fieldarchy Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 So, I know several people on the boards use airbrushes. I am curious to find out what y'all use them for to determine whether or not it's an investment I should make. Also, I have a basic dremel. I don't really use it a whole lot because the fittings I have for it aren't small enough to really get the tiny places on a mini. Any suggestions on bits I should get to really be able to clean any little thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Airbrushes... Everything...or nearly so depending on the mini and what I am doing it for. They are great for primer and for clear coats. They are great for smooth skin on larger minis (54 mm + and on giants and what not). They are great for stuff like camo on CAVs/tanks/stompy robots. They are great for any broad expanses of stuff (cloaks, nekkid chics, dragons). They can do really fine detail work, and they can also do broad fan shapes without leaving brush strokes laying down layers of paint which are smooth and even. I also use them all the time when working with terrain and stuff like that. You can do weathering and what not really quickly...and with a bit of practice you can use the air brush to speckle the terrain and add a bit of variety as opposed to dry brushing. Dremels... Depends. The jewelers points are handy and don't run much risk of doing too much too fast. I think someone had posted a link to those for an EBay store a while back. I like to keep a selection of them on hand. I also like to keep a few more aggressive bits on hand for handling stuff like decapitations and mutilations. You can also carve rocks out of dried putty and other stuff like that with them. Play around with the bits you have right now to see what they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 My airbrush is used for priming, base coating, and camouflage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabascojunkie Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Like I've said before, I think an airbrush is worth it even if you just prime with it. You won't get a smoother coat with a brush or spray can. If I ever make it up to the Asylum I'll bring a few that I've primed with mine and you can see how smooth it is. And also for any big models with a lot of one color, like CAVs or dragons, they save a lot of time. And again with the benefit of that super smooth coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldarchy Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 I'm at the Asylum every weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I've found that having a dremel has been very handy for mass pre-cleaning Paint and Take minis on the back porch. Can't get everything, but I can get enough that it makes preparing PnT minis much easier than doing everything by hand. I picked up some rubber polishing points (aka rubberized abraisive, I think) up from Contenti. I'm not sold on them since they seem to be a bit on the slow side (which can be a good thing). My favorite point is a diamond coated flame bur. But, the downside is that this cheap one seems to only last about 50 minis or so before becoming too smooth to be useful. I've tried high speed steel burs, but they seem to skip too much on my dremel, even on the lowest speed setting. I'm trying to save up for an airbrush, compressor, and spray booth. I'm planning to use it for priming, varnishing, and some base coating. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Regarding the cost...does anyone know if the 40% coupon off works at Hobby Lobby on airbrushes? I have never actually stopped to take a close look...but I think they stock either Pasche or Iwata, and 40% off a compressor one week and a brush a week or two later could put it in reach of more people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I've started using an airbrush for larger scale work (most recently a 1/5 scale bust). I'll be getting my spray booth tomorrow (unless UPS screws up). I've got a lot of resin figures and metal dragons screaming for some airbrush action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabascojunkie Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Regarding the cost...does anyone know if the 40% coupon off works at Hobby Lobby on airbrushes? I have never actually stopped to take a close look...but I think they stock either Pasche or Iwata, and 40% off a compressor one week and a brush a week or two later could put it in reach of more people. The one by my house stocks both brands. And, yeah, with that 40% off coupon, I'll have a Sprint Jet compressor and an Iwata Eclipse one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodnik Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 for cleaning and such... micro-diamond files, a jeweler's saw, micro pin-vise, regular pin-vise, and a hobby knife. I have about $400 worth of dremel stuff---and I barely ever use it. Although, the dremel stylus does appeal to me. As for an airbrush...I have an iwata hp-c, that I use for large stuff (gw vehicles and such). I have used it for "priming" work on smaller miniatures, but it's a waste of time--imho. Although, some folks are very successful with them on larger miniatures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strateegos Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Yeah, I use an airbrush for nearly everything. I do basecoats, shading, highlighting. I do work mainly in 54 and up but I do use my airbrush on the smaller scales as well. Batch painting is quick. You do have to handle your figures a little more carefully depending on the type of paint being used. Some paint needs to be thinned quite a bit and is easier to rub off. The airbrush or air gun is especially suited for terrain. Also, you use much less paint and have much better control. Hope this helps Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurityThruFire Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Ah the Dremel, one of my favorite mini tools of all time. Far as I'm concerned there are some absolute essentials you need for the Dremel. Variable Speed Foot Pedal - You need to control the speed of the Dremel, especially when pinning you need it moving pretty slow. Lube - To keep your burrs and drill bits travelling in and across the surface of your mini smoothly. A lot less of a chance of skipping and bits getting stuck. 240 Grit Diamond Burrs - For quick removal of heavy flash and wonky mold lines. However, once using the 240 grit diamond burrs you will need... 600 Grit Diamond Burrs - For smoothing the metal back out or removal of fine flash and mold lines. Cone Shaped Polishers - For polishing up the surface of your mini, nice and smooth like Last but certainly not least, Firm Nylon End Brush - I like to hit the whole mini with this before I wash it and send it off for priming. As for airbrushing, well I'm pretty new to it myself. I have an Iwata SmartJet compressor, an Iwata Eclipse CS and an Aztek A4709. Like I said, I'm pretty new to airbrushing but I can tell you I laid down the smoothest primer coat I've ever seen, nary a detail obscured. I mean this primer coat was crazy smooth. Hope that was at least a little helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldarchy Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 for cleaning and such...micro-diamond files, a jeweler's saw, micro pin-vise, regular pin-vise, and a hobby knife. I have about $400 worth of dremel stuff---and I barely ever use it. Although, the dremel stylus does appeal to me. As for an airbrush...I have an iwata hp-c, that I use for large stuff (gw vehicles and such). I have used it for "priming" work on smaller miniatures, but it's a waste of time--imho. Although, some folks are very successful with them on larger miniatures... I have all of that stuff Rodnik but I still can't seem to get into the small areas, hard to reach areas on some minis. Like Elise, I'm painting her for halloween, and she has some mold lines in very weird places that I couldn't get to. There's got to be some sort of dremel bit that can help get into those small areas a bit easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodnik Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I have all of that stuff Rodnik but I still can't seem to get into the small areas, hard to reach areas on some minis. Like Elise, I'm painting her for halloween, and she has some mold lines in very weird places that I couldn't get to. There's got to be some sort of dremel bit that can help get into those small areas a bit easier. There's some small stuff for the dremel, but I've never had any luck using it for "precision" work. As for getting into small places---I use straight pins, toothpicks, or the like--with sandpaper glued to 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldarchy Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 huh that is a creative technique . . . gluing sandpaper to a toothpick. Would never have thought of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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