Advice for camoflaging an aircraft

Just logged on and stumbled across this post.  What a timing.  I am in the process of purchasing an airbrush.  I don't have an old unfinished junk model to practice on.  But, I do have a cheap ($10.00) Spitfire in my little stash.  I could take this, slap the fuselage and wings on and presto, me thinks, I would have a good one of a kind test model.

John

Thanks for the replies

I will get an Aztec  tan nozzle from my hobby store in a couple of weeks

I also found an old model that I never completed and will use it to practice painting with the airbrush.

I recommend investing in the tan nozzle for Aztec/ Testors airbrushes. It is the fine line tip that is great for detail work and medium-coverage areas like camo jobs. I use it with acrylics and enamels alike. I actually very rarely use any other tip, it is good enough for all the paint jobs I do.

I'll also echo the "practice practice practice" mantra that others have mentioned. Like Hawkeye, I too use a "test mule", I find it gives me a better feel for the airbrush and paint combo than a piece of cardboard. At the very least, I use some scrap styrene.

1.  Tamiya paint was not designed for hand brushing.  Don't hand brush other than a final touch up.

2. Use the airbrush.  Practice on cardboard first.

3. If you're spraying. Use the Tamiya paint.  It was designed for airbrushing.   Thin the paint first.  

4. Use the nozzle designed for acrylic paint.  Sorry I can't remember the color.  Check Aztek site. Use the wrong nozzle, and the brush will probably clog.

Arespontus

1. Paint with a brush directly from the Tamiya Paint Jar?

NEVER paint Tamiya acrylics straight from the jar. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

Please search the Painting and airbrushing  forum as there have been many discussions, some quite recent, about brush painting Tamiya acrylics.

Stop! Don't learn to airbrush on a model you intend on finishing. Instead use a test mule, a piece of crap you screwed up in the past.  Learn before applying to a good model.

You can brush paint, nothing stopping you there, but Tamiya paints prefer IMO to be airbrushed. If you elect to brush using them, be sure to have the right brushes for the task. Not all paint brushes are the same.

Not familiar with the Aztec airbrushes from Testors, sorry.

Words of modeling wisdom...Focus on the build skills,  paint doesn't cover the flaws, it accentuates them.