SM Designs (or more specifically the paint they stock)

[Evil Eye]

So in another thread I happened upon mentions of Createx, which lead me to finding this site. They seem to have a wide variety of really, really nice looking airbrush paints for capturing various effects (notably iridescent and pearlescent colours by a few different manufacturers). hey seem quite expensive but they do come in large quantities from what I can tell, so that isn't so bad.

 

So first of all, is the site itself trustworthy? I have no reason to believe it isn't but advice is always useful.

 

Secondly, what paints they stock are worth having, and are they any good for 40K modelling? Some were mentioned as being sprayed at rather high pressures, which makes me worry a little (though it does mention that for lower PSIs they can be thinned with their "reducer" which I assume is another word for thinner).

 

Thirdly, are they also useable by brush or are they strictly airbrush-only?

 

Thanks!

[NovemberIX]

While I can't speak to the quality of the site, I will say there is a difference between Reducer and Thinner, at least there is here in the US. Reducers are used with urethane enamles, aka automotive paint. Thinner is what's generally used for acrylic, while both are solvents, it's very important to use the right one, lest you end up with screwy paint that doesn't look right or adhere properly.

 

For the most part, unless I'm doing something that requires a specific paint effect (color shift, pearlescent, iridescent, candy) I much prefer Vallejo airbrush paints, in that I keep a stock of my most used colors, including things like white, black, and a variety of metals. What you keep in your cabinet will honestly depend on what you work on.

 

While you can brush apply acrylic paints, I can't recommend it for enamels, I can't say I've ever gotten a real good application using a brush, but I also paint like a three fingered space gorilla, so take that with a grain of salt, I'm sure someone better experienced than I will pop up and tell you how it's done in that regard.