Yet another "I'm thinking of buying an airbrush" thread

[neilfergylee]

I must apologise in advance because I could argue that if I dug deep enough I could probably find an answer.  However, as most circumstances differ a little, I though it worth asking.

 

I have returned to modelling after a hiatus of about 30 years and am really enjoying it.  One decision I made early-on was to use acrylic paints whenever possible, not least because I much refer the thought of cleaning-up using water, rather than nasty chemicals.  I have made use of good old Humbrol rattlecans and am very, very impressed with the results.  The availability of pre-cut masks, a better set of tools than I had before and just a lot more patience has resulted in better results than before, but I feel that the results of brushing still leave a lot to be desired.

 

I am relatively fortunate in that I can afford a reasonably decent bit of kit but, in turn, I don't want to purchase a Rolls-Royce solution as there's no point in overdoing things, especially so early on.  Naturally, I'll be looking to buy a compressor and my garage has enough space for me to put -together a simple spraying area.

 

Therefore, what would members of this esteemed group suggest for a suitable airbrush?

 

Kind regards,

 

Nel

 

[little-cars]

Hi,  It depends on the sort of models and scales that you are going to be painting.  You mention post war jets, but not the scale you are building.

 

So I'll assume you are building a variety of  scales/sized aircraft, some with camo and some with larger areas of paint.

 

As a good quality starter brush there are two that I would look at. The Harder & Steenbeck Ultra 2in1 (@£80)  This is a traditional double action airbrush ( pudh the trigger down for air and pull it back to let the paint flow. It has two different paint cups a 2ml for small areas and a 5ml for large areas.  It also has two different nozzle sets 0.2mm for details down to about a 1mm and a 0.4mm for area coverage.

It's easy to use, clean and strip down.   

 

H&S Ultra 2in1

 

The second brush has less of a learning curve to use, the Sparmax GP-35 (@£90)  has a 0.35mm nozzle and side feed 7ml  (&15ml) paint cup.

 

This is a trigger action brush. it has a nice hand grip. You pull the trigger back until you feel resistance, this has opened the air valve, then as you pull the trigger back more paint starts to flow. The more you pull back the more paint flows.  A great general purpose brush that will paint areas and down to 2-3mm for detail work.   

 

Sparmax GP-35

 

You'll also need an air source. There are plenty of cheap chinese  compressors out there, if you go down that route, I'd get one with an air tank.  

 

Our standard offereing is the  little-jet compressor( £135). Made by sparmax has a 2 year warranty, about 3.5kg in weight. It will give you up to 30 psi and has a duty cycle of 40 minutes.

It's very quiet in use and you regulate the air pressure using a bleed valve at the bottom of the moisture trap & comes with a hose to connect to your airbrush.

 

little-jet compressor

 

We also do starter bundles with airbrush, compressor and all the other bits to get you started £5 on top of the airbrush and compressor price.  And have them all to try at model shows.

 

Ta,

Paul 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rabbit Leader]

All I can say is go for it Neil. I’ve been modelling (more off than on) for close to forty years and was convinced by a mate of mine to ditch the brushes and go the AB way. I’m glad I did however as you will see here there are some marvellous brush painters on this forum who produce much better finishes than my airbrushing. 

 

From my humble experience I’ll suggest that you look for a gravity feed AB, that’s one where the paint cup sits on the top and gravity pulls the paint down into the brush. I bought a cheap Iwata knock-off from some Asian seller on eBay. I paid no more than 15 pounds of your money for it and have had many hours of spraying madness with it. 

 

You will need a good (quiet) compressor and again these should be available at most places. As you prefer to use acrylics I can highly recommend the Gunze Mr Hobby range and ‘the only’ thinner that you’ll need is their Mr Color levelling thinner. This is not cheap, however is the best product I know of. I’d rather pay more for paint and thinner than the overall spray unit, however that’s just me. 

 

Then it’s down to practice practice practice. You’ll reach a point where you’ll question why you’ve ever gone this way, and then one day it will all click. Well that’s my story anyway. 

 

Happy to chat further off line should you wish, but I’m from Australia and time zones will get the better of us most of the time. 

 

Cheers and and good luck.. Dave

[Steve Noble]

Most acrylics will clean up with water but sometimes it's better to use a dedicated airbrush cleaning solution. It just gets all the paint flushed out properly in my opinion and keeps the airbrush tip top clean. Also I wouldn't recommend water as a thinner. Use the dedicated thinner from your chosen paint manufacturer, it's up to you of course but I think it yields better, more consistent results. Airbrush is dependant on type and scale of models you make as already said. I build mostly cars and bikes, so a simple single action brush is all I use. I do have a couple of double action brushes too for finer work if needed. Compressor is for me where you need something half decent. Quietness and plenty of air on tap are my needs as I can't think of anything worse than waiting for the air all the time to catch up with my spraying. Just bear that in mind when choosing one and do your research..

[neilfergylee]

@little-cars, @Rabbit Leader and @Steve Noble,

 

Thank you all for your positive and helpful replies!  I do apologise for taking so long to reply - it's just been one of those months.

 

Paul, thank you for your suggestions, I shall take a closer look, especially as my birthday is looming.

 

Dave,  thanks for the suggestions about Mr. Hobby, I've read about it but must give it a go and, yes, I'm going to have to practice and a continuing stream of Meteors is a good candidate for that practice!

 

Steve, You're almost local as I live in Derbyshire and you raise a very good point regarding the size and type of models: I'm mostly 1/72 Meteors, so moderate sized aircraft probably covers it - That 1/48 B-29 of mine has been in the stash since 1979!  Thanks also for the suggestion regarding thinners: certainly Humbrol acrylic thinners doesn't seem to be water!

 

Thanks again: I'll keep you posted. 

 

Neil