Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey there. Quick question: Is the GW citadel airbrush any good? I really doubt it, but wanted to get some public opinion.
Also, I'm new to the hobby in general, so can somebody give me a quick breakdown of any other good airbrushes, whether you need to buy specific compressors, etc. Much appreciated.

The GW airbrush is useless, If your starting off with airbrushing I'd suggest the PS900 or Master Series.

Usefull only for the most crude of basecoats, prone to break and clogg up. Not comparable to an acutal airbrush, more of a spraygun.

If you need to do a quick basecolour spray for a new army project (like say Blood Angels), but you don't want to break the bank for an actual airbrush, it might do. Although in this case, you are probably better off with one of the coloured "rattle can primers" from armypainter. It'll be cheaper and you'll have about as much control over your spray as with that spraygun.

no,stop, don't. applicable for college sorority girls and potential GW spray gun buyers.
There are better products for less,that produce better results.

Thanks, that cleared it up a bit.

Elmir wrote:Usefull only for the most crude of basecoats, prone to break and clogg up. Not comparable to an acutal airbrush, more of a spraygun.

That's why they sell a spray gun and not an airbrush

What they said. This thing is not recommended.

Plus, other manufacturers, Badger I think, sell basically the same gun for less.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

Iwata dual actions gravity feed for the win.

Company is not the major choice. You really need to decide what type of airbrush.

External mix brushes are easier to clean, but can't get as fine a line or as good control as internal mix brushes, in my experience anyway.

single action brushes only allow you to control the amount of paint, double action allow precise control over both air pressure and paint quantity.

Suction feed brushes use some of the power to bring the paint up from a jar underneath the brush, gravity feed means more consistent paint flow.

Having a decent compressor with a tank is also much better than using those aircans. If you have to use those, place the can in hot - NOT boiling - water to increase the pressure when using them. Be very careful though, keep them out of the water unless you are actually using the airbrush/spaycan. As soon as you stop the airbrush, take the can out of the water. This technique can also be used to wring the very last out of a spraycan of Chaos Black or Skull White primer.

Whatever make, model, or type airbrush you use, keep stiring the paint regularly. This stops the thinning medium and the paint sepperating and giving you blobby results followed by paint that is too thin and just runs on you.

The GW effort is called a spray gun, it could be called a basic external mix, single action, gravity feed airbrush with a wide nozzle. It is intended for single base colour applications on large vehicles or entire squads of men at once. I cannot comment on the quality of it as I do not own one, but I do recommend using only fresh paint in it, don't ressurect old pigments, and don't forget to water down the paint before using it - probably more so than GW recommend. In fact, the only reason I can think of to get one is to get the jar that GW issue with it which has the graduations on the side. These will give you the minimum dilution needed to get fresh GW paint through the spraygun.

I have a DVD from Airbrush Action magazine where this guy paints 2 skulls in the size of a quarter, then puts 22 in the size of a dime! The main thing he recommends for doing fine work is thiiining the paint right down, this helps slow clogging and results in much better, smoother coverage. Build it up over several coats, don't get impatient. I think he uses an Iowata, but the main thing is it is an internal mix, duble action, gravity feed and he takes the front shield off, leaving the needle exposed. Although you are at a greater risk of damaging the needle, you can get a finer jet this way. I personally have both Aztec and Badger brushes, both of which are external mix, double action, gravity feed. The Aztec is the easier to use, but I still maintain that I could get a finer line and therefore better results at a small scale with the Badger, despite a friend swearing Aztec can't be beaten.