Intrigued by airbrushes

[Jeff J]

After seeing the smooth looking results achievable with an airbrush I'm tempted to buy one.

 

However, I'm not going to go nuts and spend £200 on a compressor then three figures again on the airbrush. I'm aiming for <£100 (I know I'll at least need a decent mask on top of that).

 

Here's two under consideration:

1 Battery powered

 

2 As demonstrated by Model Minutes Matt...

...on YouTube

 

I'm not expecting low volume at this price range!

 

Just wondering what your thoughts are...

 

[Dads203]

27 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

After seeing the smooth looking results achievable with an airbrush I'm tempted to buy one.

 

However, I'm not going to go nuts and spend £200 on a compressor then three figures again on the airbrush. I'm aiming for <£100 (I know I'll at least need a decent mask on top of that).

 

Here's two under consideration:

1 Battery powered

 

2 As demonstrated by Model Minutes Matt...

...on YouTube

 

I'm not expecting low volume at this price range!

 

Just wondering what your thoughts are...

 

Just remember - " You get what you pay for "   I think you might be a bit disappointed 

and the experience might put you off.

 

The compressor is not looking the best in my opinion with little or no airflow control - that's going to  cause issues 

unless you get a Mac valve. The battery operated comp has no moisture trap so again that will become an issue in humid weather. 

 

Just don't buy a few kits for while and save some extra pennies to buy something decent, you'll learn faster as you will not be trouble shooting a poor setup 

and you'll have much less stress free spraying sessions.

 

I ran my old badger airbrush on a car tyre until I could afford a decent compressor  - do it in stages if cost is a factor. 

 

I'd go for one of the Mr Hobby Procon Airbrushes or an Iwata Revolution that have been reviewed here on BM, run it on the can power packs to get used to it and then get a decent comp.

 

 

Edit - Just read your profile - You are in IT so you can afford it !! 

[Ray_W]

Do yourself a favour and buy a compressor with water trap and regulator. Even a cheap one is OK. At home in Australia I have a lovely Iwata set-up that rarely gets used as I spend most of my time based in other countries. I then go out and buy a cheap compressor locally because it is highly unlikely that I will drag it back with me. Pretty much a disposable item. 

 

I purchased this one, in Bulgaria, for less than 110 EUR some 3 years ago. It has done a lot of work,

 

 

This is the spec.

 

 

This compressor has done everything I have needed. No reliability issues and I have found no need for an accumulator (air storage tank) even though I do prefer that set up. All my builds from early 2019 on the BM site are sprayed with this compressor. Will it last another 3 years? Unlikely. I think I have got my monies worth. I model 1/35 AFV and 1/48 aircraft and ensure the compressor does not overheat.  I have never found it a limitation. 

 

This one even came with a cheap double action airbrush and spare hose. The airbrush and hose are still in the box as I do bring my Iwata and H&S airbrushes with me. I note they are now selling for 127 EUR.

 

I am not promoting this brand just illustrating what you can get away with when you're on a tight budget. 

 

Ray

[Jeff J]

4 hours ago, Dads203 said:

Edit - Just read your profile - You are in IT so you can afford it !! 

Yes, but I'm not a contractor!

[Dads203]

33 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

Yes, but I'm not a contractor!

Sell the Bentley then 

[Jeff J]

7 hours ago, Dads203 said:

Just remember - " You get what you pay for "   I think you might be a bit disappointed 

and the experience might put you off.

True of course, but I also don't want to risk spending a lot of money on something that I only use once or twice...

 

7 hours ago, Dads203 said:

I ran my old badger airbrush on a car tyre until I could afford a decent compressor

That's genius!

[Dads203]

6 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

True of course, but I also don't want to risk spending a lot of money on something that I only use once or twice...

 

 

 

If you get a decent set up which you can do on a limited budget then it will get used all the time, It will take a bit of getting used to but you will never look back once you have grasped the basic's of airbrushing, I only use a paint brush for detail painting and faces on 35th scale figures and its incredible on how fine a line you can spray with the correct thinning and air pressure dialled in. 

 

The cheap knock off airbrushes look very appealing when you are first looking into changing from a paint brush to an airbrush but the downside is that if you get a bad one from the start then you'll never look at an airbrush again as you will put it down to " not worth the effort ".

I know some people who have had a good experience with the Chinese knock off clones and some even spray really well when you first get them until a seal goes or something breaks. 

To me its not worth the hassle, go branded and have that comfort that it will work every time you need it. If you find after its not for you then at least you can sell it on and get some coin back where as 

a knock off would be difficult to even give away. 

[Dads203]

This would be my suggestion for you, I have this brush and changed it to a 0.2 needle for really fine work.

I think I paid £80  three years ago for my brush so they have gone up a bit 

It's a thing of beauty, it can produce very fine lines with 0.3 needle and head but with a 0.2 its just sublime for detail work, has a built in Mac valve so you can fine tune the air pressure 

and its a breeze to clean.  I have Iwata CM-C which is the most expensive Iwata brush in the range and this is almost as good ! 

 

https://www.air-craft.net/acatalog/Mr-Procon-Boy-WA-Platinum-V2-PS-289.html#SID=22

 

 

[Tijuana Taxi]

I think if I were buying a first  airbrush my pick would be the Iwata Eclipse CS.

Comes with a 0.35 needle, easy to take apart for cleaning and has a nice large nozzle cap. Some of the airbrushes have very delicate nozzle caps that can easily be over tightened and break.

Also fine needles are ok, but for the newcomer they are often quite fussy with paint viscosity.

Lots of generic compressors that will do the job for a reasonable price. Anything labelled AS18 will provide a decent air flow or the AS186 which ia similar with a reservoir tank.

 

[janneman36]

1 hour ago, Dads203 said:

This would be my suggestion for you, I have this brush and changed it to a 0.2 needle for really fine work.

I think I paid £80  three years ago for my brush so they have gone up a bit 

It's a thing of beauty, it can produce very fine lines with 0.3 needle and head but with a 0.2 its just sublime for detail work, has a built in Mac valve so you can fine tune the air pressure 

and its a breeze to clean.  I have Iwata CM-C which is the most expensive Iwata brush in the range and this is almost as good ! 

 

https://www.air-craft.net/acatalog/Mr-Procon-Boy-WA-Platinum-V2-PS-289.html#SID=22

 

 

The seller mentioned is a good one , just bought a Sil-air compressor motor from them and it was dispatched the same afternoon.

Good shipping prices as well.

https://barwellbodyworks-shop.com Is a good one as well, they have plenty of choice.

Really surprised to that the cheap airbrush with the compressor in the vid worked that well.

One note is that this one has probably rubber seals between the nozzle and those can not handle aggressive paints or cleaners.

 

cheers, Jan

[Dads203]

I cut my teeth on a Badger 200 single action Airbrush back in 1987, moved to Badger 150 double action 

in the early 90's. The early Badgers do exactly what it says on the box, it sprays well, reliable and they were cheap 

on spares but I found them a bit agricultural - a bit like a Russian tractor ( No offence to any Russian Tractor fans). 

They will cope with a lot of abuse and perform well but they just didn't have the finesse that the Japanese brushes have.

I would however recommend a Badger brush as a first airbrush. I still have my 150 but it never gets used anymore, 

Not sure on what the new Badgers are like so it might be another option for the OP?

 

 

[Scargsy]

Have a look on everythingairbrush.com that's where I bought my airbrush and compressor kit.

 

Only thing I'd say is look for prices of spares for your airbrush, I got a H+S Ultra 2in1 and as a noob I have managed to damage nozzles and needles multiple times, replacements can rack up the costs (nozzle, needle and air cap set is like £30) - I now invested in a cheaper airbrush as well.

 

Any named compressor will hopefully last you ages, if not a lifetime, not too many moving parts to go wrong, I think the only part on mine that might give up the ghost is the small on/off switch so I now just leave that switch on and turn off the power at the wall.

 

[Jeff J]

Thanks for your responses. You're all very kind.

 

I'm just heading to bed so haven't really started researching, but how does this one measure up?

 

EverythingAirbrush - TC-802K Airbrushing Kit with AB-130 Airbrush, Hose & Stand

[Dads203]

2 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

Thanks for your responses. You're all very kind.

 

I'm just heading to bed so haven't really started researching, but how does this one measure up?

 

EverythingAirbrush - TC-802K Airbrushing Kit with AB-130 Airbrush, Hose & Stand

 

 

Compressor will probably be okay but you are back to an unbranded clone airbrush, I'd stay away personally, put the cash into a decent airbrush and 

save for a compressor, in the interim use canned air or get a tyre adaptor and spare tyre from the scrappies for getting used to the brush. 

[Jeff J]

@Dads203

I see the Badger 150 is £114 on Amazon but that (amusingly named) Procon Boy isn't much more expensive at £135.

[Dads203]

14 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

@Dads203

I see the Badger 150 is £114 on Amazon but that (amusingly named) Procon Boy isn't much more expensive at £135.

Prices have really climbed over the last few years, I think I paid £60 for my Badger 150 back in eons of time but the Procon brush was bought from Japan for £69 from a store in Tokyo and brought back by a good friend 3 years ago. Yep it was cheaper than buying from the U.K. but the last time I looked they were under £100 from the U.K. - it wasn’t that long ago either. 
 

Of the two brushes I’d go for the Procon, it’s much better than the Badger and the spares are relatively easy and cheap to get plus the performance uplift over the Badger. 
 

I think Mike @Mikereviewed the Procon last year or so? 
 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235008778-mr-hobby-procon-boy-fwa-platinum-double-action-airbrush/#comment-3451030

[Mike]

13 hours ago, Dads203 said:

I think Mike @Mikereviewed the Procon last year or so? 
 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235008778-mr-hobby-procon-boy-fwa-platinum-double-action-airbrush/#comment-3451030

It was longer than that ago Dan, but I'm having problems remembering that we've just spent the last 2 years indoors too

 

I did review it/them, and I liked them so much I use them pretty much exclusively when I can actually manage to get some modelling done.  Have a chat with @Jetblast from air-craft.net, and he'll help you choose the right one for your needs, and any spares you think you'll need in a totally non-pressure manner

[Toe]

16 hours ago, Tijuana Taxi said:

I think if I were buying a first  airbrush my pick would be the Iwata Eclipse CS.

Comes with a 0.35 needle, easy to take apart for cleaning and has a nice large nozzle cap. Some of the airbrushes have very delicate nozzle caps that can easily be over tightened and break.

Also fine needles are ok, but for the newcomer they are often quite fussy with paint viscosity.

Lots of generic compressors that will do the job for a reasonable price. Anything labelled AS18 will provide a decent air flow or the AS186 which ia similar with a reservoir tank.

 

 

Which is what I bought...... 

 

2nd hand is an idea, from this very forum I bought mine from (I think! So long ago now) and only in the last year I bought a small compressor with tank off Fleabay for around £70, loads on there and to be honest mine has been fine, (slightly different to mine but same seller and is AS18 as Tijuana mentions https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164945881559 ) it's not as if you're blowing up car tyres every weekend with one like the other compressor I have is used for; I have a larger "garage" type compressor with a 50 litre tank where I used to run the hose up from outside the back door through a bedroom window to a water trap/regulator, it was better than you think, only needed to run it once to get the tank at 120psi and it'd last me all night, having the hose go through a gap in the window in winter was a bit of a bind though 😀

[Werdna]

Agree with the suggestions on the AS18 compressors - I've had one for over a year now with no issues at all.  I'd also recommend something like the Sparmax Max 4 airbrush, which can be had for £60-70, about the same price as the compressor.  I've had the Max 4 for a while, as well as a H&S Infinity (0.2), but the Max 4 is an excellent workhorse brush, capable of both relatively fine lines and broad coverage, while the H&S doesn't really get used that often, but is great for detail work.  You could probably get a Max 4 and an AS18 combo for around £140.  It's well worth spending a bit more in the long run.

[kiseca]

I was in the same position as you when I got back into modelling 3 years ago. I'd never used an airbrush, but for the standard of finish I know I want now, I knew from my childhood experience that I wasn't going to get it with a hairy brush.

 

I started with a budget all-in-one kit like the two you posted in your OP. They seem to be generic kits that all look more or less the same. The one I got had a compressor closer in look to the black box one in your second link.

 

The one I got was good enough for me to learn airbrushing basics, and it gave a finish I am happy with on the models. It didn't have clogging issues, it wasn't difficult to clean. I got through one nozzle seal in the first year - cheap to replace - and while that was in part down to the cheap seal, it was also because I used to soak the nozzle, seal and all, in cleaner / thinners to clean it after every use. Better cleaning habits, as I learnt later, would have extended that seal's life hugely. The airbrush still works fine now. Has a choice of three needle and nozzle sizes so it's quite adaptable and is currently my backup. The kit did the job and I was completely happy with it.

 

The weak part turned out to be the compressor, in a couple of ways. Firstly, it was no good for fine detail, because it pulses. So when I try draw a fine line, it will be slightly bumpy instead of uniform thickness - there will be regular thicker points. like little speedbumps mirrored on both edges of the line. The second thing was the compressor just didn't last. It steadily deteriorated, taking longer and longer to build up enough pressure to start spraying, and then just couldn't build up the pressure at all. This took a bit over a year - and I'm not a prolific model builder. When I dismantled it to see if it was something fixable, it was some kind of gasket, ring or seal in the piston that had just completely disintegrated. I didn't bother repairing it, and solved both problems by purchasing an AS186 style compressor with storage tank. It has transformed the performance of the airbrush, and I'd never go back to a cheap compressor. Up until about 20 minutes ago I'd have said I'd never go back to one without a tank either, though that yellow one posted by someone above shows that it's not neccessarily the tank, but the quality of the compressor that matters. However it achieves it, you want a smooth, steady, finely adjustable feed of air. So I'll re-open my mind on that point.

 

At around the same time I also treated myself to a new airbrush, settling eventually on an Iwata Revolution after an unhappy experience with an H&S Ultra.

 

My anecdotal advise, if I could go back in time to when I bought that first budget airbrush? I'd tell myself not to bother. Rather budget more, or wait until I can budget more, at least for a decent compressor. And while I am happy with my budget airbrush, I've been lucky. They seem to be really variable quality, and chances of getting one with a fundamental problem, like an ill fitting nozzle or badly matched needle, things that will make painting really difficult for a beginner without being obvious that the airbrush is the problem, are high. Plenty of horror stories on the internet to let me know I got away with a bit of a gamble.

 

Plus, they are worthless as soon as you have bought them. If you buy a well respected brand airbrush, it's a tool for life, and its resale value should you decide you don't like airbrushing will reflect this. it will last longer, parts will be easier to get when they wear out. Whatever you saved at first with the budget airbrush, you'll burn over time replacing it. Same goes for the compressor.

Edited February 25, 2022 by kiseca

[Vapouriser]

Did you get yourself sorted in the end Jeff ? and if so, what did you plump for ? 
 

I’m now the proud owner of an iwata, a Sparmax and a well loved but workhorse old Badger 150 (which was a very kind gift!) and my first foray. Now I’ve got an issue with the badger sorted and it’s running properly it’s a great tool and you can often see them used on various sites for 20 or 30 quid - a bargain !! 
 

 

[Jeff J]

Just now, Vapouriser said:

Did you get yourself sorted in the end Jeff ? and if so, what did you plump for ? 
 

I’m now the proud owner of an iwata, a Sparmax and a well loved but workhorse old Badger 150 (which was a very kind gift!) and my first foray. Now I’ve got an issue with the badger sorted and it’s running properly it’s a great tool and you can often see them used on various sites for 20 or 30 quid - a bargain !! 
 

 

Nothing yet.

 

I had a very helpful conversation with Martin (@Jetblast) back in March but you know how it is, "better" things for money to be spent on sadly. 😞 

[Vapouriser]

Well I’m sorry to hear that Jeff - but I’m sure the opportunity Will present itself again and when it does @Jetblast is a very good man to talk to. He supplied my Iwata AB and has been advising me too about my compressor choice. His prices are very competitive and he’s super helpful to boot !!! 

[Jeff J]

On 27/05/2022 at 15:21, Vapouriser said:

Well I’m sorry to hear that Jeff - but I’m sure the opportunity Will present itself again and when it does @Jetblast is a very good man to talk to. He supplied my Iwata AB and has been advising me too about my compressor choice. His prices are very competitive and he’s super helpful to boot !!! 

I think I might get myself an airbrush but then, as suggested by @Dads203 , use a few cans of compressed air while I decide if I'm going to get along with it.

[Noel Smith]

What airbrush depends on what you want to do with it. 

Double action ones come into their own for variable spray patterns done on the fly, and take some mastering.

Single action ones need the spray pattern preset.

There is another that atomises paint and air just beyond the nozzle instead of inside the airbrush. Badger 350 and Paasche H come to mind here and are good for overall spraying like a miniature spray gun.