29/100 - Another Caped Crusader

Last Saturday, I was able to attend a beginners' airbrush class by Pat from The Artisan's Edge, hosted by Lords of War Games and Hobbies.  Pat is an amazing painter, and very skilled in the use of airbrushes.  He was great at troubleshooting and helping work through some problems I was having.  The attendance was kept to around 6 people for this class.  So we all got a lot of great one-on-one help. 

I started the class working on some more Spirit Hosts for my Legion of Nagash army.  I ran into some problems while I was working on the white highlights.  Apparently white is a pain in the ass colour to use with either a brush or an airbrush.  The paint kept coming out in blobs.  I originally thought it was because I did not thin the paint enough but it turns out I had the PSI on the compressor too low.

We had learned in the class that when you want to do base-coats or covering a large area you should have the PSI a little higher (around 30).  Then when you are working on more fine details you can drop the PSI low (around 7-10).  Since I was working on some highlights on the ghosts I figured keep the PSI low.

However I found out that the pigment in white (and yellow) paint is heavier than other paints and tends to come out blotchy if the PSI is too low.  Pat got me to turn the PSI up to about 15 and the white went on much smoother. 

I wanted to try working on a smaller model while I was in the class.  So I picked my Batman from the resin Batman starter set.  I figured this would be a good model to try out the airbrush on.  If it really did not turn out, I had no plans on using him in a game.  If I use a Batman I like to use Bat-fleck.  I know my luck with rolling dice and Bat-fleck can re-roll combat dice (less chance at a bat-whiff). 

Pat showed me how to highlight the back of the cape.  I then did the front of the cape and the cowl/head (minus the skin) on my own with the airbrush.  I was very happy with the final product.  I then finished the model with a regular brush and paint.  I really like how it turned out, now I feel that I have to use the model in a game soon. 

By the end of the class I felt much more confident using my airbrush, especially when highlighting.  I feel that I am starting to build some control with the brush. 

It is a great class and I highly recommend it.  Keep an eye on the Lords of War Facebook page for the next time Pat will be running it.  If you want to be inspired (or humbled) be sure to check out Pat's work over at The Artisan's Edge.

I am going to finish up another dwarf for my Hobbit project soon, then I think I will turn my attention to some Discworld models that I have had on my desk for a while.

Kevin