Compressor choice

[Smithy1961]

After returning to the hobby after 35 years I have decided to go down the airbrushing route as apposed to using paint brushes. After reading numerous reviews and watching plenty of YouTube videos I have chosen the Iwata Eclipse HP CS as the airbrush due to it's ease of cleaning and consistent results overall. I now need a compressor to go with it and have around £200-250 to spend. The kits I will be making are 1/35th AFVs and 1/48th Aircraft. Sparmax seem to get good reviews but I appreciate first hand experience from fellow modelers out there. Size and noise aren't an issue for me but performance and reliability are. Many thanks in advance.

[nheather]

I started with one of those generic ones you see on eBay - had a moisture trap, regulator and a tank and to be honest it worked fine.  You can find them for around the £70 mark.

 

Then a few years back, wondering what to treat myself with (birthday or Christmas) and I splashed out on a Sparmax 620. It is essentially the same as what I was replacing, diaphragm pump, tank, regulator and moisture trap so I did wonder whether I would regret my purchase as a waste of money but I didn’t for one second - the engineering, the smoothness and the quality are leagues ahead. I also have the reassurance that if anything goes wrong with it I will be able to get spares or get it repaired. I have no qualms in recommending Sparmax compressors.  You would be looking at around £200 for the Sparmax that I have.

 

BTW - worst kept trade secret - Sparmax make the compressors for Iwata - so you can buy a Sparmax or you can pay a lot more for a Sparmax with an Iwata badge.

 

Cheers,
 

Nigel

 

 

[Steve Noble]

I would highly recommend the Werther Sil Air 15A compressor. It's slightly over your budget at around £280, but I've had one for 30 years and it's still working as good as the day I bought it. I change the oil once a year and replace the filter every year also and that's pretty much it. It can go up to 80 psi which is more than you'll ever need, I spray at anything from 20-30 psi. It never runs out of air, you can spray all day with it. The bonus is it's practically silent in use. I've sprayed at 2am with my wife and young son asleep in the next room with them hearing nothing. I would recommend it wholeheartedly for the quality and reliability. Buy one once and it will last you a lifetime if looked after.