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Like the title says: I want to invest in an airbrush system, but they can be mighty pricy.

I was curious what the general feel is among the community about using the big percentage coupons at either Michael's or Hobby Lobby to pick up a brush/compressor combo from there is. Is it worth the money for a first airbrush system, and then once I get practice and my skill improves should I invest in a Grex or other better, more expensive system? Or are they a waste of money?

I mostly want something to practice and get my marines and csm basecoated without spending an arm and a leg on spray cans.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

As I recall, and I could be wrong, the airbrushes in Michael's were super overpriced. With the 50% of that might bring it back into parity. On the other hand, my local Michaels has sort of a lousy selection of airbrush stuff - your mileage may vary. Go and see what they have and check Amazon on your phone while you're there, is my advice.

I did just this to get a 2nd "workhorse" airbrush -- a Badger Anthem. Well, of my 2 airbrushes, the other is a Badger Renegade Velocity, guess which see the most use? Yup, the Anthem. It was a set though, with a hose and extra bottles and a color cup. With discount it was $80, which is reasonable. That was 3-4 years ago though.

Get the airbrush model you think will work best. Badger makes nice airbrushes... and they are made in the USA, if that means anything to you.

Grex... gimmicky.

Check on eBay too. There are some really cheap setups. You can get a decent compressor and gravity feed brush for about $150 including shipping.

It won't be a good a brush as a name brand like Iwata, but it will be fine for basecoating and learning the core techniques.

Hobby Lobby marks their airbrushes up significantly. The coupon makes them only slightly cheaper than regular retail.

Wait for another amazon sale if you can on badger products.

My local hobby lobby has very overpriced airbrushes and using the coupon will bring them down to a reasonable price. Its not a better deal than anywhere else though. Try shopping on eBay for a kit, every now and then you find a brand new one that someone just never bothered to open.

Badger anthem is very nice.

Here's my advice. I believe the airbrushes you get at Michaeljs are siphon feed, which means you fill the paint up in a bottle and the air sucks it up through a tube and it sprays.

Those are ok, but I really feel the gravity feed is a better tool for our hobby. Grravity feed airbrushes has cup on the top, you put the paint in, and spray. A little more work to clean between paints but I feel less waste of paint and better overall.

I also like gravity feed a lot. Lower PSI so better control. I still love my side-feed Renegade Spirit because I can orient it straight down which is handy now and then, but the Sotar has become my go-to airbrush. I'd recommend gravity feed as well.

Gravity feed for sure, I use IWATA HP-BH.
http://www.iwata-medea.com/products/iwata-airbrushes/hi-line/hp-bh/

I got my Patriot 105 from these guys. They were offering free shipping and where cheaper than Amazon at the time.

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/

Wow thanks for all the advice, folks. I will check out the sites and compare some prices.

I've heard a few times that gravity fed is the way to go.