Help using an air brush when painting

[HellChyld]

Okay so I wanted to push my talents with my army and after seeing such great work when people used airbrushes I thought why not. So any helpful tricks, tips or tutorials any one can suggest or share I'd be greatful. I've used my airbrush doing larger things like ball caps and tshirts and such but I'm finding getting the paints to the right consistency for miniatures isn't as easy as I thought. Right now I'm using citadel paints but after hearing about Vallejo I may have to give those a try. Any assistance on this matter I thank you in advance.

[Firepower]

Watch Buypainted on youtube. That helped me tons. I more or less duplicated his methods when working on my Broken Arrows. Other artists like Les Bursley also have a bunch of videos online that come with all sorts of neat tricks and tips.

Vallejo has been my weapon of choice when wielding the wily airbrush. I am assisted by Regdab Needle Juice to help prevent (or more accurately, delay) dry tip. I use Vallejo Airbrush Thinner, which is much stronger than the little bottle of white stuff you can buy from their line. The little bottle takes about 50:50 mix with paint, but the Airbrush Thinner is closer to 1:6. I generally avoid the retarder, because it can cause paint to pool.

My preferred cleaner is Medea.

When it comes to getting your paints to the right consistency, it is unfortunately a matter of practice. You'll waste a fair bit of paint on overly thinned cups, and by dumping out cups that have clogged your brush. But eventually you'll dial it in. As everyone says, you're looking for a consistency like milk. Not skim milk, the good stuff. On the good side, all the clogs and troubles will teach you to strip down your airbrush's components in no time flat.

My airbrush is an Iwata Neo. A simple $50 airbrush, very sturdy, .3mm which is a good all purpose needle size, and quite reliable.

While Vallejo makes my best paints (and the dropper bottles are a huge boon when working with an airbrush) their primer stinks. Other artists swear by Vallejo primer. It does have good 'teeth' for paint adherence. But it's crap when it comes to durability. My original models peeled like ribbons, no matter the prep methods I used. Instead, I now use Alclad lacquer primer, but because of lacquer's nasty properties it demands a very specific work environment, as well as extra protection. It's teeth are slightly lesser than the Vallejo, but it's very durable. Nothing I've seen beats the durability of Spray Can primer, but the efficiency and price of priming with an airbrush is so superior that it's a reasonable sacrifice.

That's all I got off the top of my head.

Edit- This thread has a bunch of advice, but a good deal of it was lost in the Great Data Death of 2013. Still, there's useful tidbits in there. http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/277387-a-plethora-of-n00b-airbrush-questions/