Always use a booth and mask when airbrushing!

I was just cleaning up my painting room a bit and realized that I needed to change the filter on my airbrush booth.  I use a small portable booth that isn't as powerful as some of the others I've tried in the past but it's been great for storage.  Considering it's slightly under powered, I also use a nice respirator mask that filters out things like spray paint vapors.  Almost all of the paints that I use are labeled as "non-toxic" but the filter below is a great example of why you should always protect your breathing when you airbrush; even if you're using Acrylic paints that you might think are innocuous.

Here's a close up...  the first thing my wife said when I showed her the used filter was "imagine that stuff collecting in your lungs".  Airbrush booths can be a little pricey (even my cheap portable one was over $100); but in my opinion they are more than worth the price.  At the very least, you should always be sure you're using a respirator.

Just a few hobby thoughts...  happy painting.

Tanner

The Plastic Solder Company 15mm Panther - I love it!

I haven't had a chance to paint many miniatures from The Plastic Solder Company (PSC), but if you've read any of my previous posts with their miniatures you'll know that I am a fan.  They are accurate, they provide different variants on the sprue, and they are cheaper than Battlefront 15mm miniatures (why pay more for an inferior product?)

This past month I picked up several new 15mm boxes from PSC - Panzer III, IV, Panthers, Sdkfz 251's, StuG, and infantry.  They are all great kits in my opinion, but I particularly like the Panther so I thought I'd share a few photos.  DISCLAIMER:  I wanted to try the clean and "fresh off the line for the Kursk Offensive" style of painting so there are no chips, scrapes, or mud on these tanks.

Yep, 15mm (1/100)...  the stowage on the back are a few spare pieces from the sprues and some tissue paper.  I love the effectiveness and ease of non-toxic plastic cement!

The details are sharp and accurate; the tracks went together perfectly.  There were almost no mould lines (except on the 75mm barrel) this is such a wonderful thing to me as I hate cutting, sanding, and filing down the resin and white metal on other manufacturers vehicles.

For a perfect, smooth, and silky primer coat I sprayed Vallejo's Dunkelgelb Acrylic-Polyurethane "Surface Primer" through my airbrush.

I applied a basecoat of Vallejo Middlestone (882); since the primer coat was close in color I was able to get by with minimal spray.  I then applied a couple of increasing highlights by adding white to the basecoat.  This was then sealed with Testors Glosscote and a mixture of Vallejo Black and Brown wash was applied to the cracks, seams, rivets, and hatches.

Lastly, I painted the tools, stowage, and tracks; the turret numerals are Dom's Decals 15mm.  Everything was sealed with a couple of layers of Testors Dullcote.  It was nice not to worry about the usual chips and mud and I really like the resulting look.  I'm working on the final two vehicles and when I'm finished I should have a nice platoon of Panther D's.

Let me know what you think...  Like?  Don't Like?

Tanner