Global Scale Modeller

As some people know, i am new to scale modeling and I only brush paint. If anyone has any tips or tricks could you please put them here, they will be much appreciated by me and any other beginners.

Hi train boy,

I am no expert but will offer what I have found useful. I brush painted for just under two years, and all the models in my portfolio so far are brush painted.

The most important thing I found was to use the right brush, so for large areas, wings fuselage etc use a flat brush, as large as you feel comfy with. I use an 8 and a 2. This will help minimise brush strokes.

Second only paint in one direction, typically with airflow.

Thirdly thin your paint till it is smooth, not watery. This sounds vague but after a few models you will get the feel for it.

Fourth, don't overload your brush with paint, less is more. (I still find myself breaking this rule and regretting it).

Fifth, buy the best brushes you can afford, I personally recommend mid range ones from a good art shop. ( flick the bristles on a brush to test quality, the bristles should keep there shape after six or so flicks, if they split up it's not a good brush). After buying the best you can afford look after them. Buy a small pot of masters brush cleaner from amazon, about 4 quid. They will last for ages.

Lastly it's very important to leave enough time between coats. No matter how shabby the first coat looks don't be tempted to go over it to soon, you will ether pull up the previous coat or make it go all gunky and horrible. I have done this to many times myself, just sit on your hands, your second/third coat will make it look better, DONT RUSH IT!!!!

Sorry to ramble but I hope this helps.

Agree with all of the above. Would add if covering larger surfaces I use flat brushes. If painting camouflage I paint all one colour then the pattern over that.

Good masking tape such as Tamiya Tape is a good investment and a thin coat of clear on the edge of the tape helps stop seepage under the tape.

Thanks, is it necessary for me to apply multiple coats of paint because as of right now i am using the tiny pots of humbrol acrylic that come with the airfix kits

And is there any way to thicken the paint because some of my paint is quite watery out of the can

Yes, Normally more than one coat is needed. Are you priming your models?

No, im not priming, do i need to and should i follow the exact color instructions for the kit or should i use other colors?

Trainboy153 wrote:As some people know, i am new to scale modeling and I only brush paint. If anyone has any tips or tricks could you please put them here, they will be much appreciated by me and any other beginners.

to be complete open with you ... i`m modeling now for 3/4 year and did only brushpaint like you and i thought it was not bad but i have 1 tip for you ..... if you are able to switch to airbrush asap

if switched over about 5 weeks again ........ i NEVER go back the amount of paint you save by airbrush is enormous and the level of paintwork jumps up 1000%

that 0.75 year not 3 to 4 years.....

sorry but my workspace is a piece of cardboard with a plastic bag and paint splats so i dont have the space for an airbrush, atleast not one with a booth or a compressor, though i have seen spray cans that work with an airbrush but i may keep it basic for now. BTW is there anything like humbrol decalfix made by another company because it is tough to get airfix and humbrol stuff over here. Thanks

If you have just started then I would recommend sticking to the colour call outs. Also humbrol are not bad paints for brush painting. (Tho I have heard bad things about the small pots in gift sets). Priming your models will really help. I use humbrol rattle cans of primer, expensive but quick with good results. I'm not sure about thickening paint? When you open a pot make sure to stir it really well, most of the time the pigments sink to the bottom and need mixing back in. That should also thicken it.

Revell decal soft is good.

Nothing really to add here apart from maybr get a good medium round brush for camo as it will roll easier when when doing it and do one patch at a time do the edge then fill it in.

Oh and for primer i use halfords plastic primer a little cheaper for a bit bigger can and it dries in about 15 minutes.

thanks, i also heard that for decals you should make a gloss surface, i have testors clear, is that good or will it react with the paint?

Yes you should have a gloss surface for decals, not sure about testers tho, never used it. I use Vallejo varnishes, they are excellent. But I shouldn't see why it would react.

and how do i mask using regular masking tape for camoflauge?

For the camo I normally just draw lightly with a pencil then free hand it. Has normal masking tape is quite think so it will leave a step from one colour to the next. Tamiya tape is a lot thinner so will leave less of a step.

Start with the underneath as generally it the lightest colour then you can use tape for the straight edges then the lighter of the camo colours all over working up to the lightest one or ones.

hi trainboy

If you follow all that has been said so far, you'll do ok.
Although I am now learning airbrushing, I will still continue to brush paint some models. My advice is to start with cheaper models to learn on (if you're happy to ), and I mainly bought Academy, Revell and Airfix kits to learn on (1/72 scale). The Revell and Airfix kits made life easy because of the paint guides, but with Academy you have to decide what manufacturer's paint to use, so in addition to Revell and Humbrol acrylics, I got some Vallejo Model Color paints. I find all three types of paint work very well, with just subtle differences, and you must ALWAYS thin the paint. Water is ok for thinning when brush painting.
You will make mistakes, no doubt about it, but the mistakes will help you learn quickly and that's why I suggest cheaper kits at first.
A very good point that has been made, is to not try to finish the colour in one coat. Even if the first thinned coat doesn't look great, don't worry, a couple more coats will finish the job nicely.
Masking is best with Tamiya tape in my view, and most people's view probably.
When using Acrylics I clean the kit first, either in soap and water, or IPA on a cotton bud, then prime. Primers I use are Halfords grey, Vallejo, and Tamiya fine.
If you mess up a kit and are tempted to bin it, then don't Use it as test plastic for your next kit.
Most of your needs will be met by using 1/4" and 1/2" flat brushes, and size 0 and 2 pointed brushes, but you will certainly end up with additonal sizes to suit your own techniques.
Silly putty and White Tac are good when doing the camo work. Create sausages of the stuff, then form the sausages into the desired shapes, then fill in with tape. You will probably find though, that free-hand works just as well when hand-painting the top camo colour.

Hope this helpful.

Cheers

Thanks, you guys are lots of help

I know this isnt about brush painting but would you recommend me getting an airbrush with cans of propellant or continue brush painting?

Trainboy153 wrote:I know this isnt about brush painting but would you recommend me getting an airbrush with cans of propellant or continue brush painting?

Airbrush with cans is a start into airbrushing and you can upgrade at a later date it's how I started as too many others

you could use an compressor like this they are small and compact the only down side is that they turn them selves of after about ten minutes but for smaller models and 1/48 WWII planes it works fine it the one i use then you could up grade to a better one in the future.

http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kits/i ... 36236.html

There are other compact compressors on the market so look areound

ok, i think i will do a bit more brush painting, then maybe get a cheap airbrush.Thanks

There are a lot of good "How To" books on the market. I'd recommend Sheperd Paine's Modelling Military vehicles. He has a good section on all you need to know about basic brush painting. The book is easily found on Amazon. Not a very expensive book at all.

BTW, take care of your brushes. Practice, practice, practice.

Russell.

thanks

Does anyone have recommendations as to paint, enamel, acrylic, vallejo, tamiya, humbrol, testors?

Acrylic is a definite!

If you're just starting out with an airbrush you can't go wrong with Tamiya acrylics, I would say they are the easiest to use along with Mr Hobby Aqueous. Simply thin (using Ultimate Thinner of course...lol) 50/50 with the paint spray at 20psi and the job's a good'un

Also Vallejo model air is very easy to use as you really don't have to thin them much, if at all. But, quite a few of their colours are way off IMO...

What about for brush painting?

For brush painting I use humbrol enamels but that's only because when I was younger it's all I could get nowadays there are loads out there but I turn to them again because I knew all about them and how to use them and they were easy to pick up. I tried tamiya acylics but they didn't work for me.

I have heard that Vallejo brush paint very well but have never tried them.

what went wrong with the tamiya paint, as that and testors are the easiest to get where i live

It didn't brush very well at all dryed way to quick and left loads of brush marks bare in mind when I tried it I had been brush painting for a while with humbrol but I wanted to try some thing that cleaned up easier but I just could'nt get on with it. It might be different for you. You could try one pot of each that you can get and give each a try and see what's best for you.

Tamiya is crap for brush painting its too thin and when drying if you go over it again it comes of in clumps.

vallejo model colour is by far the best brush paint, closely followed by lifecolor IMO

Have you tried testors?

Trainboy153 wrote:Have you tried testors?

Not brush painted no

Okay, and is it possible to weather models with regular paint or do i need to buy a wash, it is hard to get lots of things like vallejo and AK washes where i live.

You can make washes with pastel or oil paint. With pastel just grind it down into a jar and add water and a drop of washing up liquid with oil paint put a bit in a small jar about a pea size amount then add white spirit. Both very cheap.

With a wash put it over a gloss coat with the pastel wash put it over an enamel base gloss coat and with the oil over an acrylic base gloss coat.

I heard that for the salt weathering tactic, you needed to use an airbrush, is it possible to use a glue stick to hold down the salt and brush paint over it?

not that i know of mate you could use maskol on a make up sponge instead

After painting your undersurface with a brush, Salt technique needs nothing more than salt and water - something to spritz the water is handy (a hand spray from a garden centre will cost a quid or two otherwise just borrow one of your mums/partners perfume atomisers). Just dampening the surface with a brush prior to salting is fine too. My prescription is to sign up to the wonderful Doctor Cranky...

Ah - after re reading I see you mean putting the paint on after salting! Doh, sorry! It would be worth experimenting with lightly brushing paint over the set salt - it does set quite hard. In addition to Nigel's suggestion I do not see why the hairspray techniques should not work with carefully brushed top coats (see Cranky again for more on this). Also chipping with a sponge or brush post-painting would also be ideal ways forward.
Cheers

With regard to brush painting, I have a few tips for you.

1. Make sure that your kit is washed in soapy water, then rinsed with clean water and allowed to air dry. If possible do this before assembly. This will get rid of any silicon which is on the plastic and also the horrible mould release wax that Airfix tends to use (especially on their older kits). This will also improve the adhesive properties of the glue.

2. Make sure that your hands are clean and if possible use an alcohol based hand sanitizing gel.

3. Get a variety of the best quality brushes that you can afford. I would recommend both flat and round brushes.

4. Try different makes of paint, I use either Revell or Tamiya acrylics and try to avoid the Humbrol ones.

5. If possible prime your kit. I use a Tamiya light grey rattle can and find that this gives good results. I prime all of my kits outdoors because like you, I have limited space.

6. If you can get a cheap airbrush with a can of propellant you can get good results on larger areas.

7. When painting camouflage, I tend to paint the lightest colour all over and then mask out the camouflage with the darker colours. If you try to paint the camouflage edge-to-edge there will be a heavy paint ridge.

Hope this helps and look forward to seeing your work.

Thank you very much, all of these tips will be very useful

I will be uploading some pictures of the paintwork on my spitfire soon

I have learned the hard way that poly cement and decals dont mix

On the subject of poly cement, should i get some type of nozzle or can i continue to use the little things included in the gift sets?

Trainboy153 wrote:On the subject of poly cement, should i get some type of nozzle or can i continue to use the little things included in the gift sets?

At the least get a nozzle glue and if possible get some tamiya extra thin (from ebay) or mr hobby cement s

okay, thanks

Camera Failure

Daishi gave some great guidelines. The key, enamel or acrylic, is GOOD brushes. I use sable hair artists brushes. I will say overall I find enamels superior to acrylic for brush painting. Enamels, though they take longer to dry and set, are much more forgiving to mistakes. You also can skip priming with enamels but not acrylics. I'm a newbie myself, but I do brush paint and this is what I've discovered in my experiences so far. I will say acrylics are much better for small scale miniatures ( 1/72). And if you are going to use acrylic stay away from Tamiya for brush painting.

Before and after I joined the forum