"Airbrush" Topic

I need an airbrush for 28mm WWII tanks.I want a good one for the real fine camo lines.Anyone have any ideas.
Thanks for any help,
John

Paasche VL with a fine tip. This is what I use for scale models. Also with the medium and broad tips, it works very well for basecoating, priming, clearcoating, etc. Very flexible compared to some of the "higher end" airbrushes (like Iwatas, etc), and good enough to free-hand camo schemes with practice. Get it with a compressor and you're good to go.

Damon.

Damon Thats what I needed, just some advice from people that know.
Thanks John

I know purists turn up their noses at them, but I've very good luck with the Aztek A4709 I purchased a few years back. I got it on eBay for en excellent price, and it's performed very well. Admittedly, I do not use the fine spray head as much as the larger patterns, but when I have it's done just fine. As for the compressor, do yourself a favor and get a reasonable size oilless compressor that you can also use for air tools – an air powered nail gun is an incredibly handy thing. Harbor Freight has decent compressors (not great, but very serviceable) cheap.

Doug

I use a Master G44 and a Pashe Talon both work great. The Master is a little more fidly because of the small needle so if your just starting out I'd go for the Talon. Whatever brand you pick I recomend getting a dual action gravity feed model with a removable crown. The dual action gives you more control of paint flow, the gravity feed lets you work at lower air pressures, and removeable crown lets you get thinner lines. Most of the miniatures I paint are mostly or completely airbrushed you can see them in my galleries.
pigmentedminiatures.com

You will also need a good air supply or the best brush in the world will be useless. I suggest heading over to WalMart and picking up the 2 1/2 gallon capacity Campbell Hausfeld compressor and air tank. It also pays to purchase their moisture trap.

One tip. The tank fills automatically and then the motor cuts off. It will turn back on as air runs low to automatically refill the tank. I suggest once the tank is full to shut off the motor. There is a gauge on the tank to tell you how much air is left and you can turn the motor back on when it is say only half or less full. The problem is the automatic refill is constantly coming on, the motor will overheat, and the cut off to prevent damage to the motor will engage shutting down the motor for an inconvienent period of time.

Hey Pigmentedminiatures.

You mean you actually paint detail on 28mil figures using an airbrush?
So in your gallery I take a look at the gangsters.
That tommy gunner figure has pin stripe trousers.
You painted those lines with an airbrush?

If you can do detail like that I might reconsider an airbrush myself.

Hi AONeil, the gangster's pinstripes were done by airbrush. I was teaching a class and used that one as an example. To get the lines so thing you need to take the crown off the airbrush.

What is a a crown?
John

On the end/front of an airbrush there's a ring which screws off to reveal the needle assembly bit. It is sometimes just a plain sort of ring and sometimes has sort of pointy bits on it… kinda like a little crown.
I assume that'd be the crown.

AONeili is correct. The crown is pretty much just a tip that protects the needle from bumping into things. Most Badger airbrushes do not have them so keep that in mind while looking for an airbrush.

No wonder you're teaching a class in airbrush mate.
I have 2 airbrushes. A badger and a paasche type H. I gave up trying to do anything but the most basic stuff with em.

If it's realistically possible to do pin stripes though…

PM, if you are doing that tight of work freehand with an AB, I'd like to see your technique! Took a look at your stuff; looks like a mix of techniques; nice to see other people doing the same stuff as myself. Looks like you may have used a masking technique on the pinstripes, or cleaned up the dar areas after doing pinstripes…. In any case, enjoyed your gallery. Love to hear how you go about using mixed media and tools too if you have the time.

The Badger 350 is a fine hobby airbrush,provided you have access to the m ,f and xf spray heads and the corresponding needles ,looking on their website ,it is unclear whether they still manufacture all.I also recommend staying with a bottle rather than those fitted with a cup reservoir until you are comfortable with both the grip and basic techniques.