Topic: Iwata airbrush on "Tiger Meet" F16

Hey everyone,

Knowing Phil has a Tiger Meet scheme of his own coming up soon I thought I'd post some pics of my own efforts as a small incentive for him.

I got the Iwata Revolution TR2 from Phil at a very competitive price as I have seen the results he has achieved with it. I haven't done that much spray painting so far, only 2 or 3 models, but what I have done has been such a pain in the a$$ cos I was using a cheapy £20'er from Screwfix. Now I'm sure people use these with no probs and I have much respect for them, but I'm guessing they have more experience than me and some know how about what they're doing. I've just had enough of spending ages on a model only to have an average paint job
So I thought better to buy some equipment that will help fill the gap in my knowledge

I have a couple of big projects in the pipeline so I thought time to invest in some good kit. I also thought if I get it sooner rather than later I could use it on projects like this to build up more experience.

On this F16 I used £1 Tamiya Acrylic paint pots. I've used these before, slightly thinned with the appropriate thinners. Trouble is I always find it difficult to get the paint to mix properly with the thinners. I'm not that big a fan of the stuff but in the absence of knowing of anything better

So this is the real one


To try and make it a bit more complicated I thought of blending orange into the middle of the yellow.








After painting, the whole thing was coated with Ronseal Diamond Hard Floor Varnish. Two light coats on top and two good coats underneath to land on. Again a different consistency liquid but the brush handled it and using the highest flow rate it soon covered the model. All in it took around 15hrs to paint

I have to say the whole thing was a pleasure to do with the new airbrush!! The nozzle didn't clog once and the whole thing was so easy to adjust and use. As for for cleaning up, no prob there either. I was really impressed with the quality of the whole thing and the job it produced.
So a big thank you to Phil for recommending the airbrush and the great service

Cheers

             Ben

I think that is fantastic....

Jeff

So do I......that looks fantastic.

Few more details on how the scheme was applied would be good Ben?.................(especially the black)

For anyone reading interested in top quality spray gear...................I have recently been appointed as an Authorised Dealer for the Uk's premier airbrush supplier 'Airbrushes.com'

http://www.airbrushes.com/

A huge range of Airbrushes, Spray guns, spares and accessories are now available from Fighteraces....including Iwata, Paasche, Badger, Premi-Air, & Asturo.

Cheers

Phil

You can do Badger spares?

Nice - I'm going to order some WBC paint soon and also need Badger bits - two hits from one supplier 

Ben - I know exactly what you mean about thinning Tamiya paints and my own experience has been that you either get inconsistent opacity or a very rough surface (this matters more on 1/48 scale models admittedly). If you want nice acrylic paints in that sort of quantity though I can fully recommend Polyscale as my much preferred alternative to Tamiya paints. They also do authentic colours like WBC although WBC would be much cheaper for large areas - but Polyscale is great for details and washes etc on this size of model if you want to stay clear of solvents. Polyscale can also be brushed if you're quick and careful unlike Tamiya which turns to chewing gum as soon as it hits the model 

P.S. your F16 looks fantastic 

You can do Badger spares?

Yes....no problem

Very nice work Ben, where is the custom exhaust? 
I would like to know how you did the tiger stripes too please.
Pete

Fantastic job Ben.................... ::cc  ::cc  ::cc

I've posted a couple of times on different threads about how wise it is to invest in a decent airbrush............

My comments are usually shot down, by the clowns/£25 brigade, that have never used one..............do people ever learn?.

I am very pleased to see such a fine example of what can be achieved with the right equipment, plus a bit of skill, from the wielder, of such a fine tool...................

Tally Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Andy

Super job that. And glad to hear the appointment Phil - good firm.

Z

That looks excellent, I'm rather jealous of your skill 

......................from the wielder, of such a fine tool...................

or even maybe "Welder"  :angel: :laugh:

Ben that looks fantastic,and all done in fifteen hours impressive, as Phil says how about a run down on how you did it

Must admit as Tiger says i was one of the clowns that started with a cheapy airbrush, he told me at the time i did'nt listen, though guess ignorance is bliss, soon realised the errors of my ways and bought a Badger 150, one of my better purchases.

lozza

Ben that looks fantastic,and all done in fifteen hours impressive, as Phil says how about a run down on how you did it

Must admit as Tiger says i was one of the clowns that started with a cheapy airbrush, he told me at the time i did'nt listen, though guess ignorance is bliss, soon realised the errors of my ways and bought a Badger 150, one of my better purchases.

lozza

My weapon of choice too - I've had it for years 

I've tried Aztec and didn't rate them, the Revell dual action is ok but I like my Badger. I'd like to try the Iwata though sometime 

wish i'd known phil...just purchased a new iwata airbrush from hongkong via e-bay should be here this week...i have the revolution...fantasic airbrush...but slighty limited on smaller stuff...hence the new one.....

dave

Cheers chaps 

Thanks for the interest!!

I started with the main yellow block and it did go all powdery on the surface After I had a bit laid down I stopped to look a bit closer to notice an "interesting" surface finish. It looked dry and dusty, and was, when I touched it and all the paint fell off :( It was like chalk.

To solve the problem I reduced the pressure  quite a bit (about 20psi I think) and used the brush closer to the surface of the model. As I laid the yellow down I just mixed some red in as I got closer to the centre. I was surprised that it (or I) got through so much paint - 3 pots of yellow??
I was going to free hand the curve of the grey onto the wing but in the end I decided my hand was not yet steady enough so masked it off.

Then the stripes. These were just done free hand. It took around 3 hrs to do the grey top and bottom and the same  for the black. Boy was my back sore from bending over when they were done!! I had the pressure down to around 5-7 psi and was only 15mm or so from the surface. With the trigger only just pulled to the paint stage it easily put down a line only just over 0.5mm wide. More than good enough to get the point of the stripes then put the trigger down to fill in the rest.
I just put a rough outline down where I fancied a stripe and set to filling them in. Nothing to it really. If I was trying to put them in specific places then it would have been hard!! Thats the skill bit I fear

The "31" on the tail was cut out of some paint mask from Kevster 269 from the sea fury. I cut out the 31 and used the outer when laying down the yellow, then reapplied the inner over the yellow and removed the outer to put the grey on.

All in all a bit of an over the top paint job for an £80 plane, but for once I really enjoyed doing it and learned a lot on the way after all it was all about building up experience. Cant wait for the next one now!!

Cheers

              Ben

wish i'd known phil...just purchased a new iwata airbrush from hongkong via e-bay should be here this week...i have the revolution...fantasic airbrush...but slighty limited on smaller stuff...hence the new one.....

dave

Dave, just a thought, but give that new brush a good look over, as there are a lot of fakes about, which is why Iwata now have a 10 year UK guarantee on their products to encourage people to buy pukka ones. See notes here http://airbrushes.com/beware.php?osCsid=2c11b55d79e4b71778a08dad5abe938b&osCsid=2c11b55d79e4b71778a08dad5abe938b

Ben, cracking job mate, well worth doing for the practise alone.

Steve

I use an Iwata Eclipse SBS airbrush, and I do think that it is perhaps the best £100 I have spent on tools to date.  The only thing I wish you could buy, is the skill to use it to do more advanced stuff than paint camouflage patterns!

Cheers
Andy

hi steve,

thanks for the info.......just checked my order again...looks ok!....

with all airbrushes......the main thing i would say is 'CLEAN THEM....THEN CLEAN THEM AGAIN!!'

my devillbus aerograph sprite.....has gone this way......the larger needle set works fine...but the small hair line set doesn't....needs replacing....but if someone wants to buy it and get a new set....deals on!

one of the classic airbrushes.....needs a good home

Thanks for the info Ben.  I have an interest because I also have the EF-16 and was going to do mine like this:



but doing the, albeit wider, stripes was putting me off.............not any more though (I have a £70 Aztec dual action one which I'm very happy with).
Pete

That paint job is just the dogs danglies and makes me want to have a go at airbrushing. However I don't have the space or funds for a 'professional' type set up. Are the Badger airbrushes that you can get at Airfix, etc. stockists for around £40 any good, the ones you connect to an air cannister??

My 2p...

Air canisters are a total waste of time - they don't last long enough to do a job at the best of time and the pressure is all over the place as they discharge and the temperature plummets.

Also, single action airbrushes are very difficult to control - you're either spraying or you're not.

Dual action is pretty much essential - particularly if you want to do anything normally associated with airbrushing such as shading or weathering etc. My preference is dual action and suction feed - I don't like gravity feed - that's meant of artists spraying upright all the time - with our models we want to orientate the airbrush constantly. The last thing you want is paint pouring out a gravity feed cup.

With dual action you press the trigger for air (on/off) and pull the trigger to open the needle valve to control the paint flow - much better! 

Badger make good airbrushes - but the 150 model is probably the best all-rounder they make hence their popularity.

Whatever brand you go for - make sure it's dual action, suction fed and invest in a compressor 

In a nut shell they are not worth the money then!

In a nut shell they are not worth the money then!

Correct...............

In another nut shell, Jamie has just about covered it.................  

Tally Hooooooooooooooooooo

Andy

Agree 100% with what's been said above...............save the cash, put it in the piggy bank, and wait until you can afford a better quality system.

As for 'haven't got space for a full system'....................depending on the choice of compressor, they take up very little room. I, and several others on here who do a lot of large area spray work do run the larger '25 ltr' compressors from the likes of Machine Mart etc......pretty heavy, bulky devises. But for light to moderate use, there really is no need. Compressors not much bigger than a shoe box are readily available, complete with variable pressure valves, moisture traps etc....that are perfectly capable of delivering the air flow/pressures required by an air brush. It's only when running larger 'spray guns' that larger compressors are required.

With any 'tool' or 'instrument'............you get what you pay for. I don't class myself as an 'expert' by any means, but after 15 yrs of airbrush use, I do know what works and what doesn't. I've experience many makes and 'prices' of airbrush, and the difference in not only the finished job, but the ease of use, versatility, reliability and general 'user friendliness' cannot be compared between a £40 brush and a £100/150 brush.

I too can vouch for the very popular Badger 150....it is a good brush....but mine started to deteriorate badly after 7/8 years of only light use. Before I even got involved as a dealer with Airbrushes.com, I was using an Iwata Brush, and the difference even compared to the Badger 150 is simply amazing. Yes, they are quite expensive (no denying that for a single small piece of equipment), but you are getting the best there is.....................and when the final outcome is of prime importance, spending the extra £££ is beneficial. As has been said above, a 'moderately' skilled user with a poor quality brush produces C**P results.......the same user with a good brush can produce some excellent results........as Ben has shown above (sorry to call you a 'moderate' Ben....but you said it yourself  :angel:)

As is the case with most of the products I sell through Fighteraces....I use many of them myself. If I don't rate them, I don't offer them. I can honestly say, if you are wanting to achieve the best possible results (even with limited knowledge), spending the £££ on a good quality system is definitely a wise move.

Cheers

Phil

Admittedly Phil, I have been through 2 needles, 2 spray heads and a couple of O-rings (self inflicted - they don't thank you for cellulose  ) on my 150.

How's the Iwata for very fine stuff Phil? If I replace the 150 it'll have to double up as my small plastic model airbrush too  Can you get different heads and needles for it?

Thanks for all the constructive input. I will put the £40 in my sock draw and add to it to get a good system in the new year.

Admittedly Phil, I have been through 2 needles, 2 spray heads and a couple of O-rings (self inflicted - they don't thank you for cellulose ) on my 150.

Me too......the needles I found 'soft' in comparison to the Iwata I now use.....the tips were VERY easily damaged, and as you say, solvents do attach 'O' rings over prolonged periods of use. Excessive cleaning only makes this worse. Using water based paints solves the 'O' ring problem, but on cheaper brushes, not all components are manufactured in stainless....some are just plated, and once worn, water can cause problems.

How's the Iwata for very fine stuff Phil? If I replace the 150 it'll have to double up as my small plastic model airbrush too  Can you get different heads and needles for it?

Really depends how fine you call fine?..............I know you do some plastic modelling which is a different ball game to RC modelling. The Revolution TR-2 I use (and Ben used on the F16) is quite capable of producing spray lines of well under 1mm wide......but for plastics, I guess this may be a little too big? The TR-2 has a nozzle diameter of 0.5mm.....which is on the upper end of whats normal on small airbrushes. This means it's great even for large coverage areas as it's spray fan can be as large as around 40mm. If you want to go for finer detail, then something more like the Revolution TR-1, Revolution BR, or the HP-C brush....(all having nozzles of 0.3mm) may be more suitable.......only down side here is their reduced ability for larger spray areas (max fan down to around 25mm). I have certinly found I can get far better control, and finer detail with the TR-2 than I ever could with my old 150......and as I was told when I made my original enquiry, the TR-2 is an excellent compromise for both fine and 'larger surface' work.....the 'pistol trigger' action I also find far more controllable than the normal push down, pull back dual action control.

As for different nozzles/needles.......I've enquired about this this morning as I've already got a customer with a TR-1 who wants to 'change' it to TR-2 spec. As far as I'm aware, the 2 nozzles/needles are interchangeable, but I can confirm this later on today.

Phil

As for different nozzles/needles.......I've enquired about this this morning as I've already got a customer with a TR-1 who wants to 'change' it to TR-2 spec. As far as I'm aware, the 2 nozzles/needles are interchangeable, but I can confirm this later on today.

Phil

Hmmmmm I'd be interested in that too   One day I may need to go finer, just handy to know  :angel:

I must say the trigger action is very comfortable to use as well!! The brush is ever so slightly bigger than my "Badger rip off" which makes it much easier to move around with and hold on to.

Cheers

           Ben

I must just chuck my 2 penneth in here .........
I have painted full size cars for years now and use a Devilbiss gravity fed spraygun for the simple fact that it is reliable, I can get spares easily and it is guaranteed to last me for years of continual daily use (with correct care) .
The same logic applies to airbrushes . Earlier this year I "killed" my Astec dual action by inadvertantly leaving some epoxy based paint in the thing which gummed it up so bad it needed chucking as it was never going to get cleaned and useable again . Primarily because it wouldnt strip down it basic components so I never stood a chance.
At about the same time I read a thread on here on which Phil mentioned he used an Iwata TR2 which sounded promising . I pm'd him and the end result was I brought one complete with a neat little water trap which fits snugly under the body of it.
To say this is probably one of the best purchases I have made would be an understatement as this tool is simply the best !
I use it a lot , even taking it to work everyday as its damn usefull for those little "blow ins " that sometimes need to be done which would take a full size gun half a panel to do.

save your pennies and talk to Phil .
You DO get what you pay for and from experience this Iwata gun is IMO the best out there at the moment !

Oh and if you can find needles and heads for finer work   let me know Phil I could use them sometimes so would be another good investment 

Shane

Thanks very much for all the positive comments chaps..................it's great to see people still valve 'quality' equipment.

On the 'finer nozzles/needles' front............

After a chat with the supplier earlier today, I can confirm it is possible to change the TR-2 with a 0.5mm nozzle/needle into a TR-1 with a 0.3mm nozzle/needle....and vice versa.

Total cost for the 4 parts required to do the swap to either brush is £ 29.26 +P&P

If anyone does want to do the swap, drop me a PM as I have an order to place this week anyway, so further spares can easily be added (for a delivery early part of next week)

Cheers

Phil

Phil,
  Nice to see you serving a part of the modeling hobby"over here", that will supply an obvious quality product...best of luck with it......just been reading the thread...

  Ben.....that model is a credit to you, sharp, tidy, and sets your model off perfectly...

  Cliff