Today I built........

[HoHoHo]

I've finished the tree house and my airbrush and associated new modelling kit has arrived so I thought I'd be better off having a dedicated area rather than use the kids games room so I thought why not use part of the room above the garage

Off to my pile of spare wood and three hours later I have a bench





And the view over the back garden isn't too shabby



And with everything ready to go I grabbed a cheapo Harrier kit I've had lying around to play with the airbrush

Some hours later and it's together and I've had a play with priming and tried a bit opf pre-shading.



I had a good play with the airbrush and this model is never going to win any prizes so a good one to play with. The airbrush worked fine and I upped the pressure, reduced it, opened the valve at the bvack of the brush to allow more paint and generally had a good few hours fun.

Now some questions.....

I have a air filter which I think is a good thing however I'm not wearing a mask and can smell the paint - should I also be wearing a mask?

What is the best filler to use that doesn't dry like concrete and can be sanded easily?

I've throughly cleaned the airbrush with cleaner and rinsed it into an airbrush bottle (the type with a little filter on top etc.), how thoroughly do I have be, I don't want to be OTT!

What's the best way to airbrush camouflage, do I mask or simply spray two colours carefully?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, thanks for reading

Edited by HoHoHo on Saturday 11th April 19:13

Edited by HoHoHo on Saturday 11th April 20:03

[_Al_]

I have no answers to any of your questions, but great work on the bench!

Be interested to hear the answers to your questions as I'm getting back into modelling a bit now and would like to take it up a level into airbrushing..

[perdu]

I like the bench

and the view

Yes you should use a mask, the best you can afford

I understand that dr_gn has a good one, I'm sure he will offer you some very good advice about it

Worth listening to

Fillers are a very emotive subject for me, I use several and hate several too

I like Milliput which can be shaped almost to the size and shape you want with a wet finger

For similar ease of shaping I use Perfect Plastic Putty which dries very quickly and is water shapable but is really horrid to sand after it dries

If you want to sand it after it has hardened use a drop of water on your abrasive which will slightly soften the putty and allow rapid shaping

Dry sanding it is horrid, I may have mentioned that before

For a slightly more durable but quick drying in small quantities I use Squadron Green Putty which has as many haters as likers in the hobby

It dries quickly enough for sanding soon after application but not if it is laid in/on thickly

In those circumstances I find it gets a bit rubbery and attacks the plastic surface around it until it dries out

I have tried Plasto

I detest it, some like it

Did I mention I like Milliput

Only drawback with it as a two part putty can be waiting time, it can take a while to harden and when it is hard it likes a good old attack from cold steel to work it

I use a six inch half round engineer's file. Second cut.

Here's a canopy mould I made from two colours of Milliput, it takes a polish after filing down

Mighty versatile stuff

I like it

And I really like your modelling den

[HoHoHo]

Thanks Perdu and I have a very good mask which I will now wear - it has cartridge inserts and is designed for asbestos so I'm guessing will be more than up to the job.

I'm pleased with the bench and I'm sure (much to Mrs. HoHoHo's amazement) I'll spend quite a few hours by myself playing with boys toys Having a dedicated bench I hope will make life much easier

I was using Plasto today and I found it hard work - having looked on youtube if nothing else you can hide bad filling with panel lines! however I'll buy some Milliput this week and see how I get on with that.

And of course I'll wear my mask in furture

[dr_gn]

A word on the mask - an asbestos filter (presumably for relatively large fibres) probably won't be much use on chemical vapours.

For hard-edged camo, use Tamiya masking tape cut to the right profile.

For soft-edged camo, use thin sausages of blu-tack profiled to the right shape and in-filled with masking tape. The overall softness of the edge depends upon the diameter of the sausage, and the angle at which you spray against it. There are other methods, but that is the easiest. For half decent freehand camo at small scales, you need a very fine spray pattern and a very steady (& repeatable!) hand.

Endless debate about which is the more realistic, try both and go with what you like.

IME, pre-shading works best applied after a base coat of camo colour, and then overspray again until you're happy with the effect. Mask, then repeat the whole thing for the next colour. Time consuming, but that's the idea.

Milliput for me too. Thin it with water before application, and then smooth with a damp, lint free cloth. Forget any significant sanding afterwards, it just screws surface detail and makes more work. Milliput is an acquired taste, but persevere - once you get used to it, other fillers seem silly.

[CoolHands]

gerson 8000e can be use with isocyanates which is the bad stuff in 2.pack paint, so will be great with any other kind of spray paint. £16.40 is the cheapest I've seen it, (below - doesn't have the model designation but it is the correct mask). But it is easy to breath through unlike cheap masks.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gerson-Disposable-Twin-R...

[HoHoHo]

Thanks dr_gn

@coolhands I'll look at my mask tomorrow and see what's what re the filters.

How dangerous are these paints?

[CoolHands]

pretty bad!

but as a hobbyist its not like your exposure will be like an occupation in terms of exposure. But I would wear a mask that is A1 or better category wheras your mask is probably P1 (or 2 or 3) ie Particle which is no help for VOCs (however it could be A rated too).

eg random google link in the topic of VOC in paints
http://sentryair.com/blog/custom-fume-hood/the-haz...

what you need explanation (any A rated category imo):
http://www.moldex-europe.com/en/service/protection...

[perdu]

Well you should be able to get diferent filters for any decent mask

So we'll call that sorted

Now any decent modelling den needs a decent bin or two

When you have that sorted

Drop the blooming Plasto in it

Be aware that Milliput dries quite slowly and prefers a slightly warmer than freezing temperature range

So for winter (Only ten months away) get a heater installed

I havent tried Humbrol's Modelling Filler lately, it may be better than it used to be but I cut my modelling teeth with it back in the sixties (that is nineteen sixties, wasn't so much choice back in the Golden Years/Wilderness Years) but it might be worth looking at that too

You need to try many and find what you like and want and need

Edited by perdu on Saturday 11th April 23:36

[HoHoHo]

Thanks for the replies and the bin has already been found Perdu

Quick question re priming.....

I'm just about to start painting the 1:144 Revel 747 + shuttle kit and it's fairly large. My instinct is to prime with a darker colour so I can see the final coat easier rather than a white prime - your thoughts on such situations?

[Eric Mc]

I'm a big fan of Halfords Plastic Primers. I would initially prime with their Grey Primer and then, having sanded the grey coat back a bit and carried out filling and more sanding if necessary, I'd apply a coat of Halford's White Primer as there is going to be a lot of white in a 747/Shuttle project.

On the filler front, I've become a bit of a convert to the De Luxe product. Perdu has mentioned that it isn't that great for sanding - which is true. However, the secret of De Luxe filler is that it is (like Milliput) water soluble and you can actually wipe back the excess with a damp finger or cotton bud immediately after application so you may not have much sanding back (if any) to do.

I've tried Milliput many times and I just can't get on with it. It's obviously me not getting the mix right in the first place but I can never get it to harden off properly. So, I avoid it unless there is absolutely no alternative.

I used to use Squadron Green Putty a lot but not so much these days. It is good for sanding but it has some nasty chemicals in it which actually attack polystyrene plastic. No doubt that is why it adheres to the model well but you do have to be careful using it.

I really love your modelling "den". I have plans for a model building shed in the garden which I hope will come to fruition this year.

[HoHoHo]

CoolHands said:

pretty bad!

but as a hobbyist its not like your exposure will be like an occupation in terms of exposure. But I would wear a mask that is A1 or better category wheras your mask is probably P1 (or 2 or 3) ie Particle which is no help for VOCs (however it could be A rated too).

eg random google link in the topic of VOC in paints
http://sentryair.com/blog/custom-fume-hood/the-haz...

what you need explanation (any A rated category imo):
http://www.moldex-europe.com/en/service/protection...

My moldex mask (model 7000) has this cartridge on both sides



Tech spec:

Moldex 9400 ABEK1 Gas Filter Cartridges to suit Moldex 7000 Half Face Masks & 9000 Series Full Face Masks.

Organic gases and vapours, boiling point > 65 deg C 1000 ppm (0.1 percent by volume) or 20 x WEL*

Inorganic gases and vapours boiling point >65 deg C .
Acid gases (e.g. sulphur dioxide, hydrochloric acid)

Ammonia
WEL = Workplace Exposure Limit

• whichever is lower.

EN14387 + A1:2008.

Can be used alone for gas protection or combined with particulate Filter Cartridges (9010, 9020, 9030).

It then has a further P3R filter (for asbestos I guess) fitted but what I can't extablish is what I need to add or change to make it safer

[CoolHands]

that will be fine it is A1 and B1 so thats all you need!

[HoHoHo]

CoolHands said:

that will be fine it is A1 and B1 so thats all you need!

That's good to know, thanks.

I may as well leave the white additional filters on there as well I guess?

[CoolHands]

I think that's a pre-filter used for very dusty environments to stop the main filter getting clogged, eg if you worked in a cement factory or something (as I did once. It was horrendous). You wouldn't need it in your home IMO.