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Hi All,

I'm Dave, I'm 35 and I'm from Barnsley.

I've been painting Warhammer for a fair few years now, right back to the static days where all space marines held their weapons across their chests and Orcs just had an axe

I've recently got the bug to start developing my painting skills more, I've always been a brush painter but seen things recently that have made me really want to learn how to use an airbrush so I found this forum while looking for advice.

I'm a complete novice so I think starting off just using it for base coats would be the best thing but I also want to learn how to build cool looking bases for models such as my wraithknight.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling

Hi!

Welcome!
"Come in a stranger, leave a little stranger." Favorite applicable saying of mine.

I understand the airbrush bug, it has been a constant source of love/hate for me but is well worth it.
I am proud of my brushwork but an airbrush can lay down a gradient that would take me some 20 coats of watered down paint to achieve that it can do in seconds.
Just ensure you do not use overly thick paint on your first try and you will not lose your mind like I did.

I would suggest an Airbrush like the Badger Patriot 105: Good to learn with, pretty forgiving:
- .5 needle/cone can do fine detail (to some degree) as about 15psi and larger surfaces at 30psi, a good all-rounder.
- Can get a .35 needle/cone for really fine work or a .76 for larger area spray like vehicles or terrain.
- The cutaway handle is good for clearing the nozzle and I think I would not get one without it.
- I have been silly enough to let full paint (not residue) dry inside my airbrush twice. It was a pain to clean but it has survived quite well each time.

Once you get used to that guy, then get the expensive super-fine air-brushes, I just got one earlier this year and trying to get my accuracy better.

Once you have got some 1st coats down, you can learn the joys of cling-wrap, silly putty, blue-tac, painter's tape masking, free-hand masking with card and stencils.

ANYWAY, you have come to the right place, Youtube videos are plentiful and helpful but there are a ton of folk here far better than me that you can ask for help and will give a ton of good advice.
I sincerely hope you have a fair bit of fun with your hobby!

Thanks for the welcome!

Yes I've watched numerous videos but they all talk as if you have everything you need and know what you are doing.

I love the idea of using Zenthal highlights or pre-shading but then those subjects also come with extra questions like if I pre shade recess of a model for example a tank then go over with my base colour won't that just cover the recessed paint too?

It seems like a very daunting thing to get in to but like you pointed out the gradients for paints is so much better, I paint nighthaunt and I can't get the transition from ghostly green to white tips right with a brush, you can see where one colour stop and the next starts and I've seen so many inspirational images for models I want to paint which uses gradient paint from say black to bright red that I just can't replicate with a brush

Ha! I JUST had posted in an area about priming and this pretty much has set the standard of how I will prime:

Please see this site:
https://www.powerfisted.com/?p=199
It is fantastic just for this graphic:


The idea is you could apply a wash OR pick a mid-tone of the primary colour you want and mist it on with your airbrush (or buy the colour you want in a rattle-can).

The only disadvantage with all this is when you go to paint little details like armour trim and blob anything in that area, cleanup is hard to do.
I found I had to lightly airbrush over that area again with the darker colour underneath, the main colour for main surfaces and the highlight colour for the top areas like the shoulder pads on a marine.

Just like for shading: you paint the model so it is super-clean THEN apply shader: once that is on, touch-up is very hard to do well.
Some put a clear-coat on so shader flows better and is easy to clean.

Hi,

Welcome to Dakka