Airbrushing

Written by KoNemesis

What should I look for when buying an Airbrush?

Airbrush

Airbrushes come in two types: single action and double action. Single action allows you to control the flow of air, while double action allows you to control both airflow and paint flow. Whenever your budget allows, go for a double action, gravity fed Airbrush. Remember to include in you budget enough money for a compressor, since air bottles are more expensive, less reliable, and subject to freezing. Get a moisture trap for your hose, one droplet of water and there goes the job.

What kind of compressor should I buy?

There are all sorts of compressors; for those with a tight budget, get the cheapest compressor you can get, but always with a moisture trap, and at least 5 atm/bar of pressure. Fancy stuff like purge valves and manometers can always be added later. If you are not on a tight budget go for the silent types made by some model companies.

What Paints can I use?

Vallejo has a very good line called Model air that is perfect for airbrushing, you just put the paint straight from the bottle into the airbrush and paint. Tamiya acrylic paints are also designed for airbrushing, and are fairly easy to find.

But I want to use citadel colors, what can I do?

If you want to use citadel paints, you'll have to dilute them, the best way to do this is to make a solution of 50% water 50% car window washer (blue liquid stuff around here), then mix it with the paint 60% mix to 40% paint.

Where do I airbrush?

The easiest answer is outside, but to those who live in apartments or condos that might be tricky, so you either build a paint station or buy one, a paint station is simply a box that doesn't allow the paint flow to get all over the place. Airbrushing should be done with adequate ventilation; clearly, this is vital were the paint may be toxic or where window washer fluid is used in the paint.

How do I get started using an air brush?

Before using the airbrush on a model, test it on a piece of paper or cardboard to get used to adjusting the air and paint flow. This is something that has to be done by the owner of the airbrush and can't be readily explained. The only thing to remember is, do no start the airbrushing on a model itself, since when you press the button, the flow isn't stable. Start off the model.

Eldar Titan by Demidov

What can I do with an airbush?

Almost everything, but mainly you can undercoat models, prime them and do great degrades. Airbrushes are particularly good for larger models like vehicles and are great for camouflage schemes.

How do I undercoat with an Airbrush?

Just like you would with a spray can (see above) but you can be a bit more thorough since the paint isn't as thick.

How do I basecoat a model with an Airbrush?

Now this is tricky; if you undercoated your models with black and want the shadows to be seen, you'll have to be very careful at this stage. First, shadows are generally found under stuff, so you'll have to airbrush you model from the head, which means, align the head of the model with the flow line of the airbrush and paint. This is very tricky to do, so if you don't feel up to it, just paint the whole model in the base color and use standard brush techniques to do the rest.

What's the best use for an Airbrush?

An airbrush is ideal to paint large surfaces, such as vehicles, and large quantities of models with the same base color, such as marines, guardians, gaunts etc.

How do I paint a vehicle with an Airbrush?

To paint a vehicle or any other large surface with an airbrush, paint a series of S shapes, which helps provide even coverage. With practice, you can do camo patterns, which look especially good airbrushed.

Hetzer by Innom

How do I do camo patterns?

This is the stuff Airbrushes were made to do, first, you'll have to decide on the pattern you want to apply to the vehicle, then you might even mark it (in a smaller area than the one that will be covered) to follow it with the airbrush. It would be a good idea to look in military reference books for historical camo patterns, as this will give you ideas for what looks good.