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Greetings dakkanaughts.
So looking for a little bit of advice really.
Some of you may have seen I've been trying to set up my own commissions business. Fortunately I've had one client with which a squad of crimson fists terminators were done.

Now where I enjoyed the project in itself I felt that with the use of an airbrush things may have gone smoother and obviously quicker.

What I'm after is some advice as to which airbrush to invest in.
Ideally gravity feed with its compressor. I don't want to spend loads with this being my first one but also don't want to go completely gak.
Thoughts please

I dont want to be rude but this topic Pops up every 2-3 days and There Are alot of threads including shopping guides, advices and youtube Tutorials, maybe use the search function

First of all, you are going to love airbrushing.

Secondly - to best take advantage of all the experience here, and the people who take the time to post it - please take the time to use the search.

This topic DOES indeed come up very frequently.

You are indeed on track regarding that you want a gravity feed.

Here is one very important point:

Many people confuse "want a quality airbrush" with "getting a high end precision brush".

You want a good quality brush, made with parts machined well to high tolerances and from a decent maker.

Many people however, think this means getting a grex, or a sotar 20/20 or some other .2 sized brush as their first airbrushes (or any other high quality small needle brush).

This is a HUGE mistake.

Why? Because using an airbrush involves learning the very delicate dance of pressure, paint viscosity, trigger work, paint quality (particulate size) and needle size.

An airbrush with a very fine needle size can be incredibly unforgiving and frustrating for a beginner.

Many think "I don't want a brush I will outgrow in six months".

As long as you get a decent double action gravity feed brush from a good dealer - you won't EVER out grow it.

I would suggest a badger patriot 105, as it is an amazing high quality starter airbrush. It is VERY forgiving due to its needle and nozzle design. I can put paint through that which would choke my other higher end brushes.

Do some searches, read some reviews, learn how they work - but don't buy a high end brush - buy a good quality brush that is good for learning. You may later get a finer brush for very detailed work - but you will still always use the starter brush.

best of luck.

Actually Grex is nice for a start as the parts are easily interchangeable. You can buy a Grex with 0.5mm needle and just buy the 0.2mm kit later. Easy to swap in or out.

Brushes are the cheap bit. It's the compressor+tank (or with built-in tank) that costs.

 ColonelFazackerley wrote:
Brushes are the cheap bit. It's the compressor+tank (or with built-in tank) that costs.

I haven't found this to be the case at all. You can get a decent compressor in the UK for around £80, and a decent airbrush will cost a fair bit more than that.


To the op, when I got into airbrushing, I went for a AS-186 compressor. These tend to be far-eastern made, but is the one you will pretty much find used by a lot of other companies. This model comes with a tank, regulator and moisture trap, so for me, it had everything I wanted when I was starting out.

If you do a search for AS-186 on Amazon uk , you'll see the one I mean. I think there's even a listing on there of this compressor with a couple of airbrushes which could be useful for getting you started, although the airbrushes themselves aren't great (I started with this exact pack!) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/FoxHunter-KMS-Airbrush-Compressor-Airbrushes/dp/B004XP7K9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440432614&sr=8-1&keywords=as-186

I ended up going the Iwata route, and currently use a Revolution CR with the standard .5 tip, and an Eclipse HP-CS with the standard .35 tip. The Eclipse covers pretty much everything I want to do, but I'll switch to the Revolution for varnish.

If you wanted a recommendation here, if you believe this is a tool that will be of benefit for you, then I would whole heartedly suggest trying the Iwata Eclipse. Yeah you can get some cheaper low quality brushes, and you can get some that are way, way more expensive, but for me, the Eclipse is a quality brush that is very forgiving in regards to the paint you use, which just makes the whole airbrush experience that much less frustrating.


Hope that helps!

Regards

Massive help guys thank you