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Greetings all!!

I have my first large models on the way from GW and my budget is sadly blown. $$ I had hoped to have to buy an airbrush setup have been lost to household budget lol.

So I will be the proud owner of 2 razorbacks and a dreadnought w/out an airbrush...can anyone suggest the next-best method to get these painted? I am concerned that painting with a brush will leave obvious brush lines on the larger flat areas. Is this an issue or am I worrying needlessly? Is there a decent old-school spray-paint brand that provides a fine-enough spray to at least cover the more open areas of the razorback?

Thanks!!

You could try Army Painter spray paint. They come is a variety of colours.

You could get a blue coloured can of spray (or what ever colour you need) and use that to prime it. Give it a wash and pick out a few details with a brush. Thats the only way i can see you using minimal amount of time with a brush

I think you are worrying needlesly. As long as you keep your paints thin and do 2 or 3 coats to get proper coverage you are unlikely to have much to worry about. People have been painting tanks without airbrushes for a long time

It can also help if you alternate brush stroke direction between layers. Keeping a wet edge while you working and switching from left-right to up-down from one coat of paint to the next...it goes a long way to avoid brush strokes being visible.

Rattle cans work as well - though you are somewhat more limited in your choice of colors. Between the hardware store brands (Krylon, Rustoleum and others) and the model brands (Tamiya, Testors and others) you can find most colors in spray paints.

Read this, it may help: http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2012/01/7-tips-for-painting-vehicles-without.html

Most of the models painters on earth don't have an airbrush. And we still are able to paint vehicles !

You are worrying too much.

 Flinty wrote:
I think you are worrying needlesly. As long as you keep your paints thin and do 2 or 3 coats to get proper coverage you are unlikely to have much to worry about. People have been painting tanks without airbrushes for a long time

Yeah, but it is rather time consuming to put down a layer of paint without an airbrush if you don't want brush streaks showing. I know it took ages to do my Leman Russ which I did by brush only and there's still a few spots where you can see brush streaks.

Get a bigger, flat brush (if youre like me and prefer to use straight from the bottle make sure it fits in that lip at the top of the lid) and a sheet of waxpaper.
Dab the brush, you'll get a thick glob of paint. Brush on the waxpaper a little to get rid of it/evenly destribute the paint in the brush. Dont go crazy though just 1-2 strokes should be enough, you can usually go back and pick up the paint you left behind if you didnt take too long.
As long as your paint isnt thick, you can paint large surfaces fairly easy. My blue-flamed dakkajet was covered this way in about 20 minutes and aside from the flames it doesnt look like it was hand-painted. Its in my gallery if you want to see it.

Just go reasonably quick (dont go tazmanian-devil on it) and it'll look uniform. Too thick, you'll have streaks from the side of the brush as it pulls blobs around, but too thin it wont even coat it and you'll see brush strokes. Milk consistancy is about what i aim for.

Bigger brush (I use a fitch mop, but that's only because it's what I had on hand and I really liked the results), and something to slow the drying time. Other than that, I thin my paint like normal, and still end up hitting the model with two coats.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Flinty wrote:
I think you are worrying needlesly. As long as you keep your paints thin and do 2 or 3 coats to get proper coverage you are unlikely to have much to worry about. People have been painting tanks without airbrushes for a long time

Yeah, but it is rather time consuming to put down a layer of paint without an airbrush if you don't want brush streaks showing. I know it took ages to do my Leman Russ which I did by brush only and there's still a few spots where you can see brush streaks.

Yes it will take longer, but you're trading that time against the cost of buying an expensive airbrush rig.

Just do two or three coats of properly thinned paint. No brush strokes guaranteed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Yeah, but it is rather time consuming to put down a layer of paint without an airbrush if you don't want brush streaks showing. I know it took ages to do my Leman Russ which I did by brush only and there's still a few spots where you can see brush streaks.

Perhaps you had a problem doing a single vehicle, but in general it should not be a problem. The citadel large drybrush is really good for covering large areas on vehicles quickly and easily. If you thin your paint sufficiently, in a couple layers you will have no trouble getting nice coverage with no brush streaks.

 Flinty wrote:
I think you are worrying needlesly. As long as you keep your paints thin and do 2 or 3 coats to get proper coverage you are unlikely to have much to worry about. People have been painting tanks without airbrushes for a long time

Completely agree - Thin coats will take some time with drying time but result is a nice even finish - just take time, never rush.

I don't mean to confuse things. But. I stipple my large things which I can't be bothered to airbrush. I did it with a rhino and it works fine. Just have a small amound of paint on the brush (just a little more than you would for a drybrush) and stipple away. It works really well. Good luck however you do it though!

James811 wrote:
I don't mean to confuse things. But. I stipple my large things which I can't be bothered to airbrush. I did it with a rhino and it works fine. Just have a small amound of paint on the brush (just a little more than you would for a drybrush) and stipple away. It works really well. Good luck however you do it though!

I'd imagine that after a couple of tanks your brushes would start to ruin?

Zambro wrote:

James811 wrote:
I don't mean to confuse things. But. I stipple my large things which I can't be bothered to airbrush. I did it with a rhino and it works fine. Just have a small amound of paint on the brush (just a little more than you would for a drybrush) and stipple away. It works really well. Good luck however you do it though!

I'd imagine that after a couple of tanks your brushes would start to ruin?

Not if you use a drybrush/stippling brush. Fan-shaped brushes are great for drybrushing.

@OP - Look for a large brush that can cover a lot of surface area. I'd look on e-Bay for one of GW's old Tank Brushes. They were fat, able to hold a large amount of paint, and were obviously for tanks. I painted a devilfish and a battlewagon with mine, and the result was pretty good. I know people really hate GW ATM, but I'm still a tiny bit hopeful.

10 dollar asian air brush, a wheel with air in it gg.