Hello / Pre-Newbie Questions

[Cosmicwind]

Hiya Forumites!

I joined today, and I've never touched an airbrush in my life. However, I have thought of touching an airbrush, and even imagined myself holding one, so I decided to bite the bullet and join this very experienced community for the sole purpose of sucking your brains dry...errr...I mean learning from all of you.

I have been reading into the depths of these forums for a couple of weeks now. Even so, I still find myself with a few glaring questions, but first just a tad about me!

Who Am I?
Another eclectic Minnesotan (currently, not born), which I have to claim to live in Minnesota since my home planet of Pluto was recently declared a non-planet.

Why Am I Here?
I would like to learn how to airbrush, and what equipment to use, primarily for personal use.

What Do I Want To Paint?
My main foray here is to paint 1/285th scale (6mm), 15mm, 25mm, and 28mm miniatures of both pewter and plastic varieties. I have painted hundreds of the suckers, but brushes and I have never gotten along well. Eventually, if I ever get the hang of it and get the courage to try something other than things people have a hard time seeing without a microscope, I may try doing custom paint jobs on things I build (paintball guns, custom scenery, cosmic dioramas, etc.), as well as the occassional T-shirt for events and charity.

My questions might be pretty obvious to you, but here they are anyway along with any background I might have on them.

What airbrush should I buy?
Yeah, that's a great one you get all the time. I have looked over the product reviews and such, and seem to be drawn to the Iwata line simply because they seem the best for small detail. I was looking primarily at the SB Plus (side cup so I can see the details I am painting) and the CM-C Plus (gravity fill). Obviously these preliminary choices are merely distilled from reading and have no practical knowledge behind them. Money is not the primary concern for me. Quality and reliability are much more important to me as I really want both an airbrush (or a couple) that will stand up to usage by a self-professed aspiring (because I can't do it yet) perfectionist.

Do I need a different compressor?
I have a couple sizes in my garage between my other toys. These are standard compressors with air tanks and PSI ratings up to 60 and 140 respectively. I also pack 4500psi tanks for paintball, but I think that is slightly overkill for this application.

Any advice besides the lessons?
I do plan on going through the lessons to train myself and get better. However, I ask this because it seems the lessons are focused on larger painting activities than what I am going to be doing normally.

Is Vallejo Model Air acrylic paint OK to use?
This particular manufacturer and paint line is supposed to be specifically formulated for airbrushing. The added benefits of it are it comes in most of the military-driven color sets I need, and the entire Vallejo line is the premium quality paint stocked by my local hobby store.

If your eyes are not bugging out yet, then you have my sincere thanks for reading the entirety of this post. Either way, your comments and suggestions are most welcome!

Drew
Pre-Newbie
Competency Desired

[mayhem]

WHAT !!!!!


check out the product review !

I think I worked to hard today

geetings !

[chucktx]

welcome to the forum.....glad you are here!!!
you seem to have done your preliminary homework.....good for you!

1...you are looking at very good airbrushes.....i use small cup gravity feed, but i dont work on as small a palet as you intend to do....so a side cup may serve you......but remember, if the brush gets tilted, you do have a bit of a mess......those brushes are also good for larger stuff, but a bit small for t shirts....they will do shirts, you just have to fill them quicker. for personal use i dont see a problem

2...the compressors you have will be more than enough.....but be sure to have a good water/dirt trap in the line.....you seem to know a bit about compressed air, so i assume you know about the water problems.

3... even tho you are working small scale, the lessons will help more than you know.....please dont treat you airbrush as an expensive can of of rattle can paint....you are defeating the purpose of the tool

4... i cant help you with the brand of paint....i suggest using it in your practice to see if it works for you or not.........sorry

5... have fun with it, practice, practice......and post some of your work....dont worry about it being your first piece.....we cant help you if you dont show us!!!!!
chuck

[brushbyair]

Welcome aboard Cosmicwind. 1. For the current application you speak of, I would seriously look at a Gravity feed brush, Iwata is one of the best, very dependable and easy to get replacement parts. You mention price is not an obstruction for you, so I might suggest Iwata's HP-B Hi-line Plus as it has the ability to turn the pressure down right at the brush, which when working on projects as small as you describe will be helpful ( this brush sells for about $190.00 at Dixie Art ). Gravity feed brushes use very little paint and the cleanup between colors would be easier for you with what you describe you would like to paint, and you would waste less paint in the cleanup process than you would with a side or bottom feed brush, but if you do get into t-shirts those are the best brushes. Passche VL, Iwata BCS, both bottom feed brushes that are excellent brushes for T-shirts.
2. Any good quality compressor capable of supplying 90 psi with a good regulator, water trap will work just fine, the one you describe should do the job.
3. I suggest you spend the time to do the lessons, learning how to use the airbrush correctly to begin with will pay off later, breaking bad habits is much harder than learning it right to begin with, and if you decide to futher venture into broader applications with the airbrush you have gotten off to the right start.
4. An airbrush will spray any type of paint, you may have to thin it to get it to spray the way you need it to, but it will spray it. The paint you describe sounds like it was made for your type of application.
5. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, then post some of your PRACTICE, there are very many excellent airbrush artists on this site that are more than willing to help in the right direction. And may I suggest purchasing the Airbrush Techniques Magazine, this is a very informative magazine without all of the pushy ads you see in some of the others, it includes step-by-step instruction on different painting artists have done to help the newbies along thier way.
Most importantly spray some paint, have fun with it, but watch out cause the bug will soon bite ya, and you will be as hooked asn most of that visit this site on a daily basis.