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As per the title, I'm soliciting opinions/experiences/testimonials on the GW?Citadel Spray Gun and the Propellant can that you use with it. I'm no expert painter, and don't really want to sink money and time into learning how to airbrush properly (not right now anyhow) but thought this might be a reasonable half-way comprimise that would enable me to "kinda" airbrush some of my minis.

Has anyone used these products, and if so, can you tell me about your experience? Any opinions, anecdotes, or other feedback would be very appreciated!

Thanks Dakkanauts!

-C6

No. You will no be able to "kinda" airbrush with this, the only thing that is is capable of is under/base coating and it is not even very good at that. Don't buy it.

A friend had one and threw it in the trash after about 3 weeks. I used it once and can honestly say that IMO it is barely usable for basecoating models. There are cheaper brushes that can do better work. And spray cans are a waste. If you invest in a small compressor you can also use it for other things like filling your car tires with air and scaring the cat with airbursts from 6 feet away. Loads more useful and entertaining.

No. Not worth it. You're paying a fortune for cans of compressed air, and well over the odds for a spraygun that's bottom of the range.

Go the airbrush compressor route.

In UK terms.
GW compressed air £5.50 a can. Lasts perhaps 4 sessions.
Citadel Spraygun £18.50.

£24 before you consider any paint (of which you will waste a fair bit). The propellant does not provide control, will run out fast. The spraygun is complete rubbish from all accounts I've heard, some reports indicating that it simply *breaks*.

Compare to:
Small compressor and airbrush kit: £90
Cleaning stuff (Cellulose Thinners, Q-tips, Brushes): £10

So about £100. Purely for priming (Vallejo PU primer), varnishing (W&N varnish and some flow improver) you will save yourself a ton of money very quickly. To prime and varnish there's not much of a learning curve (cleaning out the AB is about it). You also then have the option to experiment with the AB and start using more interesting techniques. You do need to treat the tool with a little respect though.

But honesty, I wouldn't touch canned air or the spraygun with somebody else's 10 foot pole.

Wow, almost immediately 2 resounding "No"s...

Are there alternative that are worth their price, but not quite a full dive into the complex world of airbrushing?

I purchased this....

http://www.harder-airbrush.eu/starterset/index.php

I can confirm that it is available in Europe and the US.

It is simply amazing.....I have been using it for a while now.....I cannot recommended it enough - I paid about £130 for it.

The cheapest compressors I have seen are about £50, which is 10 cans of propellant (which will probably base coat about... 100-200 models if you are very lucky?). However, they are an absolute nightmare - they constantly drop pressure (I had to keep a tub of warm water next to me when using one to dunk the can in to get the pressure up enough that I could spray), the can/tube interface leaks constantly wasting gas, and the gas itself stays around after you spray so it is like using a spray can indoors (which kind of makes it pointless ).

You can get a super cheap airbrush on ebay for about £3-5 which will sort you for base coating (which is what my first airbrush was - you will probably want to move on to something better as soon as possible though ).

So then, the story already taking shape here is that:

) GW's product is complete rubbish, and a waste of money.

) Proper Airbrush equipment, though requiring an initial investment of much more money, is worth it and it will SAVE money in the long run, once you get used to properly using it.

Hrm, with that in mind, should i change the title of this thread to "Where Should a Noob Airbrusher Start/What to Buy First?" or should I just start another thread with that title, since I've gotten a pretty firm and consistent answer to my initial question?

Thanks again everyone!

-C6

The Citadel spraygun is absolutely useless. Chucked it in the bin, WASTE of monies It barely worked and all it succeeded in doing was wasting some paint.

Personally, ive never used it, but ive seen people who have, if you plan on using it alot your better off just investing in a siphon fed airbrush and compressor, eventually the prices of can of air will equal the amount you spent on an compressor. If you get a nice airbrush your not likely going to break it (you may bend the needle, but thats a different story). Les from Awesomepaintjobs has a lot of great rants about airbrushes, i recommend checking them out if your interested in airbrushing

I would not recommend using canned propellant with an airbrush. Those cans are expensive, and if you plan on airbrushing more than lhe basecoats of 10 minis or so, it just isn't worth it.

I got started airbrushing pretty dang cheaply (considering). You can amazon a decent dual-action airbrush for about $30. Alternatively, if there is a Hobby Lobby near you, they usually have a 40% off coupon on their website with which you can go buy an airbrush for a decent price. I got the Iwata Neo for about $40 that way.

Then, got to WalMart and buy the $50 air compressor. It's in the automotive section, it's intended for inflating tires and basketballs and the like, but it works just fine for airbrushing. Just as good as the $150 desktop compressors designed for airbrushes, but probably a bit louder and with a bigger tank.

So yeah, it isn't a cheap investment. I probably spend about $120 before I was done (I bought a hose and a condensation trap as well), but it was a much better investment than the Citadel Spray Gun.

As a fellow medium skill painter, I recommend it. At the very least, I like not having to rely on cans of spray primer and spray varnish. I can do it all with my airbrush now, which saves money over time. It also really speeds up base coating. and vehicle highlights. hopefully I will get good enough soon to start doing detail work with it.

Without going on and on about airbrushes, which I've done often, I will add that one of the biggest savings from an airbrush is time. For priming it's about the same as a spray can, but when base coating, an airbrush will save you countless hours. Also, things like tanks and large smooth surfaces become a breeze to paint up nicely.

WOW... I'm glad I did not fork out the money for the GW airbrush! This thread has been very useful to me; I am looking into getting and airbrush and had my eyes on the GW one.

Indeed, it's good that people chimed in so quickly and in such detail about the pitfalls of GW's product. Now I have to figure out how to get myself a hundred bucks or more to get an airbrush of decent quality...

have you checked amazon for airbrush/compressor sets? I just recently saw some very nice sets that actually ship with 2 to 3 airbrushes included. My friend purchased his set on amazon and once we got it set up and I showed him how to thin paint and clean his set , he was off and running airbrushing his Blood Ravens armies and they looked great.

Here is a quick intro set that should do priming and basecoating just fine: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-GRAVITY-FEED-Dual-Action-AIRBRUSH-AIR-BRUSH-COMPRESSOR-SYSTEM-KIT-Gift-Set-/190606741849?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c610c1159

$90 with free shipping isn't too bad.

To try out a basic airbrush, if you have a Michaels near you, they give out 50% off 1 item coupons every so often on their website. You can get a 30 dollar basic airbrush for 15. Works great for basecoating etc.

Unless you want to get into the ultra fine aspects of airbrushing, that should actually be good enough. If not, I recommend the Badger 150 Patriot, you can get it on amazon for 75.

the citadel airbrush is totally worth it...If you love craptastic items that waste perfectly good paint

Yes, it's probably worth it, presuming you have a decent about of disposable income for the initial outlay. While expensive upfront, it's certainly cheaper in the long run than buying that expensive-ass propellant that GWS basecoating gun uses.

You can get a cheap kit from Harbor Freight for probably $75, but in this case I'd pretty strongly recommend spending a little more and getting some better quality.

The compressor, unfortunately, you can't really get around; expect to spend around $80-100 for a good compressor. This kit is $102 and includes a regulator and a water trap, which are both required. It will be adequate. For another $25, you can rock this kit instead, which is the same compressor but also includes an air tank. The air tank means the air you get from your compressor will be more even - a tankless compressor by definition delivers air in pulses. However, either will work for you.

The airbrush, you can (and maybe should!) get a cheap one to start with. You can get them for as little as $15-20, and learn how to use, and more importantly, how to clean your brush. Once you decide you're ready to move on, most people like the Badger 150, although I prefer the Renegade Spirit, which I feel does finer work than even the finest needle on the 150. I also like the side feed.

Regardless of which airbrush you get, I'd also recommend some airbrush cleaner, and some airbrush medium for thinning your paints. These are optional but very useful.

Ultimately only you can decide if it's worth it, but it's a game changer for painting vehicles.

I have both airbrush and a Gw spray gun.

GW spray gun gives you as much control as a can of spray paint -_-

useless and expensive.

I recently picked up a Master G44 on Amazon for $27. It is the cheapest of my three brushes, but I use it for all my detail work. I have a Passche I use for priming and varnishing that works well to.

Do you have any images you could post of your work with this airbrush? Alternately, would you be willing to paint a few fine lines on some paper and maybe take a picture with a marine in there for scale? Because TBH for $27 it's pretty damn tempting to scoop one of these up no matter how happy I am with my current brush and give it a try. The reviews on Amazon are all either 1's or 5s, people love it or hate it.