Advice on painting a Hobbytrain Taurus please

2689 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by pedromorgan, Mar 18, 2007

goedel

Discussion Starter · Mar 16, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

Hello everyone,

I'd like advice on painting a Hobbytrain Taurus (see pictures below). I currently don't have any painting equipment and am seeking advice on whether an airbrush is recommended or not in N scale?

The specifics are that whilst I'm applying full colour stickers to the sides I need to paint the front and rear ends in metallic gold. Fortunately the ends of the model don't have very much detail and so I would hope I could get away with using spray paint. Could anyone recommend a good type/brand to use with a smooth finish or particularly fine spray? I think some exist for model plane makers?

Or would people say that I should invest in an airbrush to get a smooth finish/thin coating? I'm not sure if I plan to do many paint conversions but I imagine an airbrush can be used for layout detailing, weathering and all manner of other useful things once you have one...

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Goedel

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idd15

· #4 · Mar 16, 2007

The trouble with Airbrushes is it is not just the airbrush. There's the compressor, the moisture trap, the foot switch, the turntable, the spray booth, the mask. .... The list goes on and on. But yes even so I think its the way to go especially for us N modellers.

Having said that try Tamiya acrylics in spray cans first. Warm the can in hand hot water before and after a good shake and see how you like the results. Its a cheap experiment in comparison to getting kitted up with an airbrush!

Oh yes and another tip I picked up from a Top Gun RC model champion. After spraying turn your model upside down so all the dust and overspray doesn't stick to your new paint!

Cheers

Ian

PS I'm another fan of Austrian railways and am looking forward to another trip on them this Summer.

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idd15

· #7 · Mar 17, 2007

Agree with everything above except that usually with the moisture trap comes with an air regulator which allows you to vary the pressure and that can be useful. Also whilst it is quick to spray an ngauge loco if your doing a number of bits and pieces, changing colours etc, 20 minutes soon becomes 40.... and you most definitely don't want moisture with acrylics.

Acrylics have a mixed reputation. I always use Tamiya for spraying (with their thinners), but I find useless for brushing. Water clean up is a BIG plus.

Then theres the question about single action or double action airbrushes.......

Cheers

Ian

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idd15

· #11 · Mar 17, 2007

QUOTE (pedromorgan @ 17 Mar 2007, 13:19) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Very interesting. what setup did you use for spraying tamya? what paint/thinner ratio?
The water cleanup would be wonderfull but i cant get a good enough finish with them. i think i am going to have another go at this.

Single or double action? its got to be double. its so much more versatile. you just cant get the control with a single.

Peter

Hi Peter

I always use Tamiya thinners with their paint and car windscreen washer for clean up. Supposedly you can use the windscreen washer stuff for thinning as well, but I've not been brave enough to try that. Generally I don't find I need that much thinner, maybe 15%ish. I just try to get a milky consistency and if I get spatter on the test card then I thin a little more.

Vallejo paints seem to be gaining a very good reputation amongst military modellers, but again these are on my list to try. Lots of colours though.

My airbrush is a Badger 200 btw. Maybe a little coarser than yours but I'm pretty happy with the results and spares are easy to find.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Ian

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