Yesterday I sat down at the computer to get some work done. While finishing the first project, a thunderstorm blew in. Powered the computers down, unplugged all the electronics, and said… “If I can’t work… then I’ll play!” (Been really looking forward to spending time on my Captain America Ultimate Soldier resin model.) Hooked up the Badger Anthem airbrush, (which is still very new to me) plugged in a bottle of gray… and hit the button.

Next thing I knew, I was covered in gray paint. Took it all apart, cleaned everything… including myself… and tried again. Same problem. At least this time I covered the bottle lid to keep from being gray-toned again.

Tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong, but couldn’t make it out. Monique wandered into the room, and quickly pointed out the problem. You know those little tiny pieces inside the airbrush tip? You actually have to have ALL of them. If the airbrush is missing even one piece… for instance, that little tiny piece shaped like a long cone… things go wrong.

Kudos to Monique for recognizing what was missing. Last time I cleaned the airbrush, the little cone-shaped piece went into the sink along with all the other parts. But it didn’t stop there. It went all the way down the drain, I just didn’t notice. Monique figured it was gone for good. But being metal, I wondered if it’s still in the drain trap.

Being notorious for NOT being handy, Monique’s first question was “Do you know how to check the trap?” Knowing me, that’s a legitimate question. It looked pretty simple. And honestly, taking the trap off was extremely easy. Putting it back on? Now that’s a completely different story.

The missing piece was there. Putting the trap back was a good lesson in patience, and I used all mine up. During the struggle, I thought “You know, this thing’s full of crud. Better clean it out before putting it back on.”

You probably guessed… I rinsed it out in the sink. At least we had a bucket ready to catch the water.

Today, it went much better. Cleaned up Cap’s seams some more. Noticed a seam on his boot that had snuck by the other times. Learning how to use Bondo putty mixed with Testor’s model cement. (It smooths the putty better; less sanding, easier to blend surfaces.) I’ve mentioned before, but it’s worth saying again – the base is finished, but makes a handy stand to airbrush Cap on. So it’s inside a 1-gallon seal-able freezer bag. The first time I used Saran Wrap, which worked really well. Today, I noticed the Saran wrap was getting holes where Cap’s foot attaches. The gallon freezer bag looked perfect, so that’s what I’m using now. Both are good ways to protect the base from paint while working on Captain America.

All said and done… I need to be far more careful with the airbrush. All the time I was going to spend working on the model went… you guessed it… down the drain.