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Hi all,

I am starting with a new project, an army of Harlequins, I have been painting the troupes for the time being with kind of success ,but for the vehicles (star and skyweavers) I am thinking of trying to paint with airbrush.

I have seen the videos of other people and the results are quite interesting but I really dont know where to start, what airbrush would be better for wargames modeling? Do I need a compresor? What compresor would be the correct one? Any other advise...

Thanks a lot!!

Look through the huge history of people asking the same thing.
It is a common question.

Compressors are essential. Tanks help with consistent flow. You'll want both.
Moisture traps are handy, to prevent splatter.
Try to avoid a really cheap brush, but look to swap your first brush fairly soon after practicing for a bit.

The first thing you need though, is somewhere to use it.
Enough space to put a box or hood. I started on a bench in the garage, and moved indoors with a big cardboard box in the table.

And, there's this:
https://www.everythingairbrush.com/buyers-guides/
I got my first kit from there.

Two main kinds of AB exists, gravity feed(cup over the brush) and siphoned feed(bottle under the brush). There are alternatives but they are still working from one of thouse two systems.
For all things small or detailed you want gravity feed as the preasure needed to use them is mutch lower and you are working in a more controlled enviroment.

Then you have the trigger action, single or double action. single action means a constant flow of air runs true the brush. the trigger activatin only controls the flow of paint. double action means you controll both the airflow and paint flow with the same trigger. pressing back activates the air, pushing down activates the paint.
You want double action.

Air source.
there is aircan and compressor. Air cans are not suitable or economical in the long run, so only option is compressor.

Painting booth.
AB is just as "messy" as rattlecan is and just as bad fro your lungs. you must have a paintbooth and that stuff takes space. if you AB directly on your workspace you will quicky see that paint dust is all over the desk and everything that is on it.

Cleaing products.
AB is about cleaing, cleaning and then some more cleaning. you will in moust situations be cleaning the AB more then you paint with it, cuz if you dont you will quickly put the AB into a bad operating state.
allso if you are working with metallic paint you need two ABs as you will never truly clean all the metallic flakes away from the AB.

That cover the basics of what you need. AB has a big entry fee so you could allso think about getting a preowned from someone who is done with AB.

as for the price of stuff brand new, you can get a double action AB that is more then good enugh for 20-30€. sparmax is an ok and somewhat cheap product range in eu.
compressor are in a big price group but you have to spend prolly 150-300€ for a desent one.

I second all that was said in the two previous posts. I would add a couple more things -

Mask and gloves - as was previously stated an airbrush can get very very messy and you don't want to inhale any paint or get covered in any paint. I use cheap latex gloves and a breathing unit.

AB paint or airbrush thinner - I would definitely invest in either specific paint for airbrushes or airbrush thinner for the paints you currently use. Depending on the airbrush and the thickness of the paint it will clog up and that can get exceptionally frustrating. Save yourself some hassle - if the AB concept doesn't work for you the paint can still be used with a brush.

Vallejo makes very good airbrush thinner and airbrush paint. Citadel also makes good airbrush paint.

I will go ahead and allso say the moust ovbious thing now that i said the basics: you need patience!
Getting an AB dose not mean you will automaticly be able to produse results as you see on youtube vids!
AB is a tool, and like any tool it requires experience. how do you get experience? by practising and learning from toturials or books.

Not only do you need to learn how to setup your compressor, you allso need to learn fingercontrol for the AB trigger(you get an aid for the airflow on double action trigger but not the paint flow) and the moust important thing, how to thin your paints as no brand/manufactor uses the same paint formula.

IF you master AB it is a great tool, but the learning curve is longer then a hairbrush.

Things I wish I knew when i started airbrushing.

Cost: Obviously you want decent both brush and compressor. BUT the brush is more important. If you can only overspend on one, do it on the brush.

Maintenance: Clean after every use and beware of paint drying on the nib. Just because it's an "air" paint doesn't mean it doesn't need thinning sometimes or you don't need to keep an eye on the nib of the brush. Paint and dry there if you aren't careful and cause quality issues.

Technique: Pre Shading is a life saver. Especially on vehicles. Base a lovely grey. (if forge world models be careful as the base grey looks nearly identical to the colour of FW resin). Once based use a black for darker areas, recesses, or lighting angle. Then a white for the opposite, raised areas, light angle so on so forth. Then nice even coat of the desired colour and you should have nice results.

Technique continued: Experiment early days on paper, writing names etc, getting used to the PSI, adjust if need be. Remember the PSI cna be important and too high PSI can cause the paint to ripple when wet.

Finally: Test first, maybe a vehicle no longer used or sprue etc. Airbrushing a model is different to practicing on paper. It feels different and it's good to see the results. Just remember to seal the paint as air brush paint can chip easy. Sometimes thats sealent. Sometimes it's a wash, sometimes a varnish. Just remember to seal.

Many thanks to all for your comments, you have been of a lot of help!!