I have limited knowledge, but i'm prepared to share with you guys what i know.

Types of Airbrush
Single Action - This airbrush is simple press the trigger and go, its set up to release a predetermined amount of air and paint with each press. Continously holding will give you a steady spray. You can adjust sprays buy screwing on different nozzles.


Dual Action - This type of airbrush allows a great deal of control. The button on top is pressed down for air release, and pulled back for paint release. The more you pull back the more paint is released.




Paint Feed
Bottom feed - A glass jar is attached to the bottom of the air brush. It siphons (sucks up) the paint up into the brush. Main benefit is high capacity to hold paint.


Top feed - A smaller capacity which uses gravity to feed.




Paint Delivery
Internal Mix - This method mixes the paint with the air internally and spits it out through the nozzle. This has much finer controlled results. And is typically of the dual action variety of airbrush.


External Mix - This type of airbrush is typical of single action bottom feeds and the air siphoning the paint up also pushes it out. This technique is prone to splattering.




Propellants
Air Can - Cheap at around £8 a can. Prone to running out when you least expect it. Pressure drops as the can gets cold, being an aerosol this happens quite quickly. So putting the can in warm water while you spray keeps pressure up.



Single Piston Air Compressor - Kicks out 25-30psi operating pressure, idles on around 60psi. You need one with a regulator (so you can adjust the pressure), a water trap to take moisture out of the airline and a pressure guage. This one below is around £140... but check out the difference between this and the one i own below....




What do i use and recommend?
You should definately get a Compressor if you want to take up airbrushing properly, but if your not sure then the air cans will give you a taste for it for limited outlay. Beginners may find the single piston airbrush the perfect starting point, but i strongly advise on getting a dual action bottom feed.

This is the kit i bought at xmas 06. It cost £82 for the complete kit and includes delivery. The compressor has the regulator, the water trap, and pressure gauge. The airbrush is dual action, internal mix and bottom feed. It comes with all adatpers so all you need to buy is paint and thinners.
http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/AIRBRUS...AND_SPARES.html
http://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/42904.jpg



Paints
GW paints clog airbrushes, even with thinners i've had nothing but grief in both my single and dual action brushes. I recommend and use vallejo game colour.

Vallejo also do an airbrush spepific range.
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/section.php/...vallejomodelair

I also use vallejo acryllic thinners. Its reasonable cheap and really helps the flow. Only need to use a small amount so last ages.
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/2279/0/thinner

This is great Gareth!

Topic pinned. :)

nice article :)

but i have a question. do you use airbrush only for the basecoat of the miniatures [like the skin on your trolls and spider] or is it possible to do more detailed parts of the miniatures like some shadings or highlights - like the darker parts on your spiders legs or the highlights on your nightgoblin-robes?

yeah - i'm a noob with that stuff :rolleyes:

Ok the guide above is purely advice on buying. I wouldn't say i'm experienced enough to explain how to do more complicated techniques like blending and masking off. But it is all possible.

I purely started with basecoating. It was a great way to learn to start with.

I'm getting a little more adventurous though.... The blending on the blacks and red on the biocannons, and the shading of the red skin built up using varying shades of red.












But i painted 2250pts of UM in 18 weeks purely because i had an air brush...

Very nice article, I enjoyed reading it. Maybe I try a airbrush once.

Greetz
G

went to order me a new air brush today and i thought i would order an compressor instead of the cans propellant.lad at the model shop said i will get you one but try this instead fetched me an adaptor to fit on to a car innertube it cost me less than £5 and i will try it out when my airbrush comes next week.

I Zoggin' love you! Give that man a MOTM award!

those are some fukin sweet pics i love them did you do the red on the alien with the air brush is it that detailed? and it would be alot easyer to paint my ultramarines to. how do you find the right kind of painsts to match GW and not look to shiny?

I use vallejo game colour with vallejo accryllic thinners. They work really well. You should be able to find them on places like ebay.

GW paints clog airbrushes. They're awful. I wouldn't let kids finger paint with GW paints they're so bad lol.

i have been buying the Revell aqua color range from local indy shop for £1.50 a colour.found out the hard about gw paint clogging the airbrushes.

I have a dual action, paint feed airbrush that I have only used once. I have been meaning to buy a compressor for a few years, and I really should do it! The two brands that are good are Paasche and Badger.

Has anyone tried the new GW airbrush? I saw one at the store and it looks like a decent beginner airbrush. I had on similar to this (didn't look like a bolter thught) from Testors once upon a time.

For your information, there is a good demonstration on using the GW airbrush found on Youtube here. After viewing this, I got pretty charged up about using an airbrush. The GW one is easy to use and easy to maintain!

There are some great tutorials on setting up and using airbrushs on Youtube, but you will have to search for them. There was a really good one on setting yourself up, but there are some profanities in there that some might object to.

Good luck!

Goomb

goomb GW have recalled the airbrushes back in. theres a problem with them. the pipe keeps coming off

I'm going to have to look these up and for more!

I just found out that my neighbor has an older air brush that he used in college for graphic arts that he doesn't use. He told me that I could use it indefinitely until he needs it or one of us moves!

I've never used one before and I have no idea what type of things you use an airbrush for. I'm hoping that they are great for doing a horde of night goblin robes? Maybe? I've got about 100 that need to be painted.

Anything out there to say what an airbrush is good for vs. a regular brush?

WOW!!! I just saw the price on that GW airbrush! It's crazy cheap! It's only $30 with the cost of a refill around $9. I always thought airbrushes were $200-300 and compressors were the same. Is that GW brush any good? It's a reasonable investment.

As for the GW paint clogging....I looked at the official GW video Goomb linked to and they add abotu 50% water to the mix. Have you tried that? It would make a significant difference.

Ive been using an airbrush for many years. I dont use it for figures, but all my vehicles are airbrushed. And it's great for terrain.
I have used GW paints and inks with my airbrush and havent found it to clog any worse than any other brand of paints on the market including Vallejo,CeramCoat, Badger,AppleCrate,Reaper,Testors, etc.
There's a trick to it. You cant just dump paint in the pot and expect it to just go on. You have to water them down or use a thinner as suggested in another post. Airbrushing is not really that diffeent from using a brush. I'll have to post some photos of my nearly 300 vehicles and 3 titans I have used my airbrush on.....
it just takes a bit of working knowledge of the actual tools you are using and a bit of practice with techniques.

So, a good friend of mine and I were talking about his airbrush he got. He actually has two solid pieces. Each one is a different size. I mentioned that it must be good for large things and terrain. I was told it wasn't. He's got very small airbrushes. They are only good for painting minis.

When I asked him about details and how fast it was, we got into specifics. I asked him if I had a 100 night goblins (which I do) that need one coat of paint on their robes, how fast would it be to do? He told me about 45 minutes. Hot Dang! I am going to be heading to his house at some point.

Oh, he did mention that he doesn't use paint. He ordered some specialty airbrush ink. He primes his minis black and sprays white from the top. Next is to use the inks and does the whole thing. He will go back and do eyes and little details with a small brush.

I will investigate and see what he is talking about. Of course, each of his airbrushes cost over $150.

the trick for that is primer black and heavy drybrush the model white over the black. Then you add your sprayed on inks and such. Works the same as with a brush. The black keeps the colour you are spraying a dark tone while the white provides the highlights by making the sprayed on colour lighter.
Ive been using that trick for years on historicals.

So, my neighbor gave me a "Badger 150" airbrush. Description says it's pretty good.

I especially like this part: Fine (F) - pencil line to 2" (51mm) spray pattern
It will mean I can do a lot of detail.

Now I just need a compressor.

Yeah, that is the kicker. You can buy one of those fancy "airbrush compressors" at hobby stores and craft stores like Hobby Lobby, but they are pricey. The upside is that they might be more quiet, which is a plus if you paint at night like me. Otherwise, you should consider a regular compressor you get at Home Depot, Menards or Lowes. I got one from my father-in-law, and while it is noisey, I have used it on some projects. Quite fun! I did water the paint down, and that does help....It takes some practice.

Goomb

Excellent news! I came into the office today (yesterday was President's Day and I was out of office) and found an air compressor sitting on my desk! I had casually asked a co-worker if he knew anyone who wanted to sell an air compressor. It so turned out that he had one he really wanted to sell. When I asked him how much he wanted to sell his brand new air brush, he conceded $50.

I am now the proud owner of a Badger Whirlwind II Model 80-2! It is priced new at about $150 online. I don't think the box has been opened yet.

I also got the air brush from my neighbor and had a chance to look at it. He said that he current needle in it is jammed in due to someone not cleaning it last. So, I will have to work with him to clean it out. I was also told that it might be missing the fine point needle. Oh, well. I can't complain about new.

I'm not sure when I will have a chance to play with it. I've got to get some work done before my GT in 3 weeks. If I get the air brush working, I might be able to do some terrain for my display board.

AWESOME news, mate. That is so sweet. Hobby Lobby and Michaels carry airbrush needles and parts in their paint section. Check it out. You can also pick up some spare pots and a pot with a nozzle adapter. They are fairly inexpensive, and you can get all your paints ready before you start. What typically happens is that you get going and in the zone, and then you need to change colors. Having some premade pots helps keep you moving forward.

I am pulling in my compressor (an older Campbell Hausfeld 2 gallon compressor) from the garage tonight, and I going to try to get some paint on the fleet and my next orc regiment. Of course, I need to do some dipping too....I haven't given up on that, mate!

Great stuff. Even better price. You deserve it, Groznit! Show us your WIPs in your blog. A "how to" would be awesome too. I will try to get something put together too.

Cheers!

Goomb

Yeah, I am behind in my blog. I've got a few things I need to photo and upload. I've been trying to get done what I can before the tournament. It's 3 weekends from now and I'm busy this weekend.

I do hope to get some projects done faster with the airbrush. I hope to get my one converted ship painted and two other ships converted and painted. I also have 100 night goblins that need to get done.

Are you sure Hobby Lobby and Michael's have airbrush parts in their stores? I look on their website and all they have are kits. I just need a small sized needle.

I am pretty sure the Michaels near my house has them. I can check at the store tonight on my way home from work if you like. Perhaps there is something useful there for your airbrush. :yarr!:

Goomb

You know, I think I will just order a new needle from the distributor. They are only about $5 and I never get near a Michael's. Also, I think I am going to wait until after the local GT as I am thinking of getting a hotel room. My slush fund is low. :blink:

I do have to thank you, though!

Too late, buddy. I swung by the local Hobby Lobby and drooled over the various airbrush attachments and needles. They are for Paasch and another brand, though (which excited me). Yes, Michaels has them too, and I think they were Badger.

Good choice. You won't go wrong that way, mate. Good luck!

Goomb

Just thought I'd chime in here in case someone is thinking about different airbrushes.

I recently got myself a Paasche Talon AB (dual action, gravity feed) and I've been practicing with it for a month or so now. It is a fantastic piece of equipment! I've been mostly basecoating - night goblins, night goblins and more night goblins.... - but have had a chance to try it out on a couple CSM tanks and CSM troops.

I don't think I'll ever be dotting eyes with my AB, however, you can do some pretty nice stuff to make the rest of your painting a breeze. I AB'd the marines with a bone white - black gradient (light on top to dark feet) and after a simple wash, I was about 85% done.

At any rate, if you're shopping around for an airbrush, the Talon is certainly a nice one.

I've been airbrushing things for over 20 years now. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

Paint is the most important thing to consider when using an airbrush. I agree with Gareth the GW paints aren't designed to go through an airbrush. You can make them work but its a royal pain and you need to clean your needle and seat often to ensure a tight pattern when working with fine detail. I'd also recommend a product called Floaide from Liquitex or a similar product. It's designed to slow the paints dry rate and make it "self level" a bit. With it you can get a very consistent even coat, without it you have to be very careful with how heavy you're spraying.

Here is a link to the product, I really recommend it for new air-brushers. Liquitex site

Warboss ScarGuud

Out of curiosity to the people who have been airbrushing for a while (There are a few in this thread), can you answer me something about the consistency of paint? When I paint, I use paint roughly the consistency of milk as a basecoat, and thinned down more for shading and highlighting. The 'basecoat' level seems to go fine through an airbrush, but it seems too watered down when using a shading/highlighting consistency. I checked out a few tutorials, and they mention in a few of them that the paint should be the consistency of milk.

Usually when painting with a brush you alter the paint:thinner ratio to give the desired transparency. When using an airbrush, is it right to assume you can use the same consistency of paint for highlight that you use for basecoating, but alter the air pressure and paint supply using the trigger in order to affect the consistency?

I have an even more basic question. I've got my airbrush and I've got the Warhammer Fortress. I have primed it black and I am thinking the air brush would be great to paint this thing. I'm starting to wonder, though, if it will. I want the black to show in the cracks, but I want to do a few layers of gray and bring it up to a lighter highlight. Won't the airbrush just fill in the cracks with gray paint? Won't it cover up the black? Or do I need to go fine detail and spray each brick individually?

I've been delayed in working with my airbrush as I think I broke the nose part. It's leaking air somewhere around there and won't suck the paint up. I got some spares and traded the nose out. I haven't had a chance to try it out, yet.

The airbrush works differently than when you brush paint. Milk is good... it should flow easily out of the brush and not clog or dry on the needle. Thinner than that consistancy and the only thing your doing is reducing the ration of pigment/ binder to suspension, making it more difficult to cover the model and having a runny paint. Don't water down the mix for highlighting, just apply less paint to the area, or more precise strokes with the airbrush.

I always highlight with a regular brush. My biggest concern is overspray with a highlight. A Dual action is a must for doing the kind of detail work your talking about. Also a very good compressor with an air regulator. How much pressure are you running through the brush it also will determine how thick the paint can be if you have a brush that pulls the paint up from a jar.


The biggest job I have done to date was a commission of 17 guard tanks. Here are a few, please ignore the rancid color.... thats what the guy wanted......

This depends on the angle you spray the fortress at. If you spray it dead on your going to get into the cracks. If you are at a 60-70 degree angle you will spray the tops but it'll look like crap. You can paint each individual brick but wouldn't that be just as easy with a brush? You'll save time and paint due to clean up, prep time, and painstaking precision not to get it into the cracks... even then overspray will get some into the areas you don't want it in.

I'd recommend a regular brush for this especially if you're just starting with the airbrush.

Thanks Warboss ScarGuud, you've helped clear that up for me. I do have a dual action and a good compressor, so I should be OK for that. When i'm talking about highlighting, i'm mainly thinking of things like marines where the bulk of the model is one colour. I can go in, do a basecoat and highlights with the airbrush, then work on the smaller details so that I get more done in a quicker amount of time. You've answered a question I have had on a few other places for a while, so thanks for your help! Thanks tanks look good by the way.

OK.....I have a question. I just got the fine nozzle head for my airbrush and I've had a fine needle. So, I just got it and I've got some Vallejo airbrush paints coming in the mail. I've also got a ton of night goblins that I've just dry brushed their robes.

If I have all the stuff to do fine detail stuff.....can I paint the skin and faces of these night goblins with the air brush? Maybe use something to cover up the cowl of the robe or what might be behind the skin or something? Is this do-able? Or will it be spread out too much and just get all over the robes that I've finished?

yes you can but it will take lots of practise.

I found airbrushes abaout a week ago but where do you buy it? ebay? or do you know any better site?
i know that they are expensive but that would be a damn good chrismast gift.

Thanks/Gurz'ak :wub: :wub: :wub:

we'll im not sure but im pretty sure thats depend on the size :D

Looking good boss!

Also, that Mazurkha sumtinsumtin dude is my little brother, just joined today. :3 (The one above this post...)

Theo

@Gurz'ak: You might want to look at Craigslist for your area. You might be able to get one cheap there. Don't forget that you need an air compressor, as well.

Well......even with the fine nozzle, I can't quite get the level of detail that I was hoping for on my air brush. I still think I can do some things with orcs. I think I can get the vests leather color and then get the skin with the base coat of green. I just need to use some tape to block off the other areas. I will have to see how that goes. I know I am going to make a new unit of Orcs some time in the future, but need to chew through all these night goblins....

EDIT: I should say that I was hoping to do a layer of skin and then even do the highlights with the airbrush. Maybe if I had a very fine detailed air brush I could do this. I don't. I can do a base layer on large areas, but not extra detail like that on an orc or goblin.

Just found this awesome airbrush for relatively cheap. It's got a gravity feed and it's duel action, Perfect :wub:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/aztek-mo...n-airbrush-kit/

If I end up buying it I will report back here for sure.

Skar (2c)

Greetings,

I have an airbrush, an Iwata one to be exact, and I also have a storm force dual piston airbrush compressor. I can't for the life of me figure out how to assemble it. Is there anyone on this forum who is an airbrush expert and can perhaps maybe help me out? You tube is of no help, nor is the company I got the compressor from!!!

Please, I will even compensate. Thank you very much.

So far I´ve only seen a Warboss on wyvern completely painted with an airbrush and I can tell you painting goblin faces with an airbrush is just crazy! It needs a lot of experience and skill and would be a ton preparation work to get it done. So I say, don´t go for it.