Airbrush capabilities.

[Overdose]

This question may have been asked before, so please bear with me.

I have just started painting some vehicles and it has occurred to me that maybe an airbrush would be better for covering large areas to give a more uniform finish, not to mention be quicker.

The question is, how versatile are airbrushes, for example could they be used for 28mm scale figures or are they more suitable for larger scales?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Dragonsreach]

For large areas airbrushes do give a controlled smooth finish.

I\'m getting a friend (yes I do have some) to teach me how to use mine this weekend.

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by Overdose
..The question is, how versatile are airbrushes, for example could they be used for 28mm scale figures or are they more suitable for larger scales?...

There are airbrushes out there that would be suitable for doing all but the finest details on a mini. BUT, they ain\'t cheap and the skill level required is way above most of us. And the thought of cleaning one between each color on a mini is enough to make me not want to do it. (paasche turbo AB for example)

Now, for tanks and base coating minis, there are a LOT of suitable airbrushes.

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
For large areas airbrushes do give a controlled smooth finish.

I\'m getting a friend (yes I do have some) to teach me how to use mine this weekend.

So what time do I expect you?

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by airhead

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
For large areas airbrushes do give a controlled smooth finish.

I\'m getting a friend (yes I do have some) to teach me how to use mine this weekend.

So what time do I expect you?

When I land.

 

[Overdose]

Looking good so far chaps, thanks.

Leaning towards just larger figures and models then, so I suppose I could get away with a cheaper brush than that specialised turbo thingamyjig?

 

[airhead]

Part of it will depend on what part of the world you live in?

Iwata is my personal favorite detail gun. My HP-B is tough to beat for fine work. But it is not something that I\'d recommend as a first purchase unless you have an airbrush artist in your area to help you get started.

If you are shooting basecoats and tanks, you can get by with much less gun.

Enion will be along shortly and tell you about the Aztec line: interchangable tips, easy clean, great gun to get your feet wet with.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by airhead
Enion will be along shortly and tell you about the Aztec line: interchangable tips, easy clean, great gun to get your feet wet with.

Yes I\'ll be Perambulating in Aqua with one of those.

 

[daddyo]

as beautiful as it is, that paasche turbo is really a specialized tool for illustrators looking for a specific finish. (spatters and fog, etc.)

you would be far better off grabbing one or two aztec single action airbrushes. they can be set to shoot a wide pattern, or crank it way down under low pressure and draw fairly thin lines. (i can get down to under 1/16\" with mine at 7psi)

the airbrush is a great tool for covering large areas smoothly. i use mine for priming and overall basic colors. detail painting and special effects bring out the regular brushes and the chance to pinstripe the paintjob i just shot onto my fingernails with the airbrush...

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Overdose
so I suppose I could get away with a cheaper brush than that specialised turbo thingamyjig?

Well after today I can give a little advice.
The Aztek I have is the Double action Top model and I\'ve found it relatively easy to use.
What is difficult is trying to get the Thinner to Paint ratio right. lol
But having used both Suction and Gravity feed cup I\'m confident that with practise I\'ll be able to develop the skills.

 

[ScottRadom]

Originally posted by airhead
Iwata is my personal favorite detail gun. My HP-B is tough to beat for fine work.

I picked one of these up on Airhead\'s reccomendation and I love everything it does for me.

I use it to basecoat any mini 28mm, 15mm, and maybe one day bigger that has a predominant color to it\'s scheme. It saves me about 2hrs I think in getting a nice smooth finish on larger monsters like trolls and stuff.

As DR said the issue I still struggle with is finding the right consistency to thin the paint. I picked up a wide range of Vallejo model air paint which is fantastic, plus a great reference to see how my paint should look when I\'ve thinned it.

I would not want to go back to life without a decent airbrush, it\'s a quality tool. Soft edged camo is so nice to paint now, rather then the embarrasing attempts I made trying to use brush techniques to apply it.

 

[Overdose]

Thanks for the advice chaps.
Given the availability to me, I\'m opting for a single action, gravity feed Badger 200.
It seems sturdy enough and should be just the job.

 

[slah]

@ Airhead: I´m considering buying an airbrush, and I want one that I´ll be able to use when learning, but also one that´ll be usefull when trying out some of the more advanced stuff.

Is the HP-B really that inaccesible? - I should add that allthough I´ve never had an airbrush in my hand i tend to pick up - at least basic/intermediate - techniques fairly quickly due to my somewhat anal-retentive personality

Also if I were to buy the HP-B what more would I need - paints/hoses/cups/adapters/fittings and so on? - What kind of compressor would you recommend?

I know that I can search the net and get all kinds of answers, but my problem is that depending who you listen to some say yes, some say no, some say maybe, so I thought I´d ask you specifically because you seem to know a lot about this stuff and more importantly how it applies to miniatures (gratuitous asskissing now completed ).

 

[airhead]

@slah, I do far less airbrushing on minis than I\'ve done on anything else that will sit still long enough.

t-shirts,
helmets,
birthday cakes,
some auto work (not as much as I\'d like, but that market is tuff to break into and you have to give away a bunch of work before you can even charge what it is worth.)
kids (airbrushable makeup)
old battletech minis
micro armor.

I\'ve helped friends with the larger vinyl anime stuff.

For t-shirts and larger areas on helmets & autos, I go to my production guns Vega 2000 and Iwata Eclipse.

For details, I break out my Iwata HP-B.

The HP-B will shoot about 3/4\" wide down to about a pencil stroke. The drawback with it is that it has to be CLEAN and replacement parts are not cheap.

The Vegas needle & cone set me back about $5-$10 depending on how many I order and how bad I need one.

The HP-B has a two part cone, new nozzle and needle go for about $50.

I bring this up because a new shooter (especially one without an instructor) will damage a cone or bend a needle. I tell new shooters to order a spare when they order the gun. And that is the primary reason that I do not recommend a high end Iwata or other for a beginner unless they are certain that they want to get into that level of airbrushing. (this is the same reasoning that keeps me from getting an Iwata CM-B - I just cannot justify the expense for the difference in quality)(Same reason you learn to drive a regular automobile instead of an F-1 or Indy car).

Feel free to email me any questions. And remember, this is just MY OPINION.

*****

Originally posted by daddyo
as beautiful as it is, that paasche turbo is really a specialized tool for illustrators looking for a specific finish. (spatters and fog, etc.).

All the artists that I have seen use the Turbo, use it to create a medium to very fine line (about a 1/2\" and down) with almost no overstpray. This eliminates the need for frisket and other masks in painting, speeding up production tremendously.

That said, I\'m usually watching ebay for an AB-L (lefty) at a price that will warrant me pulling the bid button, without fear of my wife tattooing me with it.

*****

@DR, you know you can pull those Aztec tips apart? The white/clear nylon piece on the back pulls out and the spring and needle can be flushed better that way. I did mine at the end of the day that way.

 

[JaPizzy]

An airbrush is awesome for priming and varnishing, pluse basecoats. It\'s also great for halo highlighting a figure before you paint. Hitting the mini with a dust from above will show great natural highlight and shadow spots.

As for models of airbrush, I own mostly iwata (5 of them) from a .5mm Eclipse blaster, to a higher detail .2mm hi-line. I would say that they are all okay for learning with, but the smaller the needle, the more important the thinning ratio becomes. I bigger nozzle will throw thicker paint around, generally.

As for that turbo, I would love to try one of thoes, but from what I understand, they are very cantankerous to use (all abs can be at times) and really need thin media. A lot of artists use them with india ink and watercolors. There is little to no overspray from them, but can break down easily. An airbrush with a micron tip, matched head system, would probably be a better choice for practical ultra detail spraying, although very expensive (like 500 dollars).

Remember it\'s the artist and not the tools