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Hey guys

I want to purchase an airbrush, but I want to know if its worth the price of admission?
I can pick up a good set for around $200 at a local hobby store and I hear its a good starting point.
because I have a limited amount of cash at the moment I wanna know if its worth it. Will I get a finer/better paint job (after some practice), or am I better off sticking with paint brushes and using that money I would invest in an airbrush into some troops instead?

I'm just curious to hear from those of you who use them or have used them
Any advice you can give me would be appreciated

If you plan to stay in the hobby long term and will paint many miniatures, yes it's very much worth it purely for easy, smooth priming and base coating. Beyond that, if you enjoy airbrushing or like the effects it gives it's very much worth it for easy shading, OSL and so on. I really enjoy using it, having it there makes many painting tasks a pleasure rather than a pain.

 November wrote:
Hey guys

I want to purchase an airbrush, but I want to know if its worth the price of admission?
I can pick up a good set for around $200 at a local hobby store and I hear its a good starting point.
because I have a limited amount of cash at the moment I wanna know if its worth it. Will I get a finer/better paint job (after some practice), or am I better off sticking with paint brushes and using that money I would invest in an airbrush into some troops instead?

I'm just curious to hear from those of you who use them or have used them
Any advice you can give me would be appreciated

It is the best thing you will ever buy during your days of being a geek.
I have no idea about air brushes, I'm more of a get, by kind of guy.

I use a standard compressor and a neo airbrush.

if you want to start pick up something like is;

http://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/airbrushes-and-accessories/entry-level-airbrush-bundle

pick up some vellejo paints, thinner and cleaner and you're all set!

Save up $500-600 and do a bit of reading upfront, it will save you a lot of grief in the long run.

Provided you treat it right, the only thing you'll need for the next few years are paint and thinners.



You can get some pretty nice results with very basic techniques. It works best for getting an even paint-coat, and for gradual colour changes, as well as highlighting.

Eh, I'm going to go against the trend and say "eh, it depends"

If you want to try some advanced techniques that you can only really do with an airbrush... well, you can only really do them with an airbrush so get one.

They're great for basecoating, but hardly a necessity. Many brands make coloured sprays that can also be used for basecoating even more easily.

It also really depends on your army and what you paint as to whether you'll get good use out of it. For some of my armies, they are just better suited to brush painting. I do the basecoat with the airbrush and then hairy brush paint the rest, if I only collected those armies, then yeah, I wouldn't bother with buying an airbrush. Other armies, like Eldar and Space Marines, airbrushing works great and you can get some vastly superior results as fast or faster than hairy brush painting.

When I first got my airbrush, after spending a couple of weeks practicing, I was loving it. Now, after having it for a bit longer, I've actually settled down on it a bit more and feel for many armies it's not really worth the investment.

Yes. It changed my aspect of the hobby totally. I'm able to achieve much smoother results faster. I've also started airbrushing primer and base coat and its much faster then from a can and move even. It's also easy to prime single models if I decide on a quick project and want to get right to work on it.

It does take practice and research, their are some great youtube videos.

Anything item is what paint you use. Almost as important as the type of brush. Research - research - research.

Yes, I think it is well worth it. I use mine for primer, basecoats, and varnishes (I use Vallejo primer and varnish).
I started with a Paasche Talon and a Paasche compressor I bought online from Dick Blick, but I've also picked up a Badger Renegade Krome. Keep in mind, you definitely want a compressor with a tank.
You may also want an airbrush spraying booth. This one is a decent one, and you can find branded and unbranded versions all over the place, but if you keep an eye out on Amazon, every now and then one of them goes up on sale for real cheap.

If you are patient and willing to practice, and be frustrated, and if you have the money, then do it!

Eventually it's a go-to tool in your hobby arsenal.

Airbrushing is an expensive game.

But yes, totally worth it; a sprayed paint film is technically better than a brushed one in almost every respect.
Its going to save you so much time, and materials in priming, basecoating, varnishing, and doing simple fades/gradients or some zenithal preshading.

That said, it will not eliminate brush work. Not at all. Its upto you to pick and choose the tool for the job.

Where airbrushes really shine is base coats. They will give you even coverage with far less paint used than a brush. In a much shorter time. In any colour you like vs what colour you can find in a rattlecan.


They are finicky things though, delicate in manyw ays and very robust in others. Simply using the wrong chemicals to clean it is a big mistake, or any slight damage to the nozzle / needle setup will drastically affect the paint spraying.

If you're ready to take propper care of it (as you should all tooling)
Then yes totally get one, put the effort in to learn how to use it, theyre certainly not instant-awesome or talent in a box, it involves a certain amount of forthought and care.

Agreed, it's a great tool to have and know - but it also takes time to learn the techniques and tricks, as it's quite different from a regular brush.

If you're in to the hobby for a long haul, yes, it's a good investment.

Theyre amazing if you want to paint large pieces, or dioramas. I'm currently using mine more and more on smaller miniatures recently also. Once you start to figure out the machine you can get some cool effects.

I don't personally like airbrushes. It doesn't feel... correct, to me. I prefer to put all of my heart and soul into my miniatures and big models, so the brush is what I use.

It feel it makes you work harder when you have a brush, so you truly care more about what happens to your model when you're done, and it's much more rewarding in my opinion you hand-paint something rather than using an Airbrush

Call me stupid, but it's my opinion and I'm willing to stick by it.

It is very worth it. The Iwata Eclipse is a great starting airbrush. Don't give up after you try it the first few times. There is a real learning curve but it can cut a lot of time off painting yet still provide great transitions. You will find it limited to vehicles or larger models. Those troops and all the detail points still require that loving touch (c:

My dad gave me an old diapraghm compressor that turns on and off by plugging it in and I bought a $25 air brush at a hobby store. I used it to test the waters for airbrushing and got an easy and smooth basecoat on a baneblade. After that I only used it to prime models with Vallejo grey primer. When you live in a place where it snows half the year then it's great for priming models indoors. There's a reason I don't like it though: loud compressors inside my apartment make for disgruntled neighbors. I plan on getting a new compressor with a tank so it isn't always on and then I won't be as annoyed by neighbors who are annoyed, but for now I haven't used it in a long time. Brush painting is so simple to set up and put away each time and there's no noise.

If you feel like you might have the same issue as me I'll give this suggestion: buy a mildly inexpensive airbrush at first because you will likely end up damaging it somehow and put the rest of your money toward an actual air compressor instead of one of the small ones sold at hobby stores. Then if you dislike airbrushing you can still use it to prime in winter or paint terrain and you have a nice compressor for uh..oh come on you're a geek, you'll figure out something to do with it.

FIRST OF ALL : Yes, get one.

SECOND: look around, there are LITERALLY dozens of threads on buying airbrushes, and how they work...some only days old.

Also, do NOT buy a high end brush to start, as long as you buy a good quality basic brush, it will be good.

Most expensive brushes are VERY temperamental and challenging for beginners to use. Get one of the basic brushes listed in any of the various threads.

I wouldn't trade my airbrush for anything. But like someone earlier had said, it's an art and it never replaces a brush. But it saves TONS of time and, in my opinion, really looks fantastic compared to brush work

 Josey4u wrote:
I wouldn't trade my airbrush for anything. But like someone earlier had said, it's an art and it never replaces a brush. But it saves TONS of time and, in my opinion, really looks fantastic compared to brush work

i prefer my brush, honestly...
i'll bust mine out if i ever have to paint a vehicle, but for single figs, i have not been tempted...
my airbrush just sits in a bag, feeling sad and lonely...

cheers
jah

If you buy it for nothing else, buy it for priming your models.

Despite a lot of coloured sprays available, nothing will ever give you the range of colours (all of them) that an airbrush will for priming/basecoating figs.

And while it may take a little more set up and take down, consider that priming a model black with a can, and then spraying him with the specific can of whatever colour you want will be 30x more thick than what you'd do with the airbrush.

Seeing your models primed by an airbrush will sell you on it. You never realize how much detail you lose with canned spray (and I have done thousands of models with canned spray paint)

All that said, still a lot that needs to be done by brush after he airbrushing is done

 Daggy-Chan wrote:
I don't personally like airbrushes. It doesn't feel... correct, to me. I prefer to put all of my heart and soul into my miniatures and big models, so the brush is what I use.

It feel it makes you work harder when you have a brush, so you truly care more about what happens to your model when you're done, and it's much more rewarding in my opinion you hand-paint something rather than using an Airbrush

Call me stupid, but it's my opinion and I'm willing to stick by it.

Have you used an airbrush?

Using an airbrush properly is not cheating, "easy mode," or any other pejorative you can think of. Is airbrushing a couple colors over a model and calling done a cop out? Sure, but so is slopping a few coats of paint and drybrushing the entire model.

So no, your opinion isn't stupid, you are just misinformed.

 Joyous_Oblivion wrote:
If you buy it for nothing else, buy it for priming your models.

Despite a lot of coloured sprays available, nothing will ever give you the range of colours (all of them) that an airbrush will for priming/basecoating figs.

And while it may take a little more set up and take down, consider that priming a model black with a can, and then spraying him with the specific can of whatever colour you want will be 30x more thick than what you'd do with the airbrush.

Seeing your models primed by an airbrush will sell you on it. You never realize how much detail you lose with canned spray (and I have done thousands of models with canned spray paint)

All that said, still a lot that needs to be done by brush after he airbrushing is done

I can't help but feel you are using your spray cans wrong

Spraying with a can, hold it the correct distance away from the model, don't start spraying the model directly, spray to the side of it and then whip across the model. Do that from multiple angles, wait a few minutes for it to start curing then do it again until you have a solid coat.

If you are losing detail it's because you're pointing the spray at the model for too long.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Joyous_Oblivion wrote:
If you buy it for nothing else, buy it for priming your models.

Despite a lot of coloured sprays available, nothing will ever give you the range of colours (all of them) that an airbrush will for priming/basecoating figs.

And while it may take a little more set up and take down, consider that priming a model black with a can, and then spraying him with the specific can of whatever colour you want will be 30x more thick than what you'd do with the airbrush.

Seeing your models primed by an airbrush will sell you on it. You never realize how much detail you lose with canned spray (and I have done thousands of models with canned spray paint)

All that said, still a lot that needs to be done by brush after he airbrushing is done

I can't help but feel you are using your spray cans wrong

Spraying with a can, hold it the correct distance away from the model, don't start spraying the model directly, spray to the side of it and then whip across the model. Do that from multiple angles, wait a few minutes for it to start curing then do it again until you have a solid coat.

If you are losing detail it's because you're pointing the spray at the model for too long.

Especially with the higher quality spray primers out there. I've had nothing but luck with the army painter line.

I use high quality spray primers with great success (not the hardware store kind...which works, but can go on thicker).

However - using a good airbrush primer will blow anything else away. Look at any of the hundreds of posts about vallejo surface primer (or another high quality one, like the allclad grey surfacer).

They give amazing coverage with a ridiculously thin coat.

If I am priming a big tank or some random infantry - spray can is just fine (especially if you know how to use it, which I do).

However, if you are trying to prime a model with a lot of complex shapes or hard to reach spots (like someone who may have assembled a necron ghost ark before applying primer) - the airbrush gives you amazing control for reaching areas that would otherwise be difficult to cover well without over covering other areas.

Oh, and to the comments of taking honor in doing something not using the best tool for the job... I am sure i could build a house with all hand saws and hammers - but that does not mean its a good idea or any more of a house.

Get an airbrush - they are amazing tools - just like getting a really good quality brush.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Daggy-Chan wrote:
I don't personally like airbrushes. It doesn't feel... correct, to me. I prefer to put all of my heart and soul into my miniatures and big models, so the brush is what I use.

It feel it makes you work harder when you have a brush, so you truly care more about what happens to your model when you're done, and it's much more rewarding in my opinion you hand-paint something rather than using an Airbrush

Call me stupid, but it's my opinion and I'm willing to stick by it.

Have you used an airbrush?

Using an airbrush properly is not cheating, "easy mode," or any other pejorative you can think of. Is airbrushing a couple colors over a model and calling done a cop out? Sure, but so is slopping a few coats of paint and drybrushing the entire model.

So no, your opinion isn't stupid, you are just misinformed.

yeah this sounds like someone who either doesnt have one, or can't use one properly the effects you can get from an airbrush are most certainly not cheating, when you consider the fact that you have to understand the mechanics of the machine, air pressures etc. and the ability to blend most colours with 2 coats from an airbrush that give a flawless effect that most certainly wouldnt be able to be recreated by wet blending with a brush, on large areas make it definately worth getting one

 Daggy-Chan wrote:
I don't personally like airbrushes. It doesn't feel... correct, to me. I prefer to put all of my heart and soul into my miniatures and big models, so the brush is what I use.

It feel it makes you work harder when you have a brush, so you truly care more about what happens to your model when you're done, and it's much more rewarding in my opinion you hand-paint something rather than using an Airbrush

Call me stupid, but it's my opinion and I'm willing to stick by it.

\

There is nothing wrong with this opinion, its your's and more power to you.

I would say that an airbrush is not an "easy button". It does however give you the option of techniques you cant do (or not effectively do) with a hair brush.
A great example of this is the hair spray technique for simulating rust. IMHO its probably the most realistic way to give your rust effect actual depth.

Blending is another thing that the airbrush does extremely well. Being able to blend just about any colors together without spending hours in frustration learning to 2 brush blend is kinda awesome.

Now this in my opinion is why. i love seeing everyone jump on the airbrushing band wagon, I love seeing lots of painted armies at the FLGS, and as PP, GW etc release more and more huge models, the airbrush is helping people get this things painted. That Colossal or (insert large GW model name here). all of a sudden doesn't seem that daunting. You now can paint something with massively huge flat surfaces without fear of the dreaded brush strokes left in the paint.

A quick question for those of you who have one, would an airbrush be feasible for someone who lives in an apartment? Are those compressors loud at all? Between my neighbors and my fiance a loud compressor would be a hard sell.

http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/Complete-Airbrush-Kit-Compressor-With-Tank-AS186-/130512222762?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item1e63227a2a

One of the best starter kits out there. If taken care of that compressor will last you a few decades, and the airbrushes are pretty decent. One could alwyas upgrade to more expensive airbrush model later.
The Compressor is pretty quiet as well, less than a hairdryer.

As for apartment use, sure, why not. Especially if your painting desk is next to a window so you can spray outside.
And in worst case, since early airbrush work will mostly be limited to basecoating, and applying washes and glazes to models in bulk, just put all modles on atray and spray them a terrace or accessible window.

And get a box of cheap surgical- or cleaning gloves (the thinner, the better). To hold minis in your hand whilst not painting said hand at the same time.


Oh, and I scream this in all of the dozens and dozens of beginner airbrush threads: DO NOT BY A COMPRESSOR WITHOUT TANK OR MOISTURE TRAP.

Tank--> Constant Pressure (+plus short 100% quiet periods of spraying until it needs to charge again)
Moisture Trap--> no splatters due to condensation in the compressor.

A compressor is an investment, even if it's a basic kind like my example from Ebay. It's really not that smart to go for the cheapest no-tank model available and grit your teeth in frustration afterwards.

Last piece of advice, and this should be evident, but I'll say it anyway. Do not, ever, use cans of compressed air. Those things are horrible to use and expensive to boot. For the price of 4 cans of air, which will only last a few sessions, you can buy a compressor that will last you decades. And you need some serious acrobatic skills to keep a can of pressurized air submerged in a bucket of hot water in a desperate attempt to stave off loss of pressure due to extreme cooling of the can while spraying. All this while using two hands to hold an airbrush and a model.

 Robisagg wrote:
A quick question for those of you who have one, would an airbrush be feasible for someone who lives in an apartment? Are those compressors loud at all? Between my neighbors and my fiance a loud compressor would be a hard sell.

i live in armed forces accomodation with rooms to either side, and also rooms below, and a compressor with a tank works fine. i'd be more worried about what the dodgy electrical items the neighbours thought you were using than noise complaints haha but if most other are like mine, the sound is a low purr, and only happens when the air is charging or the airbrush is actually spraying.

I have used an airbrush to base-coat my models for a couple of years now, and love it.
My workspace is quite small, and getting the box out to spray into is a pain, so I don't bother at times. Every time I base-coat by hand, I remember why I got the airbrush in the first place.
Subtle highlights on larger models, like jetbikes and skimmers is the most advanced I've tried, but they worked quite well.

That kit listed by Meph is almost the same as I got. It's great to get the hang of, but I'd upgraded the brush by year 2. The brushes in the kit can't usually be upgraded, and I wanted to try using different nozzle sizes.
The best accessory I got was a set of quick-release adaptors. It makes washing out the brush so much easier.