Getting started with an AB - the plan so far

[Guest]

It's a bit nerve-wracking, starting off in the world of airbrushes. I've just ordered an AS-186 compressor, and plan to use the cheap airbrushes that come with it initially, at least until I know how many of the disasters are likely to be due to my own lack of skill!

My chosen victim is a 1:72 Bf109E in fairly typical BoB colours - RLM65, 02 and 71, with some mottling, and yellow nose and wingtips. I thought I'd make use of the Vallejo Model Air range, thinning them down just a bit, to avoid mixing my own colours at this stage. For added certainty, I thought I'd use the Vallejo grey primer overall, and Vallejo gloss varnish before applying the transfers (with Microset/Microsol), and the matt afterwards. I don't fancy doing a 1:72 mottle with an airbrush at this stage - I'll stick to the brush for that, using a drybrush-like technique I've used before.

As well as being a first use of an airbrush, this will be my first time using what I think was called the 'Microscale system' for applying transfers (gloss first, leave the carrier film on, apply transfers, then matt overall). Before then I'd always trimmed as much of the carrier film off as possible, applied them straight over the matt paint, and varnished over the top.

Of course, I'll practise the whole lot like mad on drinks bottles etc. first, but I just wanted to run this plan past the collective wisdom of the group, to see if you have any warnings, tips, or improvements.

Thanks for reading this rather long essay!

[Ian M]

Sounds about right to me.

Model Air don't really need thinning its made for airbrushing. There are those that thin it a bit though.

Ian M

[Guest]

Sounds all good Doug takes me back 3 years. When you get your brush practice first. Get a plastic water bottle & just practice close 6" away up & down sideways. Just see what the airbrush can do. Thin the paint a bit say 10% see the difference with just form the bottle. Depending on your airbrush needle nozzle size you may have to thin or not to thin. Use Vallejo thinners for Vallejo Model Air. If you airbrush is two stage, may not be if as you have said it is a cheap one, practice with the amount of paint being sprayed.

Interesting for the decals. My latest I have trimmed all around the larger decals & this has worked a treat. I have applied these over gloss varnish. My technique is to use only water except where the decal refuses to lay down. With this technique I have probable 95% without using any of the micro products. But every man unto his own technique.

Hope all goes well but practice is the thing. On the model you only get one go.

Last word from me. Make sure your airbrush is kept perfectly clean especially the nozzle & needle. Even more so with varnish 110% clean as it is the very devil for problems.

Laurie

[stona]

Sounds good to me. I still trim excess carrier film of where I can and use the Microset/Microsol two part system to get the darned things to conform to detail.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies, guys. The compressor/airbrush was delivered today and is currently holed up in the local Royal Mail depot waiting for me to collect it. Rather excited!

[stona]

Doug have a play with your airbrush when it arrives. Don't discount the possibility of mottling with it. It really isn't as difficult as most people think

Cheers

Steve

[Dave W]

One way to do the mottle if your not confident enough to do it free hand is to cut several irregular shaped small holes in a piece of card.Then hold the card close to the model and spray over the holes in it.Take the card away and your left with a mottle pattern on the model.Easier on larger scale models.

[mossiepilot]

Hi Doug, I'm new to air brushing too, and having noobie difficulties. My main one is the transition from the practice piece, spraying paint with no worry that if I b****r it up I can fling it and try again, to putting paint on a kit I've spent time and effort on. At the moment I'm trying my skills on a cheap kit, so if it goes wrong it's not so much of a loss, just a bit of a confidence knocker. Also the new and some times tedious job of masking, take it from me, too much masking tape is a lot better than too little, found that out

Also, I'll echo Laurie, you can't keep your A/B too clean, I've had all sorts of things from no paint, splatters to paint coming out when I press for air only, because I didn't clean my brush properly.

It's definitely a learning curve but It's worth it.

Tony

[Guest]

All this cleaning malarkey sounds just the thing for a sad OCD type like me. I'll have to watch out - I might reach the point where I'm obsessively cleaning the thing all day long and don't actually do any painting with it!

On experimenting/practising - I entirely agree. I do exclusively 1:72 scale (so far), so nearly all my models are cheap, though of course by the time you reach painting, you've already invested a lot of effort. I'll certainly do a lot of practising, though. My wife's a bit of a hoarder, so I'll be pillaging her bag full of plastic drinks bottles to practise on. If I end up with a perfect Luftwaffe splinter/mottled drinks bottle, I might start using it for drinks again.

[Guest]

No Doug. Just one clean. Get into a the way of it & you will get it down to 4 minutes full treatment complete dismantle & back together done. Then no OCD. Back to model making.

I know the symptoms of OCD my youngest son was institutionalised for a year with a further 9 in the wilderness. Hope yours is not that debilitating. My son now has learnt to live with it & after 20 years is doing fine.

Write your wife's name on your practice bottle (good practice) & present it to her. She will be pleased

Perhaps some one will give some ideas on mottle work & how to achieve it. Sort of thing that comes in handy on many other bits & peices you meet in the painting mode.

Laurie