Advice on an airbrush for Airfix kit

[tim0409]

Hi

I have been clearing out the loft and came across an Airfix kit of a Boeing 747 I purchased from a charity shop some time ago (I was passing and saw it in the window and decided that £2.50 was worth the gamble). I need to buy an airbrush, but given it will be a one off I don't want to spend a lot, and would be grateful for some advice on a budget airbrush that will give an acceptable finish. Despite working in a RC model shop for a few years when I was much young, the last time I painted an airfix kit was when I was 12 and that was with a brush!

Cheers

Tim

PS Will update with build pictures.

[dr_gn]

Don't bother - get some Halfords plastic primer, appliance gloss white and whatever other aerosols you need and make a start...

[48Valves]

Have a look on eBay. You can get a cheap compressor and brush for about £70 that will do the job.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/152181081549?lpid=1...

[laters]

If its just a one off I would be going with the aerosols route as suggested.
I use the Halfords aerosols to paint model trucks as they are cheaper and better choice of colours rather than using model paints.

If you really want to use model paint there is nothing wrong with the Tamiya aerosols but for larger models they are quite expensive as the tins are quite small.

[Actual]

I always loved the Airfix box art with all guns blazing until they went all pc and dummed it down. How many machine guns does the 747 have anyway? Oh.

[Eric Mc]

Actual said:

I always loved the Airfix box art with all guns blazing until they went all pc and dummed it down. How many machine guns does the 747 have anyway? Oh.

Have you seen the modern box art by Adam Tooby?

I'd also recommend Halford aerosols for a one off project.

[tim0409]

Thanks for the replies; I didn't realise you could get humbrol spray paint so will buy the three main colours for that, and for the rest will just use a brush. Will update with some pictures...

[dr_gn]

tim0409 said:

Thanks for the replies; I didn't realise you could get humbrol spray paint so will buy the three main colours for that, and for the rest will just use a brush. Will update with some pictures...

The last time I used Humbrol gloss spray paint, it never dried.

[Eric Mc]

Go with Halfords as suggested. It works out better value and they have a greater range of colours.

[Brigand]

Agree with the above for using Halfords paints. I use their primer (grey or white depending on colours to go on top) all the time, and use some of their main colours if I'm spraying large areas. Although of no use to your 747 kit, Halfords 'military paints' (I can't recall their proper title but they're matt camouflage colours) are particularly good and I use the tan and olive drab ones often.

For your kit I'd prime the whole kit in white, spray the wings the generic Halfords Aluminium Silver (comes out nice and bright as I found recently), any gloss white for the fuselage and a dark blue for the remaining sections.

[Eric Mc]

I used Halfords shades almost entirely when building my 1/144 Space Shuttle stack a few years ago -





The only airbrushing was using Tamiya Smoke to achieve some "scorching" effects and tone variations on the External Tank.

[lufbramatt]

+1 on Halfords rattle cans

Don't forget to wait for the weather to warm up (ideally above 10 degrees C) if you need to spray outside otherwise moisture in the air will ruin the finish.

[generationx]

lufbramatt said:

Don't forget to wait for the weather to warm up (ideally above 10 degrees C) if you need to spray outside otherwise moisture in the air will ruin the finish.

This is very good advice. As I have previously found to my cost.

[singlecoil]

This looks like a good thread for me to get advice on too. I'm not actually painting models (yet) but have the need to paint objects of similar sizes, and I would alike to be able to mix colours before spraying and to have a wide range of paints available, especially satin and matt, and occasionally metallic (but not shiny and smooth).

I don't mind investing a bit, I was thinking along the lines of a quiet compressor, the sort that uses refrigeration motors, and whatever else I might need. A link to good online articles on the subject would be useful too.

[Zad]

I have a compressor which is very similar to the Ebay one posted earlier, they are pretty quiet in use. A lot depends on the surface it is sat on. I imagine a laminate floor will be somewhat louder than a carpeted one.

[singlecoil]

I was thinking along these lines
a DeVilbiss airbrush

https://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/index.php/devilb...

and one of these compressors

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bambi-bb24v-compressor-...

I daresay I would be spending more than I needed to, but I've done that in the past with other tools and I've never regretted it, if the tool does more than I need I've usually increased my needs to match

[lufbramatt]

Give Paul at little cars/modelling tools a ring, he's the guy to talk to regarding modelling airbrushes.

http://www.modellingtools.co.uk/airbrush--compress...

[laters]

I've had one of these compressors for a while now.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flowze-COMPRESSOR-WITH-T...


Its surprisingly quiet and works well.
The included airbrushes could be better quality but while they are working I have no desire to change them.

The only complaint people seem to have with the compressors is the tanks perforate due to rust and leak.
I tend to undo the tank drain screw at least every week to drain the tank of any moisture to hopefully make it less of a problem.

[Mutley]

dr_gn said:

Don't bother - get some Halfords plastic primer, appliance gloss white and whatever other aerosols you need and make a start...

OP, this is the best advice you will get. If it's a one off build, why would you want to spend on an airbrush?

[Zad]

It really isn't worth spending all that on a fancy compressor. It can be a bit like other hobbies, you get distracted collecting all the gear, and never doing the actual hobby.