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Airbrushing Miniatures? START HERE! Complete Beginner's Guide

The Painting Coach

24,747 views

#ad Gaahleri supplied the airbrush and compressor featured in this video. I may earn a commission from purchases made through my affiliate link at no extra cost to you.

▶ Gaahleri Ambition Series Airbrush & Compressor Kit:
https://www.gaahleri.com/discount/TPC...

Discount code: TPC

If you’re thinking about starting airbrushing for Warhammer or miniature painting, this video will take you through everything you need to know to get started.

I’ll show you what equipment you actually need, how to set up your airbrush and compressor, how a dual-action airbrush works, how to thin your paints, what pressure to use, and how to avoid some of the most common beginner problems.

We’ll then use the airbrush on a Space Marine so you can see exactly how to build up a smooth basecoat and simple highlights, before going through cleaning and basic maintenance.

In this video I’m using the Gaahleri Ambition Series setup, featuring the Serenair GTS-06 compressor and Classic Series CS-36 dual-action airbrush.

Whether you’ve never used an airbrush before or you’ve recently bought one and aren’t quite sure where to begin, this guide should give you everything you need to start using it confidently on your miniatures.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction
00:29 The Kit
01:15 Setting Up
01:29 How the Airbrush Works
02:43 Safety
03:42 Paint Thinning
05:15 Spraying Marines
09:39 Zenithal Hightlight and Contrast
10:49 Cleaning
13:05 Summary

EQUIPMENT USED

Gaahleri Serenair GTS-06 Compressor
Gaahleri Classic Series CS-36 Airbrush
Vallejo Airbrush thinner - https://amzn.to/4h2pz1g
Airbrush Clearning Pot & Kit - https://amzn.to/4cZvemd
Citadel Paints

▶ Gaahleri Ambition Series Airbrush & Compressor Kit:
https://www.gaahleri.com/discount/TPC...

Discount code: TPC

Thanks to Gaahleri for supplying the airbrush and compressor used in this video.

#Warhammer #MiniaturePainting #Airbrushing

19 Comments

@ThePaintingCoach Creator 12 days ago Pinned

Get your Gaahleri Ambition Series Airbrush & Compressor Kit:
https://www.gaahleri.com/discount/TPC?ref=ThePaintingCoach

Discount code: TPC

Please note this is an affiliate link - if you purchase anything I will get a small kickback, at no additional cost to yourself

@DrSmokeTrees 9 days ago

I'm a firm believer in Vince V's airbrush mix: 80/20 Vallejo Airbrush thinner to Flow improver. Just make up a dropper bottle and use that to thin all your paint. Works great for thinning pain on the wet pallet too

@CyrusMak-i5f 6 days ago

I think you can read my mind. Right as I want to buy an airbrush, you made a video about it😂

@lonstrickland6571 10 days ago

Great video. You answered numerous questions I’ve had about airbrushing over the years!

@gamzaman19492 12 days ago

You always upload videos perfect timing. I bought an airbrush set a day ago. Thank you!!

@scroggie_mini_painting3983 12 days ago

Cheers Lloyd! Great starter guide 👍🏼

@VeryAverageMiniaturePainter 12 days ago

Before going to the spray-out pot, i would recommend using a swan neck bottle to help blast off some of the more stubborn bits of paint before pouring it out of the cup.

If you put water/cleaner in the cup whilst spraying it out, you can dislodge a bit of paint and cause a blockage. I’ve found 9/10 a tiny bit of paint has clogged my nozzle from cleaning it, which has caused headaches down the line

@Operator777X 12 days ago

Nice tutorial, watching now!

@TheDelinear 9 days ago

I've had this airbrush kit in my basked on Amazon the last couple months, trying to decide whether to pick it up to have a play with (I'm not expecting top results as a beginner, but at the same time I don't want to spend £300+ on kit I might destroy while learning, or play with once and never use again, so this seems a nice compromise).

Thanks for including the stuff that's not often discussed, like the safety aspects and proper cleaning.

@Just_Dan_Y3K 12 days ago (edited)

I'm someone who has been airbrushing for over 15 years and I have airbrushed Gundam model kits, miniatures, busts, props, scale figures and much more. I will say this is a pretty good tutorial for someone who is starting out using an airbrush. For anyone who has the mentality of "using an airbrush is cheating", this isn't a competition. If you believe that using an airbrush is cheating, then stop using a car because that's cheating, you have feet to get around. Stop using a stove and a microwave to cook food, that's cheating, you can make a fire pit outside to cook your cook that way. Stop using washing machines to wash your clothes, that's cheating. You can just wash them by hand at your closes river. You see how ridiculous this sounds? An airbrush is a tool just like a paint brush which will take a long time to learn and master. Airbrushes can do things a paint brush cant and paint brushes can do things an airbrush cant. Learn and master using both, a whole new world of possibilities will open up for you.

@Kaidennadin 12 days ago

A great video as always. My only downside was I have tried ordering from Gaahleri before. After waiting a month and the item still hadn't shipped I had to get a refund.

@cardboardfortress1855 11 days ago

I have a question. If I get an airbrush, where I would use it has no window to vent out of. Can you get spray booths designed to capture the spray in these circumstances?

@Foxbat25500 12 days ago

I have questions: when thinning paint, what should I be aiming for? What is the Goldilocks ratio and does that vary from brand to brand or even between colours? Secondly, how close should the brush be to the surface? You showed what happens when it's too close or too far away but roughly what is the right distance? It struck me that you're experienced enough that you've got this in muscle memory and don't have to think about it but as a pre-beginner I have no baseline to work from.

@firepowerx-venezuelangame3890 4 days ago

Hello! I've been watching your Tyranid videos, is there any way I could contact you so I could request help on my own scheme?

@Buguba 12 days ago

Thank you for the video!

Is it necessary at all to clean the airbrush between changing colors? It seems like you were able to do blue and red without cleaning between. I've never used an airbrush and am newer to the hobby

@Arsenic-r5c 12 days ago

This is an awesome tutorial! Do you think you could do a kharn painting tutorial? I’ve been following your world eaters stuff and it’d be awesome

@silkyjohns0n 11 days ago

I'm really curious what the needle size is on this? I had tried using a friend's 0.4 mm H&S Ultra and couldn't quite get the results I wanted.

I share and apartment and don't really want to have a big compressor so this looks ideal. Do you think this compressor can do a squad or two in one go? Basing, zenithal and some extra highlights?

@rossshaw9968 12 days ago

Just to confirm, I should NOT get an air brush if the only place I can paint is in the family living room with my wife and child? And it's due to the toxic fumes and noise? Asking as I fear my wife may get me this as a Christmas present this year, and I don't want her to waste money on something I cannot use.

@TheRagingidiot 10 days ago (edited)

Its a good starting video but could do with a section on common issues with examples to make identifying them easy, this is the most important thing for a new airbrusher as they will encounter all of them and diagnosing without examples can be infuriating. e.g paint too thin, paint too thick, pressure too low, pressure too high, paint dried on needle, nozzle obstruction etc.