[unofficial Weekender] Was it worth it?

[grantinvanman 2503xp 1]

I had to turn a very small walk in closet into my “hobby room”. It’s literally so small! But I have a desk, and my compressor under it; my paints along the wall on plastic picture shelves. I use IKEA tubs as spray booths, taking them off when I need to. And I do mask up – a half-face 3M P100 or a full face depending on what I’m spraying.

All I was trying to do was to encourage people to dig out those airbrushes and get to use them!

 

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 1]

Not used mine in over six months and still getting the hang of it, but I plan to try again my next week off if the weather is warm enough as I have a lean too on my house with good ventilation that gets warm. I’ll some practice camouflage on scraps of wood first before I ruin my bolt action minis.

[sundancer 43384xp 0]

All I was trying to do was to encourage people to dig out those airbrushes and get to use them!

And you’re absolutely right. This question is not about airbrushes being “useless” but about any hobby expense someone had and later thought to themselves “I could have used that money differently”. This could also apply for conventions. People might have gone to one and been put off completely. Or bought a 3D printer and went “that’s too much work, you live in the back of the closet now”. If you never had that experience than that’s good because you make good buying decisions and don’t jump on any hype train that comes along.

It’s Monday.

There’s an alarm on a customers Exchange. *sigh*

What a way to start a week XD

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 1]

More bolt action has arrived. Puma armoured car which looks easy to assemble. Four officers which requirely no assembly, just basing which is even better. And more pin tokens… because there is no way my eyes will cope with reading the tiny red writing on the red pin token dials…

Speaking of poor eyesight… my friend bought a bold action starter and it comes with the A5 rules… it’s tiny print… gave me a migraine thinking about reading it.

[limburger 21920xp 0]

Has anyone ever tried using their airbrush for 2d art ?

I think there’s a lot more training material for that sort of stuff, whereas airbrusing miniatures appears to be “just do it” with little to no advice on how to actually hold the thing and actual technique.

Heck, this kind of applies to painting miniatures in general as well. So many assume you ‘know’ the basics, but they never explain how they got there.

And I’d argue that there is a real gap between beginner and high end artist. The mid-level is rarely addressed and always assumed to be a mere stopping point between beginner and golden demon winner. I don’t feel the need to be competitive at anything, but I do want to know how to get better other than practicing more.

I’d say the scariest part of painting minis isn’t the tech, but the choice of colours. How do I pick them and why ?
All I know is that in art class we had to paint blobs in primary colours and then mix them to get additional colours.

Maybe that’s why historical miniatures are ‘easy’ as all the heavy lifting in colour choice is done.
OTOH … discovering that in WW 2 the Germans had many different colour uniforms is not fun either …
(I used to wonder about this when I was into building scale models as a kid. One box would have Germans in grey and another would have them in dark green … )

[jeffersonpowers 291xp 0]

Pledge: no more crowdfunding. At least until all the lingering campaigns I’ve backed have delivered, but even then I’m going to try to avoid it unless it’s for something that looks truly exceptional.

Was it worth it? I’m extremely nearsighted, and now as I’m getting older I’m starting to lose my close-up vision too. I currently have some progressive (AKA variable focus?) glasses for general use, and a pair of prescription reading glasses that I use for reading in bed.

Last year I tried to get a new pair of progressives that would give me extra magnification for close-in work (painting, obviously), and also mid-range so I could at least get up to refill my coffee without changing glasses. The optometrist said it could be done, but so far everything they’ve given me has been a dud (I’ve had them re-done twice).

So my dream of having a special pair of “hobby glasses” is in the wind, at least so far…

[sundancer 43384xp 0]

Has anyone ever tried using their airbrush for 2d art ?

Not the current one but the old one I got 30+ years ago from my dad. Basically a can of air, cheap air brush, some paints and pots. All in a nice box from Revell. It’s a nice use for it XD

So my dream of having a special pair of “hobby glasses” is in the wind, at least so far…

If you have a set of glasses that work for you for reading and every day life I wouldn’t go and buy extra expensive glasses for the hobby. Grab something like a hobby lamp with integrated magnification (like I have) or some headstrap, fold down magnifiers (like @warbossd has) That’s a personal choice. Pro: the magnification stays the same even when you get new glasses (eventually) Con: it’s extra stuff.

[civilcourage 11515xp 1]

@grantinvanman Have you got a picture of your set up?

 

I too have an airbrush but space and time are stopping me from getting it going more often. I even have a tank compressor but never get the thing set up to use

• This reply was modified 1 month, 4 weeks ago by  civilcourage.

[limburger 21920xp 1]

@sundancer I remember my first airbrush … it was a Revell one with a can of air.
It was crap. In part because the paint that came with it was (in hindsight) unsuited to painting models.

The plastic imperial guard I tried to use it on ended up coated in a thick layer of white gloss paint that covered what little detail they had.(those were the original first generation plastic imperial guard from the Rogue Trader era btw).

@jeffersonpowers I hear you on the ‘no more crowdfunding’ bit 🙂
I still haven’t managed that bit, because for some reason there’s always one more thing I want.

I think the Orken project by SixMoreVodka will be my last, but I can’t be sure.

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 0]

This is an image of the 3D print of a Tiger bought for Bolt Action.

I know it’s got some FDM tell tales on it, but it looks good to me. Posted a few more images on my Afrika Korps project page where I will eventually show the painted version.

[limburger 21920xp 0]

@pagan8th if anyone complains tell them it’s zimmeritt (sp?)

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 0]

I had to google that. Good idea.

It’s not me being too lazy to sand it down… it’s authentic… it’s zimmerit

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 0]

Deal of the day on drivethrurpg is Burrows and Badgers for £4.85.

I wonder if @brennon noticed.

[sundancer 43384xp 0]

just glancing at the picture I was about to ask if that was a knitted tank XD

[pagan8thParticipant 12933xp 1]

It’s wearing a sweater to keep warm 🙂

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