Group:

I know I will catch plenty of flak from the guys, but I know I need a airbrush but at this time, I don't have the skill level to pour that kind of money into my new found hobby. I have completed two projects and have two small ones on my workbench that I'm completing. I have been told by friends and family member that they came out great.

As we are so critical of ourselves, I want them to be better. My wife is a graphic artist, so she gives me some great pointers as far as painting. I'm backlogged with around the house and need her to take some photos of my projects so I can show the group.

I have read as much as I can on KitMaker about painting. Seeking from the group any tricks that may help an "OLD SALT", "SEABEE", like myself to improve on his painting skills with a can and brush. I have some big projects in my stash that in the future, I will have to breakdown and get an airbrush to make them look great.

A quick note about an airbrush issue I had. I picked up a real cheap one from Harbor Fright for around $9. I had the air can attachement and spent another $10 for the can of air. Well, I couldn't get the suction to work, the air can kept freezing up and I went through the air can in about ten min, without any paint coming out.

I sent the airbrush back to the store, got my money back and was fustrated in my home workshop for about a week. I then went back to building and painting with a can and brush.

I guess what I'm saying is, HELP!!!!!!

Thanks to a great group of guys and gals. You all have opened my eyes to a new art form.

Sam

I don't have the money/space/permission to purchase an airbrush either. I have experimented with a lot of different spray paints and had some good success with plain old Krylon. The Ultra Flat camo paint in basic OD, brown, black and white spray very smoothly and with no runs if I am careful. They work well as a primer coat also. I have also had good success with Tamiya spray cans and fair success with Model Master. I haven't tried anything else as I haven't run out yet of the big cans. For brushing I use Poly Scale acrylic, Model Master Acrylic and enamel, and Tamiya acrylic for small items and figures. Poly Scale has worked the best.

Russ

Thanks for the input.

Sam

Hi Sam

few of options:-

1.You can get a car tyre adaptor for many airbrushes. They work well, don't freeze, and are cheaper to run, just pump op the wheel before the next project....but they take up a lot of room and the air flow does drop over time.

2. The Tamiya cans are good but the range of colours is limited.

3. You can brush paint - the odd flaw is not an issue if you are into heavy weathering. I did this for a few years and was happy with the results.

hope this helps

Hi Sam,

I've attached a couple of photos of an Italeri SdAh51 I've just started finishing with paint and washes.

Basically, I don't mind using spray cans as long as I'm careful.
I undercoast using flat black enamel - a no-name brand from our local bargain house ( the Warehouse ), it works just fine.



Just remember to be well ventilated, use latex gloves and eye protection.
I'll let my pieces dry for at least 24 hours before giving them a top coat with a Tamiya rattle can.
Again, after the Tamiya coat, the topcoated pieces go into a dust free environment for another 24 hours at least.

The next part had me worried until I tried it - enamel based washes.
I used Tamiya enamel thinners and Humbrol (matt black, Panzer grey, insignia white, and a few other similar tones) enamel to make a series of washes over the well dries Tamiya Panzer grey base coat.





IIRC, I approached this from a couple of angles.

I used a dark wash in areas of heavy shadow or grime, then removed any excess with a large soft brush barely damp with straight Tamiya thinner - kind of like dry-brushing but taking paint off rather than adding it.

On the upper surfaces, I painted raw uncoloured thinner around the shadow areas, then applied a small amount of dark wash to those areas while they were still wet - again, an attack with the large soft brush loaded with straight thinner helped mellow things out.

On highlighted areas, I made a light wash (lighter than the base coat of rattlecan Panzer grey), carefully brushed raw thinnners onto the areas to be highlighted and then dabbed the wash into the wet thinner - no need for that large soft brush this time.

With this technique (and I didn't know if it was going to work until I tried it - believe me I was nervous...), two things you'll need to remember...
1/ capillary action is your friend
2/ paint decisively and with confidence

Hope that helps.

acav

Sammuel, acav's on it. Very nicely done,too. The more you do, the more confidence you get and the better results start appearing. I do my works much like acav and am very happy with the results.
No matter how you do it,it's all about fun.
Cheers!
Rick

Sam, don't worry you are not the only one using cans. I too do not have any experience using air brushes but I know I will have to one day because certain things just demand the use of an airbrush. like intricate camo. Until then, I will stick to the cans. Here are some models I did with the rattle cans:







So it can be done with care.

Thanks to all and you have all inspired me!!!

Sam