Help please a good airbrush for a beginner.

[Toma500]

As the title says really something for the novice ,have a few kits to do 1/43rd scale smts x2 .A couple of Tamiya 1/12th scale bikes and Tamiya mclaren f1 car . Any advise gratefully received and perhaps an example of a good book on using an airbrush . Regards Tom.

[perdu]

Hi Tom

I am not up to speed with modern airbrushes, sorry

BUT

I advise you not to buy cheap, just 'cause it's your first one and you want to practise

Buy the best one you can given the amount of work you MAY have for it

I had a couple of cheapos first off but finally realised that you really DO get what you pay for and if you were looking for a good finish with the ability to run many types of paint. Best is best

I eventually bought a Paasche which was the Rolls Ferrari of airbrushes thirty years ago

No doubt dg_gn and Eric will be along shortly to tell you what is GOOD these days, take their advice

To do airbrush well its like everything else practise and technique are king

Not much help I know but thats my five bob's worth

[Yertis]

This was my airbrush, although in truth I don't think I ever used this one for modelling. I still keep it in the desk unused for about 20 years. But Perdu's Paasche was a truly great piece of kit. Especially if it was the Turbo AB.

You could do worse than scouring eBay for a second-hand one. I think you can still source spares fairly easily. New needle and nozzle, a few O-rings and you're away.

You need a compressor, mucking around with cans will become irksome after approx 20 minutes.

[Toma500]

Thanks for the advise i thought this was going to cost me i was thinking of a budget of say a 150 .
But i really havnt a clue whats a good make or bad . Been looking at badger and iwata stuff online .

[perdu]

There you go Aerograph, blooming lovely bit 'o' kit

I started with a Badger250, which worked but didn't go fine enough

A compressor is essential as yertis says, but unless the world of compressors has moved apace be prepared for the racket they can kick up

[Skii]

Easy - Harder and Steenbeck Evolution 2 in 1

Solidly built, easy to clean, comes with 0.2 and 0.4 needles and its a damn fine piece of kit indeed.

My review here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showt...

[Yertis]

That's nice looking bit of gear. What sort of compressor are you using?

[SlipStream77]

perdu said:

I advise you not to buy cheap, just 'cause it's your first one and you want to practise

Buy the best one you can given the amount of work you MAY have for it

I had a couple of cheapos first off but finally realised that you really DO get what you pay for and if you were looking for a good finish with the ability to run many types of paint. Best is best

To do airbrush well its like everything else practise and technique are king

I'm new to airbrushing, I've only used mine on 3 models so far but from the little experience I have the above advice is excellent.

After trying a £15 airbrush powered by a can, I did some research and finally went for a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution Solo with a small piston type compressor.

http://www.everythingairbrush.com/acatalog/Harder_...

I'm still learning (and making mistakes), but when I use the right pressure/paint consistency/technique the finish can be excellent.

There are much cheaper Chinese airbrushes which I've heard can also give great results, I just preferred the feel of the H+S.

[dr_gn]

This is mine:



DeVilbiss/Aerograph Super'63 Model "E". Belonged to my Grandad. I just had it upgraded to the latest spec. of air valve, and that has made a big difference. You can still get them here (this is the guy who upgraded it for me):

http://www.restorationsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Aero...

A colleague of mine asked which airbrush to get, and I told him to have a chat with Paul at "Little-Cars":

http://www.little-cars.co.uk/pricelst.htm

...who is very knowledgable about airbrushes, and tends not to rip people off. He ended up buying the Harder and Steenbeck Evolution kit (with a decent compressor and all the cleaning stuff, mask etc), for about £220. It is a very, very nice airbrush, much better action than mine (but mine is over 50 years old, and the design much older than that!).

You pays your money...

EDITED to add - Basically, listen to what Skii said above - if anyone knows about the current stuff out there, and airbrushing models it's him. BTW I have no idea about the relative specs of various H&S airbrushes, but I know from reading reviews that they all seem good.

Edited by dr_gn on Monday 23 August 23:51

[Skii]

Yertis said:

That's nice looking bit of gear. What sort of compressor are you using?

The AS189 on this page

http://www.everythingairbrush.com/acatalog/AS_Seri...

not bad, I could have spent a bit more admittedly but this does the job well enough

[Eric Mc]

Contrary to what has been said previously, I HAVE been using a "cheapo" (£30 approx). Surprisngly, it is the best airbrush I have used to date. It is one of the AB range from the Expo model tool company.

It is a gravity fed model which I think makes all the difference. Gravity feed brushes can be used with far less pressure than syphon feed. So far I am happy with the result. The key to making it work properly is keeping it scrupuously clean.



Having said the above, generally I do agree that the more you pay the better the quality. I look on my Expo as an interim airbrush until I pluck up the courage to fork out for a better one. I have my eye on something from the Iwata range.

[Red Firecracker]

To add to all the above (as a user of both cheaper and expensive brushes), hold before you buy. I've held some expensive ones that don't sit comfortably in my hands and as such would have been a foolhardy purchase, comfort is another thing that contributes to a good finish.

[Yertis]

Skii said:

Yertis said:

That's nice looking bit of gear. What sort of compressor are you using?

The AS189 on this page

http://www.everythingairbrush.com/acatalog/AS_Seri...

not bad, I could have spent a bit more admittedly but this does the job well enough

That looks good, good price too. How noisy is 56dB?

[Red Firecracker]

They're not that bad, noise wise. I have one (somewhere) but what I found was that the tank wasn't big enough for the amount of spraying I was doing so it was running a bit too often and thus became annoying. Excellent as a first compressor though.

[Skii]

Red Firecracker said:

They're not that bad, noise wise. I have one (somewhere) but what I found was that the tank wasn't big enough for the amount of spraying I was doing so it was running a bit too often and thus became annoying. Excellent as a first compressor though.

yep, it isn't silent for long as the tank depletes pretty quickly, but pretty good for an uninterupted and dry air supply.

[Anthony Micallef]

Another Harder and Steenback Evolution 2 in 1 user here Its a great bit of kit and really easy to use. One word of advice, DO NOT use Cellulose Thinners to clean your airbrush as this stuff is way to strong and could end up damaging the seals etc.

Use Vallejo Airbrush cleaner,this works well and also has a lubricant in it that helps keep things working smoothly.

[Yertis]

I think I'm going to need to take up modelling again just to get my hands back the airbrush.

[dr_gn]

Yertis said:

I think I'm going to need to take up modelling again just to get my hands back the airbrush.

There's nothing quite like peeling a strip of Tamiya masking tape off a freshly airbrushed demarcation line.

Oooooooooooow yeaaahhhh.

[Eric Mc]

Followed by the gnashing of teeth as you discover how much paint has bled under the tape ....grrrrrrr.

[dr_gn]

Eric Mc said:

Followed by the gnashing of teeth as you discover how much paint has bled under the tape ....grrrrrrr.

Hmmm. Bloody Airfix rivets.