Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Airbrush Trials...Oh dear!!

Oh dear indeed guys this airbrush stuff isn't as easy as you think......well I knew it wouldn't be I'm old enough to understand that you can't just pick something up and be an expert right away.

Anyhow fellas I thought I would post up a few pic's of my first attempt at pre-shading, I'm not 100% sure I'll opt for pre-shading when it comes to painting up vehicles but wanted to give it a blast.

This is an old Rhino that I had bought over a year ago and totally wrecked the front of it with a tin of Army Painters daemonic yellow a product I might add that needs a post all of its own but needless to say I'm glad those rattle can days are behind me.

So then on to the horror show........



As you can see my technique and expertise need attention, I basecoated one side of this test piece with vallejo white primer which went on very smooth (alot better than GW's white primer can) and then attempted the undershading with vallejo burnt umber, I'll be honest I found it difficult to precisely aim the spray and in parts I sprayed to much resulting in little tide marks forming (see above pic near exhaust vent), also I think my psi was too high at 30 as I noticed the odd paint splatter fly from the brush nozzle.



The next stage was a top coat of GW's yriel yellow which again went on really smooth, two things I've noticed here are although the pre-shade went on in a frankly haphazard way the top coat to a large extent has covered it up which makes me think that if I take a little more care and with a bit more experience this technique should look fine, the second thing I noticed was that the shaded area had a strange green tone to it and I'm not really sure why.

Anyway I've ordered a couple more Vallejo primers ( IDF Sand & Desert Sand) because I think the yellow is a little too bright when sprayed over white, so more tests to come folks and hopefully some better results.


6 comments:

  1. When doing preshading, you want to use "transparent" paints for the upper levels, or thin the paints excessively. Otherwise they will cover up most of your work. (good or bad when practicing!).

    Good video on the subject you might find interesting!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10S5_aejWRo

    Just keep practicing and having fun!

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    1. Thanks for the tip Greg and I've checked that link out, its interesting stuff kind of like airburushing a glaze.

      .......and yep it's all in the practice ;)

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  2. I'm surprised burnt umber gave you greenish tones. It's not that blue...You might try experimenting with different colors on some scrap pieces. I'd be that a grey primer might work pretty well over yellow. Transparent colors like that are tricky. I use a lot of orange which is pretty similar in transparency and the grey works pretty well. If you're really not happy with it, give yourself another light coat of yellow. It'll only strengthen the color.
    You are correct that lower pressure would be your friend. 30psi is good for base coating and priming, but if you want detail, you need to lower the pressure so that you can get the brush closer in. Again, practice on some scrap pieces to get the hang of it, both your aim and how close you can get without getting blowouts. Those blowouts are especially dangerous with overly thinned paint, so be careful.

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    1. Hey Deet, yeah I was also surprised with the green tone and its not something I'm after, I'll try different primers/basecoats till I get a shade of yellow I like, talking of yellow I'm not so sure now that I want a bright yellow now.

      Sounds like I may of over thinned the paint then.....tricky stuff when your starting out :)

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    2. Don't feel bad. I've been at it for years and I still struggle with it occasionally. Best habit to learn: test your paint mix off model before you point the gun at your model!

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