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www.air-craft.net is the website of Air Tech Equipment Ltd - We are an UK based online retailer specialising in airbrushing equipment, spares & accessories along with a selection of modelling related paint, tools, masking, abrasives, accessories & what not. Our website shows live stock levels & we do not support back ordering, so with the exception of the very occasional stock level errors, if it's indicated as in stock, it is physically in stock. We ship around the globe, using Royal Mail & Parcelforce in the UK, Royal Mail Airmail & Parcelforce / GLS in Europe & Royal Mail Airmail, TNT & UPS for orders beyond Europe, orders generally ship the same or next working day. We can accept PayPal, credit card or bank transfer as payment methods & for added security our website is HTTPS throughout. We are direct importers or official resellers for all the products we sell, are familiar with the technical aspects of all equipment listed & have a significant range of spares to support said equipment. We are happy to advise on any airbrush equipment related enquiries, but I'm afraid we don't have a team of receptionist & sometimes struggle to get to the phone during busier periods - If you don't get a reply & prefer not to leave a message you can email us on [email protected] & we will respond as soon as we can. Harder & Steenbeck - airbrushes, spares & accessories Iwata - airbrushes, compressors, spares & accessories Sparmax - compressors, airbrushes, spares & accessories Mr Hobby - airbrushes, spares, paints & accessories Neo for Iwata - airbrushes, spares & accessories Werther Sil-Air - silenced compressors & spares Benchvent - spray booths Tamiya - paints, tools, masking & accessories Swann Morton - knives & blades Olfa - knives, cutters & blades Micro-Mesh - abrasives Flex-I-File - abrasives & adhesives Model Craft - tools Ultimate Modelling Products - cleaner, thinner & primers Others - Xuron, 3M, Light Craft, Artool, Aircom, Adhesives, Brushes.......... Thanks for looking, Martin Ferguson, Air Tech Equipment Ltd.

Hi guys, been building for a while, built a few but now looking to move on to an airbrush and compressor kit, just looking for advice and any recommendations really? I don't want to spend a fortune as I don't build all the time etc, but at same time I do not want a cheapo which would break or provide terrible results as this would be a false economy. I came across a new Voilamart Airbrush 1/6hp compressor Kit with 3 airbrushes on ebay for £65 delivered, sounds like a good deal, but any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

I've been looking at Tamiya's airbrushes but I have an Iwata studio series sprint jet compressor. Would any tamiya airbrushes be compatible with this compressor?

Hello all, I was looking to buy an airbrush either an affordable AK airbrush or a cheap scale model shop one. Dual action of course. I do mostly car modelling in 1/24th scale. Are those tiny compressors worth buying at all? If i wanted something like an as-18 should I get one with a tank? What beginner setup would you recommend for around 100 pounds maybe just over?

I'm completely new to all of this and so I have bought myself a 50 litre compressor and an Iwata HP-CS Airbrush. The little problem I have is that there is nothing in between to connect the two...! I went onto the Iwata website and was just bamboozled with all sorts of connections and fitments, and with nothing actually in the paperwork regarding thread sizes or internal or external diameters, I'm just left wondering, "What the hell do I need!" Does anyone has some insight into making this as simple as possible?

Hey all! I'm in the market for my first airbrush and compressor set, and I admit I'm pretty much in over my head. As far as compressors go, I'm looking at this Artlogic - it seems not-too-cheap but also not breaking the bank? For my first airbrush, I've got a couple options that have been recommended to me several times over - first, a Badger Renegade Krome, and second an Iwata HP-CS. Some people I've spoken to have said the Krome is better serving as a dedicated fine detail brush, to be combined with a more generic paint-sprayer, but I dunno how relevant that would be to someone like me who'll be fumbling for his first few dozen hours with the thing regardless. Any pointers or suggestions? What was your first airbrush and would you recommend it to a budding beginner? Generic as hell topic I know, apologies.

https://www.amazon.de/Gocheer-100-250V-Kompressor-Modellbau-Reinigung-TS100BMC/dp/B071XVWZ3C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1531083626&sr=8-3&keywords=airbrush This set was suggested to me by an ig scale modelling account and it looks really good. Does anyone else have this specific set and would you recommend it for a beginner with a tight budget

Sparmax TC-620X Compressor. From Air-craft.net Recently my faithful old compressor decided that it had had enough and, with an electrical 'pop' it expired. This left me with a problem as it had given many years of service, I had no real idea of what of potential replacements were on the market. I had been looking on the air-craft.net website as it showed a good range from different manufacturer's, and seemed to have very competitive pricing. Fortunately I decided to contact them for advice before committing myself, and got a very helpful and informative reply from Martin, suggesting three possible alternatives to my initial choice. If you find yourself looking for a new compressor I thoroughly recommend you to get in touch with Martin at air-craft.net, he is a really friendly guy and what he doesn't know about compressors probably isn't worth knowing. Buying a compressor is an expensive business, so I wanted to make sure I got this one right, as I hope to be using it for up to the next 10 years. Add to this that its pays to buy the best you can afford, I went for the Sparmax TC-620X. The main reason for this choice was that it has an air tank. So rather than just an electric motor directly pumping air to your airbrush, this one pumps it into a pressure tank, and it is this tank that supplies your airbrush. What difference does this make? Well the main one is that is supplies a smooth, pulse and moisture free stream of air. Another benefit is that it enables fine control of the actual pressure setting, and gives an extremely consistent flow of air. I have never owned a compressor with a tank, I've had those that constantly run, and others that have direct air feed but cut in and out according to your pressure setting. My final decision was that for once I would stretch to the best I could get, and buy something that promised to be a step up from anything I have had before. So the order was placed late on a Thursday evening, an email received confirming dispatch on Friday Morning, and the actual thing arrived at my house on Saturday lunchtime. Very good service! Unpacking the box within a box revealed a nicely finished black steel casing, containing the pressure tank at the bottom and the compressor motor at the top. The on/off switch is at the back, with the other controls located at the front. The main control is the pressure regulator on top. Pull it out and turn clockwise to increase pressure or anticlockwise to decrease. The dial alongside will tell you the settings, and you just push the regulator back in to lock it. Another pressure gauge is located on the tank to display what pressure it has. Useful if you want to make adjustments with the regulator. Finally, there are actually 2 air outlets, enabling you to run a pair of airbrushes simultaneously. I've never done this but it could be useful if you are doing a 2 colour camouflage, and of course if you have 2 airbrushes, (maybe your current one and old one). Anyway, 2 air hoses are supplied. When first switched on the motor will run for 20 - 30 seconds to pressurise the tank. From then on it will periodically switch on to maintain the pressure as you draw off air. The supplied handbook suggests that too should periodically flush both the moisture trap and the pressure tank by pressing the respective drain valves. I've now had a chance to plug in and do some spraying with it this morning. The motor is a little noisier than my previous compressor, but once the initial tank charge is done it hardly cuts in, and then only for very brief bursts. The pressure regulator works very well, it is easy to tweak the airflow up or down to suit the spraying job you are doing. But the thing that I immediately noticed was the smoothness and consistency of the airflow. Quite simply it is the best I have ever had. I was spraying Tamiya acrylic onto a Wingnut Wings Albatros fuselage, and the laydown of the paint was beautiful. Very controllable and I put down several light coats to get a beautifully smooth finish. I now realise that my previous compressor was supplying air with a fine 'pulse' to it. There was nothing wrong with that, it powered the airbrush satisfactorily. But now having used tank supplied air I immediately felt the difference, it's like everything on the airbrush has become more accurate and refined. I'm looking forward to tackling other paint jobs soon. Conclusion. There are few things that we modellers buy at a comparatively high cost, probably the only two things are airbrushes and compressors. It is often said that for both you should buy the best that you can afford, and I can only echo this advice. I immediately noticed the difference in the quality of the air supply from this unit, and how it showed in the performance of the airbrush. I am thankful that I contacted air-craft and received informative advice on several units that I should consider, because if I had just gone ahead on my own I would have bought something else more expensive with fewer features! If you are looking to buy for the first time, or to replace your current compressor I can recommend that you contact Martin at [email protected] for friendly guidance on what you should consider to suit both your needs and your pocket. I am glad that I did, and am now the proud owner of a very nice piece of kit. Highly Recommended. Available from;

I am looking at buying one of these, I am teaching myself airbrushing and currently use a little Nail Artist compressor but it fades when I use the Tamiya brush. I mostly model 1:48 Aircraft for my own enjoyment and stress release http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/74520basic_comp/basic_comp.htm Any advice gratefully considered. Cheers Stewart

Summer offer Limited to the first 5 takers..... We have 5 copies of Meinrad Martin Froschin book A Beginners Guide to Airbrushing retailing at £12.99. A copy of the book will be including free with the next 5 Airbrush and compressor sets sold in August, so be Quick ! Forgot to add a link to the sets, so here it is: http://www.modellingtools.co.uk/airbrush--compressor-sets-196-c.asp Thanks, Paul

Hi All, I'm sure the regulars must be fed up of threads like this but I'm going to ask for help anyway. I'd like to get an airbrush kit that I can use for painting models, toys and detail work on motorcycles (pinstriping, touch-ups, flames etc... nothing large) I'm fortunate enough to have a decent budget available and would prefer to buy decent quality tools that will last and can be maintained rather than something that will wear out or will become limiting very quickly. Long term spares availability is important to me. I've done some research and find that a gravity fed, dual action airbrush paired with a compressor with a receiver tank seems to be the popular option. Any suggestions on what I should be looking at and what nozzle sizes are most suitable whilst learning? Apart from the airbrush and compressor what else should I budget for? Routine cleaning materials and tools? Moisture trap and regulator? Respirator? Spares? Consumables? Budget wise I was thinking circa £350ish but that's flexible. Basically I'm looking for the sweet spot In the budget range where I'm getting good quality and features without going OTT on specs or features that I'll never need as a hobbyist. Any help or advice will be gratefully received. Martin

Can anyone help... I have been airbrushing for a few weeks now & a new phenomena has occurred this morning that has me foxed. With a full 5ml of stynlyrez primer in the cup I began to do some serious priming - BUT - after a few minutes my brush started to just spray water? even though the cup is still fairly full. More tests on a piece of card show the paint is coming through - but seems "diluted" & is puddling on my model & a piece of test cardboard - WEIRD!!! I've just tried posting a pic - but failed miserably... On further inspection of my compressor - the moisture trap (clear plastic bowl) is fogged with moisture. I've unscrewed it & dried it out - but there was actually very little moisture in it to be fair. Any ideas or things to try would be appreciated. Thanks in advance - Steve

Hi Can anyone recommend a compressor, I was considering the Revell Master Class Compressor as it has a tank, but didn't know if anyone has any other ideas. Looking to spend £150-£200 but, would happily spend less. It will mainly be used for painting some large 1/72 aircraft and ships. Thanks in advance for your advice. Lucus

I've just been able to get a better price on our little-tank compressor. So I'm passing the savings along by dropping the price of the compressor and our starter sets. The little-tank was £210, we can now offer it for £180 with a 2 year warranty. Full details of the compressor are here: little-tank A number of starter sets are on this page: Airbrush & Compressor sets We will also have the compressors available at all the shows we attend. Thanks, Paul

I am looking at buying one of these http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/74520basic_comp/basic_comp.htm Are they any good? I currently use a little Nail Artist Compressor but it doesn't keep up with my Tamiya Airbrush. I am very much an amateur painter but want to learn and improve. Any advice gratefully considered.. Stewart

Hello everyone. Been a fan of this site for a while, now compelled to post as I'm at my wits end with my airbrush setup. Years ago (2006?) I bought my first compressor, a Sparmax AC-27. I used it with an old Badger airbrush until its needle bent. After moving house, the Sparmax sat in the shed until six months ago, when I returned to modelling and bought an Iwata Revolution. For a while, everything was fine. I did my research, cared for the brush and learnt a great deal in a short time. However, all of this fell apart in the last two weeks. The initial problems were solved through cleaning. But recently things have become much worse, with heavy, intermittent splattering, or paint congealing on the needle and dripping off. Paint will often spur from the needle after returning the trigger to its resting position. Often I am not getting any pressure coming through the nozzle. My paints are all properly thinned and I have attempted to spray with Vallejo, Gunze and Citadel paints. I'm tearing my hair out. I do not think the airbrush is at fault as I have disassembled it numerous times and thoroughly cleaned it. Am I right in suspecting the long neglected compressor? Air is still coming through the hose, alongside some water. As far as I can tell, it has no leaking air. Another possible sign of internal damage is the compressor will cut out if I go above 25 psi. Sorry for the lengthy post but I've tried to be as informative as possible regarding details. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. Many thanks!

186 Good afternoon I have inherited an old airbrush compressor, it is working but the oil is very low so I want to either top it up or replace with all new oil. There are no identifying names/numbers on the thing apart from an “AZTEK” sticker on the case and a stamped plate with the number ”246423” and year “93 E” I can’t find any information online about what oil I should use so I was hoping someone here would know what I need to get. Any and all help gratefully received. Thanks p.s. I've got a Flickr account but I don't know how to link pictures here as the method described in the britmodeller FAQ for linking photobucket images doesn't seem to work with flickr

I have had a cheap and cheerful airbrush compressor (AS186) for four years. It has served me fine in all that time but over the past few weeks the air supply to the airbrush has sometimes been hit or miss. Last night I was in the middle of spraying a second coat of grey on this VC10 when the air supply stopped completely although the compressor was chugging away normally: The first coat, as you can see, went on without a problem the night before. Having cleaned out the airbrush (H&S Evolution ALPlus) thoroughly twice and still no joy, I tried using my H&S Ultra. Once again no joy. So, I packed it in for the night and opened up the compressor this afternoon. I took off the compressor end plates and the innards were fine. However, when the heat sink was removed to check the seals, I discovered that large bits of plastic had broken off the plastic lining in the heat sink: Most probably, one of these fairly large pieces of plastic had almost completely blocked the hole to the air tube that goes down to the air tank. I have removed the remains of the lining, cleaned up the heat sink and ordered new seals: I was wondering, if anybody knows if you can get replacement linings or if not, would there will be permanent damage to the heat sink if I operate the compressor without the lining? When fixed, this compressor will be placed in reserve as I have ordered another one just like it. Obviously, a cheap and cheerful compressor but seeing as it has worked out at about 25p a week for the past four years, it has proved to be good value! Anyway, funds are a bit tight at the moment as I am off on holiday in a few weeks so I can't buy a more sophisticated one - yet! Dave

Good morning everyone, And what a sunny fine morning it is! I have a question: i have always been a brush painter barring one foray into using a single action Badger airbrush to coat a Patlabor model all the same colour about twenty odd years ago with a can of propellant. I have been given a double action Aztec Airbrush, i think it couod be a good one as it comes in a very impressive carved wooden case with loads of extra gubbins and a vhs instructional video. I just need to now reverse engineer this DVD player to accept VHS and I'll be good to go... Anyway, i would like to airbrush. I have a tool, a modicum (by which I mean an exceedingly small amount) of talent and no compressor. So where do I start? I've looked on ebay, and there seem to be plenty of cheap Chinese made compressors such as the Hseng HS186. Some even come with brushes attached. But are these any good? Are there other, better, cheaper compressors more suited to the beginner? Any recommendations or help from the BM community would be most gratefully recieved, I really am at a loss as where to start. I'd rather go for something cheaper as if airbrushing isn't for me, I don't want to have dropped more cash than I have to! Leaves me more to spend on kits! Cheers all, Viv

First of all, I know these aren't aircraft and probably shouldn't technically be in this section, that said they were used on airfields to service aircraft. I've got a WIP thread of sorts here, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234947846-luftwaffe-starter-unit-and-other-airfield-equipment/ This is a resin kit by CMK of a Sd. Anh. 473 caravan which was used by the Luftwaffe for various tasks, the kit is sold as an "airfield control caravan" so fits into my theme nicely. The model was sprayed with Dunkelgelb first and then the green camouflage brushed on to represent a field applied one, the whole thing was then weathered with oils and various pigments. When I can be bothered I'll add some stuff to the roof rack as it looks a little bare and wanting. Looking at the pics it seems like I forgot to weather it as much as the rest of the van! These 2 models are both out of the same set from Verlinden and are both a mix of resin and p/e. First up is the starter unit, The Oil Cart. The hoses were made from lead wire and the oil is a mixture of AK "engine oil" W&N "raw umber" and Mig Productions "shadow brown" oils built up over a few days, in fact it took a few goes before I felt it looked half convincing, the beauty of using oils etc is that if things don't look right you can just wipe them off and start again. The chains that I used are from Hauler. Lastly for now is a compressor. This is from CMK and again resin, I added the handles for the panels and the retaining pins for the jacks from wire and again used the Hauler p/e chains. For anyone that is interested, the exhaust was first painted using a sponge with various rust colours, I used a sponge to get some texture, this then received a coat of AK "worn effects" and after the compressor had been sprayed chipped. I'm not entirely happy with the pigments on the tyres as they look far to light so may have to go over those again. Its my intention to eventually make up some sort of base to display these and others along side aircraft. I'll be adding other stuff to this thread as I finish them so if you're interested stay tuned! As usual all comments are welcome, cheers, Tim.

Neo Air Compressor Iwata Arriving in a small, quite stylish white box, with a black stripe to one side and the name of the compressor on all faces, this unit is like nothing else. On openng, you are confronted with a small black compressor, power supply, airbrush holder and airline. It looks more like an air pump for a fish tank than a modelling tool. Weighing in at 0.43kg the unit is nice and light, which may make it useful for who model when staying in hotels, and small enough for those with little space, or who don't need a full size compressor and/or tank. The compressor itself is covered in a smooth rubbery material and is simplicity itself to set up. Just attach the power supply, (annoyingly with the plug pins upside down so that it makes it awkward to use anything more than a 4 plug extension block), to the connector on the left hand side, the compressors 1.5m airline to the outlet on the right hand side and the provided airbrush holder into its receptacle, also on the left hand side. The unit has no regulator or water trap, and relies on a push button on the top to turn it on and translate through the three power settings, medium, high and low. Maximum output is 15psi with airflow of 10.5lpm at 0psi using a 12V 24W motor. Maximum duty cycle is 10mins. The compressor does have an automatic bleed valve. In use, the unit is quite quiet, but has an unusual pulsating tone which varies when the airbrush is in use. Whilst there is little control of the pressure, the three settings seem to be enough to be able to get some very reasonable results, (certainly with correctly thinned enamels). Conclusion This is a strange little compressor and I'm really not quite sure which target market it is aimed at, other than the suppositions above. Whilst it does appear to work well and I have had no problems with it over the last few weeks of testing, I'm still not sure about it. Yes, it is quite a bit quieter than my current set-up, but that lack of fine control over the airflow did become a little tiresome. I'm also not sure how the unit will handle high humidity which, having had to empty the water trap on my compressor fairly often is quite a problem, and could mar a good paint job. The other problem with this device is the price, which some would say is a little steep for such a unit. Review sample courtesy of

Hey So I'm looking at getting one of these 2. it'll be my first - and I can't afford a decent airbrush straight away either so these will do for priming and large areas haha. Which one would people recommend? I know they're the same, one with tank - one without. Is it worth the extra money for the tank? I have researched it a bit but would rather find out first hand. I read this review (http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=460&t=35371#p478405) and it seems reasonable. http://www.amazon.co.uk/FoxHunter-Airbrush-Compressor-Double-Airbrushes/dp/B004XP7K9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395171731&sr=8-1&keywords=AS186 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/FoxHunter-KMS-Airbrush-Compressor-Airbrushes/dp/B0054Q384A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395171642&sr=8-2&keywords=foxhunter+airbrush Thanks people

I am about to make the plunge into the dark art of airbrushing. Having only ever used a cheapo brush with aerosol can before, for about 10 minutes, 10 years ago.... After some searching, I have come across this item: http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/compress.aspx Model TC-828 (about 4th item down the page) Does anyone have any experience with this brand? (Master Airbrush I believe) The specs seem to meet what most members here seem to state is required, and it comes with a 2 year warranty. And as for the airbrush, I was thinking along the lines of Paasche either: the Millenium http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/16579/catalogs/paasche-airbrush/double-action-internal-mix/mil-series-siphon-feed/paasche-millennium-airbrush-set-with-deluxe-wood-carrying-case/ or: the Talon http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/38931/catalogs/paasche-airbrush/double-action-internal-mix/vsr-and-vjr-series-gravity-feed/paasche-tg-set-gravity-feed-talon-airbrush-set/ can anyone enlighten me as to the pro's and cons of gravity fed Vs syphon, and single action Vs double action

Hi everyone, I have some money left over this month from my wages and rather than spend the money on a revell compressor or the lidl set(if it is still available), I am thinking about buying the compressor and airbrush set from the link below. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Gravity-Feed-Airbrush-Dual-Action-Compressor-Kit-Nail-Body-Art-Spray-Tattoo-/400356877974?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item5d37212696 Could you let me know if it will suitable for use in painting large and small scale models and also if anything else will be needed to go with it ? Thanks in advance. Rick

Can't hold off any longer - have models to paint - have to get myself a compressor!! Had some really useful feedback from the forum about why the canned air was not working so thanks for that - hopefully I can get some more help navigating round the strange world of compressors. There appear to be lots of comment and horror stories out there , so here's what I've found so far: Badger BA1100 @ £89.99 from Folly Models via eBay & other places. Badger's a good brand & I have a Badger airbrush. Has a tank. There's also a non tank version (BA1000) @ around £75. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BA1100-BADGER-AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-WITH-WATER-TRAP-AIR-TANK-SUIT-IWATA-/310710628029?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item4857cbeebd Little-Jet c/o Paul at Little Cars - but doesn't have a tank and I thought that a tank was really important or the motor's running every time you pull the trigger. Also seems a bit dear @ £130. Little-Tank c/o Little Cars - with a tank but seems quite a beast and a bit dear @ £198. AS18-2 c/o airbrushheaven.co.uk @ £46.99. No tank. Have seen this model in various places. http://www.airbrushheaven.co.uk/product.php?product_id=664 AS186 c/o airbrushheaven.co.uk @ £69.99 with a tank. Now before you all jump down my throat, I do realise that you gets what you pays for, and I understand engineering quality etc, but it does seem to be pretty random out there. Any help would be most appreciated and then I can go and sell one of the kid's bikes and buy a compressor for me!!! I'm sure they won't mind . Thanks, Andrew