Tested Lessons: Painting Model Kits, Part 1

19 thoughts on “Tested Lessons: Painting Model Kits, Part 1”

1. Great item! I never used an airbrush much, but on the odd times I have used one I’ve had the same problem as Norm, not knowing exactly where the paint’s going to land. His idea of laser sighted ones is brilliant.

   Instead of a single dot, it might be an idea to have it project a pattern like a ring or something, so that it changes size with distance from the model and you know the width of the paint spray, i.e. where it’s going to land. May need a way the user can tweak it.

   And adjustable colour laser too (somehow!), so its colour doesn’t interefere with how the model looks while you’re working on it.

   Reply

2. Meh. I’ve never felt the need to pick up an airbrush to use for painting miniatures, although I certainly see the advantages. I’ve been painting with a brush for so long that I can manage just fine layering and blending. I guess I can’t really justify losing productivity to learn a new skill set, although the Terminator: Genisys boxed set is really tempting me to pick up an airbrush to chrome the endoskeletons.

   Reply

3. What would probably help Norm with his paint coverage is spinning the model around, instead of moving the airbrush around the model. Keeping the model in one position looks better for the camera, but it hides the parts you are missing since you are looking at it from just one angle.

   Also, in the beginning he has the airbrush almost upside down at some points, trying to hit the left side of the model, this doesn’t help coverage either, since the paint pools at the top of the cup and is not being picked up by the airbrush.

   That said, I do like the orange color, it had some nice depth to it! Really enjoyed the video, looking forward to the next ones!

   Reply

4. 

   Reply

5. well, that was cool. 🙂 a shame we still can’t get premium memberships with paypal.

   when norm gave his the sunburnt look, i was shouting at my screen to mix up a really basement pale skin tone and give him pale skin in the shape of big sunglasses. a kinda frankenstein’s monster, beach edition kind of thing.

   Reply

6. I love this video! Might even unpack my warhammer 40k miniatures and shake the paint jars for one more go o/

   Reply

7. I both love and hate these videos….Love ’em because they’re great teaching tools on some of the stuff I’m really interested in, and Hate them because I can’t afford any of this stuff ;-(

   Reply

8. I’m very excited about this build week. I got an airbrush a few months ago and have played with it some, but I think this will be relevant for what I’m hoping to do.

   Reply

9. Quick tip, these are gravity fed airbrushes so holding them upside down won’t really do much…

   Reply

10. This promises to be an awesome video series, I’m really looking forward to learning more about airbrushing and painting.

    Reply

11. Both Will and Norm can turn their paint jobs in the right direction with a little bit more work. Will could dry brush of a lighter contrast color over the top in a few key places and it would draw out the finer detail. Maybe a light greenish grey. Norm’s is the opposite, it needs a darker value contrast, maybe a purple, dark red, or medium green could pull it together.

    If Norm were to add a layer of darker color and wipe away, just like Frank did in the beginning, I’m betting he’d be a lot happier.

    Frank does a few things here many people starting may not easily pick up. He’s contrasting both color and value. The orange/green are complimentary colors, but their value is also a point of contrast. He also uses a medium shade to add a bit more definition and shapes. You just have to look at the sculpt and imagine the ‘lighting’ effect you want to capture, and then use your values to exaggerate the natural contours. The shapes are already there telling you where it wants to be dark light, its just adding to that color/value exaggeration to help it read more clearly. You can essentially do this with any combination of 2 colors, the grey/purple version is a perfect example of that.

    In the end, if you don’t like it, wipe it off and try again. Nothing beats practice IMO.

    Hopefully in the next series they will get into that more as they plan out the next paint job.

    Looks like a lot of fun and like to see the Iwata gear at work and the kits seem well designed to get someone starting out on the right foot.

    Reply

12. Woohoo! More Frank! Now I want to paint something.

    Reply

13. I ordered a laser module and circle-with-crosshair optics to try strapping to my airbrush. I’ll post the outcome in the forums in a few weeks.

    Reply

14. I have noticed that Will is holding and moving his airbrush more like Frank’s whereas Norm is kind of tipping his all around, is this just my imagination?

    Reply

15. I can’t afford to sign up for a premium membership but I want that poster really badly I hope it will show up on eBay or Amazon.

    Reply

16. Well, with this video, I joined the Tested community, and jumped straight into Premium membership. I’ve been lurking here now for maybe 12 months!! But I’ve only just started airbrushing very recently. It’s only a cheapy airbrush, and I’ve got a compressor on permanent loan from a mate at work. Haven’t done much yet, but I am amazed what they can do already. I did know how they use less paint and cover a surface smoothly and easily, but to actually see it and do it myself was very cool.

    So kudos to Frank, Will and Norm. I just had to join to see the rest of these videos!! 8]

    Reply

17. This video series was incredibly helpful. I have experience working with an airbrush but would love to upgrade to an Iwata. What model would be ideal for painting toys and kits? Which Iwata gives you the most control? Thanks and keep up the awesome work!

    Reply

18. I saw that part 1 of this series on YouTube was from 2015. I enjoyed it enough to spend $40 on an annual membership. So far as I can tell, there were no follow-up videos. Am I just unable to find them?

    My mistake — I found them! (Suggestion: link to additional parts of a series from every page within the series.)

    Reply

19. Have you guys done any videos on painting realisitic human 1:6 portraits? I’ve a got a few custom sculpts for figures I’m kit bashing and was looking around for a decent tutorial that will get to me to Hot Toys quality & beyond.

    Reply