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I decided to finally give airbrushing a shot and got a budget of about 300€. I want to get some value for my money but keep it on a reasonable level as well.
So this is the stuff I found for roundabout 280€:

Airbrush: Harder & Steenbeck Ultra ~70€
Compressor: Sparmax Saturn A25 ~165€ including a pipe/hose
Cleaning Pot & other cleaning bits & bobs
Is there anything I am missing or anything you would swap?

tia,
Tom

Just started recently, recommended by a friend to me to get hold of a couple of empty dropper bottles - put airbrush cleaner ready diluted into one, and I find one with just water in is also useful for a quick flush out.

Cleaning jar had curry sauce in it until a few days ago, truth be told not sure there is *that* much of a difference, looks similar for one thing.

Get an old cardboard box to catch overspray while you practice, and some sort of tile/board/scrap of card to put under models, few cocktail sticks to prob things with can;t hurt either.

Not including paints sub £100 got me a compressor with tank, hose and three brushes so strictly at the cheap end of the scale here.

Oh yes, have some models to practice on, all very well trying stuff out on card but if you're planning on painting models have a few cheapish ones to experiment on.

If you value your lungs, invest in a breathing mask. You'll inhale a lot of unhealthy stuff otherwise if you use your airbrush a lot (which you probably will, it's pretty addictive).

Seriously... isn't it time for a sticky about getting started with airbrushing

I love helping out but...

 tommse wrote:
I decided to finally give airbrushing a shot and got a budget of about 300€. I want to get some value for my money but keep it on a reasonable level as well.
So this is the stuff I found for roundabout 280€:

Understood, seems like a reasonable goal.

Airbrush: Harder & Steenbeck Ultra ~70€

It is found for small work the siphon method has this slight delay and are a son of a gun to clean (getting the top fed 0.2mm type?).
REALLY suggest to preserve your sanity for color changes and stuff a top feed cup is ace, do not take my word for it: ask around.
0.4mm nozzle is a good all-around size, for our hobby 0.3mm is "ideal", I went to a 0.2mm but you have to be VERY careful to filter paint (many clogging issues).
It looks like a needle/nozzle kit for 0.2mm can be bought separate.
I find for most of my "basic" work I use a Badger 105, it really comes down to preference of features you like.
Getting access to the needle to clear clogs you may want later and an adjustable stop (how far the needle goes back = paint speed) is a nice option to look for.

Compressor: Sparmax Saturn A25 ~165€ including a pipe/hose

Nice! I use:6.3 Gallon GMC SYCLONE 6310, and yours is about half the noise.
It is a single piston but the 2.5litre tank should smooth out any pulsing.
The water separator is a must so it is good to see it included.
A rubber braid-clad hose will also help to act as a "shock absorber" to reduce any pulsing of the spray system.
You might want to fit a quick connect or a shut-off valve for those times when you need to clean the airbrush nozzle / needle.
Seems like a nice compressor.

Cleaning Pot & other cleaning bits & bobs

Cleaning pot as in something to spray into to purge?
You can modify a container with paper towel standing on its end to absorb whatever you need.
A glass container with a plastic airtight lid with brake fluid would help with cleaning the airbrush just do not soak overnight (can still dry-out o-ring that seals needle from reservoir) and do not drop the needle or nozzle into the glass (did that.. ouch!). Use gloves and ventilate well!!!
Airbrush "lube" to keep the trigger running well, keep paint from drying too fast on the needle and nozzle.
An "airbrush cleaning reamer" will help with getting that paint out of the nozzle, when less than 1mm in diameter not many things can get in there.
The air mask is important for a few reasons: acrylic paint can and will settle / bond in your lungs, not a good thing.
Some paint manufacturers do not identify their pigment ingredients: "cadmium" is a cancer causing agent, avoid, if unknown, be thankful for the mask.
Rig/buy some kind of holder for the air-gun if you need to put it down, you will be happy you did.
Think if you are going to buy air-gun specific hobby paint or going to mix brush-on to air: many ways of doing this.
Fillable eye-droppers and squeeze-bottles are good to have for mixing/cleaning solutions and paint mixes.

Is there anything I am missing or anything you would swap?
Tom

The bones of what you are doing looks great.
Best thing you can do is get into it.
If you can afford it, get an extra needle, it is not a matter of "if" but "when" you bend the tip.

Things I found helpful:

This guy is a bit rough around the edges but his technique is flawless and he shows many cost effective ways to do things:
His magazine:
http://airbrushtechniquemagazine.com/
His YouTube videos (really good)
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxMC-TwsaVFC8-yqcNQdBw
Look at his video on "air pressure", setting that can be the hardest thing to figure out, he makes it easy (again, rough around the edges but knows his stuff).

Good luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 granander wrote:
Seriously... isn't it time for a sticky about getting started with airbrushing
I love helping out but...

Agreed.
I am no expert, but wow all the things you learn to do and "not do".
I keep finding all kinds of "gotchya's".
Spending about 4 hours watching "how-to" videos on YouTube has saved so much from wasting my time.

Spray booth -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/191296019154

And yeah, a good mask.

Can we just sticky this topic, or better yet a new thread is made that holds all of the best and most relevant information that can be updated by mod down the road as needed?

Sorry for hijacking the thread, I was thinking more of someone doing a comprehensive post with most info found in previous threads and a number of recommended examples of products in different priceranges, Anything from cheapass to premium.

I don't have all the knowledge myself but I can compile information and do additional searches and linking. Might be a good idea to talk to a moderator first though to know you can get it sticky since it will be atleast a couple of hours or research and writing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Saw now that there is a FAQ Article on Airbrushing but it doesn't really go into any depth on buying. Would it be better with a sticky or a new article?

We really should have a more or less comprehensive thread about airbrushing miniatures. Most forums I've visited on my search for decent info were mostly about regular painting with airbrushes on canvas or cars or naked chicks. Although I wouldn't mind doing the latter most of the info there was rather specific. Additionally lots of em said that you shouldn't start airbrushingif you don't wanna spend at least 500$...

I definitely agree on all accounts of getting this stickied, and compiling any other info that could be beneficial to those considering making the plunge into airbrushing. Just the info already in the thread is great. I can't imagine how much good info other forum members have that could be compiled into a thread...

Good luck on your venture, Tom. Keep us informed of your progress!

-Bix

 granander wrote:
Seriously... isn't it time for a sticky about getting started with airbrushing

I love helping out but...

Exalted Plus 1000

You're from Germany? Get youserlf this: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Profi-Airbrush-Pinsel-Kompressor-Komplett-set-mit-2-Pistolen-compressor-set-neu-/141232593042?pt=Modellbauwerkzeuge&hash=item20e21e5892
They cheaper from the UK, but then you have to factor in more shipping costs.

the compressor is very decent and will last you a few decades if you take care of it. the airbrushes are good enought for a few years untill you feel confident to buy ones. In the mean time keep your eyes open for good deals on amazon and such. last year I bought a 300$+ airbrush for 75$ thanks to an anwesome amazon.com deal. Even with shipping from Yankeestan to Belgium is was dead-cheap.

Extra's... get:

-A bottle of demineralized water from the supermarket (the cheap, unscented kind used for ironing.

-A big box of cheap cotton sticks (y'know, to clean out your ears, now used to clean out the pipe on the airbrush that holds the paint pot)

-from ebay, order enough (+-10) extra little airtbush paint pots. You're going to want to keep your home-brew paint mixes.

-Find yourself a good acrylic floor polish along the lines of Johnons Klear. A quick google search gave me "Erdal Glänzer" as the best German alternative. This you will use as both a gloss varnish to seal you models in between ink washes, oil washes etc, and it's a good additive to your paint mixes as it will provide some strength to your own, thinned, mixes.

-Get some acylic thinner, I prefer vallejo's, comes in 200ml bottles. used to thin normal paints, use only demineralized water+Klear for inks as large quantities of thinner will discolour your colours somewhat.

-Get a couple of bottles of airbrush cleaner, I also use Vallejo's, also 200ml bottles.


As in all my rants to new airbrush buyers... DO NOT buy a compressor without moisture trap or tank, you WILL regret it as it an investment for years, if not decades.