Need painting advice - Revell paints + USS Enterprise TOS

Hi Guys,

This is my first solo model build, haven't done anything like this since i was young doing the odd plane with my dad (which were never finished anyway!)

I decided to jump into a USS Enterprise TOS (will do rebooted version after as have the anniversary kit with both included) but am a bit taken aback by the painting side of it.
I have all the paints i need on order, but I've read you need to thin them, is that always necessary? And if so what kind of thinner should i use?

Also, being a star trek ship, there are quite large flat surface areas that will need painting, so have been thinking about getting an airbrush to do that, is that a must or would something like this still look OK with brushed on paint?
Am completely clueless at the moment so any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, in advance, Mark.

Most paints need to be thinned for airbrushing. Some come pre-thinned, but may still benefit from some extra thinner. Use the thinner recommended by the manufacturer.

As for getting an airbrush, yes the large parts of the Enterprise would be best painted with one. Some folks do well with brush painting but I've never managed it well. And it speeds up the job. Look for the Trekworks channel on Youtube, he's built a couple dozen Enterprise kits and he has several tutorials covering everything including painting.

Are you discussing the 1/350 offering?

If so, large, essentially monochromatic surfaces are some of the hardest to pull off. If you haven't used an airbrush, I wouldn't suggest tackling that as your first project.

If you plan on building stuff, by all means invest in an AB and take the time to learn how to use it, but if you're doing a one time deal here, you might be better off with rattle cans and some patience. At least you wouldn't need to deal with paint viscosity verses air pressure/atmospheric conditions. An airbrush is a great tool, but it's an involved one and it opens a whole new line of questions.

I don't mean to discourage you, just want to be realistic.

Buy a cheap airbrush and practise first. using rattle cans, it's much too easy to apply too much paint, obscuring detail and leading to runs...
Once you know what you're doing, it makes a massive difference to everything you build.

I can definitely recommend practicing on a few cheaper kits first. I've recently got back into this after almost a 20 year gap. For sure there's plenty I remember but realised quite quickly I needed to practice a bit. On my fourth kit since returning to the hobby but still had to chuck out the third one and these are the easy Bandai Star Wars kits.

Thanks for the advice guys.
It's the anniversary set with the 1/600 TOS Enterprise and the 1/500 Into Darkness Enterprise.
I may just buy a cheap model and cheap airbrush to practice with. Wasn't really planning on it becoming a long term hobby, just want a couple of Enterprises I can say I built.
If I ever manage to complete it i'll post an update! Thanks again, Mark.

Just an update. I have purchased the badger single action airbrush and am happy enough with it. Painted everything with primer with it and finding it easy enough to use. The only issue i foresee is where it's fed from the bottom it may be difficult to use if only having small amounts of paint in. The tiny pots you get with the model aren't going to last long i think.
Thanks again, Mark.