hi web_boy,
as a rule of thumb one can say that the paint used in an airbrush should have the consistency of milk.
and as jcarlberg said, practice is the key to success.
load your airbrush with some water first and try on a piece of cardboard box to get a feeling for your spraygun.
then load some thinned paint and use it on an old model.
thats how i did it. after a little while you get used to the airbrush
its really not that difficult.
always move your airbrush while spraying.
if you have a double action gun press trigger first for the air
then pull back to release the paint.
when you do that, dont aim at your model, aim next to it ,then move over the surface.