So after picking up all the necessary stuff for starting my airbrushing exploits I turned it on for the first time and let some air out.
Spent about 2 hours fiddling with it. Getting the hang of the Dual Action air/paint thing going on.
And also learning how to mix paints and thinning them to the right consistency. This of course took many many tries. I did my paints too thin. And it ended up looking like a wash instead of paint!
So after much trail and error I finally got the consistency right. Much like milk (as many others have suggested) but just a tad thicker and it will be perfect. (for me at least...)
I used purified water(my Gf's place has one of them $3000 water filters) for thinning the paints. I used both Vallejo Game color and GW paints. Both thinned great with just the purified water.
I also did a mix of 50/50 Kiwi Kleen window cleaner and purified water as my airbrush cleaner and flushing liquid in between color changes.
I also bought a bottle of concentrated and dedicated airbrush cleaner from art friend. I shall only use this when I realize there are really hard to remove stains. But honestly if you clean your brush properly as soon as you are done with the color. It hardly clogs anything up.
So here are my first test subjects. Dark Eldar Warriors I built from the 3rd edition boxed set! I love the results and can seriously feel the speed in basecoating them! I tried from black, to hawk turquoise, to a hawk turqouise/skull white 50/50 mix. It looks ready for some hard edge highlighting and some details to finish them off! I can visualize finishing them of is under and hour each with the help of an airbrush.
Can't wait to really get down to laying some serious airbrushing colors on my Blood Angels!
~As much as I wanna use my airbrush more I shall be denied as I will be stuck in school camp (babysitting....) for the next 2 days! Arghh! And because the new school term is beginning next week it also means many many work to prepare and meetings to attend! My holidays are offically over!!!
hey buddy... air brushing with water based paints like vallejo or citadel paints can be a b*tch... The reason is with waterbased paints, theres no catalyst other than the air in the atmosphere to help it dry. Factor this in with the fine spray with the psi you are using, the air pressure can very well blow away the paint layer you have applied to the target surface.
ReplyDeleteI usually stick to acrylics or enamel when airbrushing as the thinner/alcohol in the mixture causes the paint to dry faster than it can accumulate on the surface thus eliminating paint blobs. The only hurdle is matching gw colors with acrylic color ranges.
Finally, seeing your airbrush is all stainless steel, I can assure you the best type of cleaning solvent is 100% Shallac solution which is a type of acetone. This will melt all paints whatever based they are... the reason for using this instead of detergent based liquids is so that trace amounts of the detergent left over which may transfer to the next paints are eliminated. We don't want models with paints that chip off easily now do we? lol g'luck!
If im not wrong GW paints are acrylic as well.
ReplyDeleteI will stick to GW and Vallejo colors as im too lazy to try to color match them. And also becos I already have so much paints. I dun wanna buy more!!
What brand and where can I get the mentioned cleaning solution suggested?
A good coat of varnish should counter the effects of chipping. Acrylics are generally less resistant than enamels. But enamels are a mess to work with.
gw paints are waterbased my friend. Anything that is supposedly thinned down with water is considered waterbased.
ReplyDeleteacylics will usually say acrylics like tamiya paints. they will require specified acrylic thinners.
In HK you can get shellac solution at hardware stores... they are 15 dollars HK and comes in a used beer bottle. The solution is purple. If you can't get that, 100% alcohol will do as well. Just remember to save a shot for yourself! hahaa
As for enemels vs arcylics, yes they are a bitch to work with but there is a reason for modellers to use both... since the chemical properties are different. Gundam modellers use enamel to do all base colors plus shading... they then use acrylics as washes to get panel lines seeping into the crevices. afterwards, they use cotton buds soaked with acrylic thinner to rub off the excess acrylic paint from the panel lines. Since acrylic thinners cannot remove enamel paints, its perfect... almost like a smart eraser that only gets rid of what u don't want. This is finally topped off with a spray of Mr. Topcoat which comes in either gloss, semi-gloss or flat. hope this helps buddy.
Yup GW paints are water based. But I was pretty sure they are Acrylic paints.
ReplyDeleteSee Here.
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=&aId=1600005
"Citadel Colour paints are non-toxic, water-based acrylic paints specially formulated to cover Citadel miniatures"
Alot of artist acrylics are water based as well. I use them all the time.
Acrylic paint thinners are like you said specific thinners as the tamiya acrylics have some additional chemicals in them I suppose. Not too sure about that.
I will try to get some 100% alcohol as I dun think I can find the solution here in SG. And yes I seriously need to get some real Topcoat for my minis. Cheap ass spray can dull lacquer are horrible to work with!
Thanks for the advice!
I'm interested with this Mr Top Coat. Where can I get it from in Singapore or HK?
ReplyDeleteThe brand I use is called Gunze Sangyo from the mr. hobby series. I will post a pic of it tonight. Now these will not dull as it says specifically, they have been UV cut... notice how some decals or stickers lose color overtime? This is supposed to be the remedy for that.
ReplyDeleteActually Gundam modelers use enamel paints to do panel lining and use acrylic/lacquer paint to colour the main body, thats what I did and was taught to do.
ReplyDelete@Enrgie
J-hova is talking about this, I guess.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_dPufkQCA81s/TAuTQUYONGI/AAAAAAAABpw/M81lHc9c518/s1600/IMG_1167.JPG
Widely available in SG hobby shops - "Hobby point" and various other scale modelling shops.
price: S$13.90/170ml can.
1)flat/semi-gloss/gloss
2)flat/semi-gloss/gloss (UV-cut)
prevent "yellowing".
The pic above is the lacquer-based version.
There is another version which is water-based and come in blue can.
So many options!
ReplyDeleteWhich is the best for our miniatures? I do not want them to be glossy and I do not want the protection to change the colour of my minitureS!
flat/semi-gloss uv-cut for you.
ReplyDeleteJust know that flat top coat will dull your metallic paints.
Also spray during a hot afternoon to prevent "frosting" on your models.
Dont spray during/after rainy days or night due to high humidity which causes "frosting".
Ok I'll go look for some cans here. No metallics on my Nids so I can go flat UV Cut.
ReplyDeletecrazyrat... i'm pretty sure its enamel on main colors and acrylics on panel lines... I have many examples to show... Can I post a single gundam modeling entry Ray? u've seen my collection...
ReplyDeletedo it!
ReplyDelete