Kardar2
...I was wondering how many of you only use your airbrush for the body, frame and tub. And hand paint the rest of it...
You seem to refer specifically to building and finishing an aircraft model, and my answer is that for me, it depends on the subject, whether I use the airbrush--or rattle-cans--to apply paint or brush by hand. For example, for an aircraft, I'll apply paint to the large areas--fuselage exterior and interiors, for the most part--by spraying, and paint small pieces and details by hand. For figures, I'll apply paint almost entirely by hand, though I have started experimenting with spraying, for larger figures (1/6 or 1/8 scale). For a car, I spray almost entirely, for the even application.
But for some sci-fi subjects--Maschinen Krieger--I am experiementing with apply paints to areas, like the exterior of an armored fighting suit, by hand. I thin the paints just as for spraying, and apply layers to build them up. Among the MaK builders I know, it seems to be relatively popular to paint them by hand, especially using lacquers from Japan.
So, it depends on the modeler, and the subject--everyone will have a preference, and for some jobs, one or the other may work better, that is, may be less fuss and produce a better finish.