Chuck Most Posted June 12, 2011 Posted June 12, 2011 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 Posted June 12, 2011 Posted June 12, 2011 Question: Which thinner did you use to thin the Tamiya Paints...Tamiya Thinner?..
Chuck Most Posted June 12, 2011 Author Posted June 12, 2011 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 Posted June 12, 2011 Posted June 12, 2011 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 Posted June 12, 2011 Posted June 12, 2011 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 Posted June 12, 2011 Author Posted June 12, 2011 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!
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