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I got asked in one of my previous posts to see my workspace, so here is it. It’s pretty much an ikea table covered with paint pots and not much space to place anything else. In fact this actually made me think that maybe I should figure out some sort of paint shelf : ) So here I’m going to write a little about my equipment and tools.

For paints I use a lot of Vallejo model air as I paint mainly using airbrush. For my brushwork I also use Vallejo game colour. P3 is good for unusual colours and also some good old citadel for some of my basic colours and washes. For priming I really like Vallejo black surface primer but Citadel chaos black spray does the job well too.

I am very specific about my brushes, as I have tried many different types and refined my selection to two. I use Royal soft-grip for my dry brushing and for detail it’s Winsor & Newton series 7. The first I chose because they are very cheap and you get a lot for the money and quality-wise they are actually better than GW. Winsor & Newton brushes could be a bit pricey, but totally worth it, as they don’t split for much longer, i.e. makes them last longer, hair do not fall out and they hold more paint. As for GW brushes, I only use those to mix the paint on the palette.

For lighting I use my Argos table lights (with a standard light that
comes with the lamps) for most of my painting and photographs, but I
also own 2 Ottlite lamps. There is quite a bit difference in the colour
and the spectre of light on those lamps. The Argos one has a yellow tint
to the light, but the spectre of light is quite large, I can easily
just use 2 lamps and paint large models. The Ottlight ones have a
brighter white light, which is very bright on a single small model. But
the problem is that the spectre of the light is very limited and with 2
lamps there is not enough area coverage so painting larger scale models
is out the question. Also when I use the Ottlite lamps I have to put an
extra Argos one on the further corner of my table to light up my desk so
I can see my paints. The Argos lamp is of very poor quality and tends
to break at the base after 5-6 months. So although it’s cheap, it adds
up to be very expensive if I have to buy one or two every year. The
Ottlite lamp is of much superior make and I can imagine will last for
much longer, but then the price is higher as well. So far I haven’t
found an ultimate solution for my lighting, so still looking.

 

My compressor is Iwata Studio Series Power Jet Pro Compressor. I purchased it only a few weeks ago, before I used a standard Chinese-made twin cylinder compressor. It worked well, but I wanted to upgrade to have a possibility to have 2 airbrushes working at the same time for my wife and also it’s less noisy. I did consider the silent compressors at some point, but after reading about it and reviews, I decided against it because as well as being pricey they are very heavy and they require being filled with oil. So went for my current one instead after reading good reviews. It is more silent than my previous compressor, sounds probably just a bit louder than xbox 360 or like a microwave. It also does not vibrate unlike its predecessor and fills up with air less frequently and for shorter periods of time. And it actually works better; the air flow is constant without any sudden blasts.

My airbrushes are H & S Infinity CR plus two in one and Iwata CMC plus. I have 2 of Infinity ones, one for thicker needle and one for thinner needle. I bought 2 in 1 so I could change the needles in one airbrush, but came to a conclusion that it takes too long and ends up once in a while bending my needles. So I decided to allocate a different sized needle in each airbrush, so no need to change. When I initially bought my Infinity airbrush it worked really well, but after a year and a half it started to malfunction and no matter what I do it’s not working properly, even after changing parts. And my second seems to be faulty from the start, so need to sort those out. Overall they are good airbrushes, but perhaps I just had a bit of bad luck. My Iwata one I only use for very fine details, I am a bit scared to keep fiddling with it, as the spare parts can be very expensive. But it is a really good airbrush, I just need to get more familiar with it.

If you have noticed I also own a spray booth, which is a standard model you can get anywhere on internet. It’s good for getting rid of all the fumes. I usually also use a respirator when working with non-water based paints. The spray cup is good for when I clean my airbrush between changing paint (to spray the washing liquid into). I always have my work space next to the window and I keep it open most of the time when I paint or clean the airbrush, it’s probably the best way to keep the air unpolluted with all the spraying.

And as for the calendar it’s a present from my wife. She makes me a Warhammer 40k themed calendar every year for my birthday : )
So ask me any questions about my equipment or share any of your own tips and tools ideas.