Re: Painting, Airbrush Questions

>   1) What type of paint should one use with the airbrush?
>	A laquer type paint, acrylic, water bases, oil based what?

You can use any kind of paint, with any kind of base, so long as it's 
properly thinned. It is, however, very important to have a paint with 
very fine pigment if you want good results. I think that I've put 
every type you've mentioned through my brush at some point in time.

>   2) How many coats of the paint does one normaly have to use to
ccompletely
>cover a minature?

Typically 2, though this may vary, depending on paint quality and 
colors. For instance, white tends to be problematic when going on 
over anything else.

>   3) How narrow (wide) of a area can one paint with one pass?

This depends on your brush - just like regular painting. I have two 
Iwata brushes, which allow you to control both air and paint flow. 
With a "wide" needle you can paint similar to a spraypaint can. With 
a fine needle, I've gotten down to about 1/8 inch - slightly more 
narrow if using inks instead of paints.

>   4) The paints at the hobby store for models are expensive.	Can I
use
>something from Home Depot or a hardware store? (related to Q#1)

Yes... but I'd advise against it. Hobby paints are generally designed 
to thin down well, and have a fine pigment. House paint - well let's 
just look at the scale, shall we? Not all hobby paints are hideously 
expensive, however. You can find good deals if you look.

>   5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?

Though my gut reaction is to just say "Yes," you need to look at what 
you'd be using it for. If you're just going to prime figures, or do 
an occasional project, you might want to just get spray cans and 
using masking to achieve a similar effect for far less cost.

If you're planning to do cammo schemes on your batallion of DSII 
figures, and plan on painting many more in the future - or enjoy 
doing tiger striping on your Kra"Vak minis, then you might want to 
consider it.

Aztec produces an excellent hobby airbrush at a reasonable price 
(about $100). There are, however, many different types. If anyone 
needs advice on specific models and/or abilities, contact me off 
list. I cannot recommend the Badger airbrush that is sold in many 
hobby stores, unless you wish only  to do fairly basic stuff.

Schoon