Tamiya Churchill MK,VII first ever build

Russell Peberdy
Ready for my first try at painting with a airbrush

Erik Torp
Have fun and don't give up if you fail on the first attempt. My best advice is to practice on a piece of scrap plastic to get the right mixture of paint and air and of course the right mixture of paint and thinner. Looking forward to see the result.

Russell Peberdy
Thank you. Yeah am planning on practicing on some scrap bits first to try and get the right paint mixture and technique, also not expecting it to be perfect at all so wont be too upset if i mess something up but practice is everything. Need to get a coupe more bits from town before I get started but will hopefully make a start this afternoon.
Thanks

John
Thin the paint more than you think you need to. If you're new to airbrushing, you'll think "there's no way this can cover anything" but it'll work. Depending on the paint/thinner you're using, try at least 50/50. Nothing is more frustrating starting out airbrushing than having spitting, uneven paint spraying and clogging. Lastly don't forget ventilation! You don't want to be breathing the fumes. Good luck and keep us updated. 👍

Russell Peberdy
Thanks am using the Tamiya acrylic paints with the Tamiya X-20A thinner which i have read should be about 60/40 thinner too paint tho all depends on the paint but have a idea where too start also have some old warhammer models that won't ever be used so am going to practice on them too get the right thickness off paint and technique. Yeah have found my old spraying area i used to use when using spray cans when i used to paint the warhammer models. Thanks shall post some updates as i go.

John
As you get more practice in, you'll find that Mr. Color levelling thinner works really well with the Tamiya paints. The Tamiya lacquer thinner is good too but the Mr. Color is better. Not a thing wrong with X20 though. If you want to save some money, isopropyl alcohol works well also, but it dries really fast.

Russell Peberdy
Thanks have got the Mr Color levelling thinner on my list off bits to get as I progress. Am partly following a YouTube video I found for beginners building the Churchill MK,VII so have just got the basics for that kit but he does go in too some off the extra bits to use as you advance to get a better look which I will try when comfortable with the basic's. Ordered a couple off bits and more colours that I need to finish this kit and got myself another kit which he also has a beginner's video for but will post that separately once it arrives.

Russell Peberdy
Latest 3 photos show the first 2 coats off the dark green on most off the tank, did forget about a couple off parts I should be able too get sprayed today then waiting on some different colours to come in the post before I can finish and start finishing the assembly and working on washes to bring the panel lines out and some weathering. Unfortunately learnt one big lesson remember that the air brush is always attached to where your working as moved too far with it in my hand knocking my bottle off the dark green paint across the floor thankfully was able too clean it up easily enough but hardly have any left now. Hopefully I have enough to put a coat or 2 on the small bits I forgot to build/fit before I finish the main painting. Also not too sure about the track colour atm tho is what they did on the video that I'm partly following and after washes and weathering it does look good on the video and if not happy with it will replace the tracks from the elastic band type too something else.
Thanks and any other tips would be appreciated.

Russell Peberdy
Also I do have lots off Citdal paints from my warhammer days but guessing they won't have many good matches for the type off models I'm going to be doing now? Just feels a shame to let them go too waste if I'm able to use some of them?

Ben M
I always knock my paint over too!

I'm not familiar with the citadel paints but you can pick models based on the colors you have or that you mix.

Russell Peberdy
Glad I'm not the only one lol, not used to my painting equipment having hoses so tried going to the other side off the room whilst holding my airbrush and the hose moved and caught the pot making it go flying lol. Thankfully had done most of the painting by then tho have a couple off parts that are being painted off the model I forgot about but should have enough left to get them painted and will order some more for future use. Also will try and remember to put the lid back on after putting what I want in the airbrush.
They are the ones that are made for warhammer models think some off the colours will be fine and have most if not there whole line off washes which should be fine for doing panel lines and some weathering.

Ben M
also on tanks I've found if I do a slightly different color mix for detail parts, it actually makes things look cool and stand out a little. You can see this on the M3 medium I just built - on the tools I didn't fade the olive drab as much as I did for the rest of the tank, and so it gives it a little "pop".

Russell Peberdy
Thanks shall give that a try, really like the look you got by using the black and white primer to get the fade/shade on the M3 you built, am definitely going to give that a try when I get a bit more comfortable using a airbrush.

Ben M
I got the idea from some m4 medium build on here. Scalemates is such a good place to get ideas…

Russell Peberdy
Ah that's cool. Yeah am really glad that I found this website when just starting out, don't know anyone else in the hobby so would of just been with the kit instructions and some YouTube vids which are good tho because off my brain can get confused about parts quite easily and learn bits much easier if I can ask questions when I get confused about something or will get stuck on something usually something very basic but just stops me from continuing tho now have somewhere to ask questions and get ideas from so can move on with what I'm doing.

Russell Peberdy
Am unfortunately waiting for some parts i ordered too be able to continue with this build so won't be updating anything until they arrive now. Tho whilst having to go to one of my weekly meetings yesterday did find a shop fairly local (a 20min bus ride away) that does sell quite a lot off bits I would of needed and whilst there ended up buying another kit which I shall start a second project for soon and will hopefully keep me occupied until the parts I ordered arrive.

Russell Peberdy
Thought I had got the build ready for decals and weathering but realised I had a couple of small parts I hadn't painted or glued on so am going to get them done tomorrow when I paint the same colour on my other build and then can move on to the more finishing stages tho will be the first time using decals in a long time so will be careful and take my time placing them and hopefully that will go well then will start trying some weathering methods for the first time.

Russell Peberdy
Decals added and overall am happy how they went on used micro set and sol tho you might see I'm missing 2 decals that go on the storage boxes on the side as ended up messing the one up whilst trying too put it on unfortunately but still happy how the others look. Also got the last bits of the base colour down on the 2 small bits I missed and also on the front off the turret which I didn't like how it was looking with the joint lines which shouldn't off been there so sanded them down and re applied the paint and whilst still not perfect do think it looks much better. Now need to touch up a couple off areas with different colours then am ready for weathering.
Am trying to work out if I need to add a varnish layer before starting the weathering? I am going to be using some off the citadel washes for picking out some off the details then have some weathering sets that I plan on using some off at least for the weathering. Have put a pic up off what I will be using.

Russell Peberdy
Weathering has been added, had some really good fun playing around with the weathering. Used Citadel agrax earthshade around any raised areas and parts or joins too add some shadow and make bits stand out more. Then had a play with some VMS sandy earth pigment jockey weathering colour but found that after it dried you couldn't really see any sign off any sand so ended up mixing some yellow ochre and burnt ochre oil paint with white spirit and added it too the same parts to add a bit off sand/dirt on it (probably added too much but for my first try definitely like how it turned out). Then used some off Mig's Europe earth set too add some dirt too the tracks, wheels and sides, do need too practice more with this stuff but didn't want too much on this model. There is some rust colours around the exhaust and the panels under it and a little bit of some off the AK's slimy grime and fuel weathering set just under the exhaust. Then added a layer off Matt varnish spray can just too lock it all in.

John
Seems like your previous citadel paints could be good for weathering going forward. Looking good, especially for a first airbrushing!

Russell Peberdy
Yeah think they will be useful for shading and helping the details stand out more, did find they needed a bit more thinning even tho the ones I used are classed as there shade range which are for this sort of use but think I will probably use up what I have left fairly quickly going on how much I used in this build and think oil paints and thinner will be a lot cheaper once they run out. Thanks am happy how it turned out, was quite worried about using a airbrush and wasn't expecting it to be very good being my first time using it and using a cheap airbrush and compressor set tho think that probably helped a bit as have hardly any bits I needed to set up/over think it all. But as I just need too thin the paint and turn it on could concentrate more on the painting then worrying if it was set up right lol.

John
Well, a cheap airbrush is just fine for single color schemes and some simple hard-edge camo but you'll find yourself wanting finer control as you gain more skill. But get comfortable and practice as well as get a feel for how thin the paint needs to be to spray well before you step up to another airbrush. My 2 cents/pence anyway. You're off to a good start! Yes, especially for armor models I think you'll find like and thinner are the way to go and very economical.

Darren Hillman
Nice job! Well done! 👏🏻👍🏻

Russell Peberdy
Thank you all. Yeah still feel abit off when using a airbrush so shall carry on trying to get used to using one. Have one more armour model and 2 planes that I will be doing next with it which will help me practice different uses I think. And am just starting the weathering on my Cromwell which iam trying to do most of the panel lines and shades with oil paint and thinners so shall see how that goes tho have separate projects for them which I need to update soon.
Thanks tho really appreciate all the tips and help I've had so far from this site.

John
Oil paints and thinners (not sure why it autocorrected to "like" in the last post LOL) are the best value for your money. Your oil paints will last forever, so don't cheap out and get the lowest price ones you can. They don't have to be the Abteilung line, but those are good, just avoid the lower end ones because they can be "chunky" and don't blend well. If you don't already know, stick with white spirits or a really mild mineral spirits because other thinners can be "hot" and affect the paint/plastic, test first but white spirits are a sure bet. Lastly, if you're using enamels be sure to coat with an acrylic clear coat before hitting it with oil/thinners. Seems obvious but if you don't you'll dissolve all your hard work with enamels.

Thin airbrush paint more than you think is needed. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down to do some painting and having a clogging/spitting airbrush. Better to do a couple of light coats to get required opacity than chunky blobs of paint that spatter. You're off to a really good start! 👍

Ben M
For oils I bought a set of artists oils on sale at hobby lobby, great value, and I've augmented with a couple more tubes.