Painting advice

[Hog]

It's many years since I last wielded an airbrush, and the choices of paint etc have changed a lot since I last painted a shell, so I'm looking for some advice / opinions before I have a crack at airbrushing again.

What are people's opinions on which paint to use? I've seen Faskolor, Vallejo and Createx all listed, whereas the last time I sprayed a shell Pactra was the only choice. I'm looking at ease of mixing and spraying, shell adhesion, price, availability, etc.

Last time I tried liquid mask it was a complete disaster, so is tape better than liquid?

What do you use to practice on? Shells are expensive - someone suggested to me laminating pouches once they'd been through a laminator?

I was lucky enough to pick up a small compressor and 2 airbrushes for silly money a while back so it would be nice to give spraying a crack before resorting to rattle cans or paying someone else to do it (although the chap who did my last shells is a genius and far more talented than I'll ever be).

So any advice will be gratefully received - thanks in advance