Over the last year or so, I’ve collected quite a few models with the intention of working on (eventually) custom painting them. I’ve got some free time coming up and I’d like to start practicing and working on technique. But, I don’t have an airbrush, and even if I did, there’s no room in my apartment for a spray booth.
Is is possible to do a decent paint job without using an airbrush (which seems to be the preferred method for painting), and are there any good websites for it? (Most of my searching turned up people using airbrushes.)
I used brushes for painting models for over twenty years, with good results I might add. My recommendation; get several sets of model brushes, like the ones sold by Testor’s in the models section at Wal-Mart. These come three to a pack and each is a different size. These are soft bristle brushes and leave few if any brush strokes if you’re careful. Use acrylic paints whenever possible. If you make a mistake, you can clean it up with water. Also, in my opinion, acrylics look better.
You can get nice brushes cheap in the craft department at Wal Mart. They’ve got a broad selection from fine detail to large brushes for large areas. It just takes practice and a steady hand. Like Jeffery said, flat acrylics work the best.
Brushing a model can give you good results, but they are at best 3-foot models (you cant see the brushstrokes from 3 feet away).
Another option is spray cans. I used to paint G scale equipment with testors spray paint (available in many colors). Years ago (15 or so) I even sprayed HO equpment. As long as you go light with the coats and wait overnight to mask, then you will get good results (6 inch models)
David
Having just converted to an airbrush, I have to answer…no, you can’t paint NEARLY as well without… at least, IMHO. The finish is AMAZINGLY even…something VERY hard to duplicate with brushing. But, others may disagree… you may consider finding somewhere (rooftop, shared basement, local college union art studio…) that you could airbrush…my cheapo $30 airbrush has me hooked!!!
Brian
You can probably get a “decent” paint job with brushes if you have a lot of experience. However, if you want a GOOD paint job, then airbrushing is the only way to go. Brushing on paint puts on a relatively thick layer of paint which can obscure the fine details you paid so much for in models. Sprayed paint is many time thinner than brushed on paint. And of course there is the brush marks with some types of paint. If you’re doing more than one color on a model and masking off between the colors, brush painting will leave quite a ridge next to the tape.
Make yourself a spray booth and vent it out a window. We live in a home we own and that’s what I do, as it works the best. I have a plywood insert that fits in a window opening, and it has a dryer vent in it, with the flexible vent ducting going to my booth. I only put it in the window when using it. I use a bathroom exhaust fan to vent the booth.