Larry,
Once you get the airbrush, get some scrap cardboard and practice some on that. Try drawing dots of various sizes and lines of various widths. Get used to how you have to use the trigger and move the brush to get the effects that you want. After that, grab some of those failed blanks or sections of dowels and practice actually painting a color scheme. Once you are comfortable with how the brush works and getting the desired results, try it on a few plugs. Its not too hard, just takes some practice. Be eye candy time in no time
Jigman