using an AB on figs

I have started using an airbrush to lay down the main colours on 120mm figures, prior to shading and highlighting. I think for scales like 1/6 an airbrush would be an excellent idea, but I have yet to make anything that big.

You can use an AB, as a matter of fact your skin-colour will benefit from it.
Most of my anime figs are painted using an airbrush, but than we do little shading on them.
You will need to mask well when using an AB though.

My rule is the bigger the figure the more benefit you will get from using an AB.

Another step you can add to airbrushing after the base coat (by which I mean the main colour of the uniform) is spraying a lighter shade downwards from the top of the figure and a darker shade upwards from the bottom. Kind of gives you a headstart the weathering and shading.

Most of the top Fantasy/Sci-Fi figure artists use AB for most, if not all of their painting work. It works well for the genre, though a agood painter can yield completely comparable results with oils and a brush. Many military figure modelers are now doing fantastic brush work with acrylics as well.

I am an oil user myself, all by brush, no matter the scale, but I believe that 1/9th scale and larger figures are uniquely suited to AB. Give it a shot. You might also get a hold of a Fantasy/Sci-fi moderler's magazine like Moderler's Resource to help. They have some great articles on using the AB for figures. The techniques are not genre specific for the most part, so even if you aren't planning on a 1/6th scale Terminator figure, but rather a 1/9th scale Panzer commander, much of the basic techniques will be the same regardless.