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A normal video for a normal level painter. Good stuff, thanks for keeping the mistakes in. More of this painters journey stuff please. Will help ease everyone’s journey down that hobby trumpet and hopefully prevent anyone from getting stuck in it never to return. I to the warp of the hobby trumpet. Do you want to live forever?

Its very refreshing watching a video of someone showing their trial and error with airbrushing. I have had an airbrush that my wife got me for Christmas for over a year and have never used it because I am (like you) intimidated by the tool. Thanks for giving me some confidence to just go for it and see what happens no matter the results!

Try not to start with your paint in the pot first. It's good practice to go thinners/flow improvers first. Run them through for one or two small bursts and then add paints. This essentially lubes your needle a bit prior to spraying your paint. Makes cleaning easier too.

FWIW for stoppages, I saw a great tip on Airbrush Asylum, which is (for a dual action airbrush) to keep the airbrush air on at all times rather than doing short bursts. Short bursts makes it more likely to clog because when you cut off the air suddenly whatever paint is going through the mechanism dries half way out, so you're looking to reduce the number of times you cut off the airflow in a painting session

Most painting tutorial channels are showing only their quality work/skills. Its wonderful to see someone fail. Failure is the only way to improve and its so so much more valuable to novices just learning how to paint. Kudos to you sir.

2:35 Sadly this can be a problem with a lot of things in life. Not just airbrushes. I think the terminator came out really nice. Well done!

Love this. Not enough creators show the stress you go through learning all of this stuff. End result was cracking too. Lovely job.

Cult of Painting Phase collab? Get Henry up here for a well spoken gentlemen painter stream.

BIG THANKS for a very real video - constantly toying with the idea of getting an air brush - still scared. Brilliant.

Varnishes are normally like an acrylic base resin and they take a long time to harden properly, it's not the microsol melting your paint but probably the varnish when it was still soft. Hope that helps in future :)

I have to say, with all the frustration you are talking about, the finished mini looks absolutely stellar.

Airbrushing is significantly more difficult than a lot of hobby youtubers seem to suggest so thanks for making this. The end result was great and I'd love to see future attempts.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with airbrushing. I've recently got into mini painting and also jumped on with an airbrush and this is more in line with my own experiences than a lot of the other tutorials online. Sharing your frustrations is an affirmation that mistakes happen but to keep pressing on and trying new things.

There's no true failure in mini painting. You either nail it 100% (which is never the case even if you're Richard Gray) or you learn and grow. Every mini painted is progress which can sometimes feel infinitesimal but progress nonetheless!

Got an airbrush for Christmas 2 years ago. Have been intimidated to try it because of all the potential problems. This give me the confidence to just GO FOR IT, MAN!

Well done Pat. It's very brave to film yourself doing the most important bit of the hobby that no one talks about - by which I mean failing better. It's something that not even the "big boys" have the stones to do and it's really refreshing. Plus the end result was absolutely banging. I hope you were pleased enough to keep on going because a squad just like that would look fantastic.

The airbrush is a fickle mistress and becomes more fickle the smaller the needle you use. Still you got a great result in the end!

When mixing your paints, add the thinner first. It helps stop blockages because there isn’t thick paint at the front. It also helps mix the paint with the thinner better.

Still a noob myself, I've found that if you aren't consistent with it, you tend to forget a lot of the little things you've learned along the way. Things like thinning the paint, air pressure, etc. I end up having to relearn between sessions. But then I'm old and forget easily. Great vid on the topic!

As far as stoppages, I would say thinning is even more important for the airbrush than in hand painting. Especially with how thin and quick drying the airbrushed layers are, I've found I can build up smooth layers without having to stop to unclog the nozzle and still batch paint faster than I would going by hand. Keep at it, you'll get there!

Good on you for sticking with it! It really is worth the time investment to learn. The model turned out excellent! I'm quite experienced with the airbrush, and I can point out exactly where some of your problems were: 1) You need to thin almost everything you put through your airbrush, including inks, even though they feel thinner. Especially white. White pigment has a tendency to gum up. Thin your airbrush paints in a little container outside of the bowl so you can test the consistency before putting them through the airbrush. I go for milk consistency most of the time. There are these wonderful little metal, reusable mixing saucers that are perfect for this I got on Amazon. Also, thinner whites also go on smoother. If you mix in a little gloss medium and airbrush flow improver (which is basically retarder, not the same as airbrush thinner), then your white will be less chalky and more durable. 2) Keeping the airflow going while being gentle on the trigger is the way to go. I still keep the PSI around 30-40. You can do that without causing spider webbing as long as you build up the layers slowly and are gentle on the trigger. 3) Paints take longer to fully cure than you think, especially white ink, which should be dried over night. Applying a transfer straight away will wreck them. The issue is more visible with an airbrush because the layers are thinner. When using white ink and over airbrush layers, before I do any techniques that will stress the surface of the model, like decals or drybrushing, I wait an hour, gloss varnish (which you should also thin), then wait overnight and work on other stuff in the meantime. In short, the adage "thin your paints" applies double with the airbrush.

That final Terminator looks really good 👍

Respect that you put out a video that's mostly about failing. Very relatable. I haven't tried airbrushing but I've definitely been there with other aspects of the hobby

I was wincing abit when you started this video but was super stoked to see you finally achieve a super sweet looking miniature instead of giving up. I would encourage you to turn to resources like Vince Venturella for best practices regarding airbrushing. A few tweaks to the way you load your cup, maximum duration of paint in cup dwell time, and quick rinse practices will basically resolve 99% of the issues you had in this video. Glad to see you guys branching out!!

Having just got an airbrush I'm so thankful you put out this video!

Thank you for this video. There are so many videos talking about how easy airbrushing is and it is just nice to see someone go though the problems they went through as a newbie to airbrushing. I learnt a lot and cheers.

Dude. That came out really nice. Must be encouraging. You pushed through the hard bit. Just mix everything to the consistency of Liquitex ink and you're good.

As someone who bought himself a handheld air brush over Christmas and still hasn't worked up the courage to use it, I really appreciate an honest trial-and-error look at airbrushing. You've motivated me to bite the bullet and give it a go!

Appreciate how honest this was. I found the airbrush a very difficult tool to learn. When it works its amazing, when it doesn't it's disastrous

For Dorn! Love this video and the demonstration of learning from mistakes. I'm now motivated to paint some Imperial Fists again.

Chin up Pat, it's a whole new set of skills to learn! And you're basically raw-dogging the learning part with trial and error and no-one to teach you in person. Your end result looks fantastic, even if you do think you put heaps too much time into it.

Proper candid video with errors and issues for future novice airbrush users to look out for when working on their own projects- and I think the end result of that terminator looks awesome! Nice one Pat!

I bought everything for airbrushing and got so sad after trying the first time. And the second, third and fourth time. But when it clicked, it felt so good and you always learn. I’m quite comfortable with the airbrush now but i still make mistakes and i learn new things. Trying new paints with different viscosities and how to get white not to clog is an ongoing thing. Keep up the good work and you will ”master” it in no time at all.

More of this please!

One of the best tips I've gotten for airbrushing, esp as someone who is pretty new to it and not very experienced with thinning paints, is to buy a shower tile and prime it. Try your mix, make it thicker or thinner as needed, try again, etc etc until its right. Then, because its tile, when it gets overloaded with paint you can just rag + acetone and its like new! It was also super helpful to do this so I could practice and get used to trigger control, the size of the spray, how far I should be from the mini, etc.

Really interesting video, nice to see a learning process and things going wrong rather than just flawless pros that I couldn't emulate anyway!

Just compare that final version of the Imperial Fist to the iron Warriors you did a year or so ago, and you will see how different the quality of the finished product is. You can be truly proud of the amount of growth you (and your beard) have gone through in the last year!

Mini looks awesome! Good work and such a good message. You can't just expect to bust out an airbrush and immediately be awesome at it.

I love this video! I’ve been struggling with very much the same (and a bunch of other) issues with my airbrushing and fixing my own slippages afterwards and it’s so educational and encouraging to see how you are overcoming them. Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Mate, that looks FANTASTIC! Well done!

At last, someone on KZfaq going through the same pain I did!!! It’s refreshing to see not everyone is an instant airbrush god. I feel much better about myself now 👍

Two really good good quotes that apply here: “Sucking at something is the first step towards being kinda good at something.” and “The greatest teacher, failure is.” Look how much progress you made in 48 hours! Keep banging away at it. I’m just starting my airbrush journey myself and I’m working hard to embrace failures and setbacks as integral parts of the process. You got this, man.

This mirrored my experience pretty closely. I guess I take it for granted now that I don't get clogs and stoppages. Mostly just due to familiarity. Like all tools, proficiency grows with use. These steps forward on your airbrush journey will be priceless the next time you pick it up

Thanks for the video and leaving all that went wrong in it, it's refreshing to see its not plain sailing explaining what went wrong and how you went about fixing it. I think it's time to try out my airbrush again. Love the way the armour turned out in the end

It was really refreshing to see someone learning a new process and having struggles while you ironed out how to get it working, or figuring out what works for you. That much more resembles my modelling and painting journey then so many of the other tutorials I see online. And the mini turned out great so your struggles definitely paid off. Kudos!

at about the 12 minute mark you look like you're contemplating drinking the paint stripper - it looks like an incredibly frustrating process you've been through but you've had a fantastically positive attitude to all the problems cropping up and the finished mini looks great. nice one.

I was gifted an airbrush for Christmas three years ago, and I've barely used it because it is scary and new. I definitely relate with the anxiety in this video.

I recently treated myself to an airbrush and have found the learning experience to be very fulfilling, difficult but fulfilling. I am far from great(or even good) at using it, but I am not over thinning or clogging the airbrush every time anymore! One thing that I hear a lot about airbrushing(was even brought it up in this video) is that people find it to be annoying to set up, prep and clean. I personally haven't found it to be any better or worse than brush painting in that regard because I don't have a permanent set up for painting at all so I have to get out my paints and set up to paint every time as it is.

The model looks great Pat - its all just a case of practice! As you said huge improvements from the first attempt and you've learned a ton!

This was a great video, it was very refreshing to see someone being honest and not just making the whole process look effortless. Thank you

Thanks for sharing your real experience. Give far more of an idea of what to expect

Your finished result looks amazing, what a learning experience for us all. Thank you.

Normal brush using peasant here. Bruh, the end result is absolutely phenomenal. You ought to be very proud of it. I would be!

Waiting for my first airbrush, Ultra 2024 right now. I’m extremely excited to add it to my toolkit. Can’t wait to make mistakes and learn.

Appreciate the honesty of this video. Its encouraging to see other people struggle and recognise that practice is what builds skill. The final paint job looked great, despite the initial set backs

Oh wow - that result in the end! I was cringing for you during the first half of the video but when you did the streaking grime, chipping and those selective edge highlights - wow...instant grimdark imperial fists - very impressive!

Thank you for letting us see your struggles. It's very heartening for us new painters. :)

This was really good to see a real warts and all. It has let me learn that I am not the only one. It really is practice makes perfect thank you

As it looks like the blockages are forming due to paint drying at the tip of the needle, it could of course be a thinning issue, but one thing which is often overlooked is the need to lube the needle. One drop of lube, rubbed all over the shaft should be enough to prevent this and let the liquid spray out much more smoothly! (In all seriousness though, get a tube of airbrush lubricant for a few £, apply a very thin coat of it over the needle and it should help to avoid this type of blockage).

Awesome video. Appreciated meeting you and Geoff in Vegas. Fun trading old cross the pond Army stories with him.

I think I’ve been painting long enough that I’d like to try airbrushing. Just seems like so much work to set up and use and clean and put away. That finished result looks AWESOME

I think you’ve made an awesome airbrushing video that shows an honest journey on where we all begin. Too many airbrushing tutorials are usually just ”do this and get good”. You have to invest a lot of time to learn anything new and it will be messy, but I find so many tutorials gloss over the very early challenges when starting out airbrushing. This vid I found very reassuring and has inspired me to pick up my airbrush again. Like you say, just got to keep trying! Cheers dude 💪

Lovely vibrant colours. If youre a noob it really isnt obvious. Im only a few months into using my airbrush and certainly agree, practice maked perfect! Well done and thanks!

Inks usually have a opacity/transparency indicator on the bottles too 😊

This is such a refreshing video to see and so valuable for people not to feel like airbrushing is instant cheating. Your approach to testing up different combos and not giving up is great. I don't see failures. I see a progression of practice and trial and error. I do think that having a 0.2 mm needle may have been making it more difficult for you as that might struggle with larger pigment particles.

Hi ! Thanks for this video ! I'm not really an expert in airbrushing, but one advise I received and I can share is to always put thinner first in your cup before adding the paint. This will help avoiding your airbrush to be clogged.

Thank you for making this video. It is helpful seeing the mistakes and learning process as well

The algorithm recommended this video to me. The fact that you showed where you stumbled and had issues made me subscribe. It shows you are a normal human, unlike the "pro painters" who only show their best work in videos.

Love the trying to learn, bugger it if i'm good, vibe! Easy to be an expert and post a video showing off insane skills, cool to show that everyone starts somewhere. On the same path myself, cursing at my airbrush, paintbrush - calling up my water supplier and telling them it's the wrong water for my paints. Trying different ratios of thinner to paint, learning that changes on brand AND colour! Keep trying peeps, airbrushes are not a golden arrow, in fact I'd say they are a pain in the arse; but get it right, and they are lovely :)

This was a great video by the way. Few show the mistakes and the struggles. It’s a process. Everyone has these issues. Great job

That is a airbrush quality question, the better the brush the better the atomization of the paint is, in my opinion nothing beats harder&steenbeck brushes on that, but just keep going with the airbrush and you will get the feel for what youre doing wrong when things go wrong. The paint must be totaly cured before you use the decal solutions on it or it will reactivate the paints. And its fun that you guys credit Darren latham for the sponge in the tube thing, that is actully a tool thats been sold for years and years in the scale model communety, even greenstuffworld has its own once

This video makes me want to airbrush, no joke. Props for trying something scary

Chin up Pat! You've basically basically sunk a weekend into learning new things! You will remember for next time and some problems will persist, but guarantee you will do things better with the next lot. Looks like you're doing ok. I'm still an amateur with Airbrushes and I for sure have my own problems with methods that everyone else seems to nail down. Only advice I would offer is to consider using a bigger nozzle for this job, you probably don't need 0.2 for basecoats on a Terminator :D

This is the most relatable video I've seen on this! One day I'll get it right, but glad to know it's not just me!

Great video, and I really love the result you got. I find airbrushing a little intimidating as well, but I am glad you showed us what you learned. Each time I pick up my airbrush, it is a learning experience for me and I glean just a little more experience I can use later.

This has been great, some of the same issues I've found... It's nice to know that airbrushing isn't the silver bullet without putting the effort in. Keep up the good work!

Good work Pat

Genuinely loved this video despite not originally being invested in the topic. I own an airbrush and having used it a bunch over the years I never really mastered it. This video sums up a lot of my experiences with airbrushing and I feel seen! 😂😂 Thanks Patrick for a great journey of a video, I look forward to more Honest Painter content. 😊

I just started learning the airbrush as well and I’m going through the exact same learning curve. It’s nice to see that sometimes using the right product does make things a bit easier. It’s also nice to see some else make some of the mistakes before I do 😂

Oh Pat that was truly heartbreaking to watch in places! I am too scared to even buy an airbrush, but your end result was outstanding! You got it!

You seem stressed. Thank you for showing your failure. I fail often too, it's validating to see. I've never used an airbrush and this is making me think of learning

That's some nice weathering, mini looks great !

The tension reduction seems like an excellent accessibility addition, i feel like thaf night help some people out

For transparent paint. Lower the pressure to 20-15psi worked for me to control how much opacity on the model as well as preventing spider webbing when I hold for air after I let the paint trigger go.

Great video, lovely seeing the journey

This was a cool journey Pat! Final model looked rad. Good work dude!

Loved this! Nice to see you in front of the camera for a change 😊

That mini turned out excellent in the end. I find inks reactivate really easily and have stopped using them on gaming minis. Also, I mix my paint outside of the brush.

A good thing to remember about inks, especially when airbrushed is that they can take quite a long time to cure fully. They may seem dry to the touch, but that doesn't mean they've cured. So it's often a good idea to let them cure over night or so.

I got an airbrush set for Christmas. The real cheap Timbertech one for $100 CAD. And you know what? I kind of really love it! I would really recommend not starting with an expensive airbrush because I'm glad I made my big mistakes with this kit. Having an optional lid on top of the paint cup is actually incredible because my brain turns off and I spill paint out of it so easily. I've got an unpainted Land Raider kit that I can't wait to try out painting with an airbrush!

This was a wonderful video. I feel like i got the complete hobby jounrey there and the miniature still came out looking great in the end! The sponge in the brush sleeve was new to me as well.

Pat you are an unsung hero of the hobby and i love you like a son. Thanks for being a top top bloke.

Best airbrush video I’ve ever seen!!! YOWIE WOWIE! Finally seeing someone have an experience similar to mine. I feel like any time you see an airbrush video for beginners they are airbrushing their version of the Mona Lisa in 20 minutes. Thank you for this! Great stuff great advice!

It looks amazing mate ! You improved quite a lot and made a super interesting video out of it ! I think that's quite the achievement well done :)

This pretty much sums up my initial airbrush work. It takes some time and practice to get used to. What annoys me the most are inks. They need a good varnish to properly set otherwise it's easy to reactivate them. Normal acrylic paints, even thinned, are fine, I started doing zenithal with those instead of using inks for that. Inks are still better at using translucency to filter over zenithal/preshade.

Awesome video. Great looking miniatures. I enjoyed watching 😊

The mini looked great and I learned something from your experience so I’d say it’s a win all away around

Best thing about painting a mini with an airbrush and then hating the result, it's super easy to strip or re-undercoat the mini and not loose detail because paint is soo thin 😊

Should be very proud of your final mini sir, very well done, and like you say practice makes perfect, and you can tell from the progress you made you learned a lot. Chin up lad!