello,
> Hello Everyone:
Definitely acrylic, water-based paint. Using laquer paints would make
clean-up a real pain (it's bad enough with water soluble paint)
> 2) How many coats of the paint does one normaly have to use to
I normally can get away with only one. Depends on how much you thin down the
paint.
> 3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one pass?
Depends on the tip that you use, and whether or not you use a double action
brush (very highly recommended for minis!!!!). With a double
action brush you can get lines between 1 mm and 2-3 cm with a single
pass.
> 4) The paints at the hobby store for models are expensive. Can I
I dunno. For me, Tamiya paints seem to be formulated with an airbrush in mind.
At least it works much better with an airbrush compared to the results of a
bristle brush with the same paint. I haven't tried using very many other
paints though...
> 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
I would say yes, especially if you paint a lot of vehicles. You may find its
usefulness somewhat diminished if you are painting human figures. That being
said, I painted 16 Deimos tanks (as on the cover of the DS2 rulebook) with
only about 2 hours time, including clean up. A simple, playable 2 colour camo
scheme. I haven't "finished" the models yet, since I like to add shading and
highlighting, but they are definitely playable with the minimum of effort.
Before Brian pipes up I should mention that those two hours were nearly 4
months apart... Overall, I have not been very productive in the last three
years as far as miniature painting goes.
> If some people could help me with these questions (or any I have not
Make sure that you stock up with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl
alcohol (a nice cheap solvent) for cleaning. A mask is essential if you don't
want paint in your lungs. A vapour trap is a good idea if you intend to have
extended sessions (like more than about 15 minutes at a go) Otherwise you'll
end up with the blown ink look (not good.)
One thing that shys people away is the initial cost. I got two brushes (single
and double action) colour cups, 10 or so paint bottles a compressor with hoses
etc. for CAN$200. Much more expensive than three $10 high quality natural
sable brushes! And that was second hand!
Expect to pay about CAN$200 for a compressor, CAN$80-150 for a double
action brush, and a couple bucks each for paint bottles.
I'd love to tell you more, but they are expecting me at work...
> Thanks
I use two paint brushes, One is a single action and the other is a double
action. Each brush does different things. I will have a try at answering your
questions.
> Hello Everyone:
Depending on the brand of airbrush, you can run any paint you want. The only
thing you have to worry about is pigment size. You want a paint with a finely
ground pigment to shoot through the airbrush. Of course most model paints
already have a fine pigment. Enamels and lacquers dry fast and cover slightly
better then an acrylic when used with an airbrush. However, they
use nasty thinners thinning the paint and clean-up. So, I use acrylics
in my airbrushes most of the time.
> 2) How many coats of the paint does one normally have to use to
Different paints cover differently. Generally, the lighter the color, the more
coats. Patience pays off here. Many very thin coats can give you a nice even
finish.
> 3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one pass?
A single action airbrush is good for broad strokes and is what I use for
laying on a base coat. It can produce a spray pattern about 1 inch in
diameter. The double action brush can tighten the spray pattern down enough
to produce 1/8 inch lines. However airbrush lines will always have a
soft edge to them.
> 4) The paints at the hobby store for models are expensive. Can I
Once again you need very fine pigment, so I don't think the hardware store is
an option. However, you might want to try the art supply store. I have Pearl
art supply near me. They discount everything. And they carry the complete line
of Testers Model Masters acrylic paint for about 30% off hobby shop prices.
> 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
I paint a lot of mini's. I couldn't live without both my airbrushes. But
unless you do a good number of mini's it may not be worth it to you.
> If some people could help me with these questions (or any I have not
Let's see airbrushes are very good for aging and weathering effects. Use very
thinned down paint. An airbrush is easier to control then a wash.
> Thanks
No problem, my opinions are free, for what ever they are worth.
> 1) What type of paint should one use with the airbrush?
You can use any kind of paint, with any kind of base, so long as it's properly
thinned. It is, however, very important to have a paint with very fine pigment
if you want good results. I think that I've put every type you've mentioned
through my brush at some point in time.
> 2) How many coats of the paint does one normaly have to use to
Typically 2, though this may vary, depending on paint quality and colors. For
instance, white tends to be problematic when going on over anything else.
> 3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one pass?
This depends on your brush - just like regular painting. I have two
Iwata brushes, which allow you to control both air and paint flow. With a
"wide" needle you can paint similar to a spraypaint can. With
a fine needle, I've gotten down to about 1/8 inch - slightly more
narrow if using inks instead of paints.
> 4) The paints at the hobby store for models are expensive. Can I
Yes... but I'd advise against it. Hobby paints are generally designed
to thin down well, and have a fine pigment. House paint - well let's
just look at the scale, shall we? Not all hobby paints are hideously
expensive, however. You can find good deals if you look.
> 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
Though my gut reaction is to just say "Yes," you need to look at what you'd be
using it for. If you're just going to prime figures, or do an occasional
project, you might want to just get spray cans and using masking to achieve a
similar effect for far less cost.
If you're planning to do cammo schemes on your batallion of DSII
figures, and plan on painting many more in the future - or enjoy
doing tiger striping on your Kra"Vak minis, then you might want to consider
it.
Aztec produces an excellent hobby airbrush at a reasonable price (about $100).
There are, however, many different types. If anyone
needs advice on specific models and/or abilities, contact me off
list. I cannot recommend the Badger airbrush that is sold in many hobby
stores, unless you wish only to do fairly basic stuff.
> On 7 Nov 00, at 7:12, John Fox wrote:
> Hello Everyone:
All of the above can be airbrushed and each has its own merits.
> 2) How many coats of the paint does one normaly have to
That depends on the setting of the airbrush, the type of paint and your skill.
You should go for multiple light coats at first, one mistake with an airbrush
can cause you to strip a mini.
> 3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one
Most airbrush systems (I use Paashe), have both a control setting or settings,
and tips ranges from narrow to wide. So you set the width before spraying your
figures.
Usually somewhere between hairline and 3/8" wide.
4) The paints at the hobby store for models are
> expensive. Can I use
NOOOOOO!!! Hobby paints are more expensive because they are FORMULATED to work
on miniatures. The grain size of acrylic house paint would probably turn a
fine nozzle to a superwide nozzle in a single session!
> 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
I use my airbrushs to paint large mats for gaming, to paint the occasional
25mm tank or to paint a building. Painting anything smaller for me is more
work than the airbrush is worth.
> If some people could help me with these questions (or any
You're welcome!!
KR, Geo-Hex
> [quoted text omitted]
> on 11/7/00 11:55, Sean Bayan Schoonmaker at s_schoon@pacbell.net wrote:
> Aztec produces an excellent hobby airbrush at a reasonable price
I can second this recommendation. I've used Badger on and off since the late
70s (both single and double action), however I prefer the Aztek double action.
It cleans up faster, the tips and needles are easier to change and
the tips/needles are less expensive. There seems to be a larger variety
of special spraying tips for the Aztek as well, ones for splatter effects for
example.
> On Tue, 07 November 2000, John Fox wrote:
> I am thinking about getting an airbrush to do some painting of my
> and I have a couple questions.
Rick answered with most of what I was going to mention.
> 1) What type of paint should one use with the airbrush?
I used Tamiya acrylic. I thin them with Tamiya thinner. I've heard that you
can use things like Ral Partha paint, but you have to thin them with thinner
and s train them through women's nylons (or some similar material... no, not
with any one still wearing them!). I also heard you could thin them with
windshield wash er fluid, which is basically just ethyl alcohol and water, but
I'm not sure I'd
want the blue/pink tinge.
> 3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one pass?
You have two parts to the airbrush that you can change: the nozel and the
needl e. The better the airbrush, the more fine a spray you can use. I have a
Badger 150 which, to be honest, just isn't good enough for very delicate work.
The air brushes artists use is much more expensive, and can allow for much
finer detail
.
The finest lines I've done with the airbrush are about 1/4" wide. Not
great for figures, but as Rick said they are good for building and vehicle
camouflage pa tterns. It's also good for putting down a base coat, such as the
blue I use on my FSE starships.
> 4) The paints at the hobby store for models are expensive. Can I
Not for your airbrush. Bear in mind, though, that airbrush specific paint is
mo re expensive than regular model paint. I did all of my FSE ships (quite a
few) using Tamiya paint and I didn't even go through half a jar. Not THAT
expensive.
> 5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?
I thought so. The ability to do coloured base coats of any colour makes it
wort hwhile. My SG2 vehicles have a not bad cammo scheme that was quick to do
with t he airbrush. It's fun. It depends on what you're after and what you
plan to pai nt. I still haven't found a technique I like for doing a wash or
detailing over an airbrushed vehicle's cammo pattern that doesn't risk
wrecking the pattern, though.
If you will use the brush a lot, get a compressor. I don't, and just use cans
o f compressed air. I'm only on my second, so a compressor isn't worth the
money for me.
Be sure to clean it when you're done, and right away.
Oh, and don't disassemble it over the sink without making sure there is NO way
for anything to fall down the drain! Some of the parts are tiny...