Good starter (cheap) airbrush kit?
Discussion
I've embarked on a 1/32 Red Arrow kit from Revell and am thinking about how to paint the exterior - spray is the way as they say, but all I have right now are regular brushes.
So, what's a good cheap airbrush kit that I can but that's easy to use? I've never airbrushed before, so this'll be interesting to see how it goes…
So, what's a good cheap airbrush kit that I can but that's easy to use? I've never airbrushed before, so this'll be interesting to see how it goes…
You may find that Humbrol supply a Red Arrows Colour in one of their very good aerosol sprays, I havent a colour chart here at the moment but they do spray rather well.
Actual airbrushes are best defined as "the best you can afford" I have a double action one from eBay at £12.00 but this is not fantastic although I am learning a lot about using the double action types with it. Eric, dr_gn and Red Firecracker will no doubt be along soon with some good "known brand names" for you.
I advise double action so you can vary the flow as you go.
Actual airbrushes are best defined as "the best you can afford" I have a double action one from eBay at £12.00 but this is not fantastic although I am learning a lot about using the double action types with it. Eric, dr_gn and Red Firecracker will no doubt be along soon with some good "known brand names" for you.
I advise double action so you can vary the flow as you go.
fomb said:
dr_gn said:
That the right red?
At sub £20 you are looking at very, very basic kit - and more than likely a spray gun rather than an airbrush.
You can get some half decent Chinese brushes in the £30 to £40 bracket. Have a look at the Expo catalogue and you will see some in that general price area. I have one of these and it actually functions relatively well. However, it can be a bit temperamntal and I now tend to use it for spraying varnishes and matt/gloss coats rather than paint.
At the end of the day, if you pay more, you get better.
I eventually settled on a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution which I find absolutely brilliant. It cost me £90 for the basic brush but the add-ons brought it to about £120.
In real terms, good quality airbrushes are better value now than they ever have been.
And don't forget you need some sort of air source for your brush. Again, the more you spend, the better you get.
You can get some half decent Chinese brushes in the £30 to £40 bracket. Have a look at the Expo catalogue and you will see some in that general price area. I have one of these and it actually functions relatively well. However, it can be a bit temperamntal and I now tend to use it for spraying varnishes and matt/gloss coats rather than paint.
At the end of the day, if you pay more, you get better.
I eventually settled on a Harder and Steenbeck Evolution which I find absolutely brilliant. It cost me £90 for the basic brush but the add-ons brought it to about £120.
In real terms, good quality airbrushes are better value now than they ever have been.
And don't forget you need some sort of air source for your brush. Again, the more you spend, the better you get.
Lots of people use these type of sets
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-Airbrush-Set-AS...
They are more than capable of doing everything but the finest of work. Mine is still going strong after two years and if you muck up an airbrush another one costs £20 at the most.
They will definitely improve the finish of your paint jobs but like a lot of people it is not always worth spending £200+ on an airbrush and a compressor.
They may not be as refined as a H&S but it still does the job and half the skill is in mixing the paint right to flow and dry correctly. All my models are done with one of these sets.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-Airbrush-Set-AS...
They are more than capable of doing everything but the finest of work. Mine is still going strong after two years and if you muck up an airbrush another one costs £20 at the most.
They will definitely improve the finish of your paint jobs but like a lot of people it is not always worth spending £200+ on an airbrush and a compressor.
They may not be as refined as a H&S but it still does the job and half the skill is in mixing the paint right to flow and dry correctly. All my models are done with one of these sets.
Some of us are less skilled and need better tools to get decent results. I have used at least six different airbrushes over 30 years and the first brush that I really found I could use effectively was the H&S. The Chinese one still works - but it is a cruder device and needs much more fettling (for me) to get it to work. It is fine as a general brush though.
All things are relative but if you look back at model magazines in the 70s and 80s, you will see that airbrushes back then were costing in the region of £100. To get something like an H&S for under £100 in the modern age is nothing short of brilliant - in my opinion.
All things are relative but if you look back at model magazines in the 70s and 80s, you will see that airbrushes back then were costing in the region of £100. To get something like an H&S for under £100 in the modern age is nothing short of brilliant - in my opinion.
You can get a simple spray gun for under a tenner.
Machine Mart have this one for £9.99.
I bought something like this in 1976 and I just couldn't get on with it. It put me off spraying for almost 20 years.
You would be better off with one of the Chinese "proper" airbrushes for £30 ish.
I would always go for gravity feed (as opposed to syphon feed/bottom feed) with a cup ON TOP of the brush (rather than to one side) and dual action (as opposed to single action).
The reason why I prefer a top mounted gravity feed paint cup is because you can use a brush like that at relatively low air pressures. Side mounted gravity feed is OK but syphon bottom feeders need relatively high pressure levels to draw the paint up out of the bottle and into the airflow.
The lower the pressure you can use, the more control you have over the paint flow and the finer the work you can do.
And you still need to consider what your source of compressed air is going to be.
Machine Mart have this one for £9.99.
I bought something like this in 1976 and I just couldn't get on with it. It put me off spraying for almost 20 years.
You would be better off with one of the Chinese "proper" airbrushes for £30 ish.
I would always go for gravity feed (as opposed to syphon feed/bottom feed) with a cup ON TOP of the brush (rather than to one side) and dual action (as opposed to single action).
The reason why I prefer a top mounted gravity feed paint cup is because you can use a brush like that at relatively low air pressures. Side mounted gravity feed is OK but syphon bottom feeders need relatively high pressure levels to draw the paint up out of the bottle and into the airflow.
The lower the pressure you can use, the more control you have over the paint flow and the finer the work you can do.
And you still need to consider what your source of compressed air is going to be.
fomb said:
I wouldn't have though I would need anything too complex for that...
You don't:dr_gn said:
It's a 1:32 model - you don't need an airbrush to get a decent single colour gloss coat on a model of that size. Heat the can in some hot water first and apply a few thin coats over a red primer. Job Done.As a beginner it's unlikely you'll get a significantly better finish using a cheap airbrush.
OK then
Assuming the spray can will be around a fiver it must be worth a punt, you can easily check the colour against a squirt of spray.
Where did you get the "correct" colour from in the first place?
Assuming that you do want a reasonable airbrush and given you have the paint that you wish to use.
This is a link to a brush like the one I bought:
http://tinyurl.com/9ft5hzo
£12.99 free postage, that's about the same deal I got and to be honest I may buy another at this price, they posted very quickly on Paypal-ling
Practise makes decent
I'm unlikely to achieve perfect in this life
but my brush gets easier as I practise.
edit to add this brush can be used (at first until you decide if you like it) with air canisters from your local model shop guy, but you will soon want a compressor which is why the package offer for a pair of similar brushes with the compressor included might be ideal for you
Assuming the spray can will be around a fiver it must be worth a punt, you can easily check the colour against a squirt of spray.
Where did you get the "correct" colour from in the first place?
Assuming that you do want a reasonable airbrush and given you have the paint that you wish to use.
This is a link to a brush like the one I bought:
http://tinyurl.com/9ft5hzo
£12.99 free postage, that's about the same deal I got and to be honest I may buy another at this price, they posted very quickly on Paypal-ling
Practise makes decent
I'm unlikely to achieve perfect in this life
but my brush gets easier as I practise.
edit to add this brush can be used (at first until you decide if you like it) with air canisters from your local model shop guy, but you will soon want a compressor which is why the package offer for a pair of similar brushes with the compressor included might be ideal for you
Edited by perdu on Tuesday 23 October 15:53
Edited by perdu on Tuesday 23 October 15:54
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