Airfix Starter Kits - They're watching!

[eddiesolo]

ps; there were pedals, I dropped them and they being so tiny they've gone to the hoover collection area, i.e. the carpet!

Welcome to world of the carpet monster...a modellers nightmare. :D

Sounds like a nice build, have fun.

Si

 

[PaulTRose]

especially if the paint dries at the same time I clean the airbrush! No more waiting hours before applying next colour!ps; there were pedals, I dropped them and they being so tiny they've gone to the hoover collection area, i.e. the carpet!

one trick is to use the clean ab to blow air onto the paint to speed up the drying......even easier if you have a double action ab cos then you can just depress and not pull back to get airflow before you get round to cleaning it

aaahhhh....the carpet monster...................we all have a pet one of those :P

 

[Alan 45]

Interestingly, I was thinking about getting a couple of cheap snap fit kits to learn how to do weathering!!

Revell do quite a range although cheep is another matter , I've just spent over £60 on two star wars kits just to improve them or completely ruin them , it depends on how I go about it :D

 

[Mike]

Well, that didn't bloody work.

Hi had no problems airbrushing with Enamels. I used a 2 parts Acrylic, 1 part Acrylic thinner, both Humbrol - and it came out really fluid... There's a primer on the model but the paint just looks urgh!

What am I doing wrong? Do I not need thinners with Humbrol Acrylics? It does seem more fluid than the enamels, but not enough to go direct to airbushing...

 

[Alan 45]

I tried the same AB you have there and I had the same result , I gave up with that set and went back to the hairy stick , I've leant better brush techniques since and I'm happy with what im doing

I was advised not to bother with the aerosol type and go for the compressor type.

 

[stona]

Isn't that for the young 'uns watching who shouldn't have sharp knives in their hands? its how I did it as a kid!

Very young 'uns are going to need supervision in any case. There's no reason why slightly older ones can't be trusted with some side cutters and some wet 'n' dry.

I happen to believe that removing parts from sprues and removing and cleaning up the attachment points is one of the most important things to get right when assembling a model. You can easily b*gger a kit up before you've even opened the glue

Cheers

Steve

 

[Mike]

I tried the same AB you have there and I had the same result ... I was advised not to bother with the aerosol type and go for the compressor type.

There's a huge price difference between an aerosol and a compressor! I had problems with spraying Enamels, which turned out to be pressure related. I'm hoping someone will point out the error here! I'm purely guessing I've just used too much thinner...

Will give it another go...

 

[eddiesolo]

The aerosol type just isn't accurate enough regarding pressure, hence a compressor type is better. As for the finish, I would say too much thinner could be at fault, do you have a splattering effect too?

Si

 

[Mike]

Splattering no,

Marbelling and streaking yes...

 

[eddiesolo]

Sounds like paint mix is wrong.

Si

 

[Alan 45]

Marbling and streaking could be your to close to it and not using a fluid motion when you spray, try moving a little bit further away and doing a slow continuous line over the area you want to spray

 

[Mike]

Cheers, I shall try again with no thinners. If it doesn't spray will apply small amounts until I get a result and see what happens.

Cheers (yet again!) all

 

[Mike]

OK, well that didn't work either, given up on the Humbrol airbrush with their Acrylics.

Not given up on Acrylics though, managed to salvage the plane, even with the shocking state of paint. Loving that my back door is not open, there's no ventilation and I don't have a headache. I am converted - I'm Acrylics from now on!

Not perfect but this is model 3 I've built...!

Think I'll follow Alan 45's example and use a hairy brush for a few models, most of the imperfections were as a result of trying to recover the job of the airbrush! More practice needed methinks.

Next up - Red Arrows (also an Airfix Starter Kit!)

 

[Stevekir]

Cheers, I shall try again with no thinners. If it doesn't spray will apply small amounts until I get a result and see what happens.Cheers (yet again!) all

There are several factors to get right (for me at any rate) when airbrushing acrylics (similar for enamels but no doubt different here and there):

Air pressure. With a compressor many people use 20 PSI.

Thinning. With Vallejo Model Air (specially made for airbrushing), they advise that no thinning is necessary. Some people do add about 10%. I don't thin it. You were, I'm sure, thinning your Humbrol acrylic far too much.

Distance from the part. I use about 6 inches.

Flow rate. At 20 psi I seldom pull the trigger more than about half way. (My needle size is 0.4 mm).

Flow rate and movement. Keep the flow rate constant and move the airbrush smoothly. Start off the part and end off the part. Except for gloss varnish and gloss colours, don't go past the point when the paint starts to look wet. If necessary for evenness, apply another coat.

Primer. Some people don't use a primer. I always do. I think it helps the paint to go on evenly.

It takes practice but I got there in the end.