Airbrushes?

Discussion in 'General Chatter' started by seebs, Jun 9, 2015.

  1. seebs

    seebs Benevolent Dictator

    Anyone know anything about airbrushes? Looking at doing some fancy things to miniatures, pretty sure airbrush is a good tool for this, but trying to find out more about details has gotten overwhelming and complicated.
     
    • Like x 1
  2. Morven

    Morven In darkness be the sound and light

    I'm in pretty much the same place as you except I bought one, but haven't used it yet. For miniatures mostly.

    This is what I've learned:

    You need a compressor; air cans get expensive fast. It must have a tank to act as basically a battery and smooth the airflow; compressors are pulse-y. You need to have a pressure regulator and moisture trap between tank and airbrush.

    There are two basic types of airbrush: single-action and dual-action.

    Single-action brushes control only airflow with the trigger. The paint to air ratio is set with a screw or knob or ring on the device; you can't adjust it while in the middle of spraying.

    Dual-action brushes let you vary the ratio/mix with a second axis on the trigger. This allows nice blends and fades. Artists generally use them. More advanced modelers use them. But a single-action brush is easier to learn and use and does a lot.

    Then there's how it holds the paint. Some have just a small opening in the brush body top for it. Lighter, but very short run time. The intermediate one is a cup on top or the side. That's generally sufficient for miniatures. And then some take a small glass or plastic jar underneath that screws on. That's generally found only on single action brushes and is for larger projects.

    Some brushes are convertible between two of these options.

    Paint needs a fair bit of thinning with an appropriate airbrush medium.
     
    • Like x 1
  3. seebs

    seebs Benevolent Dictator

    That's about where I am. Talked to some people who do a lot of airbrushing for gundam kits, got advice, got pointed to an option for a compressor with a smallish tank and regulator all correctly hooked up together to begin with, which is WAY cheaper than the super fancy airbrush compressors that some places sell, but apparently pretty good, and will be doing more messing with it soonish. Also ordered some airbrush medium and some really fancy acrylics.
     
  4. Alska

    Alska Well-Known Member

    @seebs so jealous of you right now haha- I'd love to try out an airbrush on my ball jointed dolls, but they're basically like the cheapest ones you can get and I'd never be able to justify getting an airbrush to paint them ;u;

    My only experience of seeing an airbrush in action is when I paid a super nice girl to airbrush me gray for a homestuck cosplay lol. She had an intermediate one with the little cup, and it really worked pretty well even if it had to be refilled fairly often.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice