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Wondering what would be the best option for someone just getting started with airbrushes, mostly for basecoating at the moment, but progressing with more technical things later on.

Any decent, quiet compressors anyone could recommend would also not go astray.

Thanks!

You're looking for a gravity fed, double action airbrush, lots of folks will let you know what they like. Like me, in the next paragraph...

Badger Patriot 105 is a solid 'starter' airbrush that is excellent for priming, base coating and zenithial highlighting of miniatures. Parts (specifically needle 'kits') are inexpensive and available on amazon, as the needle is the most likely part to get damaged.

Even when you're looking for a 'super fine detail' airbrush after getting comfortable with the patriot, it will still always have a use as a primer/basecoat machine.

Thanks for the advice

I absolutely second everything about gravity fed (pot on top rather than underneath with a tube) and double action (two separate motions with the trigger to increase air and paint rather than the same action doing both together).
A good compressor is an investment that'll pay off in the long run and last a good long time, ideally something with a tank and water tap, but the first airbrush you want absolutely should be something cheap to lean with because you WILL fail to clean it properly, mangle the needle, and probably loose parts.

Sorry to go against the grain, but if you are mainly going to basecoat, I would recommend an extra cheap, single action, bottom fed brush. You can pick them up at discount freight/tool stores for about $15 and this will let you cover larger areas. A gravity fed brush is for small detail work. Sure, you will get there eventually and then you can spend more for a better dual action gravity fed after you cut your teeth and your need grows. But, the cheap brush will still constantly be used, so a solid investment start, IMHO.

I was a professional illustrator for years and have many brushes. I use my cheap one described above probably 90% of the time for the exact use you describe. I only break out the nice Iwata when I am hitting light shading, tiny details, etc.

Don't get me wrong, the Badger 105 is a great brush, but the small cup does not hold a lot of paint and dual action for base coating and spraying larger spots is totally not needed.

I'll second MDSW. Just buy a cheapo singleaction brush and it will be a solid workhorse for most of your needs. You can search for aestician or makeup airbrushes on amazon or ebay and get a lot of good results for under 20$. It'll dump paint, and let you get your hands dirty without worrying about trashing a 150$ badger. Singleactions are also way easier to clean, and have less parts to lose/break.

Check out element games website. www.elementgames.co.uk. They sell a wide range of airbrushed and stuff but also have a lot of advice on there about which ones for which jobs. Intro ones and all the rest. I’m lucky enough to live near the shop and Byron there has been great advising me on air rushes and rptrchniques. Their site is a good starting point. They recommend an Iawata neo I think as a great work horse air brush.

I get what people are saying about using the cheap single action/pressure fed types to begin with but you can still find dual/gravity fed very cheap. I had some off brand one for like $25 at one point, and I still do think it's better to learn on that type so that when you are ready for an expensive one you know how to use it.

I generally recommend this:

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Performance-Airbrushing-Dual-Action-Airbrush/dp/B0017640RK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1528435745&sr=8-10&keywords=master+airbrush+tank

It's a decent starter brush and the compressor can be used when you upgrade down the road.

@Todosi - that is a good deal - Good find!