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Just recently made the decision to dust off my 40k models after multiple years away from it, but I fancy trying to put a bit more time and focus into the modelling and painting side of things.

So I have been looking into getting an airbrushing set-up underway, from going through countless threads and multiple reviews! I’m pretty sold on getting a badger patriot 105 to start me off, then expanding out from there once I get a bit of experience. Ideally I want a decent set-up that will last me and allow me to expand on as my experience grows.

My dilemma is with a compressor, I have been looking at the badger ba1100 and the sparmax TC-620X. Which leads me to the endless questions...
Does anyone have any experience with using either of these compressors? Are they any good?
Would you recommend 1 over the other?
Are there any compressors you would recommend over these 2?

The sparmax is on the upper-end of my budget, so ideally any recommendations outside of these 2 should ideally not be any more expensive than that.

Thanks in advance for any replies

Taurus27

http://a.co/6LEOASF

A list of a good starting point for brush, compressor and supplies.

Thanks, amazing the difference in price for the patriot in the states compared to here in the uk!

How good a quality is the compressor in the list?

Do you have any experience with the compressors I mentioned?

Those starter kit airbrush compressors are ok, they will work fine but they're not really good quality or anything.

I don't know your situation or what options there are in the UK, but I ended up going with a trim compressor. They're meant for contractors to use with brad nailers and staplers inside a house. They're more horsepower and CFM then you probably need, but they all usually come with regulators so you can get down to the ~20 CFM you want for airbrushing. Bonuses are that they have a big tank, can fill it pretty fast and their meant for indoors so they're usually 60-70dB (pretty quiet).

It is a bit of overkill for a airbrush compressor but if you ever want to fill tires or use a pneumatic nail gun, you can. They're all generally larger than airbrush specific compressors.

Just another possible option.

That’s my concern, I’m not overly keen on investing in something that isn’t going to last.

I hadn’t even thought of using a non hobby compressor, the versatility sounds interesting! What sort of size is it? Ideally I would like something that isn’t overly big and can get tucked away in a cupboard etc. As I’m a bit limited for space.

Cheers

Just make sure you have a moistur trap and it's an oiless compressor and there is a regulator on it.

I haven't used either of those, but my approach with hobby airbrush compressors was just to go cheap. IMO get something with a tank. The TC620X might be awesome, but at the end of the day I didn't want to spend that much money to compress the exact same air that is being compressed by a cheapo compressor.

If you were planning on airbrushing professionally it might make sense to go with something more expensive, because they probably are more reliable especially if they're running for long hours (compressors heat up over time, so if you were wanting to airbrush for 8 hours a day every day that might become an issue, but if you're more like me who airbrushes maybe a few hours in a sitting and only once or twice a week on average it's not a big concern). Also if you're doing it professionally that means the compressor breaking is lost money, if my hobby compressor breaks at worst I lose a 1 or 2 hobby sessions while I deal with it.

I know that advice is contrary to what some people might say, but to me spending lots of money on a hobby compressor*** is a waste unless you're a professional painter.

***I will say I'm talking very specifically about HOBBY compressors, like the 0.2 horsepower 60PSI ones that are great for airbrushing but nothing more intensive, if you're buying a big arse compressor that's powerful enough to spray paint a full sized car I think it makes more sense to get something decent, for the simple reason that they use much more powerful motors (2+hp) and run much higher pressures (120+ PSI) and is a much bigger investment overall. Of course you can throw a regulator on the big arse compressors to airbrush with them as well, it depends on your own circumstances whether that's a good idea or not.

I'm not the OP, but I'm also looking at air options.

I've considered both running an air hose through the window to my 8gal compressor sitting outside at 90+psi or getting a portable air tank somewhere between 5 and 11 gallons and blasting it up to 120 psi, then carrying it in the house to paint.

Has anyone had luck with either of these approaches, or am I better off getting something that I can run indoors?

<edit to add> of course a regulator would also be required </edit>

Just get the air compressor I like linked above.

I use a small (1.5 gallon) tool compressor, like you can find at any discount tool store - usually well under $80. Slap on a moisture trap in the line and your are good to go. All of these will have a regulator, so you can dial the psi to whatever you need. And, yes, you can air up tires, blow off your workbench, use a nail gun, etc. It just does not have a large enough tank to paint your car or your house, but will work far beyond airbrushing, if that is important to you.

Here was a cheap one I found at Lowes and i am sure the UK has similar sources: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Campbell-Hausfeld-1-Gallon-Portable-Electric-Pancake-Air-Compressor/3533062?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA_ONLY-_-ToolsAndHardware-_-SosPneu,Air,RotaryShopEquip-_-3533062:Campbell_Hausfeld&CAWELAID=&kpid=3533062&CAGPSPN=pla&k_clickID=73dc3d7d-5d8c-436e-9f39-52a697be678a&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr4epm6SK2AIVjIuzCh22Gg_8EAQYASABEgKMRvD_BwE