Air Brush Information?

[Dunedon]

I tried the search function but couldn't find what I was looking for on air brushes.

 

My questions really boil down to:

 

#1) Do most mini painters use an airbrush?

 

#2) Does it work on infantry, or are they just to small to use an airbrush on?

 

#3) Does anyone know of a tutorial on how to use an airbrush, really for examples so that I can see how it's been used and the effects it has?

 

Thanks - Dunedon

[LupoLoopy]

I tried the search function but couldn't find what I was looking for on air brushes.

 

My questions really boil down to:

 

#1) Do most mini painters use an airbrush?

 

#2) Does it work on infantry, or are they just to small to use an airbrush on?

 

#3) Does anyone know of a tutorial on how to use an airbrush, really for examples so that I can see how it's been used and the effects it has?

 

Thanks - Dunedon

 

1) No, most 40k mini painters won't use an airbrush at any point during their 'career'. It's quite a big fiscal investment when compared to a brush.

 

2) I use mine to lay down the smoothest possible undercoat and basecoats you are ever going to see. Beyond that the scale is generally too small, although I'm pretty sure you could 'mist' with the airbrush to highlight Power Armour, due to it's smooth nature. 'Misting' is a little beyond me at the moment though...

 

3) Good luck with this one. I only ever found a couple of PDF files and they've been dire! I might invest in a DVD is things carry on the way they're going on this front. If you get any good links, please post them here...

 

Sorry I couldn't be of more help

[lieutenant L]

Hi

 

Not sure if this will help but it might

 

http://s11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progre...?showtopic=3794

 

http://s11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progre...?showtopic=3294

 

I think it just needs practise - although i dont use one I would imagine it beng much like using a spray paint - but with greater accuracy

 

thanks,

L

[macorrie]

Airbrushing in general is not intended for such a small scale...however.... i have several times managed to use it for larger detail on Marines ...such as the white hlemets of veterans blah blah blah ..its great for painting white in general though you'll need a double action gravity feed as they use less pressure and youll definately need a regulator for your compressor. as far as misting goes...I use a mixture of 6:1 ( six parts thinner to 1 part paint) holding the brush about 24 inches away and about 12 inches above spraying in 1 to 2 second bursts at the lowest possible pressure, do this about three or four times and youll start to see the results.....at first it wont look like youve done a thing but just be patient wait about a minute between bursts

[madscuzzy]

Using airbrushes on marines is like using a lasgun... the airbrush ends up essentially being a glorified spraycan. No matter how fine an airbrush can get, it is not optimised to paint at such a small scale. On the other hand, airbrushes are great for getting nice smooth coats of flat paint that matches the colours we normally... cuz they use the same paints! Issues with airbrushes include clogging ( the most hated and most common problem. paint essentially dries up in the nozzle, blocking the spray. Will happen no matter what you do. ), too much moisture etc. Works great on tanks tho!

 

I use an airbrush with a mix of paint mix of 1:1 to 1:1.5 to Isopropyl alcohol. Allows for a smooth spray and takes longer to clog up... Isopropyl alcohol is a common ingredient in airbrush thinners...:blush:

[Dunedon]

Thanks folks ... glad to see I won't need to add airbrushing to my list of immediate painting skills.

 

Now to try out some colour schemes on actual models and get them posted for review ... I'm hoping to get a new digital camera tomorrow night (assuming the boss lets me), so I'll be able to get some decent shots of them.

 

- Dunedon

[Scipio]

I use my double action airbrush all the time for minis. I use it mostly for undercoats and basecoats as you can't beat the quality of the finish. I also use it for vehicles in 1/35 scale.

 

I would suggest checking ebay for instructional videos and dvds as they're always available there. I got mine there in fact.

 

Good luck.