Going Pro

Normally I don't ask much for my birthday, but this year was different, I told my wife I wanted an Aeolian Knight or otherwise a divorce. Sometimes you have to up the stakes if you really want something. No, I'm not talking about a Greek knight with wings. I'm talking about this little piece of Chinees engineering.

Quite surprisingly it turns out our marriage is actually worth something. Having searched for it myself, I know they're not easy to get. I'm sure I'll be repaying her for the next couple of centuries or so with expensive gifts.

So, why this compressor? No particular reason actually. I did some research on compressors and it seemed to fit the bill (literally speaking). Arbal and friends from Coloured Dust also seems to like it and wrote a nice little article about it here. The quality of the pistol isn't top notch, but surely enough for a beginner to fool around with.

My wife got the compressor from ebay (UK) and since the British tend to do things, well... differently, I needed to change the ridiculously large type G power plug with a (far superior) type F plug. Furthermore, somehow the needle of pistol got bend. I don't know how this was possible, because the pistol got delivered inside a plastic container box and was secured by foam. It probably got sent this way.
As it turns out the company who made the pistol doesn't exist anymore and stopped manufacturing since 2007. My local Airbrush store advised me to replace it with a Victor AB3 0,3 mm needle which fits perfectly. Chinees stuff is cheap, but don't expect any service.

While solving these difficulties, I also ordered some other necessities, like: Vallejo Air Color box - containing a total of 72 colors, 3-in-1 Airbrush Cleaning Pot, Airbrush Cleaner, Airbrush Thinner and some general cleaning materials.

Vallejo Air Color box

3-in-1 Airbrush Cleaning Pot

Having played with it a little, I can say a whole new world opened up to me. I always thought the idea of Airbrushing to be a daunting task. Having taken the plunge I find the basics are actually quite easy to grasp. The rest comes down to research and a lot of practise.

You can do a lot more with an airbrush besides painting miniatures. Doing your wife's nails for example, can become a joined effort. Airbrush make-up, tanning or why not body paint her up into your favorite fantasy character?

It takes some work, but the outfits are really cheap