Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Something completely different...


One word of advice first. When getting your first airbrush (because you are considering buying one unless you already have one) don't get the most expensive one straight away.

An example of why is the bottom airbrush. I got it a year ago, it was my first foray into airbrushing if you don't consider the week I had at art school back in 1996. I really didn't know how they worked. Why things sometimes didn't work and well... it got a bit smashed up. Impatience is a virtue... or so I've heard.

So, after almost completely messing up my Evolution I decided that it was time to either buy replacement parts or get myself a new one. I settled for the latter and bought me the fance Harder & Steenbeck Evolution INFINITY. Just taste that little word... I N F I N I T Y !

The difference in price isn't really that much between the two. But the difference in fit and finish is like... comparing a Skoda to a BMW or something like that.

So... the completely different part?


A Dragon Models PzKpfw. IV Ausf. G!

All this playing of World of Tanks (which is what I do when I really should finish the Stompa) made me wanna try and paint and build a "real" model. It's got 740 parts, photo-etched stuff and god knows what more.

I have just opened the box, taken a look at the various sprues (and shuddered a little when I saw the three sprues containing track links) and put it on the shelf. This one is for when I have less work and not an Aporkalypse to be preparing for.

Here's the list I'm taking to the Aporkalypse. For you list-dudes. It's nothing special. It's more of a "I want a Stompa and I want kanz... "-list.

APORKALYPSO
Formation: Dred Mob
Deff Dread Dreadnought CCW x4
Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Grotzooka x3; 
Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Rokkit Launcha x3
Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Grotzooka x2; Rokkit Launcha x1
Stompa Big Shoota (x2); Deth Kannon w/ co-ax Supa-Gatler; Supa-Rokkit (x3); Supa-scorcha; Titan CCW; Twin Linked Big Shoota; Big Shoota.

HQ: Big Mek Mek's Tools; Kustom Force Field; Choppa;

Troops: 25 Boyz; Shootas; Big Shoota x2;
1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw
Troops: 25 Boyz; Shootas; Big Shoota x2;
1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Troops: 20 Boyz; Sluggas & Choppas
1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw
Troops: 20 Boyz; Sluggas & Choppas
1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Weighing in at 1997 points or something like that. The KFF is mostly just to give them cover while they slug along the field. And to give cover to any Kanz that has to be more than 12" away from the Stompa. :)

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations!
    I purchased an Infinity 2 in 1 this year and I can't wait to finally get the opportunity to use it.

    Even though this was my first airbrush, I treated the purchase as an investment that I plan to use over the coming years. I purchased a model that would allow me to paint models as well as detailed graphic design.

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  2. Perhaps I should rephrase the advice a little.

    If you're like me. And likes to disassemble stuff without really knowing how they go together. Have no patience when stuff doesn't work as you want it to... don't go for the most expensive one at first. :)

    Then again, the H&S Infinity isn't that expensive. I was looking at Iwata and their top of the line airbrushes. Those are -really expensive-.

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  3. Huzzah for H&S guns.

    Getting the most expensive one may be not the best choice, but being a cheapskate isn't one either.

    I started my never ending airbrush experiment roughly half a year ago, buying a cheap kit from ebay.co.uk for ~80 pounds (with the exchange rate and shipping I paid 100€). Friend of mine recommended that kit to me, who also got the recommendation from s.o else. For reasons unknown it collected dust in my shelf and at the time I dusted it off for the first time, my friend hat ruined both pistols from the kit. He then spend 20€ again on ebay for a new pistol, which also didn't last long.

    I disassembled and reassembled the pistol once, blasted some air through and then decided that there is wisdom to the saying "don't be a cheapskate when buying an AB". I phoned with two german AB-stores and then purchased a H&S Evolution 2:1 silverline. I may have got myself an infinity if I had come up with the idea to ask if they change the 0.15 needle for a 0.2 one, but I was stupid and the evolution had a good rep and fitted into my limited budget back then.

    The mentioned friend now uses a victor airbrush he got from a german store I recommended to him and it works for him.

    So in hindsight both of us paid dearly for being cheapskates. He went through 3 sets of ebay guns until he paid ~70€ for a solid one. My airbrush expenses have summed up to ~320€, with 1/3 made up by that stupid ebay kit. For 30-40€ more I could have get the 2:1 silverline and a decent double piston compressor, who would also have enough power for airbrushing T-Shirts next summer.

    I like my H&S. Getting an Iwata was way beyond my budget and getting spare parts for a reasonable price here in Germany is more or less impossible. H&S on the other hand? I just need to phone the local art store and if they don't have a new needle on stock, it only takes them 1-2 days to order it.

    I sometimes wish for a needle size between the 0.2 and 0.4 needle, but I don't think I want to pay 70-130€ again to get a 0.3mm gun from another brand. I rather spend that money on Dark Eldar models or save it for the case that the ebay compressor may die on me in the future.

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  4. There sure is truth in the saying "Buy quality, cry once". :)

    I actually had one of the cheapest Paasche ones before the Evolution. That was €50 down the drain. Worthless piece of crap.

    What I was trying to say is that spending €400 on a top of the line airbrush before you learn the tool (and knows how to care for it) perhaps not always is the brightest idea.

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  5. Yeah, that def. is true. Except for a bent needle, which I dropped being overtired during cleaning after a practice session, I managed to handle my gun with care. Being a bookworm and a youtube-nerd I watched 2-3 cleaning tutorials and read the manual over and over again, before I disassembled my evolution for the first time.

    I'm quit satisfied with how my kit works so far. Over the course of the last weeks I got my hands on a 3L pressure tank, which gives me ~40-45 seconds of air before the compressor kicks in again, if I run the gun at 20psi. (still fooling around searching for the right pressure for my H&S Evolution + Vallejo colors combo). I also pimped the gun itself, buying a cap for the 5ml cup, a quick fix end piece (cheap evo version of the one you have on your infinity) and quick coupling for my hose, with a inbuild air valve, allowing me to regulate the airflow right at the gun. Was cheaper than the fpc valve H&S offers and have a 0-100 range compared to the 20-100 from the fpc.

    So the gun is working fine, the compressor is okay (as long as he stays alive!) and the only problem I need to solve is getting those Vallejo model colors thinned and cleaned, so that the gun doesn't clog up every 5 second. Sadly my primary color is violet, which Vallejo doesn't support in their fabulous Model air range. And I don't want to a lazy git and drop the scheme for one using shades of red from the VMA range. Bah!

    Bought some liquitex flow aid and liquitex airbrush-medium. On top of that I still need to find a store selling pipe filters, or steal some fish net stockings, for cleaning up my paints before I thin them down in advance.

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  6. I run my compressor @ 20psi for most Vallejo Air. Sometimes I up it a little when using thicker (but still thinned) colours and the Vallejo primers.

    What's the real world benefit of a fPC-valve? I've read some reviews of it and some find it useful, others say it's unneeded. But as far as I've understood its like the regulator on the compressor, but closer to your working area?

    For thinning I really can recommend the Airbrush Medium from Liquitex. Or the VMA one. I think it's the same gunk actually.

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  7. Okay, seems like I'm not way off with my compressor settings.

    Regarding the fpc: I would rate it a nice feature if your compressor is sitting below your desk and you're lazy. The difference between the fpc and mine is that the fpc sits underneath the gun itself, while mine is build into a quick coupling and since I wanted to buy one anyway, the price difference between a normal quick coupling and mine was negligible. I wouldn't have paid the price for a lone fpc valve.

    Regarding the thinning: The Liquitex page is kind of misleading on the question if you should only thin with the medium or mix it with distiled water (+maybe some flow-aid).

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  8. I can see that (the FPC) being really handy when cleaning the brush. Instantly 60psi and then back to normal again.

    I thin with some thinner Liquitex Airbrush or VMA and a drop or two of water if that still doesnt produce the right viscosity. In the worst case I have a bottle of window cleaner that I use. But it has the side effect that paint doesnt really adhere as fast as with the other mediums.

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