As a teenage modeller, I was dreaming of my very first airbrush ! But I was in a situation were this kind of purchase was not possible. Oh, don’t feel bad for me please, my childhood wasa good one but I had to build and enjoy scale models only by paintbrushing them. That’s life.
One of the hardest parts of being a child is that you have time to enjoy toys, hobbies, but less money to purchase them. As an adult, money can flow in BUT, you don’t have time anymore. Isn’t it true ?
The very first thing I did was to consider buying my very first airbrush and a compressor to enjoy the possibility of thin and regular coats of paint on my models. What a joy ! I went for a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution CR plus model with a few accesories. And I don’t regret it at all. A bit pricey but clearly of very good quality.
So big question, what kind of kit to start with now ?
1/48 A&A models GEE BEE RZ model 1933. You said easy ?
I always loved the GEE BEE RZ, nice looking plane with funny shapes and if you remember the movie ROCKETEER, you can see one flying at the beginning (a black and yellow version).
At first, it seemed a good idea. Few parts, easy to build, go straight to painting. And clearly, it was a mistake. The biggest issue ? Red and White colors to apply with an airbrush. I learned it the hard way on my own and found out later on the internet that my struggles came due to the color choice.
It seems that red and white colors are very hard to apply with an airbrush in general, especially the Tamiya ones that I used.
In the end, it was a big challenge but turned out to be acceptable for a first kit back to modelling. And the main goals remains : having fun ! Result looks like a Gee Bee RZ and it’s the most important thing amongst all. A few pictures of the build and model :
1/48 Mig 15 Fagot from Revell. I love in flight models so much !
The very first reason for purchasing this kit was clearly its price. Around 10 euros from what I can remember. I saw the camo livery on it and thought it will be – for this time – a good opportunity to try airbrushing with masks to apply sand and green colors.
Very easy to build and cheap, I also tried to render it in-flight as this is really something I enjoy with my models. Not too much pictures of the build as I was focusing on the painting but Here is the result :
1/48 F14a TOMCAT from Italeri. Anytime for this nice little kit !
A very nice opportunity to build a simple yet very good looking version of the F14 tomcat of course in the best livery that ever existed : the VF133 Jolly Rogers atlantic fleet one !
A few stuff tested here and there and the best discovery of my life (of modeller) : using tamiya acrylic paints thinned with Mr Levelling Thinner. I can’t go back now !
Testing some preshading technics that turned out to be quite good for a first one, and tried to just spend time doing some stuff as best as I can. It is a very good advice to spray all the model with clear varnish before applying decals. Here we go :
1/48 Supermarine Spitfire MKXIV from Airfix.
After all this it was time to land a hand on a WWII warbird and of course my choice went for a Supermarine Spitfire. I choose a very nice little kit from Airfix that they declined in many different variants. A MK XIV version for a reasonable price, recessed panel lines and a very detailed cockpit for the scale.
Very happy with the result and what a look flying through the air of great britain chasing Luftwaffe bandits !
