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.

So recently I started considering using a Airbrush for base coating my minatures. I has hoping to get some advice.

1st was that I remember when GW 1st came out with their air brush thing, I remember someone mentioning that if you use the foundation paints in it to prime your minatures. Is this correct and are their any guides for doing so? (If not GW foundation paints, what IS a good primer I could spray on with a airbrush?)

I live in Canada so I'm hoping to find a way to spray prime in the winter with out giving my self a airasol high, since from what I've seen it appears you get more control of the spray with a airbrush, and not spraying it every wear like a can. So bassicly priming and basing coating alot of guys at once and larger modles is the motivation for this, and anything eals I learn to do with it after is just a bonus.


The brush I'm looking at and that was recommended by the Local art supply store was the H&S Ultra. (Bassicly H&S's Entry Level brush) This is what I'm learning to ATM, but I wouldn't mind hearing 2nd opinions on this. The evo is just $50 more then the ultra, so I'm not sure if the extra features of the evo are going to be worth the $50 to me, or if I'm gimping my self taking the ultra.


finally is the Air compressor it self. I've been looking around for a decently priced artist Airbrush Compressor, since I need something that runs nice and quite but isn't going to break the bank for me.
This was the one I was looking at:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-hp-40-psi-oilless-airbrush-compressor-93657.html

Agien was hoping to hear other people's recommendations.

The compressor is on the loud side, but not too bad, especially of you can put it in the next room. My brother has and uses one for ship modeling. I have not made the jump yet.

treadhead1944 wrote:The compressor is on the loud side, but not too bad, especially of you can put it in the next room. My brother has and uses one for ship modeling. I have not made the jump yet.

Sadly I don't realy have a "Next room". I live in a 1 bed room apartment on the back half of a guy's house.


That's why I'm hoping to try and find a decently priced "quite" air compressor. All that metal has damaged my hearing enough.


Thanks for replying all the same thow!

Here is my 2 cents on starting off with Airbrushing:

1) Start with an inexpensive airbrush. As long as it is gravity fed and dual action (press for air, pull back for paint) you'll be set.

I went with an Air Pro Tools PS900 and have really been enjoying it. For $50.00 it's a great tool and has been very forgiving with my clumsy, oafish hands.

Later on you can spend more for a fancier brush, but at the start you're going to make mistakes and misshandle it a bit, better to do it with a cheap brush.

2) Spend more on the compressor to start. It's more of an investment and the difference for the price is huge, especially if you want to get something quiet. My friend gave me his Badger compressor, and while it makes noise it's much much quieter than the Mastercraft compressor I started with (which broke about 1 month in to using it btw).

That H&S is a sexy brush, I have been wanting one for a few years now....I actually have been trying to be hard on my Iwata so i can justify spending the cash on the H&S, but the damn Iwata just wont die!!

Any way #1 piece of advice I could give you...practice! Get your airbrush set up and then get some cardboard, like a big box and just cut it into big 8 x 10 panels. Then practice writing your name a few times on the cardboard, then practice writing your name using the trigger to vary the intensity of the color, then start writing your name trying to make the lines as thin and thick as possible, then write your name in cursive, Old English, all caps, all lower case, forward, backward, up down, sideways, diagonal, any way you can think of....then when you sick of it, do it again!

When I read the "airbrush" problems that people have here on the board, they are related to 2 issues mostly, improper paint thinning, and poor brush control.....do what I said above a few times and you will work the kinks out and see what I am talking about.

Ashton

I have that exact compressor and I can tell you that it is in no way loud. I am able to run it in the same room as my sleeping wife without waking her.

As for a brush, I use a Paasche Talon and I love it to death. And it's decently affordable. I got this set which is a great bundle as it comes with all 3 needles and a fan tip.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paasche-TALON-TG-3F-SET-Airbrush-Set-NEW-PAASCHE-/370593626739?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564919fa73

Aerethan wrote:I have that exact compressor and I can tell you that it is in no way loud. I am able to run it in the same room as my sleeping wife without waking her.

As for a brush, I use a Paasche Talon and I love it to death. And it's decently affordable. I got this set which is a great bundle as it comes with all 3 needles and a fan tip.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paasche-TALON-TG-3F-SET-Airbrush-Set-NEW-PAASCHE-/370593626739?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564919fa73

Cement floor in the basement, echos a bit. Further testing on carpet... Wow, quiet... My bad

A nice inexpensive airbrush:
Badger Patriot 105, nice entry-level.
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/bapaaise.html

H&S is very good but can get on the expensive side. I have an H&S and love it but if I had to recommend something on a budget, I would go with the Badger.


For a compressor I suggest the following:
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/d3000.html

Might seem expensive but it is silent enough (47 db) to be used indoor.

Foundation paints need to be EXTREMELY diluted before being put in an airbrush as I learned the hard way. They tend to clog alot. The mix I madethat finally worked was about 1:15 for thick coverage and 1:20 for something more fluid.

Top advice is to read around the techniques for what you're trying to achieve. If the airbrush is the way, it'll become apparent. And practice. Lots of practice. Do lines and drawing exercises on paper to learn how to control the spray pattern. Every setup will be slightly different, and every painter will vary their mixes and pressure according to their own taste.

That Badger Patriot 105 is a solid brush as well.

Currently I mostly use my airbrush for priming, base coating, washes(far faster than hand painting washes on 100 troops) and basing. I still use hand brush highlighting and such, then again I don't do vehicles all that often, being a fantasy player.

You will never get better coverage on your base edges than by airbrushing.

As a H&S Evolution silverline owner (a very happy one I might add). I can say that H&S airbrushes are a heck of a lot nicer than the 3 other brushes I used prior to it.

H&S have a rather easy to remove, clean and replace nozzle system compared to the more fiddly screw on ones that my cheaper brushes had. It just slots into the aircap and screw onto the body, slide the needle back in and boom! (they also do a handy screw driver tool for aligning the needle guide seals if you take them out)

The simpler more effective nozzle system alone makes my H&S nozzles last ten times longer than the others (fine spray, badger, spray master)

If your really going to use it a lot its well worth the lil extra cash for a better built, longer lasting bit of kit. (also the H&S trigger is beutiful compared to a cheap brush)

I went for H&S because I couldnt afford Iwata to be honest. They are great mid range brushes.

I thought H&S were high end brushes. They are pretty to look at, I'll give them that. Never used one though.

I just want to say thank you for all the advice! More or less have been soaking it all in, and really appreciate the pointers!

For a compressor I suggest the following:
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/d3000.html

I have that compressor albeit without the storage tank. The regulator it comes with is gak but it's a good compressor. I don't regret not having the storage tank.

To give you an idea of the noise: I paint in a 9 foot by 14 foot room and with the compressor on I can still comfortably listen to podcasts on my laptop speakers on the same volume I would use for normal listening.

In other words: not loud at all.

H&S are great brushes dont get me wrong. I have one myself afterall lol!
But an Iwata Custom Micron would likely run 2 or 3 times the price of my H&S Evolution.
I looked at the Ultra line, they were approximatly £70 (uk pricings sorry ) so I didnt feel too bad about going and extra 50 for an Evolution Silverline, even though they do much nicer ones... the infinity is gorgeous!
Which one suits you will depend what you want to shoot through it most often, what kind of detail, and what kind of surface.. these are the things that tell airbrushes from one another.
The uber high price range is generally reserved for micro-detail brushes suited to hard surfaces; maybe automotive custom paint?
We can get very nice, high quality brushes for a fair bit less because anything from a 0.2mm - 0.6mm tip is great for most acrylics, some thicker mixtures will struggle through a 0.2. For a general purpose basecoating and topcoating airbrush I suggest looking at 0.4 - 0.5mm tips, Gravity fed will suit lower pressures and thinner paints, while syphon fed will suit thicker mixes at higher pressures...
I've had both, syphon is real nice for having many colours mixed up in pots ready to shoot without much real cleaning, and gravity feed is a bit more precise and needs a full cleanout to change colours (I love my gravity feed for illustration).

edit;
if it helps you pick between ultra and evo, here are the spare part diagrams, which show the exact differences;





The most crucial parts (nozzle, needle guide, trigger mechanism) are all very similar. I expect the ultra to not be a bad brush, there might be a diference in how solvent resistant the seals and o-rings are. But for shooting acrylics this isnt a priblem, but something to bear in mind with cleaning products, the silverline is supposedly more solvent resistant and I can't fault it yet. One o-ring in a year of regular usage!

On the ultra the needle guard is built into the aircap though. this may or may not bother you. A lot of airbrush users tend to remove the needle guard whilst spraying (I do, it makes cleaning tip dry much easier)

Thows diagrams are very useful. I'm thinking I will get a Infinity. For me it's only going to be a extra $50 to step up from the ultra to the infinity, and I think in the long run it will be the best choice. Thank you.

More Dakka wrote:Here is my 2 cents on starting off with Airbrushing:

1) Start with an inexpensive airbrush. As long as it is gravity fed and dual action (press for air, pull back for paint) you'll be set.

...

Later on you can spend more for a fancier brush, but at the start you're going to make mistakes and misshandle it a bit, better to do it with a cheap brush.

2) Spend more on the compressor to start. It's more of an investment and the difference for the price is huge, especially if you want to get something quiet. My friend gave me his Badger compressor, and while it makes noise it's much much quieter than the Mastercraft compressor I started with (which broke about 1 month in to using it btw).

Couldn't agree more. I spend £12.99 on a chinese airbrush and £150 on a compressor, and I get great results. Next time I get an influx of disposable income a more expensive airbrush is on the cards, but untill then, my china special is doing fine.

AG. wrote:
Couldn't agree more. I spend £12.99 on a chinese airbrush and £150 on a compressor, and I get great results. Next time I get an influx of disposable income a more expensive airbrush is on the cards, but untill then, my china special is doing fine.

I would expect those cheap airbrushes to be perfectly fine for most use, but they would probably struggle to pull a line the width of a hair, which is where the H&S 0.15mm infinity, Iwata Custom Micron and a few of the badger brushes with teeny weeny tips come in.

Similarly those micro tip sizes arent optimal for doing block colouring because of the reduced spray pattern size. Without seeing the cheaper brushes breakdown of parts its hard to say for sure, but with the ones iv owned and seen before, my H&S is so much better, the most notable of which is the way the paint nozzle fits in and out so easily, without any spanners aswell as the improved trigger mechanism being a lot smoother to pull on... What it really comes down to is how you use it? if your literally going to just spray base coats and varnishes onto mini's with it, then just about any reasonable quality airbrush will be great and will feel ten times better than rattle cans.For me painting mini's is only a small part of my enjoyment of painting, I do allsorts from canvases, shirts, cars, laptops, guitars, helmets, motor bikes... will happily refinish most things and will be spraying 5+ times a week. Which is why I might seem to like the slightly higher quality brushes

Lockark wrote:Thows diagrams are very useful. I'm thinking I will get a Infinity. For me it's only going to be a extra $50 to step up from the ultra to the infinity, and I think in the long run it will be the best choice. Thank you.

If you go with the infinity, spend the little extra and get the 2-in-1.

It's about $40 more and you get an extra needle and nozzle.

You get a 0.15mm and a 0.4mm

That's what I have and I am quitte happy. The only thing is that I reversed the trigger for comfort.

XmarvX40k wrote:

AG. wrote:
Couldn't agree more. I spend £12.99 on a chinese airbrush and £150 on a compressor, and I get great results. Next time I get an influx of disposable income a more expensive airbrush is on the cards, but untill then, my china special is doing fine.

I would expect those cheap airbrushes to be perfectly fine for most use, but they would probably struggle to pull a line the width of a hair, which is where the H&S 0.15mm infinity, Iwata Custom Micron and a few of the badger brushes with teeny weeny tips come in.

Similarly those micro tip sizes arent optimal for doing block colouring because of the reduced spray pattern size. Without seeing the cheaper brushes breakdown of parts its hard to say for sure, but with the ones iv owned and seen before, my H&S is so much better, the most notable of which is the way the paint nozzle fits in and out so easily, without any spanners aswell as the improved trigger mechanism being a lot smoother to pull on... What it really comes down to is how you use it? if your literally going to just spray base coats and varnishes onto mini's with it, then just about any reasonable quality airbrush will be great and will feel ten times better than rattle cans.For me painting mini's is only a small part of my enjoyment of painting, I do allsorts from canvases, shirts, cars, laptops, guitars, helmets, motor bikes... will happily refinish most things and will be spraying 5+ times a week. Which is why I might seem to like the slightly higher quality brushes

I'm abit of a art bug too my self, so I would be lieing if I didn't say I was thinking about taking the airbrush to canvas and seeing what results I can get. It's also the reason I would prefer something with abit more quality behind it.

But in regards to mini's I litterly just want to replace my rattle cans. Primeing, Base Coating, Sealing, ect. Due to were I live their is a good chunk of time in the year that it's to cold to use spray cans outside, and I have no indoor areas to spray prime inside with thows cans. XD I will probably try out other techniques latter with the brush once I start getting use to it, but that is what it's 1st job is going to be.

XmarvX40k wrote:

AG. wrote:
Couldn't agree more. I spend £12.99 on a chinese airbrush and £150 on a compressor, and I get great results. Next time I get an influx of disposable income a more expensive airbrush is on the cards, but untill then, my china special is doing fine.

I would expect those cheap airbrushes to be perfectly fine for most use, but they would probably struggle to pull a line the width of a hair, which is where the H&S 0.15mm infinity, Iwata Custom Micron and a few of the badger brushes with teeny weeny tips come in.

Similarly those micro tip sizes arent optimal for doing block colouring because of the reduced spray pattern size. Without seeing the cheaper brushes breakdown of parts its hard to say for sure, but with the ones iv owned and seen before, my H&S is so much better, the most notable of which is the way the paint nozzle fits in and out so easily, without any spanners aswell as the improved trigger mechanism being a lot smoother to pull on... What it really comes down to is how you use it? if your literally going to just spray base coats and varnishes onto mini's with it, then just about any reasonable quality airbrush will be great and will feel ten times better than rattle cans.For me painting mini's is only a small part of my enjoyment of painting, I do allsorts from canvases, shirts, cars, laptops, guitars, helmets, motor bikes... will happily refinish most things and will be spraying 5+ times a week. Which is why I might seem to like the slightly higher quality brushes

This is exactly right.

I can't do hairlines with my cheapo brush, but it is great for miniature basecoating and effects. I've dabbled in aribrush art and can't get the results I'd like with the china special.

Im quite happy with my 0.2mm tip H&S, it can get fairly fine with a bit of practise and the correct paint viscosity. Have been considering getting a bunch of different sized needles and tips for it, theyre about £30 for a needle/nozzle/aircap/needle guard set where I usualy shop for airbrushy bits. Perhaps the larger paint cup too... although 2ml is plenty for mini's and illustrating, I find acrylics tend to block your tip often, and so you will be pouring the paint back out of the larger cup anyhow. Perhaps also alleviated with a 0.4mm tip over a 0.2 at the cost of detail.