Airbrushes

[Stephen]

Weekends and evenings I spend a lot of time sitting of late. I read, watch TV shows and races (anyone following Indy this year? Damn good racing!) but I need more to take up my time. Since I can't work on my actual vehicle project I thought I'd give scale modeling a go.

Now I haven't built a scale model since I put together an A-10 and an F-4 when I was like 11. But people seem to give them to me as gifts, so I have a Lacia Stratos HF, a Lacia 037, a Suzuki LJ20, and a Chevy Nova. All are level 5, expert build, insane models. Well I decided to bust out the Stratos today and... parts require painting before they are put together?!?! What sort of insanity is this!? I thought I'd glue everything together, do a little painting and put some decals on. Apparently I need to stick with LEGO if I want that sort of ease.

In talking to my friends who are into models, they said I need an airbrush. Which I agree with because my hands are nowhere near steady enough to use a paintbrush on little tiny parts. I've perused the Amazon a bit for airbrushes and I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Anyone into modeling or painting with airbrushes that has a recommendation?

 

[4x4_Welder]

I used to use one of the mid level Paasche airbrushes, with a tire for my air supply as I never had the spare change for a proper compressor. There's lots of options out there, integral cup or screw on jar underneath, single and double action, etc. The type you use is a mix of personal preference and how much you plan to use it, but practice with it a fair bit before painting anything important.
Paint options are better now, you can get low VOC paints pre thinned to the proper consistency, but I would still recommend a spray booth. You can make one easily with a plastic tote, light, and a computer fan, there's tutorials online.

 

[Kevin B.]

Legos are rad, you watch your mouth.

 

[crimsonride]

back when I was a kid I used to build a lot of models. I bought a cheapo single stage air brush from Harbor freight. Worked great for models! Most of the painting I did was solid colors but I did do some shadowing for exhaust stains and such. The cheapo worked great for that.