Holy m... insane talent. I'd take the time to watch that video at normal speed. Notice how he does almost everything while holding the parts in his hands--no jigs. I'd also like to learn how he cuts styrene freehand, no with straightedges...
I think he trace-cut over printed engineering drawings. Either that or he apprenticed with a professional pin-striper for years.
I am WAY late to this conversation, but a do enjoy a good airbrush:
A few notes... my paint booth is no where near as tidy now. I had a bottle of thinned india ink explode on the unprotected wood surface. Maybe I should just spray it black
I'm also up to THREE paint racks now. I have about 200 bottles of paint. I use acrylic - Badger Modelflex, Testor's Acryl and Polly Scale (when I can find it). The inventory skews yellow and white for Polly Scale and Testors and other colors for Badger, which needs primer for lighter colors. Most of my custom mixes are Tamiya blends due to their availability and good working properties. I use Tamiya Acrylic thinner for everything. I like to use paint on the thin side - about the viscosity of coffee with cream and sugar. I also tend to run a bit higher pressure than most here - 30 PSI.
Air is supplied by a 3 gallon 150 PSI Lowe's special I purchased for under $80. I run two lines from the utility room to the layout room using a garage air line system and standard utility outlet boxes.
On the left you can see the regulated air line. This includes and in-line water trap and regulator in the layout room. For airbrushing, I set the pump at 50 PSI and adjust downward at the bench.
On the right is my dump air line. I use this for pressure casting. When using this I usually set the pump at 100 PSI and engage the cut-out valve (not shown) to the air brush line to avoid damage to the water trap.
On to the brushes!
Brand preference is a bit like cameras - you're a Nikon or Canon guy, or one of those people who throw convention to the wind and use Sony or Olympus. In this case, I have always preferred Badger to Paasche. Badger is made in the US, and their support is excellent. The owner very friendly and treks out to various conventions (such as Springfield) to sell products. You can also get some insane deals on Badger - more on that later.
Badger 250:
This is a single action, external mix brush that is about as cheap as they come. At the Badger thrift shop (
http://www.badgerairbrush.com/Thrift_store.asp), you can often find these 3 for $12. They are also available on Amazon for very cheap money. Good for painting scenery on the layout, or misting down thinned white glue. Not very useful for model work.
Badger 350:
A basic external mix brush that the guys in MR are always pushing for newbies. I don't really know why they prefer it other than cost - a dual action airbrush is always easier to operate than these. You can get decent results for models, and the spray area is good for larger projects. I got this one for $18 new off eBay.
Badger 200:
This is the brush that gets Pete's heart all aflutter. This was my first airbrush though I don't use it much anymore. Like the Ship of Theseus, pretty much every part has been replaced at one point or another. They go for around $80 these days. Good all around brush for painting, but limited use for detail weathering.
Badger 155:
My first dual action airbrush. What a revelation. Dual action is a must for acrylic paints as you can adjust the flow to avoid clogs. I got this for $60 using one of those 50% off coupons at AC Moore.
Badger 360:
My current workhorse. An advanced dual action airbrush with a rotating cup to switch from gravity fed cup to siphon fed bottle. This brush really can do it all from fine detail work to large O scale models. Easy to set up and clean. $80 direct from Badger at Springfield several years ago.
Badger/Thayer & Chandler Omni Matrix:
So this is a bit of an odd duck. From what I gather, Badger purchased a smaller company (or folded a subsidiary) called Thayer and Chandler. Parts were swapped around and the Omni Matrix was the result. The Matrix features a 360 body with a T&C fine needle, tip cap and guard. Mine was purchased from Badger's Thrift Shop about 10 years ago for about $60. It has all the features of the 360, but lighter and less balanced due to the aluminum handle. The fine tip can be swapped out for a medium one, but then it would be a 360 by any other name.
