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Air brushes
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2744
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Author:  Vitamins [ Mon Nov 17, 2003 6:04 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

does any one know anything about air brushes? I tried searching on google, and all i get are links to buy them. Whats a single action vs dual action air brush(and why is the price difference around $60)? whats a good brand to get? Are they worth using?

Author:  Warmaster Nice [ Mon Nov 17, 2003 9:27 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

AFAIK the difference between single and double action brushes is thatthe single action sprays air and paint at the same time when you push the button. The Dual action first engages the airflow with one push and adds paint to the spray when you push the second button.
Don't know much about brands and prices though :(

Cheers!

Author:  Mojarn Piett [ Mon Nov 17, 2003 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Yep. Dual action brush lets you control both the airflow and paintflow. Single action just the airflow.

Author:  TuffSkull [ Mon Nov 17, 2003 7:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Quote (Mojarn Piett @ 17 2003 Nov.,14:21)
Yep. Dual action brush lets you control both the airflow and paintflow. Single action just the airflow.

Either Badger or Aztec brands are the most popular depending which side of "the pond" you're on.

There's a discussion on this very topic on the "Masterclass Miniature Painters" yahoo group at the moment. General consensus among the pros is that they're not worth the cost for figure painting, including armour. They're only of any use if you're
A) working on a very large scale piece (>120mm)
B) doing terrain.

Personally, I have one which I used on a set of scenery 4 years ago and have hardly touched since. In fact, I think once since, when I used it to give an army a coloured undercoat........ that thing cost me ?100+........  :{

Author:  nealhunt [ Mon Nov 17, 2003 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

I was foreman of the finish shop in a woodworking company when I was working my way through school.  We made kids toys (Montessori materials, actually) so we used acrylics.

I spent many hours in a spray booth with air brushes, right about the time I started playing 40K.  I can say with confidence that there is little to be gained from an airbrush that you can't do with a fresh can of spraypaint.  And that's with professional production quality brushes.

The only miniature painting benefit I found was that I could buy primer cheap in quantity and spray it at work, but you would have to paint hundreds of models to come close to making back the cost of a good airbrush if you did it yourself.

Author:  Vitamins [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 1:31 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

thanks guys!

i guess ill save the airbrush purchase for when i am fantastically rich and really bored then.

Author:  seekermeng [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:49 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

I have three air brushes and a microblaster.  I've used my badger double action to paint BIG 28mm figs (dragons, ect..) and for laying down primer and base coats on smaller minis.  Mainly I use mine for 1/72 scale models and above.  I, personally, will never go back to cans. Control and paint consistancy are far better with an airbrush.

Author:  vanvlak [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 12:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Quote (seekermeng @ 18 2003 Nov.,02:49)
I have three air brushes and a microblaster. ?I've used my badger double action to paint BIG 28mm figs (dragons, ect..) and for laying down primer and base coats on smaller minis. ?Mainly I use mine for 1/72 scale models and above. ?I, personally, will never go back to cans. Control and paint consistancy are far better with an airbrush.

Seekermeng, do you use acrylics or enamels? I have only worked with a Badger airbrush using enamels so far, and was wondering how well acrylics go and if cleaning of the airbrush is a problem. Also - how thin should the paint be? Ink or wash consistency?
Thanks.

Author:  nealhunt [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 6:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

>> Control and paint consistancy are far better with an airbrush.

That's true. ?Perhaps I was over-general in my comments. ?I just don't find them useful for itsy bitsy stuff, and with terrain I don't require the detail work you can do with a good airbrush.


Vanvlak: ?Not to steal Meng's thunder, bur...

Tamiya makes a line of acrylics made to be used in airbrushes. ?They seem to use an alcohol mix of some kind for the solvent rather than water, but they can be thinned with water also. ?They sell their solvent by the jar for use in thinning their paints for airbrush use. ?I would expect them to have directions on the bottles.

Vallejo paints may be set up for it also. ?I have no experience with them.

For GW paints, I would start with about 1:1 paint to water and experiment until I found a consistency that did what I wanted.

As far as cleaning, it's easy as long as you keep up with it religiously. ?If the brush is going to sit for more than about 10 minutes, at least spray water through it to rinse it out.

Acrylics are a nuisance if you let them dry. ?If you do end up with some dried, the best thing to do is soak it and scrape it with something like a dental tool or an old nozzle pin. ?Usually, the dried bits will peel off the metal or glass easily. ?If it dries in the nozzle cone, be especially careful as you can deform the tip, giving you a bad spray pattern. ?OTOH, replacement cones are pretty cheap, so if it does you can trade them out.

Author:  Gandalf the Grey [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

I have a badger and I use it mainly for base-coating vehicles.  I airbrushed my Eldar Falcon for 40k in that Alaitoc blue camo and I was blown away how good it looks.  There is just something you can do with an air brush that you cannot do with a paint brush.  Plus with an airbrush you can mix paint, something you can't do with off the shelf spray paint.

That said, I tried airbrushing 40k figures as a quick way of painting the base color, but I still prefer to do that with a brush.

My latest project is the Land Raider, and there is no way I am going to use a brush on that for the base.  It'll get Ultramarine mixed with a little varnish and then I'll bust out the brushes.

Author:  vanvlak [ Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Thanks nealhunt - v. useful.
Does anyone use airbrushing on Epic (other than undercoats)? :oo

Author:  seekermeng [ Wed Nov 19, 2003 1:48 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

I use mainly acryllics.  I prefer tamiya.  But have used others.  For straight coverage spraying I use a 1 to 1 mix.  I use alcohol to thin.  If you use water get a jug of distilled.  Minerals and chemicals in tap water can cause crazing and orange peel.  I have no trouble with clean up.  Just make sure you clean after each use.  
I use a seperate airbrush for enamels.  If you clean your well however you shouldn't have a problem goin back and forth between enamels and acryllics

Author:  vanvlak [ Wed Nov 19, 2003 7:40 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Quote (seekermeng @ 19 2003 Nov.,00:48)
I use mainly acryllics. ?I prefer tamiya. ?But have used others. ?For straight coverage spraying I use a 1 to 1 mix. ?I use alcohol to thin. ?If you use water get a jug of distilled. ?Minerals and chemicals in tap water can cause crazing and orange peel. ?I have no trouble with clean up. ?Just make sure you clean after each use. ?
I use a seperate airbrush for enamels. ?If you clean your well however you shouldn't have a problem goin back and forth between enamels and acryllics

Thanks seekermeng - this is an education. Is there an as yet undiscovered (by myself) location in Epicomms where useful stuff such as these points on use of acrylics with airbrushes are archived in a colection - a sort of Epic/Gothic/anything modellers manual - with sections on (e.g.) airbrushing, painting, washes and inks, undercoating, basing, conversions, tools etc.? This would be a great resource.
:o

Author:  vanvlak [ Wed Nov 19, 2003 7:44 am ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

Quote (vanvlak @ 19 2003 Nov.,06:40)
Is there an as yet undiscovered (by myself) location in Epicomms ...

In other words, somewhere where no Landa has gone before... :-:

Author:  stormseer [ Wed Nov 19, 2003 2:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Air brushes

...I guess Jimbo could just pin this thread like the "stripping paint" one, seeing as it might be potentially useful for new foru users....  ???

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