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I will be quick and to the point here: what products would you guys recommended for someone looking into using airbrushes? What kinda investment would an airbrush be, and what brands would you most heartily recommend for a beginner?
I'm especially interested in ones which would work well for doing WWII era camo schemes on my Dust Warfare walkers.


Thanks!

_Tim?

I'm a relative novice when it comes to airbrushing but the points I've learned from reading up online are still pretty fresh from when I started out.

Some of these points I don't 100% agree with but it's what I've been told by some experienced users...

Firstly, don't grab a cheap setup, and then learn how to use that before moving on to a more expensive system, it's better to get a decent airbrush and compressor and learn properly right from the start.

"Badger" and "harvey and steinbeck" are the two pretty big names out there for modellers airbrushes, but there's no definite brush, and there's not "BEST BRUSH EVAR" that people always ask for, there are just some that suit the task better than others.

Small needled airbrushes do well with detail, and larger needles (diameter that is) do better at covering a model completely, like what you'd need for camo patterns.

Always get a compressor that has an attached air tank (usually around 2.5L is standard), this stops the compressor from having to constantly run and getting hot, which causes a buildup of moisture and which comes out with the paint, and causes flaking of the paint later on (learned that the hard way).

It might also be worthwhile getting an "ultrasonic cleaner" which does wonders at cleaning the brush after use (i usually run it through an ultrasonic cleaner for 5 minutes once a week if I use it) and cleans the surfaces you can't normally get at.

Thinners are much better than water, as they flow better, and most places that do airbrushes also do a tonne of airbrush auxillery products.

Feel free to ask about more particular stuff if you'd like, and I'm not sure if it's against forum rules to say where I got my products from (I'm not afilliated with any company).

Hope this helps somewhat, I can go into more detail if you'd like!

Well, I found an airbrush that looks tempting: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Badger-Crescendo-175-Pro-Airbrush-Set-175-7-NIB-/330695092795?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfef6aa3b

I know that Lester Bursley of Awesome Paintjobs uses Badger brand airbrushes pretty exclusively, so I think I will go for that brand. Now I just need to find an air compressor that isn't too steep.

Feel free to go into more detail!


_Tim?

First and foremost, realize that you have to spend money for quality. However, with that in mind it's easy to save a little here and there with different things.

-Buy a decent compressor; one with a tank and a moisture trap. I also recommend betting one that is designed for airbrushing, as it will be quieter than a standard shop compressor.

-Although some say not to do this, buying a cheap airbrush to practice and get comfortable is one way to go. It is how I learned and what I say to everyone that is interested in learning. There are plenty of decent, cheap airbrushes available that can produce fantastic results. A Master G44 is an example of one. It is normally about $45 but I found it cheaper on Amazon. I used it for all of my heavy lifting and it is still the second airbrush on my holder.

-Buy a cleaning pot and good cleaner. I use this Iwata-Meda Cleaning Station with Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner (71199). Also, look into an airbrush holder. Best $15 I've spent.

-An ultrasonic cleaner is nice to have as well, and you should generally use it to clean once a month or so depending on how often you use the airbrush. They can be found pretty cheap on Amazon as well.

-Since you are going to be painting lots of DUST miniatures, look in to the Vallejo Model Air range. They are paints formulated for use in airbrushes and require no thinning (well, sometimes you need to). The metallics in that range are fantastic as well.

-As for thinning, use a purpose made thinner. Vallejo makes one and it comes in a 32 mL dropper bottle and will last you for a long time. I've had mine for months and use it almost every day and I am about a quarter through it. Liquitex makes an airbrush medium as well, as do other companies. There are also recipes out there for making your own thinners as well. I would advise against using just water though, it doesn't work as well as other products.

-If you are going to be doing camo patterns, head over to Micheal's or A.C. Moore and buy a bunch of Silly Putty. It costs a dollar for one "egg" of it and it makes for a GREAT masking agent. Also, get some standard masking tape and look into some Tamiya masking tape as well (they make a bunch of small sizes that come in handy).

That is all I can think of right now and if I think of some more I'll add it. Good luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Do not buy that brush; it is a siphon feed. You want a dual action, internal mix, gravity fed airbrush.

ScootyPuffJunior had some great points. I used vallejo paints and other products for all my paint needs and they're fantastic.

I buy from http://www.everythingairbrush.com/index.html and they have great value but are in the UK so buying US will be different. I would suggest getting something like this: http://www.airbrushwarehouse.com.au/artlogic-single-piston-compressor-on-tank.html It has a built in moisture trap and tank, which is basically what I use. I also have a moisture trap a the airbrush but that might be overkill at first, I just find it more comfortable.

You'll have to do some looking around on what type of airbrush you want to use. There are 3 main types: gravity, side and syphon feed. The gravity and side work at lower pressures but will usually be used for small paint amounts, the latter can do bigger models and though that might be what you'd be looking for, they are much more hormonal and dont tend to work as well as gravity feed, which are considered the best, also: syphon feed do need a higher pressure (30psi, which that compressor can easily handle) to opperate, rather than about 10psi for the others.

I would try to avoid getting a kit with everything in it unless it has independant branded items such as Badger, as they tend to be a gimmick attempt and making some money off a beginner.

Take a look through some of these: http://www.badgerairbrush.com/Airbrushes.asp The badger patriot 105 (I think that's what it's called) is considered a very good and well priced airbrush, but it doesn't seem to be listed there.

This is what I use http://www.harborfreight.com/1-5-hp-58-psi-compressor-and-airbrush-kit-95630.html

It won't do hairline detail, but for priming, vehicles, zenithial lighting etc. It does just fine. The kits literally comes with everything you need.

Compressor does get hot, but has a moisture filter so I have no problems. Definitely recommend airbrush thinner over water

I've been using mine for nearly 6 months now without a problem. Fguring out how to properly thin paint, and actually control the airbrush was the hard part.

However for $90 for a setup airbrush compressor, and a doube action airbrush you cannot beat that price.

Do a search a lot of reviews are out there for them.

ScootyPuffJunior wrote:Do not buy that brush; it is a siphon feed. You want a dual action, internal mix, gravity fed airbrush.

Most of what you said I agree with - however this I do not.

The brush he should buy will depend a lot on what he is actually planning on doing with it. For probably 90% of the people who look at getting a brush - a single action external mix brush is what they should really get. Unless you are doing free hand work on a small scale (or really large scale...but really fine details) you don't need a double action internal mix brush. The bottle feed design of siphon feed brushes is ideal as well, since it allows them to hot swap colors for doing things like camouflage and what not.

Because all the paint mixing takes place away from the primary moving parts - it is also easier for them to care for. Less fuss and mess means they will use it more often and get even more use from it than they would from an internal mix brush which is much more easily fouled (ever have to step away for a few minutes only to come back and find your brushes needle has been cemented in place by a fast drying paint like Dullcote or Future?).

The other thing which I mentioned above is the ability to swap paints easily. With my own Badger 350 - it probably had more hours on it than I care to think about. It handles all my priming, all my varnishes (clear before and after decals, mattes...). I use it for 90% of my terrain building. It does the majority of vehicle painting. I also use it when I am blocking in stencil and masked work. One of the reasons why it gets so much use is because it is siphon fed. I keep bottles of paint ready to go whenever I need them or want them. All I need to do is throw my bottle of cleaner on for a second to shoot out whatever color I was using before hand, pop that off and pop on the next color. Painting large vehicles (a Baneblade for example) will not run your cup dry. You don't have to worry about mixing up new colors to match. Fill up a bottle or 4 at the beginning of a project and whenever you need it to match your particular camo colors (or hell spawn or whatever) - that particular color is ready to go. Just pop the bottle back on and you are good to go.

Effectively - the brushes like the Badger 350 and the Pasche H is a rattle can that you can load with whatever you want and you don't have to worry about all the issues with rattle cans (shaking them till your develop tennis elbow, humidty/temperature, combustible solvents...). It is what most people actually need and will use.. However, it is probably the most basic airbrush you can buy. The design itself is older than most the members of this forum (heck - my particular brush is probably older than most of them). The reason for that isn't so much the low cost, but rather it is what most people will need.

Once they get a handle on things and if they plan on doing things beyond just blocking in colors and using masks and what not - they might look into an internal mix, double action brush. However, most people who have those are sort of like the soccer moms driving big four wheel drive SUVs or the Cadilac XLRs that I see at retirement homes. It is a whole lot more equipment than what they need.

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/ - Don has an interesting review site where you can see the spray patterns from several brushes (internal/external/single/double/gravity/siphon). He is an old guy I met years ago when I lived in California - not really an artist...but in many ways that helps as you can see things without the cloud of someone who can paint with poo. Included are a couple of the Harbor Freight knock offs - which pop up in most of these threads.

Sean_OBrien wrote:

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/ - Don has an interesting review site where you can see the spray patterns from several brushes (internal/external/single/double/gravity/siphon). He is an old guy I met years ago when I lived in California - not really an artist...but in many ways that helps as you can see things without the cloud of someone who can paint with poo. Included are a couple of the Harbor Freight knock offs - which pop up in most of these threads.

Funny thats the review I read before I bought the Harbor Freight airbrush.

Yah - he is pretty honest and fair with the reviews, even the treatment of various Chinese models (Master, HF and Iwata Neo I think are the China-builts).

Quite often reviews are more based around people using and liking a brush with out too much unbiased comparison. It isn't necessarily a dishonest review, rather it comes from most people only having exposure to one model or brand of airbrush.

I'm going to recommend the Iwata HP-CS airbrush... Trust me, you want a dual action internal mix airbrush. Yes, you only need it if you want to do very small details... but guess what, your painting miniatures! They are by definition very, very small. I think it would be impossible to achieve shading on miniatures without something that can go down ti fine details.

Here's an example of some fine details I don't think you'd be able to do with a single action external mix siphon airbrush...:



The power weapon on the dreadnought, or even the shading of his armor, are all pretty small details, that you'd want the control of a dual action internal mix airbrush for. Plus, you only work with small quantities of paint at a time with one, so you don't waste much.

Yea, the Iwata HP-CS is a great airbrush. For a compressor, any will do, as long as it has a tank on it and is quiet enough for you to tolerate. I eventually went out and bought an Iwata HP-B+ as well, which is for super fine details, but I don't use it near as much as the HP-CS.

Just be aware you won't be doing large projects with this. The stormraven is pushing it in size. Any larger, you need a bigger airbrush.

Sean_OBrien wrote:

ScootyPuffJunior wrote:Do not buy that brush; it is a siphon feed. You want a dual action, internal mix, gravity fed airbrush.

Most of what you said I agree with - however this I do not.

The brush he should buy will depend a lot on what he is actually planning on doing with it. For probably 90% of the people who look at getting a brush - a single action external mix brush is what they should really get. Unless you are doing free hand work on a small scale (or really large scale...but really fine details) you don't need a double action internal mix brush. The bottle feed design of siphon feed brushes is ideal as well, since it allows them to hot swap colors for doing things like camouflage and what not.

Because all the paint mixing takes place away from the primary moving parts - it is also easier for them to care for. Less fuss and mess means they will use it more often and get even more use from it than they would from an internal mix brush which is much more easily fouled (ever have to step away for a few minutes only to come back and find your brushes needle has been cemented in place by a fast drying paint like Dullcote or Future?).

The other thing which I mentioned above is the ability to swap paints easily. With my own Badger 350 - it probably had more hours on it than I care to think about. It handles all my priming, all my varnishes (clear before and after decals, mattes...). I use it for 90% of my terrain building. It does the majority of vehicle painting. I also use it when I am blocking in stencil and masked work. One of the reasons why it gets so much use is because it is siphon fed. I keep bottles of paint ready to go whenever I need them or want them. All I need to do is throw my bottle of cleaner on for a second to shoot out whatever color I was using before hand, pop that off and pop on the next color. Painting large vehicles (a Baneblade for example) will not run your cup dry. You don't have to worry about mixing up new colors to match. Fill up a bottle or 4 at the beginning of a project and whenever you need it to match your particular camo colors (or hell spawn or whatever) - that particular color is ready to go. Just pop the bottle back on and you are good to go.

Effectively - the brushes like the Badger 350 and the Pasche H is a rattle can that you can load with whatever you want and you don't have to worry about all the issues with rattle cans (shaking them till your develop tennis elbow, humidty/temperature, combustible solvents...). It is what most people actually need and will use.. However, it is probably the most basic airbrush you can buy. The design itself is older than most the members of this forum (heck - my particular brush is probably older than most of them). The reason for that isn't so much the low cost, but rather it is what most people will need.

Once they get a handle on things and if they plan on doing things beyond just blocking in colors and using masks and what not - they might look into an internal mix, double action brush. However, most people who have those are sort of like the soccer moms driving big four wheel drive SUVs or the Cadilac XLRs that I see at retirement homes. It is a whole lot more equipment than what they need.

https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/ - Don has an interesting review site where you can see the spray patterns from several brushes (internal/external/single/double/gravity/siphon). He is an old guy I met years ago when I lived in California - not really an artist...but in many ways that helps as you can see things without the cloud of someone who can paint with poo. Included are a couple of the Harbor Freight knock offs - which pop up in most of these threads.

I have four airbrushes and one of them is a Paasche siphon-feed and I absolutely loathe it in every way. If you need to make that many premixed colors, it is more cost effective to buy a dozen Vallejo-style dropper bottles for The War Store to store then an equivalent number of glass paint bottles to store them. Also, siphon-fed operate at a higher pressure (+30 psi) than a gravity-fed model (as low as 10 psi). You can extoll the virtues of siphon-fed brushes all day long, and you have good points, but a dual action gravity-fed does everything a single action siphon-fed airbrush does only better and then some.

I use my Badger Renegade Krome to paint vehicles just as easy and quickly as individual figures. Before that, I used a $24 Master G44 to do everything; basecoating, highlighting, and varnishing.

In my opinion, dual action is a pretty much standard feature for anyone looking in to airbrushing miniatures. The amount of control you gain with dual action is a million times easier to work with compared to what is pretty much an overpriced spray paint can. No matter what you paint, there are times when a full stream of paint at max pressure is not necessary. There is no reason to buy equipment that limit the amount of possibilities you have when you can spend an equal amount on something that does what you need and more. The airbrush the OP linked cost $90. A Badger Renegade is around $100-120 depending on the model and where you buy it. It is worth the couple extra dollars for so much more versitility, so it makes little sense to limit yourself. Plus like I said, there is no need to go out and buy a $300+ Harder & Steenbeck Infinity right away when cheaper airbrushes are out there to learn with.

Thanks for the tips!

I will probably buy a Master G44+anything else I would need for it such as an adapter, a hose, and some cleaning utensils. Then I can get in some practice with the G44 and decide if it would be worth investing in a better airbrush. I have found an air compressor that I can use for free, so that will save me some cash. Now I just need to figure out how many PSI the G44 can handle so I can avoid ruining it.


_Tim?

You want gravity fed airbrushes work best between 30-15 psi. 25 psi is good for general basecoating and painting. If you thin your paints properly, you shouldn't have too many issues with clogging. You can spray down to 10 psi, so if you use really thin paint and that low of a pressure you can achieve pretty decent OSL effects around headlamps and the like.

I forgot to add earlier that you should also grab a bottle of Badger REGDAB Needle Juice. It's an airbrush lubricant that you should use every time you break your airbrush apart for a good cleaning. It can also be used to put a thin layer on your needle to help reduce clogging.

Also, check out Les at AwesomePaintJob.com; he has some good tutorials and an airbrush care video that is of particular note.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9plBA1BITmY&feature=plcp