You may consider yourself inexperienced, but I've never painted anything in my life, let alone a highly detailed model spaceship :$
I can't stress enough that I'd like this to be as cheap as possible. I found a ten quid airbrusher on Amazon, so maybe that would work if you really think it's necessary.
Hi Moose,
first of all, welcome to the rpf. Do not go too hard on yourself, sure there are quite a few of excellent modelers out there, but in the end it is art and there is really no right or wrong way. Of course different ways will get you different results, or get you there quicker, but in the end if you take your time, make mistakes and learn from them, you will be proud of whatever comes out in the end.
1. What do you mean when you say to add clear coats towards the end of the instructions? A coat of what exactly?
A clear coat is nothing more than a transparent coating, you can buy them in the same store that you buy any paints. and you can buy them in either gloss or matt versions. The clear coats help to protect whatever is underneath them or to separate two layers that might not get along together... that is why very often you do a layer and then seal it up with clear and do the next and seal it with another layer of clear and so on. Many of the modelers oút there use Future floor polish as a clear coat, which also costs less than many of the hobby paint clear coats.
Although, I do like Vallejo, I have never used that particular product... I am sure it would work, as would any paint with the same color. Different paint types have different characteristics (e.g. water based, laquer, acrylic, etc.) All have their advantages and disadvantages. Whatever paint you go with, play around with it on something else first, get a feel for how it flows and how to keep it where you want it... or how to cover up where you make a mistake. To be honest, it does not even have to be paint... I know some guys out there use shoe polish to get a nice dirty look. The sky and your fantasy is the limit.
3. How many different colours of paint would you recommend purchasing and do you know of the best (and cheapest!) place?
Well that depends on how much detail you want to get on it. you can do alot of shading by mixing colors, but the danger is that if you need the same mixture again at a later date, you are not likely to hit the same mixture procentage again. I did a
1:120 revell x-wing a while back with my 7 year old son. It won't win any prizes, but he is tickled at how it turned out... that that is the only thing that is important. If I remember correctly I did a base in white, standard red for the markings, did a bit of tan for paneling, bit of silver to get a metal look and for weathering i just used grey mixed with either white or black to get shades. Of course the R2 unit had a bit of blue and the pilot a bit of orange, but that was it. In an effort not to loose my son's patience, I did not do many layers... maybe 4, including the base coat and weathering... and although i would not recommend it... I only did a clear after the final layer.
I generally do not like painting with your typical model paints (i.e. those from Revell or Tamaiya) just because I go through alot of paint and those little bottles do not last very long. you can paint a model with just about any kind of paint, just make sure you thin it down so that you do not loose any detail. I like to use automotive paints because they are normally cheaper per oz. Sometimes I use a normal brush, sometimes an airbrush, sometimes I use a spray can, the latter usually for base coats.
Regarding airbrushes, if you are interested in doing more than one model, i really can recommend going out and investing in an airbrush set. I know, it is really scary at first, but it give you a whole new set of options and in many cases, you can work much "cleaner" as you could with a brush.
There is a ton of information here, just search the forum, and ask any questions along the way... there are alot of really nice folks here that are more than happy to help you out in a pinch.
