Looking to get into an AirBrush

[mauler78]

I am looking to step up my painting on many levels. One of the most frustrating things for me with painting is the amount of time I spend on a model. I am not a fast painter to begin with but when I invest 4+ hours into one model, and then look at the fact it is just 1 of 10 models in the unit I get discouraged to want to paint more then one unit at time. Then months will go by before the bug to paint hits me again.

That being said, I am looking to an air brush for many reasons. First is obviously to speed up the painting process a bit. Second, I see many of my other friends who have gone to air brushing do some wonderful painting and blending. Blending is another area that I am not great in, and hope that with practice and air brush can help to level the field a bit.

I know there are plenty of resource to look at, and I have looked at multiple forums to gather information. There is one air brush that caught my eye, and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it:

http://www.grexusa.com/grexairbrush/...?id=Tritium.TG

I like the pistol grip, since I have an injury in my hand the makes minute control difficult and fatiguing, also a reason why brush painting is a challenge.

If not, what are some other recommend brands, and what should I be looking for. So far I am gathering that gravity feed, 0.3mm needle, and compressor are must haves.

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[shponglefan]

I have limited airbrush experience, having only used two so take this with a grain of salt.

I recently got an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS for using with minis. I have no complaints so far; paint goes on even and smooth, haven't had issues with clogging, seems well-built, etc. However, it's not a pistol-grip airbrush... Previously I have used a Testor's Aztec airbrush. I only used it for painting Gundam models, which it was fine for. But for fine detail work on small subjects, probably not so ideal.

For compressors I have used two types: tankless desktop compressors and my current 6 gallon compressor (California Air Tools 6310). I would highly recommend getting a compressor with a decent sized tank. Listening to a compressor constantly running is not so fun to me; probably why I stopped painting Gundam models. But having a 6 gallon tank, it's nice to be able to fill the tank, switch it off and paint without the constant "RRRRRRRRRRRRR" of the motor going. And especially if you listen to music while painting, as I do.

The California Air Tools compressor I have is nice. I originally bought it for running nail guns, but it's turned out to be a great airbrush compressor. Once filled, I have yet to run out of air during a painting session; using these small airbrushes doesn't use that much air anyway.

 

[mauler78]

Shponglefan, maybe then you can clear up some confusion. I asked the company Grex to explain how the trigger on the pistol grip works since it is double action, which is the recommended standard with an airbrush. My understanding of most the pencil grip air brushes is pushing down controls the volume of air and pulling back control the volume of paint. The controls react analogous, and the more you push down the more air you get and the more you pull back the more paint is discharged.

I only ask, cause the trigger on the Grex works in 2 stages, pull back half way and only air comes out, then continue to pull back and then it will control the release of paint.

I guess my question is, when you release air with a pencil style air brush is it on/off, or is there some degree of control I would loose with the Grex model.

 

[shponglefan]

I'm not sure about other airbrushes, but with the Iwata Eclipse the air is on/off. There isn't really any range of motion when depressing the lever to start the air. To adjust the amount of air, I would adjust the air pressure using the regulator on the compressor.

 

[Zab]

Get the two stage. You have more control if you are looking to do blends and shading and whatnot. Now to burst your bubble a bit on the speed thing: It won't help - at first. Any time you save up front with pre-shading and blends will be lost on the back end trying to be careful painting details and not ruining that wonderful airbrush work that you cannot touch up (without great effort). There are ways around it like masking, but those take time as well. Like anything else experience helps and you eventually learn tricks to speed up the whole process, but the learning curve on the AB is even steeper than the brush. It's all worth it - just don't think you'll be cranking out high quality units of 10 in a day or 2

 

[mauler78]

@Zab - Maybe I am awestruck by the models I see my friends do, but a good portion of the ones that look fantastic are done with airbrush, and the one that look ok are done with brush only. The one friend who has strongly recommend it know how I struggle with blending and shading and all the other things that make a model look good. To be honest even if I do not gain speed and paint faster if ever model looks 3 times better then I have still gained something for the effort. Right now I just feel I am investing huge amounts of time to get C- quality paint jobs

 

[RuneBrush]

The "dual" part of dual action actually refers to the fact that the airbrush trigger controls both the air flow and paint quantity. The air pressure should be controlled from the regulator on your compressor

As Zab mentions, having an airbrush is just basically another "tool" in our arsenal and can take as long (sometimes more) to achieve the result we're after. However if you're painting lots of similar miniatures or vehicles then it will save you some time and ensure you get a consistent finish. I've spent a couple of evenings this week base coating and applying a basic highlight onto probably 15 Space Wolves - base colour down, wash, touch up base colour from the top, highlight colour from the top. If I was doing this with a brush it would have taken me considerably longer. However I've also been working on a drop pod where masking various bits of it off has taken three or four evenings in all, where as if I were doing it with a brush I could have just been careful

One thing that I would say is that don't try to replace brush work with an airbrush. Models that have been airbrushed are on the whole very obviously airbrushed. You can achieve super smooth blending on something flat or with flat surfaces (such as armour), but a cloak still needs the shadows and highlights pushed with a brush for that "neat" finish.

pete