Two Firsts! Airbrushing Tamiya Acrylics

[Chuck Most]

Funny, I've been building models for over two thirds of my life already (23 years, if you must know), and today I reached a milestone. I painted my first body entirely with an airbrush. And to sweeten the pot, all the paints used were Tamiya acrylics, which I literally started using just last week! Body- MPC '32 Chrysler Imperial Phaeton cut down into a truckster tub. Colors used- XF-9 Hull Red (base coat, touch up in spots inadvertently sanded down to bare plastic), XF-56 Metallic Grey, and a touch of X-15 Light Green above the beltline. Not sure if it was beginner's luck or if those pots of Tamiya paint really are as bonehead-proof as everyone claims they are, but I dare say it turned out presentable enough.

Yeah, I know some of you are thinking "Huh. Big deal." But I think I just beat another level!

[XJ6]

Question: Which thinner did you use to thin the Tamiya Paints...Tamiya Thinner?..

[Chuck Most]

Didn't have to thin them at all- just mixed and poured into the airbrush bottle. Tamiya does make a thinner for them, but they can be thinned with water if needed. They seem to work well as brush paint, too. I was really suprised how well they covered, and how well the surface self-leveled.

[Monty]

Didn't have to thin them at all- just mixed and poured into the airbrush bottle. Tamiya does make a thinner for them, but they can be thinned with water if needed. They seem to work well as brush paint, too. I was really suprised how well they covered, and how well the surface self-leveled.

Are you saying you just dumped the unthinned paint in the cup and shot it? I'd have thought it would be too thick to airbrush.

[Scale-Master]

Are you going for a specialized (maybe stone-like?) look? Just curious... I'm not sure if the splatter look is what you were trying to acheive.

I have found the Tamiya acrylics do need to be thinned for airbrushing. I prefer lacquer thinner for that, but Do Not put lacquer-thinned paint back into your bottle, unless you want glop in a couple days...

[Chuck Most]

Monte- these were okay to spray right out of the bottle. Not sure if that would always be the case, but for me it worked okay.

Mark- those are rust spots, accomplished with the good old salting technique. I went a little lighter on it than I normally do- a blackwash and some Rustall later on will complete the effect. If I'd planned ahead a bit better I would have sealed the hull red so I could do a little further sanding to distress the silver and green areas. So, no 'splatter' isn't quite what I was going for!

And as far as thinned lacquer back in the bottle, believe me, I learned that lesson a long, long time ago!