Re: Painting, Airbrush Questions

Hello,

>Hello Everyone:
>   I am thinking about getting an airbrush to do some painting of my
minatures
>and I have a couple questions.
>
>   1) What type of paint should one use with the airbrush?
>	A laquer type paint, acrylic, water bases, oil based what?

Definitely acrylic, water-based paint. Using laquer paints would make
clean-up a real pain (it's bad enough with water soluble paint)

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

I normally can get away with only one. Depends on how much you thin down
the paint.

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

Depends on the tip that you use, and whether or not you use a double
action brush (very highly recommended for minis!!!!). With a double
action brush you can get lines between 1 mm and 2-3 cm with a single
pass.

>   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)

I dunno. For me, Tamiya paints seem to be formulated with an airbrush in
mind. At least it works much better with an airbrush compared to the
results of a bristle brush with the same paint. I haven't tried using
very many other paints though...

>   5) Is it worth getting an airbrush?

I would say yes, especially if you paint a lot of vehicles. You may
find its usefulness somewhat diminished if you are painting human
figures. That being said, I painted 16 Deimos tanks (as on the cover
of the DS2 rulebook) with only about 2 hours time, including clean up.
A simple, playable 2 colour camo scheme. I haven't "finished" the
models yet, since I like to add shading and highlighting, but they are
definitely playable with the minimum of effort.
Before Brian pipes up I should mention that those two hours were
nearly 4 months apart... Overall, I have not been very productive
in the last three years as far as miniature painting goes.

>
>   If some people could help me with these questions (or any I have not
though
t
>of) I would appreciate it.

Make sure that you stock up with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and
isopropyl alcohol (a nice cheap solvent) for cleaning. A mask is
essential if you don't want paint in your lungs. A vapour trap is
a good idea if you intend to have extended sessions (like more than
about 15 minutes at a go) Otherwise you'll end up with the blown
ink look (not good.)

One thing that shys people away is the initial cost. I got two
brushes (single and double action) colour cups, 10 or so paint bottles
a compressor with hoses etc. for CAN$200. Much more expensive than
three $10 high quality natural sable brushes! And that was second hand!
Expect to pay about CAN$200 for a compressor, CAN$80-150 for a double
action brush, and a couple bucks each for paint bottles.

I'd love to tell you more, but they are expecting me at work...

>
>   Thanks
>   John W. Fox
>
>

-- 

Tony Christney