Camouflage painting and airbrushes

[Tinderstick]

Is airbrush a must, when you find yourself dealing with a camouflage pattern on a tank, aircraft, etc.? Can the same effect be achieved with a brush, too?

I assume it depends on the particular AFV/uniform/fighter colour scheme that you are aiming for; probably an SS Oak B pattern or any other WW2-era digital looking camouflage is easier to do with an airbrush?

Also -- forgive my ignorance -- but English isn't my native language, and I am having a hard time understanding the painting technique that you guys call a "wash". What exactly is a wash and what good is it for? I guess it is used for achieving a weathered look for your model?

Thanks,

T.

 

[Flying Penguin]

Hi T,

To me an airbrush is one of the five basic things any serious modeller needs, along with glue, paint, filler and sanding material.

As for whether a brush can do everything an airbrush can, the simple answer is no. For a solid or splinter scheme you might get away with careful masking and sanding down your finish with 2000+ grid polishing paper, although the quality will rarely come close to an airbrush, but if there is any need for soft edges (e.g. luftwaffe mottle or soft edge british 2 tone) then no, the brush is totally outclassed. I've seen many attempts to pull this off with a brush but, to be brutally honest, they look awful.

You couldn't pull this finish off with a brush:





(not my work, but a great example of what an airbrush has over a normal brush, taken from Mistel 1 by Floyd S. Werner Jr. (Hasegawa & ProModeler 1/48))

My advice would be to read up, look at Airbrush,airbrushing lessons and how to articles. and get yourself a good airbrush and compressor (avoid cans of propellant, the compressor will pay for itself in a few months of usage compared to canned propellant). A low to mid range Badger or Iwata will work great (I have brushes from both and they are both good companies).

A wash is a thin mix of (usually oil based) paint which is run into the detail to make it more visible. For a good explanation and picture based tutorial, have a look at Mark Swan's website:

Weathering

All the best

Jamie

Airbrush,airbrushing lessons and how to articles.