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Is this a good start-up for airbrushing?

I know that if I'm going to try airbrushing that I want a good airbrush and compressor that I can grow into and will last. From my research, it seems that the best fit for 40k size models is a dual action, gravity fed airbrush and a compressor with tank.

I'm looking at:
Neo for Iwata - CN Gravity-Feed Airbrush

Paasche D3000R Airbrush Compressor w/ Storage Tank

I found a pretty good deal on them at the Chicago Airbrush Supply online (with free shipping).

What do you think? Is this a good starting investment? (Also, are there any incompatibility issues between Neo for Iwata and Paasche?)
About $200 for everything.

The Neo is an alright brush, brings no better functionality than the cheap Chinese airbrushes on eBay but has a better build quality and availability of parts.

Compressor seems ok - ticks all the boxes needed for painting models.

IMO you're getting a setup that is *a little* better than a budget chinese job all round, but if you were to push your budget a little further you could get into the realms of semi-pro/high end hobbyist tools. When I buy stuff I don't like to sit in the middle - either buy cheap, or buy quality - one or the other.

Hope you get my meaning.

This is a very similar setup to what I started with. I still have the same compressor, but I have an Harder & Steenbeck Infinity airbrush now.

Anyway, great startup kit in my opinion!

I purchased an airbrush last year and spent a while researching it. Ultimately I would up going with the Badger Patriot. For my price point, which it seems is similar to yours, it was the most universally solid reviewed for a dual action gravity feed.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002W84GTO/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01


As for the air compressor I went cheap on that and haven't been disappointed. I picked up a 3 gallon pancake compressor from Harbor Freight for $40 and I haven't had a single issue. I also already had a moisture trap which is essential for airbrushing unless you're in the desert.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-gallon-100-psi-oilless-pancake-air-compressor-95275.html

I don't know the amount of cash you're looking to spend, but I would suggest going cheaper on the air compressor and lay out more for the airbrush. The only real issue with cheap air compressors is they're cheaply made so they will sometimes not work out of the box, but if they work they're fine in the long run. The airbrush though is the finer tool so I would put the bulk of your investment into that.

I would completely disagree with Unix!

I believe that when beginning to airbrush, it is much more important to have a reliable, steady, clean and easy to maintain source of air than it is to have a high precision airbrush.

Think about it - are you going to be using the airbrush to create photo-realistic artwork? Maybe spraying Ghost Flames on a car? Perhaps you're gonna paint a Skull on a leather jacket. These are the times that you need a £100 -£300 Airbrush.

When you're spraying basecoats on minis, camo patterns on tanks and basic blends on power weapons, you just need an airbrush that will do the basics.

But without air - niether the cheap or the expensive brush works. With crappy quality air, you can't be sure that the same amount of paint is always gonna flow through your brush when you're holding your action steady. You could get dips in pressure, causing splattering - you could get a peak, causing spidering.

Good quality air means you never have to worry about an outside force jacking your paintjob. It's all down to you - so you learn the skills you need in a 'clean' environment.

As a side note, Michaels has a 50% off any one item coupon right now.

I can't claim to be an expert, but I think the best advice that's generally agreed upon that I've seen is similar to AG's. Spend your budget on the compressor, then the airbrush itself is secondary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXVmC2mfvPg

This man does black magic with airbrushing, and this is his advice.

Keep in mind though with the larger compressors like the one Unix linked to - they tend to be twice as loud (or more) than an airbrush compressor. Not a big deal if you live alone in a single family house...but if you are in apartments, dorms or live with a spouse/roommates, the noise they make may end up causing issues in the long run.

I actually have an 80 gallon in a lean to outside my garage which is plumbed with 1/2" copper all the way back to my hobby room...so I have air on demand and plenty to spare, but a lot of people are not able to do that. Keeping the compressor outside the house lets me use a larger, noisier one without too many issues (plus it powers things like my HVLP gun and my air tools for working on the cars).

All of that out of the way - Paasche make quality goods...so the compressor should be solid. Since it is an airbrush compressor...it should be quiet enough to use even if your wife is in the next room watching TV. I normally prefer larger tanks just to keep the compressor from running as much.

Yeah, I have a 1.5HP 30 litre compressor and it kicks out 95db+
when it charges.

Annoys the wife a whole lot.