Alex Medwell of The Airbrush Company introduces the day
 
Despite having been modelling, and writing about it for many years, up until now I have never really had a proper go with using an airbrush.  I suspect I am not the only one, as there is some natural doubt over whether you invest in the right equipment and one's own ability to use it.  To get a good airbrush and have a decent compressor is very much an investment, so it is important that you have the confidence in making your choices, deciding which bits of kit you buy from the variety available, and then have the confdence to use it.  How do you mix the paints correctly, how do you clean an airbrush effectively, how to look after it aand not damage it, how to apply different types of paint finish.... there are so many potential questions and these are only a few.
 
After a period of some of our worst weather for years, and roads the length and breadth of the British Isles icy or blocked with snow, I was very glad that a weekend at the end of January saw clear roads and bright sunshine when I drove down to the South Coast, and the town of Lancing, between Brighton and Worthing, in West Sussex.  Almost literally a stones throw from the beach, the Airbrush Company have their premises.
 
Welcomed on arrival, the first thing was to be given the basic safety tour of fire exits etc before being led on to into the training room itself.  The course was introduced by Alex Medwell, the Marketing Manager of The Airbrush Company, and an introduction to Robin Carpenter, our tutor for the day.  Robin runs his own company, Cammett Ltd, and who is a regular trader at shows like Euro Militaire and Trucks and Tracks.  There were 7 of us for the day, and of these only one other was an armour modeller, then one whose main interest was model cars while all the rest were railway modellers.  That in itself made for a very interesting mix of interests, and hence different questions as people relate what they are doing to their own applications.
 
Individual workstationsIn the well equipped training room each delegate has their own workstation.  An easel as much of the work is done simply using sheets of paper, and airbrushes and compressors for all.  In fact there is a mixture of different models of airbrush, and during the day you have the chance to swap these around between you and try out the various models available.  Using a quick release device on them makes this easy to do and you get that great opportunity to effectively 'test drive' a good cross section of airbrush models, all of which are at a cross section of prices.  As the Airbrush Company are the importers for the Iwata range, no great surprise that you have their compressors and airbrushes in use, though there are other brands to see as well.
 
 I'm not going to simply repeat all that we learnt during the day, but this is the topic list in the order it is covered.
  • Understand the relationship between Pressure - Nozzle Size - and Liquid Density Ratios
  • Compressors - the different types: regulators and moisture traps
  • Airbrushes - single action and double action
  • Basic Healt & Safety
  • Preparation
  • Priming
  • Top Coats
  • Larger Surface Area
  • Application of Alclad metal finishes
  • Painting Lines - using masking tape
  • Weathering
  • Application of clear coats and lacquers
So, the first truth to discover was that size really is important!  Depending on the size of the objects you are painting and the material you are spraying, select the appropriate nozzle size for your airbrush.  The rest takes you through things that perhaps you could learn through trial and error by yourself, but the ability to have a hands-on learning experience with an experienced tutor to guide you, answer questions and lead you through such a learning curve in such a short period of time is just invaluable.
 
An airbrush atomises paint, so one of the first basic lessons is to wear some form of breathing protection is important.  It may be a simple mask, or you might invest in a more substantial breathing mask with filters.  As this is good for working with resins, that isn't a bad idea.  One of the benefits from using acrylics over enamels is the lack of toxic contents in the paints as well as a better smell.  In the training room, a huge industrial fan extraction unit copes with the work of 8 users in the room quite comfortably.
 
Spraying 'Invasion stripes'.As I said, I won't go through all the things we learnt, clearly you will need to do the course to find out all that detail, but a couple of things I will pass on as an idea of what you learn, and to help out a couple of questions I'd heard beforehand.
 
The first concerns mixing paints.  Over the years I've seen and heard lots of ratios quoted, and never been really certain what to go for. Robin (that's the tutor, not me) has been working with airbrush finishes for over 30 years, so I was very happy to go with his experience.  The ratio he used, and which we then tried very successfully, is to pour your paint into a mixing jar, then add about 20% of that same volume of thinners.  As for thinners, you can use distilled water with acrylics, but to get the best result, go with the branded thinner for the paints you are using.  So, if you use Tamiya paints, use Tamiya thinners and if you use Lifecolor paints such as we used on the day, then use Lifecolor thinners.
 
The other particular material we saw demonstrated I had heard of but never used before.  We have seen it used by a couple of site members recently on their models, and that is 'Alclad'.  This metal finish comes in a variety of shades of steel and aluminium, and is designed to be applied over a black base coat.  I'd never seen how to use it before and was impressed by how well it worked.  The tip for this one though was to apply with a slightly lower air pressure than we had been using for the normal colour paints.
 
With tea and coffe breaks built into the day and a break for lunch, there is also an opportunity of course to do some shopping.  Being located within the Airbrush Company warehouse and with their staff on hand, it is naturally a good opportunity to select and buy your airbrush equipment, paints, cleaners and thinners.  With everything readily to hand, and some knowledgable staff to give advice and guidance, it is rather like being let loose in a candy shop, so you may need to prepare your 'other half' for some investments while you are there.
 
If like me your are a beginner to the world of airbrushes, and are wondering about making that jump into investing in one, then I can only reccommend this basic course as giving you that confidence to make a good choice.  There are a variety of products available, and you are able to get going even if you are on a budget.  There is a balance to be struck in the cost of the airbrush itself, and how well made it is as to what lifetime of service you can expect from it, and it does depend on what type of work you want to do with it.  With the chance to have a go and try out the various airbrush models and get the advice and guidance from an experienced user  is invaluable.  For those attending the oucrse, not only can you get a discount on what you might buy on the day, but an email or a phone call if you have any queries over the coming weeks is offered support.  I for one came away with a much more confident frame of mind, and a feeling that I have more of an idea of what I'm doing to actually make good use of a airbrush after all these years.
 
For those who are already airbrush users, then do be aware that they also run courses for more experienced users, course run by modellers such as Jay Laverty and Rob Hendon, whose work is well known to regular readers of Military Modelling magazine.  For more details of the courses, the costs and dates they are running, do check out the website for The Airbrush Company, and there is a link below.  My thanks to Robin for tutoring us, and to Alex from the Airbrush Company, as well as wishing all the best to all the other course members on the day in practicing their skills.

Available from The Airbrush Company