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Hi folks,
I've started building an Astra Miliratum army, and I'm very aware that I'm going to paint some tanks.. Everything I've read has told me that Airbrushing is the way to go for these, but I've no idea where to start!
Are there any recommendations for what I should buy? Any tips? Many thanks!
This will get you started. It's a video interview by the Wargame Consortium with Badger Airbrush CEO Ken Schlotfeldt. He discusses everything you need to know about airbrushes, compressors, etc. with the wargamer in mind.
“I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.”
— Mark Z. Danielewski
DalinCriid wrote: You will need a lot of money. That's all you need to know for now
To be honest, if you're doing a large army like guard then the amount you save in rattle can primers & base colours (even at non-GW prices) will add up fairly quickly. I've only just started out, found a decent compressor with two basic airbrushes for about £80 on Amazon. They're not going to win any painting competitions, but good enough for priming, base coating and basic vehicle camouflage. Figured it was a good way to learn and I can always get a better brush when I need it.
Top tips:
Buy a decent mask; you don't want to be breathing aerosolised paint.
Learn how to strip and clean the brush.
Thin your paints; I find even the airbrush ready ones need a drop or two of thinner to get the consistency right.
Keep you brush clean.
Have some practice models you can try things out on.
Zed wrote: *All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
Sometimes I feel like my airbrush is a tiny god who needs ritual attention (cleaning). Clean between paints (flushing with water at a minimum), and give it a good cleaning (cleaning kit, cleaning fluid, some disassembly) before you put it away for the day.
And it's not expensive. Even if you buy a relatively high-end kit, it's not much compared to buying a GW army in the first place. You can get starter kits for less than some of GW's individual models, and a good kit might a lot more, it still pays for itself in the long run vs spray cans - and there are plenty of colors you can't get in spray cans!
It feels weird compared to hairy brush painting, with an airbrush the painting to cleaning time ratio is pretty much reversed!
I've now had a chance to watch the video Nodri posted, it was really useful. There were a few things in there that I'd picked up on from trial and error, so I would recommend taking the time to watch it if you're starting out.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/13 15:15:48
Zed wrote: *All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
DalinCriid wrote: You will need a lot of money. That's all you need to know for now
To be honest, if you're doing a large army like guard then the amount you save in rattle can primers & base colours (even at non-GW prices) will add up fairly quickly. I've only just started out, found a decent compressor with two basic airbrushes for about £80 on Amazon. They're not going to win any painting competitions, but good enough for priming, base coating and basic vehicle camouflage. Figured it was a good way to learn and I can always get a better brush when I need it.
Top tips:
Buy a decent mask; you don't want to be breathing aerosolised paint.
Learn how to strip and clean the brush.
Thin your paints; I find even the airbrush ready ones need a drop or two of thinner to get the consistency right.
Keep you brush clean.
Have some practice models you can try things out on.
Did I mention to keep your brush clean?
Those are some really good advices that I would put myself if I wasn't too lazy.
But my point was other... I mean, it is not cheap. Compressor, cleaning tools, second moisture trap, lube and etc and etc.
DalinCriid wrote: But my point was other... I mean, it is not cheap. Compressor, cleaning tools, second moisture trap, lube and etc and etc.
No, it's not cheap, but it can easily pay for itself. Buy a spray bomb - $8 for a generic primer or twice that or more for a GW primer. Buy another. Then another. Then another. Over time, it adds up. For the cost of one of those cans, you buy a bottle of brush on primer and use it in an airbrush. It will do as much priming with the airbrush as a dozen of spray bombs. And you can use it to varnish too. So you're not just saving on primer and basecoat spray cans, but Purity Seal or whatever you use. Buy liquid at the fraction of the cost of spray, save money. For a cheap airbrush, you could possibly pay for the airbrush in the course of painting one decent sized army - and you've still got the airbrush at the end of it, saving you more money in the future.
And it also saves you time. Yes, you spend time cleaning, but airbrushed paints dry FAST. Prime a set of 10 minis and by the time you're done the last one, you can move on to basecoating the first one. So in less than an hour you've got a squad primed and basecoated - and maybe washed if you hurry.
killerpenguin wrote: I've learned a lot from the YouTube channel "next level painting".
Kenny Is one of the best youtubers out there.
Agreed, while I'm not a huge fan of his gangsta style (it seems a little OTT for me), I have learned so much from his videos!!
You guys have more patience or much more resilient to "I am so hardcore" speak than me.
I tried watching some of those videos, but the wannabee hardcore, gangsta way he talks was too distracting. Even a batrep on that channel was too annoying. I think it was when he called backflow into an airbrush "gangsta gumbo" that I called it quits. Its like watching a guy that is too old trying to impress a group of middle school kids.
You guys have more patience or much more resilient to "I am so hardcore" speak than me.
I tried watching some of those videos, but the wannabee hardcore, gangsta way he talks was too distracting. Even a batrep on that channel was too annoying. I think it was when he called backflow into an airbrush "gangsta gumbo" that I called it quits. Its like watching a guy that is too old trying to impress a group of middle school kids.
Too cringeworthy to get to the good points.
To be fair, I think the stuff like "gangsta gumbo" and "ancient Chinese techniques" is all part of his spiel. He does have some very useful tips and tricks and knows his way around an airbrush. Though to be honest, I can't make it through the Twitch streams due to the gangsta/bro talk, the regular youtube videos are about all I can handle.
