varnish for air brush

[kagemusha]

Nice pieces Paul....it did cross my mind that they were a little small for airbrushing.....is this what you mainly use the AB for....i.e., lacquers / varnishes and some metals???

 

[rossbach]

When it comes to figures in 54 mm, 75mm and 90 mm I only use the airbrush for applying primer in the beginning and lacquers at the end. Everything is brush painted. Oils (W&N + Old Holland) over Vallejo basic colours. Metals are done by brush as well.

I have to say that sometimes it isn't alway strictly necessary to apply varnish to get a matt finish. Some oilpaint pigments dry to a matt finish without manipulation, others will retain a sheen. Drying under a lamp helps here but also the brand of oilpaints you choose to work with can make a difference.

Old Holland paints contain a lot more pigment (higher ratio of pigment versus oil) compared to others. W&N oil paints on the other hand contain much more lineseed oil for example. Therefore OH paints generally speaking dry faster and nearly always leave a matt finish.

The main reason I use lacquers is that I believe a matt finish looks better. There should be a relation between the scale of the object and the amount of sheen it reflects. In my opnion this applies to all modelling disciplines . Suggesting higly polished boots in 54 mm with Humbrol gloss doesn't look right. Even with larger scale figures I use only the slightest sheen. And often no sheen at all is best.

Airbrushing lacquer on 54 mm figs is not difficult at all. I thin the varnish well and then adjust my compressor to a low psi. The combination with a needle tip ranging from 0.15 - 0.3 mm allows me to spray at low pressure at a distance from no more then 1 cm. Closer is possible too.

After all this is what the modelaircraft guys do when they apply camouflage, isn't it? You can camouflage a 1 : 48 scale FW - 190 or a 1 : 35 Panther freehand without overspray on the condition that your paint is as thin as water and with very low pressure. When doing this the tip of the airbrush can be brought within 1 mm of the surface that is to be painted.

In that condition the paint is also transparant. To get the desired effect you therefore have to repeat the process to get an opaque finish. With a good airbrush, a compressor, properly thinned paint and a fine tip you can actually (believe it or not) write on a piece of paper in fine letters.

I also dabble in garagekits. They are almost entirely done by airbrush. I use Liquitex and Golden thick acrylic paste paints thinned for airbrush use for this. If you want to see examples of large scale garagekits which are almost entirely done with an airbrush go to the 'Amazing Figure Modeller' website. You can also look at 'Whitworth Studios' or 'Jordu Schell' for impressions.These guys work for the Hollywood special effects industry. I think there are airbrush demontrations on Youtube by Jordu
Schell.

I learned using an airbrush (sometimes the hard way by jumping into the deep ) while modelling scale aircraft and armour. And yes I made a lot of mistakes. In my opinion this is the best way to learn. Asking for advise and listening to advice is a good thing. But in the end you have to do it yourself. And its normal to mess up from time to time. Practice on a sheet of plastic helped me a lot.

For reasons of clearity: I brush paint all my historical figures and give them a flat finish using an airbrush. I have had no problems with H-20. Modelmaster can be quite a nuisance though (fogging). Why don't you pay a visit to aircraft or armour modellers by the way. They all use airbrushes and a lot of them are quite good at it.

If you gain confidence in using an airbrush you will be able to use it like a pen or a colouring pencil.

Cheers Paul

 

[kagemusha]

Not sure how to respond to your apparent lecture......so will let my work speak for itself......makes it easier than trying to put into words what I do..........

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/dark-elf-assassin.65411/

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/im-back-scale-75-abyssal-warlord.63999/

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/my-way-with-oils.52194/

You can also see some of my work in Figure Painter Magazine......issues 4 & 5 if I recall.........

There is also my work outside of figures......

http://project935.doodlekit.com/gallery/683

Hope this gives you a better understanding of my interests and experience

 

[rossbach]

Fantastic! I had no idea. It sounded as if you were about to start thinking about using an airbrush. Your elf reminds me a bit of Fewture's Guillotina I have in my stash. As for the Porsche: stunning detail. I assume your superdetailing it from scratch? Looking at it brings back memories of the old Pocher kits.

Cheers Paul

 

[kagemusha]

Well that's cleared that up mate

First learned the AB 20 years ago.....re-learning it at present......

Porsche is all 'super detailed from scratch and using after market parts from Bestbalsa Kits and Hiroboy.........

Figures....I have been doing those for 35 years......

I am a classically trained oil painter......who loves to break the rules

Could never afford Pocher......so learned to make it myself......more fun anyway IMHO....

Cheers

Ron

 

[Ferris]

Mr.Hobby flat clear H-20 is easy to thin with the brand's own thinner, sprays like a dream and doesn't fog (even if you have it on the shelf for a few years). It's very stable. All that is needed is a thin coat which will give you a perfect deadmatt finish. No problems whatsoever

When thinning Mr. Hobby I use a ratio of 1 : 3. The consistency should be like water. For thinning Hobby Color Thinner 400 is used. I own several airbrushes: Iwata, Olympus, Riche and Harder & Steenbeck.

If you have any questions about airbrushing don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the tips Paul.
About the thinning ratio...which part is 1, which part 3?

Thanks!
Adrian

 

[rossbach]

Hello Adrian,

1 part of thinner to 3 parts of varnish. Or 2 : 4 something in that order. Normally I don't measure exactly. I use a pipet (don't know the English word for it) that I get at the pharmacist to add 400 thinner to a jar of of varnish. Then I shake the jar open it to check its consistency. If its thin (you can hear it whilst shaking) its good to use. I spray at 2bar/30psi from close by.

Cheers Paul

 

[Ferris]

Thanks Paul.

I sometimes spray matte a Spanish household varnish which is excellent, but is not entirely safe from 'frosting' . Must try and get me some Mr Hobby. Any advice where to get it in the Netherlands or Singapore?

Cheers
Adrian

 

[rossbach]

Try Airbrush Services Almere. They have an excellent mailorder service and sell the whole Gunze Sangyo/Mr Hobby range at normal prices.

However I do not know about about restictions on the forwarding of thinners (hazardous materials) outside the EU.

 

[rossbach]

http://www.airbrush-services-almere.nl/. You can browse their site in English by the way. If Duch language causes difficulties feel free to ask me. Good luck.

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Not sure how to respond to your apparent lecture......so will let my work speak for itself......makes it easier than trying to put into words what I do..........

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/dark-elf-assassin.65411/

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/im-back-scale-75-abyssal-warlord.63999/

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/my-way-with-oils.52194/

You can also see some of my work in Figure Painter Magazine......issues 4 & 5 if I recall.........

There is also my work outside of figures......

http://project935.doodlekit.com/gallery/683

Hope this gives you a better understanding of my interests and experience