I have never been successful with an airbrush I just can never think it correctly plus I don’t have a permanent area to set up and leave it so I hand brush everything which looks nice at times but I love the way that models look from other hobbyists when they use a air brush. Tell me your experience.
When I first started, I too did not think of a permanent area I could use, so I was using an introductory kit from Testors.
Testors Model Painting Airbrush and Propellant System Accessories Kit 1990 NEW | eBay Testors Model Painting Airbrush and Propellant System Accessories Kit 1990 NEW | eBay
This is actually the Kit I started with!
The advantage of the Kit was that I could do it in the garage in the spring, summer and fall as it did not require a large area to use. Compressed air cans were inexpensive and there was little cleaning of the wand.
Then as time went on, I started carving out a well ventilated area and moved to a compressor and a Paasche with no booth. Not ideal, but it worked, until I noticed the “dust” around the room. Built my own booth, ventilated it outside and all is done.
I don’t airbrush either for numerous reasons which would take too long to explain. But the 2-3 biggest reasons are that: a) I have bad eyesight, b) My apartment is too small and I have no place to even set up an airbrushing station anywhere, and c) I would hate the constant cleaning after every color change.
Most of my painting is by hand brushing and/or spray can and I’m content with that.
Try doing a single color aircraft to start with. Like a late war Corsair in dark sea blue. Also use an air source you can control - try 17lbs. And thin your paint (depends on the manufacturer - could try one of the airbrush ready paints like MRP). Light coats to start followed by heavier color coats. Keep trying - use card stock, paint mules etc. It’s a game changing capability. That said, I’ve seen some absolutely brilliant paint brushers.
It’s not really a question of one versus the other. Both methods have their place in our process. It’s more a question of preference, and which makes more sense for the particular job.
For painting a figure, for example, while there are some who use an airbrush for much of the painting, most figure painters will use a brush for finishing the figure.
Conversely, to paint the basic colors on a 1/48 or 1/32 aircraft is more easily accomplished with an airbrush, or even just rattle cans. Certainly it’s a little easier to get the finish car modelers do on their vehicles with an airbrush.
However, there are some modelers who will paint a larger model like planes, armor, ships, cars, etc, by hand. One of the guys in our Lehigh Valley club paints everything by hand, and he achieves really nice finishes, as nice as if he had sprayed them. The key is properly thinning the paint, so as to apply coats as thin as if they were applied by air. I painted one of my Maschinen Krieger armored fighting suits by hand, because of the camo pattern I wanted to apply (German Grenzschütz rain camo). I might have airbrushed, but the masking would have been very labor-intensive. I used Tamiya acrylics, thinned well. and the coats were as thin as if I had sprayed them.
So in the end, it all comes down to what you want and like to do. Not right or wrong, best or worst, but that which you like for yourself.
Best regards,
Brad
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My experience is that I did lots of research before I even tried to use an airbrush.
I watched Airbrushing with Aaron several times and read his book.
The combination of the two did a lot to demystify airbrushing and make it approachable for me. Enough so I was willing to start trying. I didn’t start on a model though. I started by practicing on sheets of glossy coated cardboard (like you find on cereal boxes). Not quite the same as polystyrene. It worked well enough for me to start becoming comfortable with the controls of the airbrush and general distances to hold it from the work piece
I paint with acrylics. My airbrush booth is a cardboard box on it’s side with a vacuum cleaner hose resting on the bottom attached to a regular old vacuum. This setup has been more than sufficient to keep the acrylic paint in the box and out of the air. If I wanted to I could easily pack up everything into the box and stick it under the table.
Every kit I make is a combination of airbrushing and brushwork. Nothing is 100% one or the other.
I thank you all for your input. I will keep in researching and maybe one day I will try again.
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