Completed Carabinier - after Detaille

[Merryweather]

Ooh looking good Paul.
Yes Mr Surfacer is cellulose based and you will need to use cellulose thinners to clean the airbrush. Hope you've got some kind of extraction...

 

[Paul Handley]

...is this the inspiration below ?

View attachment 489177

… and the prize for rumbling my sources goes to Nap - well spotted, that was exactly the inspiration. I decided on a worn pelisse as the Historex flung pelisse is flying out behind the rider and I didn’t fancy cutting and remodelling it to get it to hang properly - after the trials and tribulations of the Carabinier I fancied an easier time of it. Thanks for the article too - very useful.

 

[Paul Handley]

Ooh looking good Paul.
Yes Mr Surfacer is cellulose based and you will need to use cellulose thinners to clean the airbrush. Hope you've got some kind of extraction...

As it happens my bench is next to a window - opening it should do the trick?

 

[Merryweather]

As it happens my bench is next to a window - opening it should do the trick?

Aha, old skool.....

 

[Briggsy]

Great looking figure, like all the modifications to get the pose right.

Cheers Simon

 

[NigelR]

Another beautiful figure in progress there....

As it turns out my airbrush needs a new needle, a new nozzle and a thorough clean before it’s usable again - it really was in a very sorry state - so my anticipated priming
On the subject of airbrushes and priming I’d intended to use a Mr Hobby primer called ‘Mr Surfacer 500’ that I spotted on a YouTube video. Does anyone else have any experience of using this product and am I right in thinking it’s a cellulose based paint?

You need to use lacquer-based thinner to clean up, some people say IPA (isopropyl alcohol, not the beer).

Personally I would never put anything like that through the airbrush, I only ever use acrylics. The risk of clogging (and the smell) is too high for me. You also need to thin Mr Surfacer 500 which is fraught with issues IMO, to thin and it won't work, not thin enough and you have a clogged airbrush with gunk everywhere.

For priming, why not use a rattle can? I'm sure most of us on here use that approach. You can get Mr Surfacer 500 and 1000 in rattle cans. I use Mr Surfacer 1000 in rattle cans for priming my 1/32 aircraft, it is great, never fails and no risk of messing up the airbrush and no clean up.

I also would not use Mr Surfacer for priming figures. It's too smooth IMO. I like something that has a bit of tooth and is nice and matt. I would imagine many of us on here use good old Halfords primer.

 

[Briggsy]

Agree with Nigel on this, one other issue with Mr Surfacer and Tamiya self levelling surface primer is the shine that carries through any paint I applied, it proved almost impossible to dull down. Halfords grey primer is brilliant, another potion would be the Citadel rattle cans, I believe they do the skull white.

Airbrush woes, just remembered spraying something with Alcad paint and cleaning the brush with normal airbrush cleaner. Needless to say next time I tried to use it, it was just a solid lump that looked like an airbrush, the body and trigger were about all I could salvage!

Cheers Simon

 

[Paul Handley]

Thanks for that chaps - that was my worry with what I rightly assumed was a cellulose primer - and why I’m probably not now going to stick it through my (recently refurbished) airbrush.

I’m a bit loathed to use a rattle can as having had some previous experience of them I’ve found them a bit unpredictable - one wrong squirt and that’s months of work down the drain. Is there an acrylic matt primer you’d recommend that I could safely put through my airbrush?

 

[MalcC]

Nice work.

Malc

 

[MarquisMini]

Thanks for that chaps - that was my worry with what I rightly assumed was a cellulose primer - and why I’m probably not now going to stick it through my (recently refurbished) airbrush.

I’m a bit loathed to use a rattle can as having had some previous experience of them I’ve found them a bit unpredictable - one wrong squirt and that’s months of work down the drain. Is there an acrylic matt primer you’d recommend that I could safely put through my airbrush?

Have you consider self etching primer?.
I have been using this one, in green and dries up very Matt, which makes it easier to paint colors.

 

[malc]

I use rattle cans from work (soon to end when I decided to retire permanently)most of the time and an etch for finer stuff as etch is thinner...warm them up first...

 

[NigelR]

Is there an acrylic matt primer you’d recommend that I could safely put through my airbrush?

No is the answer to that. I have tried many and have had issues with them clogging and spitting, because they tend to be a bit thicker than paint. You need to thin them and I have struggled to get the ratio right.

That's why I always use a rattle can, far fewer issues. I have had a lot more issues with spitting/spidering trying to spray primers through the airbrush. Warm the rattle can in hot water first, make sure the nozzle doesn't have any obstructions and start spraying off the subject.

 

[Briggsy]

I'd go with rattle can as well, just don't be in a hurry a couple of coats beats a single thicker one. The only real alternative is a brush applied primer.

Cheers Simon

 

[Paul Handley]

Right, well it looks like the future of priming is rattle can shaped. Many thanks for the heads up chaps. I better get down to Halfords.

 

[Briggsy]

Right, well it looks like the future of priming is rattle can shaped. Many thanks for the heads up chaps. I better get down to Halfords.

Right now I feel apprehensive because if you have a nightmare with it I'll feel so guilty! The bog standard Halfords own is good stuff, just gently does it.

Cheers Simon

 

[NigelR]

I agree with Simon, when priming my 1/32 aircraft (which are quite big), I put down a light mist coat first, let that dry and then a couple of additional coats after that. This approach prevents runs. The primers dry pretty quickly so you don't have to wait long.

 

[Paul Handley]

Right now I feel apprehensive because if you have a nightmare with it I'll feel so guilty! The bog standard Halfords own is good stuff, just gently does it.

Cheers Simon

Rest easy Simon - I’m going to do quite a few test runs - rattle can and airbrush - before I go live on a project. So the management will take full responsibility for any cock ups, disasters, acts of God and good old misfortune unfortunately incurred.

 

[Briggsy]

Rest easy Simon - I’m going to do quite a few test runs - rattle can and airbrush - before I go live on a project. So the management will take full responsibility for any cock ups, disasters, acts of God and good old misfortune unfortunately incurred.

I would expect nothing less than a cautious approach after all the effort you put into him, good luck.

Cheers Simon

 

[Paul Handley]

I finally got my Carabinier rattle canned today - with some trepidation and a can of Halford’s finest. He’s not without a few ‘issues’ - some I’d foreseen and some I hadn’t - hopefully, most can be sorted out in the painting and a couple of other things I can tweak (fingers crossed).

That’s the first figure I’ve built for nearly thirty years and although it took rather longer than I’d anticipated and was certainly more of a struggle, I’m fairly pleased with the outcome (so far). Anyone got any hot tips for making buttons? Mine have got a bit lost in translation .

 

[Briggsy]

Beautiful work Paul, if this is what you produce after a 30 year lay off, well just astounding and looking forward to more, more power to you.

Cheers Simon