godzilla

I am having similar problems with Tamiya semi gloss black. Ideally I would have airbrushed but it has been needed in many small annoying areas of my car model so the only option was to brush. The only way I have so far been able to get a good finish is to just be patient and do many coats as thin as possible. I tried adding thinner to the paint but that just made it so watery it didn't work very well. From what I hear, vallejo paints are supposed to brush better so I might give it a try.

Thanks for all the replies guys I am using Tamiya acrylics at the moment and in general they do paint well but not that uniformly, might need to start thinning them a little bit first. I think on my next kit I will spray the whole sprue with the Tamiya fine primer and see if it makes any difference. For some of the parts that said to paint semi gloss black onto already black plastic I cheated and just didn't paint them haha

Hey guys, so just a little question. Do you / should you prime everything that you paint? I've obviously primed large body parts etc, but right now I am working on some engine detail and have been painting straight on to the little plastic parts with a brush. In general it comes up ok, though I should thin the paint a little I guess as it tends to thicken quickly and easily goes streaky.

Ah unloader valve, that's what it's called! Makes sense when you describe it like that Thanks for the tip, I will take a look at the Sparmax units. I see they recently released the Zeta compressor which looks interesting, though there isn't much in terms of reviews online. Shame I don't seem to have any places local to me, would be nice to check them out first and make sure it's suitable.

Yes Ideally I would go for something without a tank (or just a small one) to cut on the cost, but I can't seem to find anything. The Sil Air units seem to be just a few quid cheaper than the Bambi but it has a bigger tank (and by the sounds of it doesn't make the loud valve sound), so it would appear to be better value. Ideally my budget would be £150 but for that the only decent compressors I can find are the ones like the Sparmax Zeta / Arism which claim to be 45db yet oil free - somehow I doubt it!

Thanks Jeffrey! I think I will have that compressor on my shortlist then. It's a bit pricey but seems to be the one of the best, plus has a nice size tank. Perhaps I will treat myself on pay day

Hmm maybe it's not called a relief valve (I have no idea!) but I noticed most compressors with a tank will hiss a bit once they reach pressure and stop (like this https://youtu.be/_eLAyNZIyZ0?t=38s )

How quiet is the relief valve on the BB8? I was looking at the sil-air 15a but the relief valve is pretty loud for a silent compressor!

Hmm yes that is what I have read so far. I was mainly looking for a little low power one so I can airbrush outdoors, lugging a big compressor outside isn't that practical

Thanks, I will have a look for one. I've seen a few floating around amazon which seem to fold away like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Display4top-Airbrush-Extractory-Portable-Extraction/dp/B07CG454GN/ I might pick up a really cheap airbrush set just to experiment with (there's one on Amazon for about £35). I know for best results you should really get a proper compressor (and tank), but I don't want to spend out hundreds in case I can't get to grips with it. In time I will upgrade if I like it. Painting outside has been ok since I took a few precautions. At the moment I use a cardboard box on it's side then once finished fold the flap down to stop dust getting at the model. Seems to be giving good results in that respect. Shame there doesn't seem to be a good value battery powered airbrush compressor that I could work with outdoors, only one I found was one by Iwata and it was almost £300 which is crazy money as you can get a silent compressor with tank for that.

How did you find the Neo air? Looking for something cheap and portable at the moment as I am just getting started

Nice review, tempted to get one myself for the sake of having something quiet. I have a question though, how loud is the relief valve and how often does it open up? I have seen some compressors before where the relief is shockingly loud it makes you jump lol. Ideally I'm looking for one that has some kind of muffler or something

Yeah you are right there. Today I applied the final coat on the side I have been trying to fix, but it went on really thick I attempted to sand down after it dried and applied primer and started again. It's come up better now, not perfect by any means but I'm at the point now where I am saying "that will do!". I am definitely going to look into getting an airbrush before I do the next model, just my concern is the smell of the paint lingering in the room as up till now I have been spraying outside.

Thanks for the info! Will bear that in mind for the next model which is going to have metallic paint. Right now I am just using TS-8 so it is fairly forgiving. The sanding did go through to the primer in places as the spray went a bit uneven (plus I need to learn to be more accurate with sandpaper), but I've just masked off the problem areas and I will sand them down properly and start again tomorrow. May need to redo the primer in some places as during sanding it went right through on a couple of places

Thanks! I'll try and get some of that tape when my current one runs out. Using Tamiya at the moment but it is a bit expensive like you say. Yeah I am working my way up on this hobby for sure I know the first few models won't be perfect, but I am using them as testers so I am kind of glad things have gone wrong as I will learn from it!. I hope to get an airbrush sometime once I can afford one, though spraying outside with cans is good for the avoidance of smells in the house

D'oh why did it slip my mind about masking lol. Well I just sanded down the one of the sides almost entirely as I noticed even more blemishes, but I will be sure to mask the other small areas. I think tiny paintwork problems are the least of my worries because I done goofed and painted before sticking on the mirrors... now I will just have to guess where they go well I am glad this is just a learning kit for me.

Hey guys. I just got started with spray paint (just cans!) and it has gone reasonably well so far all things considered. The primer went down beautifully and so did the colour coats until the final one. A few bits of dust / debris managed to get on the model. What is the best way to correct this before applying the decals and clear-coating? I was thinking of using a very fine wet sandpaper on the area and go over with a light spray, but this may cause the paint to go on too thick on the unaffected area around it.

Thanks guys Yes I bought a cheaper model to experiment on and possibly ruin in the process so far I have just painted a few parts!

Thanks :) Sounds like I am on the right track then! I was just a bit worried about using the wrong sandpaper or using it at the wrong time in the process. I did buy a sacrificial kit which was cheap just to experiment on, so that will be my first victim haha

Hi guys, returning to modelling and just wanted to ask about doing body paintwork properly! Previously I always just slapped it on with a brush and it looked ok but not great I recently got some Tamiya car kits and paints etc and after some reason I have come to this: 1. Sand down the moulding lines and rough up the surface with some 600 grit 2. Couple of coats of primer 3. A few coats of colour 4. Couple of coats of clear 5. Wet sand with 3000 grit 6. Polish (with something like zero paints polish or Tamiya polish compound) 7. Wax Does this just about sum up what I need to do to get a great finish? In the past I never even bothered sanding so I am a bit worried about screwing up by missing a step Thanks!

Hi everyone, new here Decided to re-ignite modelling as ones of my hobbies again after coming across some of my old airfix models from back when I was little - namely a red arrow hawk with a missing wing! Just picked up some stuff to get started with, so hopefully I will learn as I go while attempting not to completely ruin things