Kzinti base color & good airbrush technique?

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:23 am

How do people paint the base color of their Kzintis?

I'm trying to get away from spray, since touch ups often don't blend very well.

I've done both a black and a white basecoated mini and both look "meh" since the red is tough to get even since it's thin, like most "lighter" colored paints.

Any ideas?

Wolverin61 · Post by **Wolverin61** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:45 am

My Kzintis are Testors Russian Marker Red, which is a reddish orange color I like. I'll try to take some pics and post them sometime.

Brigman · Post by **Brigman** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:47 am

My Kzintis are basecoated in Citadel's "Blood Red", then washed with Citadel's "Scab Red". I have pics up in the Painting Examples section for the 'Zin.

hobbybob · Post by **hobbybob** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:08 am

I used to use a base coat of generic grey primer with a brushed overcoat of Pactra Leather.

At some point I plan to repaint them with more modern paint, but my Kzinti ships are the old castings (that seem to fall apart when I look at them

. Thank you, Steve Cole, for updating these castings!). I've unpacked them to decal, but first I have to figure out which drone arm goes with which ship.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:15 am

I've already basecoated and stripped all my Kzintis at least once. That red is a really tough one to find and be happy with.

I want a nice deep "brick red" color (like ship hulls below the waterline). I really like the look Dale gets too.

I also want to stick to a "stock" color (no more custom-mixes; Feds and Klingons are enough work).

What I'm hoping I've settled on is a Humbrol enamel. It looks to be the darker tone I want. I'll know more once I've done some test-sprays.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:52 am

Mine are painted Tamiya flat red, then highlighted with CeramCoat Napthol Crimson and washed with a Windsor & Newton red ink: MAgic wash mixture.

ctchapel · Post by **ctchapel** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:30 am

The stock color I use on Kzinti ships is Testors Model Master "British Crimson".

Charles Chapel

SWO_Daddy · Post by **SWO_Daddy** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:09 am

As do I Charles. Great minds think alike!

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:28 pm

Thanks guys.

I think I found the paint that I like, now I just have to apply it.

Basecoating by hand just isn't working.

So I think it's time to buy my first airbrush.

I was thinking about getting something simple, like a single action external mix.

Any opinions? Any suggestions?

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:22 pm

Badger makes a very good, very inexpensive single-action, external mix airbrush. I think it's a model 250, but I could be wrong.

I have a Paachse single action, internal mix airbrush I use for base coating, simply because it's easy to clean than the Badger 150 XL I use for detail work.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:17 pm

The elCheapo Testors airbrush is a solid one for base-coating. I used it for years (using canned air) and it was all I needed for that.

Turns out I have an extra one I found it in my model-stash in my Dad's garage. Email sent to ya.

Hod K'el · Post by **Hod K'el** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:21 pm

I agree with both Scoutdad & djdood. An upper class unit is very nice for camo work & detailing of larger miniatures or models, but for base coating, just use the Testers air brush.

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:13 am

Rather than start a new thread, I'll necro this one.

Can you use a metallic paint in an airbrush?

If so, can anyone recommend some good brands to use?

If not, how can I get a nice, smooth, non-brush stroke showing metallic colored basecoat, without resorting to spray cans that don't match the acrylics?

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:56 am

I've never had any trouble with metallics in my Testors airbrush. They are a little more finicky about thinners and need to be agitated pretty frequently (they want to settle out), but other than that they went on fine. I also tried the "buffable" metalizer paints that Testors does - those require a different thinner and took a lot more coats but ended up looking nice.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:36 am

Paul, I've also used metallic paint in many different airbrushes with little or no trouble.

The only thing I'd add to Will's comments is this: If possible, add a filter to your pick-up. It's not as critical in an external mix airbrush as it is in an internal mix airbrush, but a large "clump" of the metallic particles can still clog the intake or the nozzle and cause either sputtering or even a complete blockage.

And definitely agitate the paint frequently. I typically drop a couple of BB's into the bottle to assist in the agitation process (think rattle-can...). In fact, I've probably bought more BB's since I started painting than I ever did when I was younger and had a BB gun. I usually drop a couple of them into every new bottle of paint I buy - so I go through them fairly quickly.

Federation Commander

Kzinti base color & good airbrush technique?

Kzinti base color & good airbrush technique?

Kzinti painting