The Energon Pub

by **Bonger** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:18 am

Hi,

Could you recommend a good reasonably priced air brush hit. This is the best way to repaint a TF right?

Also, if you have any hints/tips to a successful repaint, please do share.

News Credits: 1 · by **Optimist_Prime** » Fri May 11, 2007 9:30 am

I'm no "expert", but I know a couple of things. You could buy the Testor airbrush kit for $30-$35 at Wal-Mart, however Testor's airbrush is a single action. This means you when press the trigger you have no control on paint:air ratio and you get a spray which could be fom a can. I would suggest a double action airbrush. They usually are pretty costly, but I've found one from Northern Tool & Equipment for only $39.99. On a double action airbrush you have total contol over paint:air ,and it takes practice, you press down on the trigger for air, and then pull back for paint. I hope this helps you in some way.

News Credits: 3 · by **Archanubis** » Fri May 11, 2007 12:08 pm

Fanatical_Magnus wrote:I'm no "expert", but I know a couple of things. You could buy the Testor airbrush kit for $30-$35 at Wal-Mart, however Testor's airbrush is a single action. This means you when press the trigger you have no control on paint:air ratio and you get a spray which could be fom a can.

I have one of those and you can control the width of the spray depending on which direction you turn to bottle. Still, rather limited.

News Credits: 7 · by **Geekee1** » Fri May 11, 2007 1:03 pm

Check out the Iwata Eclipse series of airbrushes, they are very good and fairly reasonable. You don't really want to skimp on quality on this stuff.

Also, you need an airsource. You can buy compressed air canisters. Those are cheap, but they can be finicky, and they will not provide a constant PSI as they run out. The best source is an air compressor with a moisture trap. This is much more expensive though. You could also use a scuba tank with a proper regulator set up if you have access to one.

Finally, practice on something that you don't mind ruining first. It takes a while to get the hang of an airbrush, but you can get some great effects. When buying paints, make sure that you get a proper thinner. The paint must be thin enough to be atomized through the nozzle assembly.

Happy painting, and god bless my friend.

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by **Darth_Ennis** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:11 pm

Though I havent actually started customising Transformers yet. I swear by my Testors airbrush for all my JLU and Star Wars customs.I got mine for about 20, and it came with a can of propellant. I have an air compressor, so I dont actually use the can.

By turning the nozzle you can control the flow of paint in it. But I normally just use it for base coats, and detail it with a brush.

News Credits: 1 · by **Optimist_Prime** » Sun May 13, 2007 7:52 pm

Darth_Ennis wrote:Though I havent actually started customising Transformers yet. I swear by my Testors airbrush for all my JLU and Star Wars customs.I got mine for about 20, and it came with a can of propellant. I have an air compressor, so I dont actually use the can.

By turning the nozzle you can control the flow of paint in it. But I normally just use it for base coats, and detail it with a brush.

I made the mistake of getting the ultra-crappy Kustom Kolors airbrush. I wish I had started out on a Testors.

by **Bonger** » Tue May 15, 2007 7:01 am

Great. Thanks for all the input. I will try out a Testors first as they are cheap and see how it goes. As I am mostly just doing a little simple restorative work, I don't think I need anything too crazy.

However, who knows? Everything starts out small. I once got my old Mixmaster, my first ever TF, out of the attic of my parents house and took it home with me to keep on my desk. Now I dread to think of how many thousands I have spent on giving Mixxy some company.