Hello Everyone, Well I have just received my Airbrushing kit (X2 Airbrushes, Compressor, Hose), Now I just need paint & at the moment I am going to get paint which Is already mixed, until I get the confidence to mix my own. Can anyone tell me which paint to go for. Im not sure which to go for. I have heard of Vallejo, but do they sell already mixed paint..

Regards.
Sean.

Hi Sean, Russell here. I use Polly Scale Acrylic colors or Model Master Acryl colors by Testors. Both of these paints can be thinned with just a little bit of water. Try them, I think you'll like them, I think they are easier to use than the Tamiya paints. Hope this helps. Russell

Hi Russell, I will give it a go. I have a 1:72 Focke Wulf to test on & because its thinned by water its easier to clean, am I right Russell?

Would you mix the paint first in a seperate container & then transfer to the airbrush cup or mix in cup & would it be 2 parts paint to 1 part water, I heard that you really need to get a milky consistency. I'll tell you something, Its not as straight forward as I first assumed this airbrushing, but I know the rewards will be there to see, If you can give me some pointers on mixing & spraying, I would appreciate It Russell..

Regards.
Sean..

Hi Sean, Russell again, a Focke-Wulf 190 is a great subject to test on. I'll be honest with you, I don't thin my paints much, to the consternation, of some. I would just pour some paint into the airbrush jar, and with something like a pipette or eyedropper, drop half a dozen drops of water into the paint at first. Mix it up and see how it sprays out of the airbrush. You can always add more water you just don't want to add too much otherwise the paint will run. I would rather have the paint a little thicker than too thin, in my opinion.

Some colors, such as yellow, I don't thin at all, and just spray straight. After applying, in the case of yellow, a good even coat of RLM 79 sand yellow. This is essential when spraying yellow since the color isn't the most opaque. Any more questions just ask. Russell

P.S. You can always adjust the pressure of your aircompressor to compensate for the paint consistency. I generally don't use more than 20 p.s.i. to paint with. Yes, airbrushing is fun and will give you a great finish. Just practice a little bit, like anything else in life practice does make perfect! Good luck.

One more thing Sean. You might want to remember to pull your pressure down when painting camoflage on your FW. I generally bring the p.s.i. down to around ten pounds or less when freehand drawing the camo on say the wings. Hope this helps you some. Russell





P.S. Here is a 1/72 scale Me-109G I did, and a FW-190A-3. I masked with tape to get the "splinter" camo job on the Me but drew free hand the camo on the FW, just a source of reference for you Sean.

cheers Russell, Nice looking fokker (excuse the pun)

This might sound dumb, but what do you mean by Freehand, do you mean holding the airbrushing & painting without any masking tape?, Also where can I get these paints (POLLY SCALE ACRYLLIC or MODEL MASTER ACRYL), When I painted my kits before I knew about airbrushing, the paint numbers were on the kit box, so you knew which ones to get, are the numbers the same on the Acryllic paints or is just guess work & buying the nearest colour scheme to the colour on the model kit.... Is there things you can buy to house your model to airbrush In..

Thanks again for your help.

Sean.

Hey there Sean. I would try a well stocked hobby store near you for the two aforementioned paint brands. The German air force in world war two used what was called RLM, short for Reichluftminsterium, or something close to that, colors. RLM 76 would be the underside color for your Focke-Wulf, RLM 74 with RLM 75 would be your topside colors for instance. All of these RLM numbers will say so on the bottles of paint. You will got to the paint rack and look for instance for RLM 76, find it, and pull the color.

Freehand does mean without masking tape. It replicates the manner in which the real aircraft were painted with a spray gun, essentially a large airbrush! Practice on a piece of cardboard for instance. Paint RLM 75 over a section of the cardboard then free hand the camoflage of RLM 74 according to the pattern shown on the instructions. Hope this helps. Russell

P.S. Google IPMS Stockholm, this is a great site with reference materials on many WW2 aircraft. Take a look.

Hi Russell, thanks a lot. I have found some RLM paint & Its by Tamiya. I have put the link in here, could you have a look & tell me If these paints would be ok for German WW2 Aircraft, also which paints for say British & american WW2 aircraft.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tamiya-Acrylic-Paint-10ML-Bottle-XF22-RLM-Grey_W0QQitemZ360201177357QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN?hash=item53dda9c90d

Theres also this full set of Tamiya acryllic paint.
http://www.megahobby.com/completetamiyapaintdeal85bottleseverycolor.aspx

or the camo sets by lifecolor, these look good. They have sets of paint, example (Camouflage German WWII Luftwaffe Acrylic Set #1 (6 22ml Bottles). Would these sets by best?

Thankyou.
sean.

Sean, I don't know anything about Lifecolor paints so therefore I won't comment on something I don't know about. As to Tamiya, I recommend you not use them unless absolutely necessary. They are not bad paints, but they need quite a bit of thinning and I don't use them much. Try and look again for Model Master Arcyl by Testors and see what you can find. Russell

P.S. You might try calling a local hobby shop and see if they have the mentioned paints.

cheers Russell, I googled the Model Master Acryl by Testors & have found a site that sell the paint in sets & for all german aircraft between 1938 & 1945 so thats a bonus, they also sell sets for RAF, panzer, japanese etc-etc. Thanks a lot. Would you use water to thin it down of thinners?, I am going to buy the german & raf sets, I have also bought some primer by tamiya (light grey), you spray that on first dont ya?

Thanks again.
Sean.

Yes Sean, you can thin the Model Master Acryl with a little bit of water. As far as primer goes I recommend simply buying any kind of grey or green color from Model Master and using that as primer. I think you'll find the results good out of your airbrush. To clean your airbrush, just a little bit of warm water will do, turn up the pressure a bit and spray away till it runs more or less clear. Hope this helps. Russell

I hate to say it but I don't have any experience with the Xtracolor Acrylic paints you e mailed about. I would just stick to the Model Master Arcyl I think you'll be more than satisfied with those. Russell

Hi, Im going to stick with Model Masters Paint, Is there any suppliers In the UK, I found a site In the United States (internethobbies.com) which supply the paint in sets (paint for German Aircraft between 1938-1945), (RAF PAINT), but it says they dont ship paint overseas, I dont know why not as Its not toxic & its water based. Ive e-mailed them but havent had a reply yet..

Regards.
Sean..

Vallejo Air right out of the bottle, dispense and go, no thinning, no nothing, easy peasy!

Hi Sean

Creative Models Ltd. have just signed a deal to distribute the ModelMaster range in the UK: NEWS

All the best

Rowan