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A few questions for the Dakka hive-mind...

I'm looking to expand my tool-kit, and a pin-vice drill is high on my list, but what size drill-bits are most useful? Primarily it'll be for drilling barrels and the odd bit of pinning. Is it worth getting a clamp/vice at the same time, or can I make do without?

I've also been investigating Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes (after seeing numerous recommendations on here!), but they're very expensive. If I was only going to get one for the time being, how do the sizes compare to the GW brushes? Just for comparison really as they're the brushes I'm used to.

If I wanted to have a go at airbrushing, is the GW one a reasonable place to start? I can't really afford to spend loads on it, technically meant to be saving money for my wedding...

For drill bits, you MUST have a 1/8" bit. 1/16 and 1/4 are also helpful quite often (or their nearest metric cousin) , but 1/8 is my absolute go-to size for magnets and larger pins.

The series 7 brushes come in most sizes, so I am not sure what you are asking about comparing to GW brushes. The series 7 is something you get for brush quality, not their size. You want to get them in whatever size you're used to. Most common are the 0, the 3/0 and the 5/0 whenever I see them in shops. The 0 is pretty similar to the standard gw brush and the 3/0 and 5/0 are the equivalent of the army painter detail and insane detail brushes, if you've seen those.

If you aren't sure you want those, you should STILL upgrade from GW maybe to some loew cornell synthetics or similar, just to get a feel for better brushes.

As for airbrushing, I understand the GW one is not the way to go. Several companies make basically the same airbrush with more durable parts for cheaper.

In UK terms, 0.5mm , 0.75mm, 1.0mm are pretty common. Above that 2.0 is a heavy bolter barrel, and 1.5 is the cross bore.

For most things i have to drill out I use a 1/16 drill bit, a 1/32 is also very nice. Personally I use a standard black and decker drill bit set with a power drill. Hand drilling used to be nice until I would have a ton to drill out and needed to do it with out cramping my hand. And for brushes, I go to wal mart's arts and craft section and pick up a cheap 7 dollar set with 8 brushes, aiming to get the fine detail brushes. I have gotten the 5-10 dollar each brush and they get ruined fast for most painting. Plus with the cheaper set you can cut down the brush to get an ultra fine detail brush. I have never believed that the amount you spend on something dictates the quality. Cheap Wal-mart brushes have done me well through out all of my painting. Also get a drivel tool. they come in really handing, just don't over use it, you'll ruin a lot of models.

For airbrushing you'll have to invest in some decent equipment if you want decent results - the GW one is barely recommended for basecoating, let alone any detail work.

If you really want to start, you should get an double action brush with a compressor - maybe some of the articles on my blog will point you in the right direction: http://ik-painter.blogspot.com/2011/07/advanced-tools-i-airbrush-and.html

Cheers,

IK-Painter

Thanks all (and thanks winterdyne for the UK sizes!)

All I was trying to understand about the W&N brushes was how a 0 compared size wise to a GW fine detail brush (for example).

Will steer clear of the GW airbrush then

I use this drill as a pin vise and everything else it can do (which is alot!)

www.amazon.com/Dremel-1100-N-25-7-2-Volt-Lithium-Ion/dp/B002BAHF7I

This airbrush is great!:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Premium-Dual-Action-Airbrush-Kit-Craft-Nail-Art-New-Blk-/280716310861?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415bfef94d

But the thing you need is a good compressor, just buy one from your local hardware store (But ask for one that makes no noise)

And as brushes I use Army Painter brushes! they are cheap and amazing!

http://usshop.thearmypainter.com/products.php?ProductGroupId=6

these tools are very common and simply cheap and amazing!

Hope this has helped

MaximusPRime

I use a W&N Series 7 Round Size 1 for 99% of my painting. I have a 000 (3/0) for super fine detail work, but due to the small size and relatively larger diameter of Kolinsky Sable, I find it doesn't flow as well as I want. With the superb tip (after a year of hard use, including washes and metallics), I can do very detailed freehand using just the Size 1.

A pin vice is great. At Wal-Mart or equivalent you can get a set of drill bits for a Dremel that will satisfy all your size needs for a couple of bucks.

Don't buy the GW airbrush. Get an Iwata or Badger. But realize that if the price of a couple of W&N brushes seems high, airbrushes are MUCH more expensive.

Once you have the pinvice body never buy "pin vise" bits again. The small ones tend to break under any kind of pressure. Find a micro drill set. The one I got has 2 bits each size from 3mm to .5mm 30 bits cost about 8 USD. the biggest bits are a tad large but I used them to drill out the exhaust pipes on rhinos and dreaddies.

You absolutely MUST own one high quality Size 0 Kolinsky Sable Brush. Series 7, da vinci, dick blick, utrechts are all pretty comparable. A full array should include taklon size 4,2, 5/0 filberts sable 0, 5/0, 10/0 rounds and a size 0 spotter of some type. Round brushes are your bread and butter those should be High quality. Supplementary brushes can be more run of the mill. For some reason no matter how hard I try I can not replace my Tamiya small flat brush. They are total crap but have unique properties.

Airbrushes come in all shapes and sizes, the brand I trust is Iwata. Which now sells thier NEO gravity feed, dual action brush for 45 USD a steal really. Get a good compressor with a tank and you are off to the races. The race to find the right thinner, paint mix, and techniques.

Good luck.

This is the airbrush I have:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Badger-250-Spray-Gun-Basic-Set-BAD2501-/160497033811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255e5e6253

Absolutely terrible at everything, except for basecoating it does alright. Anything more detailed than that and you're screwed.

Make sure that if you do invest in an airbrush, invest simultaneously in an air supply. Canned air is NOT the way to work. I've got this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Campbell-Hausfeld-1-gallon-Pancake-Air-Compressor-/320686382840?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aaa65def8#ht_937wt_905

It's obnoxiously loud, but holds 100psi (sweet...). Something similar at your local hardware store should do nicely. Nothing big or fancy (unless you want). Otherwise, I've never used an airbrush compressor, so I can't vouch for their usefulness or quality.

@maximus prime: That brush works well? Looking to upgrade, and that could do it. (good bang for the $)

Is it worth investing in a Dremel (or similar), or will a hand-drill do?

Depends on what and how often you drill, if it is always plastic and just gun barrels; a hand drill will do. If you are constantly pinning, magnetizing, or converting a dremel is probably in order. I find for about 90% of what i drill a muscle powered one works fine. So I use a cordless drill the other 10%... That's being cheap not smart.

Thanks all, it seems like I can get most of what I want from Army Painter, so will give their brushes a go!

Hatticus wrote:Is it worth investing in a Dremel (or similar), or will a hand-drill do?

I agree with austonT, you can do most of everything by hand, BUT dremels are actually quite affordable and can save you some time here and there.

As for army painter brushes, they're quite reasonably priced and a good bit above average in quality. You won't be disappointed.

For cheap W&N series 7 you might try www.dickblick.com - they sell them for about half of list price, so even if you have to pay shipping to the UK you might save.

Also try Squires in Bognor (http://www.squirestools.com/) - they have a great variety of drill bits & needle files. I think they do brushes as well.
They don't have a web-shop, just a web-site with PDF copies of their catalogues & they do free P&P in the UK!