Busting out!

Ok silly title aside.... I got a bit of work done on the orc bust today.

The first thing to do was set up where I wanted the highlights to be, for a model this size I really just used where the light fell on the model, which made it rather easy. I used Vallejo Game Color - Pure White for this one. I figured with the greens and yellows that were to be applied I did not want to go with a rosy skin town for the highlights.

Once that was dry it was time for the first ink layer. For this I used FW Artists inks - Green. Using the airbrush set at a low psi (about 8) I started just moving it around till I got the saturation I was looking for. The hard part is to get coverage without going too dark and covering up the highlights while making sure you get full coverage on the model. 

This is what it looked like after the first green was applied. You can see that there is a bit of highlight and some dark but it's not terribly differentiated. Again I used the Pure white to touch up the highlights 

Then it was time to apply the second layer of green. I wanted something a bit lighter than just a standard green so I mixed FW- Yellow with the FW-Green and thinned it to just about a water consistency. Which leaves us here. 

After that it was time to put on the first coat of Gloss Varnish and let it cure over night. 

Oh and I did a bit of work on the hair. Which if we are honest kinda looks like a red worm right now......

The nursing school life.

Well after a 60+ hour week of studying and classes plus a shift on the ambulance at work. I finally had an hour of free time to actually paint!

I wanted to work on a project I haven't had much time for over the last month due to commissions and other life stuff. So I grabbed my Conquest and got to work.

I was able to lay down the under-highlights and the coats of red ink. I got the gloss coat on and had enough time left over to clean out my airbrushes.

Hopefully more to come this weekend.

Review of the Badger Patriot 105 Xtreme.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this review. Please understand that I am a Badger fanboy. I use a Badger Patriot 105 (regular) and a Badger Renegade Khrome. These are my favorite airbrushes. So much so that when given the opportunity to use the Harder and Steinbeck Evolution and Infinity CR+ (see my review here Harder and Steinbeck Review) I went right back to my trusty old Badger Airbrushes.

With that let's take a good in-depth look at the Xtreme.

Here is the word from Badgers website

http://www.badgerairbrush.com/Patriot_105.asp

The Patriot, Model 105, is a comfortable, reliable, cost-effective, user-friendly gravity feed airbrush, designed for use by experienced, as well as novice airbrush enthusiasts.  Its two angle needle tip precisely mates with the Patriot’s cone shaped nozzle, enabling a single needle/nozzle configuration to spray a variety of materials, while eliminating the need for multiple needle/nozzle variations.  It has a 1/3 ounce permanently mounted color cup with a convenient spill-proof cap.

The Patriot’s body design provides exacting balance and long-term user comfort. 
The Patriot is a low maintenance airbrush, easy to clean and simple to operate; it will spray any properly reduced paint or airbrush-ready media.

Developed to deliver precise performance and fine line detail, the Patriot is an ideal airbrush for custom art, graphic arts and illustrative work. The Patriot airbrush will operate at 30 PSI, as well as lower pressure settings (10-15 PSI) and is ergonomically balanced for hours of comfortable airbrushing.

FEATURES
• Single needle/nozzle for spraying all mediums including inks, dyes, watercolors, properly reduced acrylics, enamels, lacquers, and airbrush-ready colors including SpectraTex, Air-Opaque, Air-Tex, Modelflex, and Totally Tattoo.
• Single needle/nozzle sprays pencil thin lines to 3” (76mm) spray pattern

• Minimal spare parts

• Easy cleaning and maintenance
• Patented handle design produces the fastest needle release on the market

• Finger tight assembly tolerances

• Excellent for multiple applications, for novice to advanced airbrush users

• Lifetime warranty on labor and PTFE seals

First for the good:

The coating that is used on the Xtreme is seriously easy to clean. Wiping with a paper towel will remove the vast majority of any paint residue. It reminds me of a non stick pan. Color changes during a session take about half the time. 

The finger guide (for lack of a better term) is the same one that is found on the Khrome. I really like it as it reduces hand fatigue. 

I really like the balance, which is almost identical (to my hand) as the regular 105.  

Tight lines - I was able to shoot pencil sharp lines with both inks and thinned paints without issue (shooting at 20psi) 

Now for the bad:

PAC Dial . While I like the concept of this feature. I find that it doesn't really belong on this airbrush. As I experimented with it, the spray pattern did change but not to any real significant degree. More importantly when the valve was anything but screwed tight, paint would leak out of the valve, and not just in small amounts.  

Tip dry. I rarely have tip dry issues with my Khrome and regular 105. I generally have an issue with it after prolonged use (over 30 minutes or more of spraying the same color). With the Xtreme it was a constant problem, which is strange as the advertising claims that this brush reduces tip dry. (on the bright side the needle sticks out enough that you can easily use your fingers to remove the dried paint. 

Longer Trigger - The trigger on this airbrush is quite long. It is touted as giving the user more control of the paint flow. While the theory is sound I found that it just added to my hand fatigue without giving me all that much more control (your experience with this may vary, and some reviews and users swear that this is the next best thing in airbrushing). 

Pricing - The MSRP on this airbrush is $165. Most webstores have it for about $100. This is in the same range as the regular 105. 

Overall - I find that I am disappointed in this airbrush. Maybe I was expecting something that totally shifted the way I use an airbrush. Maybe I thought that this would replace my old 105. Sadly I can't say that it has done either. I tried to like this brush, I tried really hard. Sadly at the end of the day it's now back in the box sitting on the shelf.