Airbrush vs brush

[Guest]

And to those who say " I can't use an airbrush ", why not? Believe me, they're not as hard to work with as people seem to think.

Sometimes a particular skill can be picked up quite easily by one individual whilst another will struggle with it. For example I would not attempt to plaster a wall but I am good at DIY plumbing, carpentry, landscaping and drinking red wine. We can't all develop the same skills, which is just as well really. I have just started out model making and I'm finding it very enjoyable and absorbing. I am happy with a brush and will stick with it. It would be nice if I could airbrush but I can't and I do not have the ambition to learn. Each to his own

[Guest]

I'm slightly less crap with an airbrush than the hairy stick, but do use both, big bits with AB, and brush for small bits.

[takeslousyphotos]

I use brushes ....... I can't use an airbrush (Ihave one, used it a few times) apart from it being a hassle, I'm rubbish with it........ I prefer brushes, I use good quality brushes and find I get a good result.


Peter

[Guest]

Sometimes a particular skill can be picked up quite easily by one individual whilst another will struggle with it. For example I would not attempt to plaster a wall but I am good at DIY plumbing, carpentry, landscaping and drinking red wine. We can't all develop the same skills, which is just as well really. I have just started out model making and I'm finding it very enjoyable and absorbing. I am happy with a brush and will stick with it. It would be nice if I could airbrush but I can't and I do not have the ambition to learn. Each to his own

Fair enough Keith, I just believe we can all learn new skills

[Guest]

Mmm I think mottling could be done with a brush , I will be doing an Me 110 soon and I'm going to try it with oils , I'll practice it first on some cheep builds like I alwas do to get the effect I'm looking for

If you can do it, more power to your elbow Alan! I don't think it's possible to


reproduce with a brush a full scale spray effect that's 32/35/48/72 times smaller.


I've just been doing it in 1/72 with an AB & it's not been without problems!


[ATTACH]101262.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

Just enjoy it boys, in this forum all builds are greatly appreciated both with ab or paintbrush. I always wonder how on earth people could paint the whole model with paintbrush, they must have superb skill and steady hand i suppose. Well, ab also not an easy stuff to master, from thinning paint to spraying it needs artistic skill and feelings. The most important thing is just have fun!!!!

[Alan 45]

If you can do it, more power to your elbow Alan! I don't think it's possible to
reproduce with a brush a full scale spray effect that's 32/35/48/72 times smaller.


I've just been doing it in 1/72 with an AB & it's not been without problems!


[ATTACH]111238[/ATTACH]

Just a little practice on my 1/72 109 and I think with a little tweaking it's possible [ATTACH]101263.IPB[/ATTACH]

[stona]

I couldn't care less which method any particular modeller uses and I've seen outstanding results by both. Anybody being snobby about either is just displaying their own prejudice, and ignorance.


I would say that achieving a simulation of something that was originally sprayed, like mottling or those Italian 'smoke rings', is easier if sprayed with an airbrush. It's not impossible to make a good job with a brush, I've seen some terrific results, it's just more difficult.


Cheers


Steve

[dave]

Airbrushes and brushes are both tools. What counts is the skill of the wielder. That is not to say some effects aren't easier or faster with one than the other.


For example, in my opinion it is much faster and easier to lay down a smooth coat with an airbrush over a large area than do so with a brush.


At the end of the day you judge a completed model on its appearance, not how it was achieved.

[stona]

At the end of the day you judge a completed model on its appearance, not how it was achieved.

Agreed, you certainly should.


Cheers


Steve

[Alan 45]

I'm glad to see that we all agree it maters not one jot which method we choose and that snobs in both fields are in a minority

[Guest]

I've settled on both! Airbrush for primer and base coats, then brush for detailing, filters, washes and weathering. To be fair, the example above doesn't really show brush skills per se (although it is a cracking job!), I'd want to see an all silver mustang, or a coach painted car body to judge that! But point taken. As most folks will tell you, there's no right or wrong here, just whatever you feel most comfortable with.

[Guest]

Some here would know the chap. He built Lancaster Bombers, I think only, and they were all hand painted.


His results were astounding. Apparently he worked away sat in an armchair with his wife her watching TV and he beavering away at his Lancasters.


Cannot remember his name and have not seen him on this forum for a while. He used to belong to the Lancaster Bomber Forum a great bunch of blokes. Ask them for info in my case on a Wellington and it came down in streams.


How he produced the quality of hand brushing I cannot think Those large wings with a hand brush for me would be a nightmare.


For me airbrushing as I do not have that patience but with great feeling and awe for those who are hand brushes.


Laurie

[spanner570]

Interesting thread this.I wasn't going to add to the discussion, but now I have to....


I know you won't take offence Patrick, but you are totally wrong with your comments about brush painting mottle on aircraft....


An acceptable standard can be obtained.


I didn't particularily want to, but here are some examples....Please excuse the wonky aerial wires, they have been stood gathering dust and spider's webs!


A 1/72 Balkan Me109.


[ATTACH]101282.IPB[/ATTACH]



A 1/72 Fw 190


[ATTACH]101284.IPB[/ATTACH]



A 1/48 Me109


[ATTACH]101285.IPB[/ATTACH]



Helmut Wick's Me109


[ATTACH]101286.IPB[/ATTACH]



I'm not posting these as anything more than examples of Brush Cammo. Certainly not to show them for the sake of it. I just felt it was wrong to more or less state that motteling could not be achieved in any other way than with an airbrush, and had to defend us brush hands....and photos are better than words.


Also this idea that large areas can't be brush painted is wrong too....Going to the extreme, some of the world's most prodigious automobiles were, and possibly still are brush painted.


We each use what suits us best. I brush paint only because I don't need to faff around with masking tape. Buy expensive kit. Worry where I can and cannot paint my models. The list goes on.......


However it is wrong to state a form of painting can't be done with a brush, I respectfully suggest that the mottle on the last picture would be extremely difficult to do with an A.B.


There will always be the notion in certain quarters that folks who still brush paint are quaint and somehow behind the times. I can handle that.


As long as us modellers are happy with the way we apply paint to our models then all is good, but let's not imply that one form or the other is somehow inferior. They both have their merits and shortcomings......


Love and peace, man.


Ron

[ATTACH]101283.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Guest]

I certainly haven't taken offense Ron! However, I'm still not convinced


Your 1/48 Bf 109


[ATTACH]101287.IPB[/ATTACH]



My 1/48 Bf 109


[ATTACH]101290.IPB[/ATTACH]



My 1/72 Bf 109


[ATTACH]101291.IPB[/ATTACH]



Now, as I've already said, there's no right or wrong way, nothing that's necessarily better or worse. In terms of


certain effects, I think an airbrush beats a hairy stick!


And I'm not saying that mine are better than yours!