In his 30 years of painting miniatures and statues, Alex has developed concepts and techniques that have been instrumental in raising the standards in the miniature industry, creating great works of art and bringing his miniatures to life. During a time when most people used a hand brush, Alex decided to use an airbrush and received quite a bit of opposition. Despite the opposition, Alex went on to produce great works of arts using an airbrush and proving his opposition wrong.

Although Alex tested various airbrushes, he found that none could match up to the IWATA airbrush. He has been using them for over 25 years. Alex uses the IWATA HP-BE1 and the HP-G mini spray gun for covering large areas particularly for priming. For the base colors and subtle shading including weathering, Alex uses the HP-CH and the HP-C. For detail work and subtle skin tones, Alex relies on CM-C and the HP-AH. For spraying difficult angles in a statue/figure, Alex uses the HP-SBS because he can change the cup from right to left angles. In terms of compressors, Alex has been using the Power Jet and the Pro Jet Pro from IWATA.

If you are into painting figures/statues Alex recommends the following products:

Alex Castro is a well known international paint master who started his own painting service business, Miniature Masterpieces 25 years ago. He is the author of The Art of Painting Miniatures: Faces & figures, published by Compendium Modelling Classics in England. Alex is presently the paint master for ReelArt Studios/Dark Horse and for the official Frank Frazetta Gallery Death Dealer series. Alex is a member of several internet forums around the world. He is well known for his works-in-progress/how-to articles on several Internet sites including ARTtalk.. His painting of the 3-D plaque of Tattoo was featured on the cover of Modelers Resource Magazine. Alex was recently interviewed by Figure International Magazine, Andréa Miniatures, Madrid Spain, which will be released this year. Alex's works have been recognized and highly commended by Grand Masters in miniatures like Carlos Andrea, Andrea Miniatures and MFCA Grandmaster Phil Bracco as well as legendary masters in the field of fantasy like Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta.

Alex just paint mastered the Egyptian Queen for Reel Art Studios/Dark Horse. Art critics, collectors and fans are calling it "fantastic," "masterful," and "a work of art." Alex's next project is to paint master the 3D prototype of the Silver Warrior, which is one of the master's (legendary Frank Frazetta) most iconic piece.

- Alex Castro
alexcastromodels.blogs.com/