Revell A380 - Help for a newbie

[mcribas]

Hi guys,

 

I've always been fascinated by the world of aircraft modelling, but only now I've found the "courage" to start, and it seems I started with an easy one 😆 I now it will probably look like crap, but still, I'm giving the best I can to look decent, and hopefully improve my skills. For that, I bought a relatively cheap airbrush, for starters I found that enough. However, I'm having serious troubles working with it.

 

I found out that the paint dilution (I have some enamel revell paints, while other are from Humbrol) is a critical point, but it seems I can't get it right. How do you guys do it? Do you have any tips? Or do you do it on a trial and error basis? Does any of you know the dilution factor for the revell paints?

 

Thanks a lot, hoping to having a nice build at the end.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

For any paint in general I will mix 1 part paint to 1 part thinners to start.  If it is not coating well (too thin), then I will reduce the amount of thinners a little and keep adjusting when happy with the consistency.

 

I use enamels and acrylics in my airbrush and use the same method all the time.

 

 So which scheme are you going to do for your A380?   I have both QANTAS and BA A380s to build

[Skodadriver]

It would be a good idea to practise on an old model (or a cheap kit bought for the purpose) before tackling your masterpiece. Generally you need to dilute the paint until it is the consistency of skimmed milk but practice and experience with your own airbrush is very important because different airbrushes have different characteristics. You don't say what power source you are using but if you are serious about airbrushing a compressor is essential.

 

I have almost completely abandoned enamel paint in favour of acrylic but on the odd occasion when I still use enamel I always use a good quality thinner. Forget white spirit, cellulose (lacquer) thinner and the other weird substances people sometimes advocate and go for a good proprietary enamel thinner, own brand if possible.

 

It's also worth mentioning that many airliner modellers, including me, make extensive use of rattle can automotive paints. Most Brits among us use a paint called Appliance Gloss White from the UK automotive chain Halfords. It can be sprayed straight from the can although personally I prefer to decant it into my airbrush.

 

You don't mention priming but to my mind priming is essential and crucial for a good final finish. High quality primer is available from Tamiya and other sources but many of us use rattle can automotive primer which is significantly cheaper. I get my primer from Halfords and wouldn't go anywhere else. It's available in white and grey. I always give my models a coat of grey primer which is the best thing I know to show up building flaws. Once these are sorted I re-spray the white bits with white primer before applying the top coat. Automotive primer will accept all types of paint - enamel, acrylic and, of course, automotive.

 

I hope these thoughts are some help but remember that there is no right way and no wrong way, just what works for you and what doesn't.

 

Dave G

 

 

[mcribas]

First of all, thank you both for the feedback.

 

Romeo, that helped a lot it starting to get a good dilution, I will try to do that. I'm building the A380 with the Emirates decals on it, hopefully it won't get that bad.

 

@Skodadriver, thanks a lot. The compressor is a cheap one, I though that for starters, that would be enough, but I agree with you. If I find myself getting better at this, I may consider buying a better compressor and airbrush. Regarding the thinner, I'm using the one from Revell (I will use it for the Humbrol paints as well, I believe it's ok). Priming is also something I will do, I bought the Mr Surfacer 1000 (I believe that's the name) from Mr. Hobby, and also bought the Mr. Hobby thinner for it, even though it wasn't necessary probably. I will give it a test with an old Airfix model I have here, just to test the dilutions, it seems it really is the most difficult part of all this process 🤣

[Abandoned Project]

Hmm.... Emirates A380 (kit decals?)...

....

Some good advice there from R.A.Y. and skodadrivder

[Doom3r]

@mcribas I usually thin Mr. Surface Primer 1000 (or 1500) with Mr Level Thinner somewhere between 1:1-1:2 for my 0.4 mm a/b and spray at low pressure (~15 psi), however if you have a different nozzle size or spray at different pressure you would have to figure out ratio on your own. Other stuff is getting thinned depending on what are you trying to achieve, however I usually thin it to the level that paint does not separate but quite close so I can attack model with multiple thin layers. "Skim milk" is a good starting point but you are going to figure out your own over the time.

Another thing to understand about a/b is that you should not attempt to cover a model in one layer. First layer is just a dusting paint on, second should cover most and third should cover everything. If you thin the paint quite much you might need more layers - which is useful if you do a "preshading" or "black basing" which is why I usually thin my paints really much, however you would need to use low pressure (10-15 psi), but at this point I would advise to ignore such techniques since it is your first model and some of this is not really applicable to airliners. Just try not to cover the model in one go with both paint and primer otherwise you are going to flood panel lines and other small details in 1/144 scale.

Also keep in mind that airliners are usually painted mostly in white (and from a quick glance on the instructions for the model it looks like you are going to have to deal with it as well) which is the worst color (well there is some competition from yellow) b/c of it's poor coverage so I would advise some practice on some piece of primed plastic or even primed sprue leftover. Random thought:  recently I started W40K space marines army and was amazed how well artistic inks are getting sprayed so when I am going to build the next airliner I am going to try to spray white using artistic inks (something like https://www.liquitex.com/row/products/professional/colors/acrylic-ink/ ). The big thing about inks that pigment is very fine and is usually thin so you do not need to thin it. Not sure how it is going to play with masking tape so I would recommend to try it on piece of primed scrap plastic or sprue first.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Doom3r

[Alex1978]

Thinning is always a trial and error.

Its depending on the paint itself,not every color has the same consistency.

Also it may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.

My method is,to get a "milky" consistency.

Sometimes its a 1-1 mix,sometimes its 1-2

Still,evety time before I start,I try spray a bit on a plasticsheet to check if its alright.

And after I am done with the painting,I usualy spray a light mist of thinner over the painted aereas.The paint gets smoother on the model that way.Just be cautious not to spray too much or it will make the paint run.

 

Alex