how best to paint my tank

[adam4472]

i currently dont own a airbrush and was hoping to paint my tank and was wondering how best to paint my tank without using an airbrush
my last attempt failed

[sparks]

Without an airbrush it's gonna be difficult to get a good finish, Tamiya spray paints work well for covering large areas, but work out very expensive

[adam4472]

where can i get a decent airbrush and how much will it cost me

[Doughzer]

Like you Adam I am new to the airbrush lark, but from another thread, look at ebay, you will need a compressor and airbrush kit, where you could start at £70-80 and spend upwards in to the hundreds depending on your funds.

here is an example:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is possible to connect airbrush kits to aerosols, I have never done this and do not know how good quality is, others can comment on this, but it may provide a start to see how your skills are.

Once you take the plunge, like me I will be starting to try camo patterns on pieces of scrap board, just to get a feel.

Forgebear gave me a couple of tips when I recently picked up 2 HL tanks (my first ones being a JP late version and the PZKrfw IV F2), there are others on here, about how to weather tanks to give a more authenic look.

This means layering the paints so as to be able to scratch top layers off to show rust effect or bare metal on raised parts for the "used" look.

Good Luck!

[seafire]

Its perfectly possible to get a decent finish using brushes. Remember that real tanks dont usually have a pristine, showroom finish. The key is to buy good quality artists brushes and the best paints you can afford. There are numerous (too many to mention!)
scale-modelling sites on the net giving tips and guidance as well as videos on YouTube etc. You might try looking at 'SCALE-MODELS-MILITARY.COM' for a start. Also dont neglect the vast range of books and magazines on the subject.
Another thing to bear in mind is that a big part of the interest for many modellers is in the research itself. Have Fun.

Seafire

[[ICE]monkey]

as seafire said, we all try and get the best finish we can get but the real tanks finish was far from good , apart from the factory finish the tanks rolled out in , most tanks were painted in the field ,as in the german case using paint that came in the form of a paste and was thinned down using anything from fuel oil or water and applied with a broom brush or rag .
regards, ice

[Rogue Sub]

Adam where are you from? I have a shipment of very cheap airbrushes coming in soon that I will be selling for 20 dollars. They are single action external mixing. Not fine precision like the high dollar units but they get the job done and come with compressor or propel hook ups.