Thats it! I give up I need an airbrush!

[Justine]

Hello all, wow been long time since I posted here. Ive been "trying" to build 2 of my favorite planes, b29-b17 1/48. I posted here few years ago when I attempted my first plane , the B29. that currently is tottaly destroyed in my closet under all my hunting gear. I got health problems so I haven't really been back to serious modeling. I just would spend a few hours here and there once in a great while. After I stopped trying to "fix" my b29, I got a b17. I have hardly touched it in the last three years. Now recently I started back trying to build and this time I thought it would at least be semi ok cus Ive learned allot from the other plane. Well , I didnt learn nearly enough for what I want to do with this plane. And Im to stubborn to Google and YouTube stuff. I dont just wanta glue it , paint and slap decals on and walla. As of now, the b17 is nothing but slabs of cut up plastic on my desk.
Very long story short, I ended up painting and stripping it at least 8x for a variety of reasons such as...it looks like shit, I need to change color, useing primer- not useing primer, its looks like shit, the paint is running again cus I suck at this, it just looks like shit and so on, ( same reasons why the b29 went to its early grave) Im at the point now that I hardly have a plane left and Im going to need a magnifying glasd to find the plane if I do anymore sanding. I know Im new and have 100000's things to learn yet. I was about to just have it join the b29 closet graveyard when I did something I should of done before I even attempted to model.
Watch the YouTube videos and ask for help. I was so concentrated on getting the walmart rustoleum paint as wall as tamya paint, that I never even thought about how I lost at least 80% of the details from the paint sand rinse repeat. When I seen other people's planes I was like wow and I really really really wanto beable to build like the pro's do SOMEDAY. I never knew about weathering and createing the exhaust smoke. And how there planes had such detail. And everyone was useing an airbrush and I have no clue what that was untill now lol. So Last night I stripped it for the final time and it fell apart in bunch of places but thats ok , I ordered 2 more tubes of tamya putty lol. I Also just spent 14 hours straight last night trying to use my knife to bring back the details that were lost.I still havnt slept yet lol. I ended up going way to deep in some places cus I cant make a straight line even with a ruler. I was so determined ....but I lost paitence quickly when my knife keep slipping out of groove and everything is just a disaster. Then I remembered I had dremel so thought I try it. I Found out almost immediately that a dremmil and plastic do not go together like soup and sandwich. That was VERY STUPID of me. So looks like 2 more tamya putty tubes are gonna have to save my ass again and if this keeps up, the entire plane would be all putty lol.
..that you can only see with a magnifying glass. Pfft *sighs*

The most important thing here though is Im having a blast watching myself fail over and over . And I am learning a ton of the do's and don'ts. So Im posting here for the ..."don'ts " ...I plan on doing and that is, I will not painting again untill I get an Airbrush and learn how to use it. Im tired of these spray cans and no matter how maney times and hard I try, I cant get the paint to look right.
So, I never used an airbrush and know nothing what so ever about it. I know i need a pump and I see kits on Amazon that come with Acrylic paint. Can someone help me on the basics and whats the best brand/place to get the whole deal. I want to get the pump with brushes and also paint as well. More like Airplane paint colors.
Sorry to chat up anyone who reads this but im delirious and dont even remember what I just typed lol, going to bed finally. Ill try, everytime I close my eyes all I see is ....lines...crooked ones!
Thanks guys

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Practice, practice. Did you ever think of starting out with something a little less ambitious (and less expensive) and trying for a workperson-like job before you shoot for museum grade? You don't go hunting without servicing your weapon or sharpening your markspersonship skills, do you? Trying not to sound preachy, and you've probably heard it all before, but small steps and small successes worked for me back in my (obsessive) model building days. Good luck. Stay calm and carry on.
Cheers,
Wes

 

[at6]

Hello Justine. Start with something relatively cheap with a single engine and slowly build your skills. Patience and practice will eventually pay off in the long term. There is nothing stupid about learning what works and what doesn't. As for the Dremel and plastic incompatibility, many including myself have been there. Don't be too stubborn about watching the you tube tutorials. I've been able to learn a lot there and I've modelling my whole life. At 70 years of age, I'm still learning. Good luck with your future projects.

 

[dneid]

Hey, Justine,
I totally get where you are coming from. Many years ago I was frustrated and made a mess out of more models than I will ever admit to. So, the advice you are getting is great advice. Start smaller and simpler. When I came back to the hobby about 10 years ago I started with a Revell P-47 in 1/48. Reasonable prices and not a bad kit at all. Granted, it is nowhere near as nice as Tamiya's latest 1/48 razor back, but that kit is about $55 retail and still over $40 online (best price I ever found and that was on ebay and bought all 9 of his kits).

I will also echo the youtube thing. There are some amazingly GREAT tutorials out there, from beginner to pretty advanced (I LOVE PLASMO's stuff, but that is damned advanced stuff he does). Also, there are some excellent tutorials on airbrushing. Damned good videos in fact. As far as an airbrush setup, I would strongly encourage you to look at some more expensive things than the cheap Chinese knock offs. In the case of an airbrush, you truly get what you pay for. I think Paachses are a great place to start. Their Talon is an awesome brush. It is dual action, but with PRACTICE you can get amazing results with the Talon. I still have my Talon (6+ years old) and I still use it occasionally. I have moved up the price range to brushes that cost around $200-$300 dollars just for the brush. Are they great? HELL YES! But, there is that you get what you pay for thing. As for compressors, I would recommend a "tanked" compressor. Be sure you get a regulator and moisture trap or you will be beating your head against the wall when the compressor spits a blob of water out in the middle of you painting something. A good compressor can be had for as little as $100 (non tanked). You can spend far more, but a tanked compressor can be had for well under $200. If you want someone in the business to talk to I would recommend Sol at Midwest Airbrush Supply. He is patient as hell, he has never tried to up sell me EVER!

That is my input. I am sure I pinned your ears back on prices. But, again, you get what you pay for. Also, Badger has some very good entry level dual actions airbrushes. Again, look up Midwest and call and talk with Sol. Just tell him what you want to do and give him your budget. He will try to find you the most bang for YOUR buck.

 

[MIflyer]

Air Brush?

Is that anything like an Air Guitar?

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Is that anything like an Air Guitar?

Air Guitar? Isn't that the flag carrier of a notorious middle eastern country?

 

[at6]

I mainly use my 30+ year old Badger 350 for everything. It's basic and with different tips it can be a good starter since it's not as sensitive as the Paashe [I really want one.] Members here can offer you a lot of good choices. You can use the remains of your old B-29 or the B-17 as practice pieces if you get an airbrush since you will to figure out thinning ratios for what ever paint that you are going to use as well as the best thinner for the paint. Never forget to clean the airbrush between each session as well as when you are changing paint colors. I used to paint by hand with a brush and after converting an airbrush, I can't paint with a brush any more. I tried.

 

[MIflyer]

I have a Badger, somewhere. One of the neater options for it is an adapter that lets you power it off a spare tire. Of course I now have a full fledged compressor for powering air tools so air power is not a problem. Now, if only my two portable air tanks were not leaking out through the valve somehow.

 

[Justine]

Thanks all for great advice! And yea I should of started out with something smaller and cheaper. But at least I got the dead b29 and im still trying to salvage my b17 but gonna use both as practice when I get airbrush and amI know Ill have a ton more questions when I get it.
Also, I see kits that come with Acrylic paint, so do most people use acrylic on there models?
Thanks!

 

[at6]

Some use acrylics but I use enamels as that is the only paint that I know how to use. Some use acrylics because they are a low odor with out the volatility of enamels and thinners. Others here can tell you how to thin them. Good luck.