Airbrush masking order?

[ShinyRhino]

I'm working on some minor airbrush work for my Ultramarine Sternguard. Ive got their Crux Terminatus pads out now, and am trying to figure out which order i should mask them in. the crux and pad rims are white, with the pad surface blue. Should I paint the crux and rim first, then mask them and paint the blue, or paint the whole thing blue, mask off th epad surface, and then spray white?

Has anyone done anything like this before?

[Lorenzen]

Airbrush blue, do the rest by hand, if you really need to airbrush the rim do it after the blue.

[S.k.i.t.t.l.e]

Airbrush blue, do the rest by hand, if you really need to airbrush the rim do it after the blue.

 

This. Trying to mask off shoulder pads would be a LOT of effort. Easier to just basecoat, maybe even zenithal highlight then paint details with paintbrush.

[Bartali]

Thirded.

 

If you want to spray individual parts of a model different colours, it's best to do it before you assemble the model.

[ShinyRhino]

That's what I figured. Thanks all.

I used the airbrush to paint the white helmets, and was so impressed with my results I was hoping I could get the same level of smoothness on the crux of the pads.

[S.k.i.t.t.l.e]

Just use super thin paints and build it up in layers. Should come out comparitively smooth. Takes a bit longer, but not as much of a carry on as masking each part would be.

[Rik Lightstar]

As an alternative, pick up some "Silly-Putty" from a toy shop and use that to "mask" the pad once done, easy to pressinto the shape, then airbrush your white rims, you'll probably have a little neatening up to do, but it's a solution .

 

Rik

[ShinyRhino]

Just use super thin paints and build it up in layers. Should come out comparitively smooth. Takes a bit longer, but not as much of a carry on as masking each part would be.

 

Yeah, that's how I've done my whites in the past. Oh well, at least the helmets go faster and smoother!

 

As an alternative, pick up some "Silly-Putty" from a toy shop and use that to "mask" the pad once done, easy to pressinto the shape, then airbrush your white rims, you'll probably have a little neatening up to do, but it's a solution .

 

Thanks. I use poster tack, which is esentially the same thing.

[GumbaFish]

Yeah I find masking things typically to be more pain than its worth on figures but it can be useful for crisp lines on vehicles quite nicely.

[Chaplain ChonkE]

Do you guys use a colorless type clay/play-doh/putty masking? I recall play-doh colors leeching out and seeping into things like clothes when I was a younger lad.

[ShinyRhino]

Do you guys use a colorless type clay/play-doh/putty masking? I recall play-doh colors leeching out and seeping into things like clothes when I was a younger lad.

 

Never use clay, as many of them do leach colors and/or oils into the sufrace they're touching. They make specific prodicts for airbrish masking, or you can just use Poster Putty which is a plastic putty and not a clay at all.