First Airbrushing Outing

Brimstone Derelict Ship Autocannons with a little zenithal highlighting.

So, I have a confession.

I've owned an aibrush kit since early May, but was too terrified to use it.  We spend a lot of time on these little army men, and in general I've taken a "baby steps" approach to it all to minimize the risk of failure.  But the airbrush represented a giant leap (at least in my mind) and therefore a giant risk.

But, I had reached a point of no return - I had some very disappointing results with ArmyPainter Matt White rattle can, and vowed to never go back.  Other AP colors have shot fine, but this one can of White hit the models like Christmas tree flock.*

So I knew I needed to take the leap and break open the airbrush kit, but have continuously put it off. I had a slew of primed models already in queue, plenty enough to keep me busy these past several months.  But now the bin is running dry, and Kingdom Death will be inbound in the next few weeks, and I really (really) wanted the Derelict Ship models on the table.

So Sunday was the day.  Despite watching several youtube videos over the past many months, I mentally prepared myself for a gigantic disaster:  hissing air hoses, backspray everywhere, a compressor that was deafening, paint everywhere but where I wanted it, drips, runs, glops, gloops and enough expletives to make my cat blush.  Predicted end result: a batch of slaughtered models that I'd need to strip and re-prime.

The actuality was ... less dramatic.  Oh, I had a few minor clogs that were easily cleared.  The dual action brush was a little clumsy for me to use.  It took FOREVER to set up and tear down.  I ended up painting my thumbnail.  Minor things.  Even at the end of this first session I was getting the hang of it all.

And the results were wonderful. My first attempt as a novice airbrusher resulted in a better finish than my best rattle can.  The details are crisp and clean, and I had far more control.  Once I got going, I actually found the experience just as relaxing as painting with a brush.  I even stretched my goals a little bit and went for some zenithal highlighting on the Autocannons even though I could have lived with all black perfectly well.

My equipment is the $80 kit on Amazon, offset with a Badger 105** brush.  I'm using Vallejo primer, and a few other bits, for the time being mostly cheap imported knockoffs.

So, I'm sure not every session will end with these glowing results, but for a first time out I'm pretty happy.

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*I could, and have, diagnosed the 'bad' AP experience.  They're a great brand and I support them.  But bottom line: despite controlling as many of the variables as possible, including minimizing user errors, I still got a bad finish.

**The Badger 105 acquisition was something I pursued after watching Episode 4 of Miniature Monthly.  Aaron's how-to maintenance session, and troubleshooting clogs was worth the cost of admission to the Patreon.  Upgrading to use the same brush as him was another good choice to make the videos directly "compatible" with my gear.