Airbrushing - How Much Paint For 1/350 the TOS Enterprise

[osprey399]

Hi everyone,
Please excuse my "newbieness" but I've never airbrushed before and I'll be attempting the 1/350 TOS Enterprise after a lot of practicing.

My question is how many bottles of Tamiya XF-12 will I need for two or three coats for the basic hull pieces? I'm going to mix a little white as the instructions suggest and I'd hate to run out of my mixed paint before I'm finished. I have no idea how much to buy! Thanks everyone.

[EVApodman]

If you are using a special mix for your painting I would recommend several jars worth, maybe 6 or 8. Yes, that is a lot and you may end up throwing away several when done,but paint is relatively cheap and to maintain a constant color for a model like this is worth it.

[osprey399]

Thanks EVApodman! I really appreciate your help! I'll follow your advice and mix a lot of paint. I'd rather be safe than sorry especially for this kit. Thanks again.

[kenlilly106]

If you're going to create a custom mix I'd advise making it up as one big batch for consistency. Dump all 6-8 bottles into one larger airtight bottle, add the white to your taste and mix thoroughly. This ensures that any variance in the XF-12 evens out and the amount of lightening is consistent as well.

You don't want to find out the hard way that bottle #4 is slightly greener than the rest when you spray it on the model.

Ken

[osprey399]

Thanks Ken, that makes sense to me. I hadn't thought of the XF-12 as possibly having a slightly different colour tone which is quite possible. Thanks a lot for your help.

[SGCSG1]

I would think hard about using rattle cans for that size kit. Tamiya makes some great colors.

[EVApodman]

While Tamiya makes some great paints and I have heard good things about them I don't use rattle can for the following reasons.

No control over the paint. You can't adjust the consistency and you don't know how old the paint is.

No adjustment on the pressure from the can like you can with an airbrush.