Artists dry pigments.

How do they behave in an airbrush?

I've been using dry pastel artists pigments for a long, long time.  It's real easy to mix shades.  I also have a set of various whites and blacks with all sorts of greys.  I have had one set for over 20 years.  I've not yet used it all up, and this is after hundreds of kits being built an weathered. They were inexpensive.  They work great and stay put well, and have given me great results.  Oddly enough, I just did a seminar at our IPMS club meeting on how to use them, and before that at a local IPMS contest.  They asked me, so some must like my results.  I have yet to use any of the other special sets.  Just a bit pricey, and I think, really the same.  BTW, where do they, MIG and others, get their raw materials?

Doug

They work good on aircraft and spacecraft as well.  Especially the Moon Bus from 2001.

It's funny--one of the guys giving a seminar at AMPS just last month gave the same spiel, basically, saying to use artists' pigments instead of the "high priced stuff". I can't imagine he was too popular with the vendors, lol.

Thanks for sharing stalkerfish!  Good to see I may not be as crazy as I thought.   I actually watched a pretty informative video the other day by a woman who uses pigments to "paint" scale model horse sculptures.  She gave a run down on a whole slew of pigments.  Learned a lot (like, for example, I did not know that different types of pigments, like "oxides" and "ochres" have different opacities and such.)  I did also see this webpage that shows you how to make your own pastel powders using pigments, and they used talc powder as a carrier.

I think maybe I may give this a small scale test run to see how it goes.  If things work well perhaps it will be a good alternative to the expensive weathering pigments......

Being an artist myself, I use artists' pigments for weathering on almost all my models, usually in conjunction with Vallejo powders. They tend to be a lot easier to move around, but they sometimes get where they shouldn't. Using only artists' pigments on a model might be tough, but they are certainly a more affordable alternative. Try using powdered tile grout to lighten the shade if needed. This stuff is phenomenally easy to work with and adheres very well when used with a mix of white glue and water or a sealer coat of hairspray.

Thanks Doog, that was what I was unsure about with the weathering pigments, meaning if they were "pure" pigment or not.  I think I shall investigate further to see where this idea might lead me......

Modelers "pigment" are not "pure paint" pigments. They actually contain a fair amount of "filler" that retard their intensity when mixed, and help in adhesion, from what I understand.

I don't know how artists' pigments are formulated, but if they're "pure" paint pigment, they will act a bit differently that actual formulated modeler's pigments.

Not claiming to be an authority on it, but that's how I understood it.