Hi all,
Yes I want to hit one one the larger model at some stage.
As for painting, I tend to stick to airbrushing acrylics, 'Tamiya' mainly.
I've used lacquers a few times, but tend to use a lot.
Lacquers are better as they dry quicker and are more hard wearing.
Acrylics are good but need thinning and for airbrushing, can tend to build up on the needle tip and nozzle, which can cause spitting of the paint.
Rattle cans are OK for larger spraying of single colours but not much use for finer areas as they can't be controlled.
Whatever you airbrush, you really should wear a respirator of the correct type and use an extraction system such as a booth to draw away the fumes.
Any substances entering the lungs, acrylics, lacquer whatever, is not good.

Mike