Airbrushing thin lines

My own personal opinion is that neatly shading panel lines makes an interesting look and certainly can be a testament to the skill of the airbrush artist, but it doesn't look particularly authentic. Neither photos of A/C nor actual ones that I've seen at airfields seem to have any particular tendency to weather with neat dark bands over the panel lines. There can be a lot of color variation over a large surface, but it is usually fairly random, and doesn't usually follow along panel lines.

If the surface looks kind of bland, you could use your AB to highlight it. You can mix a ligher version of the fuselage color to lightly spray some of the areas where sun fading will be most prevalent. You can also mix up a darker version of the main color. Basically what you should try to achieve is a subtle, somewhat splotchy look. The idea is not to make it look like a camo job, but just to give some very subtle, somewhat random color variation. You can then add some washes, simulate a bit of dirt and grime, and make your chopper look less like a model of one and more like a 3-D photo of a real one.

Andy

my tamiya superfine ab has its own built-in needle stopper. don't see one on the 155 anthem. the idea is to stop the needle/trigger from going all the way back, so if u pull back all the way to where u want it to stop , u get a consistant line through out. i wonder if u can custom make a trigger stopper with some paper clips and rubberband.

edit:
aka preset handels... don't thing badger makes it for the 155. some good iwatas comes with them.

Some airbrushes already have that built in. The badger 100LG comes to mind. If you rig something yourself, you need some kind of adjustment mechanism for fine tuning once it's in place. Good luck.

Tom you could also try a wash... it darkens inside the panel lines and makes them more noticable... there's a good article on it here: www.swannysmodels.com under tools and tips...

Also you could either drybrush or use chalk pastels to highlight and "fade" oaint on certain areas that would get a lot of heat or wear... There is an article on them in that same site as well...

the line width you are going for could be done like you are saying, but to keep it straight and on the panel edge at all times might be hard... what might work better is take the same shade of paint with a smidge of white to lighten it and spray the interior of each panel to make the edges darker... that is something common I have seen done...

I wouldn't attempt that job with an airbrush. That's more like the sort of work we do on instrument panels... with a tiny brush and thin paint. You might need one of those 4/0 kolinsky sable brushes if you don't already have one.

But, if you try it with an airbrush, the usual way to make the airbrush spray one consistent line is to chuck the needle back a little farther than where it normally sits and spray it like a single action where all you do is push down on the trigger with no pulling back for paint. It works with those siphon airbrushes like the 155. Gravity feeds are the ones that tend to bleed and splatter if ya try that.