Brush-painters of the world, unite!

I think you'l find many people use a combination of painting tools. I use brush, rattle-can, and airbrush for my models. Heck, even use toothpicks and dish cleaning pads for painting, as the technique warrants. The right tool for the job I say.

I've been a brush painter since the '50s. What paints you could get then were mostly gloss and no fancy colors like olive drab. (I used equal parts red, yellow and green).  I have done some air brush work, but my wife has asthma, so that means brushes on the patio.

Over the years, I have adapted my skills to work with aircraft and armor schemes that could be brushed.  I have done a lot of RAF aircraft, since their camo patterns were hard-edged, something a lot of air brushers forget. I still haven't managed a  natural metal finish to match airbrushing, but I keep trying.

I use Humbrol and MM, mostly. Always thin a new container when I open it up and also drop in four or five BBs as pigment agitators. Almost never go for gloss colors, since flat colors dry more evenly.  You can always overcoat with Future.

Sometimes when I'm feeling ambitious, I'll use dry-brushing to get a soft edge on colors, like the tri-color USN scheme in WWII.

Good luck.  You don't have to have an airbrush rig to turn out quality models.

Carves wrote:

jhande wrote: [snip] I seen a 00000 size brush, wonder what I could paint with that. Jim, Your answer lies in the FSM April 2006 magazine page 46. --- Ben

Oh oh... don't think I have that issue kicking around any more. 

I'm a brusher also, until my wife bought me an airbrush few days ago, still packed in their box.
I use my brush making camo for armor, detailing and fine tunning the final paint job.

I have to be carefull in buying brush here, kinna not cheap, cost around $3-4 a piece.
Kinna expensive since we are importing them always.

jhande wrote:

[snip] I seen a 00000 size brush, wonder what I could paint with that.

Jim,

Your answer lies in the FSM April 2006 magazine page 46.
---
Ben

Well I've never used acrylics, I'm still an old diehard of enamels... mostly Testors and now Model Masters, I have used some pint and half pint enamels from the hardware stores. I build car models of the 1/24th - 1/25th scale and brush everything except the body exteriors. I have always used spray cans for that and any brand from Testors to Krylon to Automotive brands.

My brushes are all soft bristle, natural fibers for oil paints. Price range, anywhere from $1.xx - $6 or $7. Size range, 000 to 1/2", rounds & some flats, and a few small pinstriping brushes left over from my 1:1 car days. I'm still looking at brushes whenever I go shopping with the wife, never know what I'll find hehe. I seen a 00000 size brush, wonder what I could paint with that.

I now have an airbrush but have not used it yet for my models. I'll someday finish building my spray booth so I can try it out. For now, I still have about 8 or 9 kits that I pre-sprayed (cans) the bodies for this past fall for my winter projects.

Hi, My name is Steve and I am a brusher too. Well I am in the process of converting to an airbrush. I got a Badger 175 DA airbrush for Father's Day/Birthday. For some things I will still brush, but I used it for the first time to paint an ERTL Star Destroyer, and man it went fast, and it looks way better than anything I have ever brushed. I am not completely throwing off my roots, but dang the a/b is nice.

Steve

I have brush painted many models particularly armor, and camo to a very high standard, although I believe an airbrush does provide easier results. I will always airbrush aircraft models, yet have applied camo with a fine brush after doing so. I did this on a 1/48th C-130 with spectacular results.  Rattle cans apply paint much thicker than an airbrush, possibly covering small details, as you probably know.

You can pick up a small badger general kit with aerosol propellant for probably around $30 bucks. You may surprise yourself with the results.

Well, for me, it is a combination of brush painting and rattle cans, because even a cheap airbrush is too rich for my blood. And in my tiny apartment, where the heck would I put it, anyway?

But I do try to get better brush results with every model. For large areas, though, I can only hope that Testors has a rattle can in that color because I am not that confident of my abilities.

sure i use a brush..... to clean my airbrush!