Back to modelling after 20 years: which airbrush, paint, etc.?

[VintageEagle]

Hello,

 

After a stop of more than 20 years of buillding models (I never stopped watching others build models), I plan a "come-back". Now, many years have passed and I am not sure which

 

• Airbrush
• Paints (acrylic, enamel, etc. particularly for Luftwaffe models)
• Flat & gloss varnish
• Glue
• Decal solvent
• Weathering technique (oil, metal pencil, special weathering products, etc.)

 

etc. are best nowadays.

 

Can anybody give me a recommendation? I know that is quite a broad question. If there are existing tutorials or articles about this topic, I'd also be happy to learn where I have to look for them.

 

Thank you.

 

Roger

 

 

[Hardcore]

*Airbrush

Iwata Neo is a good start. Think of it as the modern Badger.

 

*Paints (acrylic, enamel, etc. particularly for Luftwaffe models)

Acrylic. Xtracrylics by Hannants and Gunze are good for Luftwaffe subjects. Depends actually on were you live as availability is key.

 

*Flat & gloss varnish

Future pledge is good for clear coats. Note the more coats applied the shinier it will get.

 

*Decal solvent

Micro Sol and Set.

I figure most brands selling comparable products are good enough.

 

*Weathering technique (oil, metal pencil, special weathering products, etc.)

Mig Ammo and AK interactive make a living doing this stuff. Visit their web sites and get blown away. Or use your imagination in the spirit of the late Mr. Paine.

[DeanKB]

Airbrush - any reasonable priced airbrush will do a good job. If you can get 2 - one with a 0.3/0.4 needle for painting larger areas, and a 0.20 needle for detail. Or a Harder & Steenbeck Duo, which comes with a large & small needle.

 

Paints - I'd go with Acrylics, as they dry quickly, are less smelly & easier to get hold of. I use Tamiya acrylics.

 

Flat & Gloss varnish - Future seems to be very popular. Also consider the varnish from the paint manufacturer that you opt for. More expensive, but will work 100%.

 

Decal Solvent - Again, they all seem to work! I use Micro set and Micro sol. They work.

 

Weathering -How longs a piece of string! Just paint up a cheap, 1/72 kit & use it to experiment on.

[Squito2340]

Airbrush- iwata. You can now get them at the right price if you look around. The key though is the compressor, a steady pressure necessary.

Paints you ned to experiment with what works for you. My preference is acrylic however, I use solvent based metallics.

Weathering- still use and love oil based paints for al,ost everything.

Love Vallejo gloss and Matt.

Micro products are still the foto for decals.

[Bill_S]

Roger, Welcome back to the hobby!

 

You'll find almost as many different recommendations as there are modellers here.

 

I have a couple of different airbrushes; a Badger 350 (similar to the Paasche H) for spraying large areas, a Badger 150 and an Iwata knockoff.

 

I use both acrylics (Tamiya) and enamels (Model Master) - depending on location, you may have easier to obtain alternatives. I use Model Master clear coats.

 

Micro Sol/Set for decals.

 

Also, I'm sold of Tamiya Fine White and Mr.Surfacer 1500 black for primers.

[Bruce_Crosby]

Airbrush: Harder & Steenbeck Evolution 2 in 1. It comes with 0.2 and 0.4 needle/nozzle sets and there are loads of options such as larger paint cups, etc.

 

Compressor: spend some decent money, get one with integral air tank so it doesn't pulse, integral pressure cut out and a regulator/filter. Won't be cheap but no good getting an expensive airbrush and using a crappy air supply.

 

Matt varnish: Vallejo. It works.

 

Paints: Gunze Acrylics and the Mr Color Lacquer range. Vallejo. AK Interactive does a tracks and wheels set for Armour modelling that has a great Rubber and Satin Black.

 

Micro Sol/Set for decals

[BarryWilliams]

Airbrush: Harder & Steenbeck Evo 2 in 1 - plus a cheap compressor but make sure it has a tank.

Paints: Vallejo Model Air and/or the similar AK Interative acylics - primer (always prime when using acrylics) Stynylrez

Varnish: Alclad Aqua Gloss and Windsor & Newton's matt varnish

I use the Gunze decals setter and softeners

AK Intereactive and/or Mig weathering washes, pigments etc

Edited October 11, 2016 by BarryWilliams

[Jasta 14 addict]

Hello,

 

After a stop of more than 20 years of buillding models (I never stopped watching others build models), I plan a "come-back". Now, many years have passed and I am not sure which

 

• Airbrush
• Paints (acrylic, enamel, etc. particularly for Luftwaffe models)
• Flat & gloss varnish
• Glue
• Decal solvent
• Weathering technique (oil, metal pencil, special weathering products, etc.)

 

etc. are best nowadays.

 

Can anybody give me a recommendation? I know that is quite a broad question. If there are existing tutorials or articles about this topic, I'd also be happy to learn where I have to look for them.

 

Thank you.

 

Roger

Hi Roger,

 

it's indeed a broad question, and all depends in what of situation you build you're models ( living room, separate room only for modeling, spray booth etc.) 

You will see, everybody over here is glad to give you good advice, and you will receive several different brands of airbrushes, paint's decal solutions, wheatering products and so on..........

 

I'm not gonna get into detail on this, just gonna give you some good advice, like all the other folks will do over here, afterwards you can chose for yourself which way you wanna go.

 

airbrush : very important, get yourself a  double action airbrush with a top feed cup. Best to buy is a two in one, so you will have two different nozzle sizes. Example : a 0.15 m/m and a 0.4 m/m.

                I use the Harder & Steenback range, the Infinity and the Evolution, both very good airbrushes for a reasonable price.

 

http://www.harder-airbrush.eu/en/infinity.html#infinitysolo

 

http://www.harder-airbrush.eu/en/evolution-108.html#evolutionsolo

 

Paints : here you have to chose, the most common type of paints these day's are the acrylic ones, Tamiya and Mr. Hobby Color are two well known brands

             But still there are also the classic ones still available, like Humbrol.

             Metalizers also have different brands, i use the Alclad II range, but they are smelly and not so healthy.

 

Flat and Gloss varnishes : Many people use Future floor polish for their gloss coates, and i'm sure they are happy with it. Still i don't get good results with this sort of gloss coat, so i only use it to put my clear canopy's in it to give it a realistic                                           glass appearance.

                                          I used and tryed several sorts of brands, Vallejo, Tamiya and now recently i used the Alclad range, and these giving me very nice results, again, the Alclad range needs to be used in a well ventilated environment                                             because of their toxic nature.

 

Glue : Tamiya thin cement is a wanna have in every model room, Revell contacta liquid is good for big surfaces.

 

Decal solvent : again, their are several brands, the only one i used are the Micro Set and Micro Sol, which are in my opinion fairly good. Their are others, but i didn't used them yet, still they all have their own formula and way of kicking in                             on the decals.

 

Wheatering : in my opinion, here you gonna have to experiment, their are many different sorts of weathering materials, all with their own way of use. To name them all would be a enormous amount of work, because their are so much on                          the market. You can still use the old style, with simpel oil paint tubes and pigments, i'm sure lot's of modelers still use these methode.

 

And finally, invest in a very good compressor if you gonna use a airbrush, that's is very important.

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[Hubert Boillot]

Most of the above advice is sound. Be aware that some acrylics don't go well with brushes (Tamiya in particular in my experience). Vallejo/Model Air/prince August are OK with brushes.

 

For gloss varnish, Tamiya's X-22 is waaayyy better than Future/Pledge/Klir

 

Hubert

[Bill_S]

Most of the above advice is sound. Be aware that some acrylics don't go well with brushes (Tamiya in particular in my experience). Vallejo/Model Air/prince August are OK with brushes.

 

For gloss varnish, Tamiya's X-22 is waaayyy better than Future/Pledge/Klir

 

Hubert

Hubert, Tamiya's paint retarder works well in this regard.

[VintageEagle]

Thank you so much for all these very helpful recommendations.

 

AIRBRUSH:

I used to have a plastic Testor Aztek airbrush if I remember correctly. But I now probably go for Harder & Steenbeck that was mentioned several times. The Evolution 2 in 1 (0.2 / 0.4) sounds like a good deal. Is there a big difference between a 0.15 Infinity and 0.2 Evolution in terms of minimum spray diameter?

 

PAINTS:

I used to use Testor or Humbrol enamel colors, but the odor was quite strong and paint that stuck to my fingers had to be removed by alcohol. So, I'll definately go for acrylic paints, most likely Gunze Sangyo. From what I have read they have quite good Luftwaffe RLM colors.

 

DECAL SOLVENT:

Good to hear that the Micro Sol and Micro Set are still in use. I used to use them already 20 years ago.

 

VARNISHES:

I'll give Vallejo a try and see how well it works. I remember the Humbrol clear coates that used to create "spider webs" (which was probably my fault as I may have used the wrong solvent).

 

WEATHERING:

Thank you for the recommendation of weathering products. Such products were not available 20 years ago and may make weathering simpler, but I assume it is still a lot of learing by doing. I really like the way the models of Chris Wauchop look like. Not too exaggerated and very convincing weathering.

 

GLUE:
I'll go for the Tamiya thin cement. I remember having used that one. I was quite happy with the results.

 

Now, I realize that there is a lot to learn besides the basics (rivetting, re-scribing panel lines, paint chipping, etc.), but that's part of the fun :-)

 

Thank you all and happy modelling!

 

Roger

[Luca]

concerning airbrushes I can assure that Badger is an excellent brand, too... I have a 100F from 90s and still works well

concerning paints for my humble experience I suggest Gunze Sangyo acrylics (air) and Humbrol (brush)

Edited October 11, 2016 by Luca

[Luca]

Also, I'm sold of Tamiya Fine White and Mr.Surfacer 1500 black for primers.

 

It is too fine grained to fill small cracks, isn't it?

[Hardcore]

Thank you so much for all these very helpful recommendations.

 

AIRBRUSH:

I used to have a plastic Testor Aztek airbrush if I remember correctly. But I now probably go for Harder & Steenbeck that was mentioned several times. The Evolution 2 in 1 (0.2 / 0.4) sounds like a good deal. Is there a big difference between a 0.15 Infinity and 0.2 Evolution in terms of minimum spray diameter?

 

 

 

Avoid those small diameter nozzles on your ABs. They apparently are for the more free flowing Inks rather than paint.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Hardcore

[Bill_S]

It is too fine grained to fill small cracks, isn't it?

I use Tamiya putty for cracks and seams. If they're small, I sometimes simply use correction fluid (White Out) - but only if I'm putting acrylic down over it.