Airbrush - which to buy

[moofles]

Hello all, i have never used an airbrush before, im usually rahter happy with simple old paint and brush, but as my skills have developed i think its time i took the plunge and gotten one (you just cant quite do a convincing luftwaffe mottling effect with a brush on 1/32).

so my question is thus as a complete newbie onthis one, which one should i go for, reliability and ease of cleanability is a must as i use enamels, i have read a few reviews (latest scale aviation modeller international) and i am rather taken with the new Aztek A7778 anybod like to try and stear me into the right direction, my limit is about $300 - £200 i cannot go a penny over, so yeah..any helpers out there.

cheers.

Moof

[fouga]

Hello all, i have never used an airbrush before, im usually rahter happy with simple old paint and brush, but as my skills have developed i think its time i took the plunge and gotten one (you just cant quite do a convincing luftwaffe mottling effect with a brush on 1/32).

so my question is thus as a complete newbie onthis one, which one should i go for, reliability and ease of cleanability is a must as i use enamels, i have read a few reviews (latest scale aviation modeller international) and i am rather taken with the new Aztek A7778 anybod like to try and stear me into the right direction, my limit is about $300 - £200 i cannot go a penny over, so yeah..any helpers out there.

cheers.

Moof

hi,i have a badger single action airbrush,i have not used it yet but it looks like a decent enough brush,its within your budget too,as i say have not used it or any other airbrush yet so i posted a topic in the "jet modelling forum" on this site,its under the heading "tipps on airbrushing" by user "fouga",i have had a few replys regarding help/advice so if you look at that it might help you,cheers

[Scooby]

I love my Aztec, there is nothing better IMHO.

[Kei Lau]

Hello all, i have never used an airbrush before, im usually rahter happy with simple old paint and brush, but as my skills have developed i think its time i took the plunge and gotten one (you just cant quite do a convincing luftwaffe mottling effect with a brush on 1/32).

so my question is thus as a complete newbie onthis one, which one should i go for, reliability and ease of cleanability is a must as i use enamels, i have read a few reviews (latest scale aviation modeller international) and i am rather taken with the new Aztek A7778 anybod like to try and stear me into the right direction, my limit is about $300 - £200 i cannot go a penny over, so yeah..any helpers out there.

cheers.

Moof

If you are in Europe or UK, the Harder & Steekbeck is your best deal. For less than £200, you can get the H&S Infinity 2-in-1. See this thread at the Tools forum.

Similar quality airbrush from Japan or America will cost you a lot more.

I have the Aztek A4709 for a short time, the shape does not feel right and I don't like to change nozzle. Worst, taking the airbrush apart to clean voids your warranty.

[panthergreen]

Another one for the H & S infinity, or evolution, get the best you can get and just practice, practice, practice!

[fouga]

Another one for the H & S infinity, or evolution, get the best you can get and just practice, practice, practice!

hi,for the moment i will use my badger for practicing,then move up to a more advanced double action

[Jay Chladek]

Well, if you have that much to spend, you can get a good quality airbrush and a compressor, although I am not sure what the import markup and VAT is on the things in Europe as I can only go by US prices.

A single action brush will get you started. A Paasche H series brush is an excellent quality grunt brush. Color changes are easy and so is cleanup. You can't easily do feathered edge work, but if you use poster putty to mask camo patterns, it can work just fine.

A double action brush will offer more flexibility in what you can do, but the price goes up and more of the brush has to be torn down for cleaning. They are also more expensive. You've got two additional choices here in the form of gravity feed and siphon feed brushes. Gravity feed brushes will spray paint at lower pressures then siphon ones, but the color cup stays attached and some cleaning has to be done each airbrush pass. Siphon feed brushes allow you to mix large volumes of color for storage later.

As for the Aztek 470, I own one and I like it a lot. I can see why others don't though. I can use it single, double, siphon or gravity feed. Teardown and cleanup is like my Paasche H series, but it has some cheaper elements to it and the feel is different. Most of the guys who don't like Azteks have mainly learned to use traditional double action brushes and indeed a traditional double action brush has the ability to do things the Aztek can't as easily (such as pinpoint lines). But, for my uses, it works for me. As for taking the brush apart, you don't need to take the body apart at all, but to really clean the nozzles, they should be taken apart and it is very easy to do. Provided the tip doesn't get damaged during cleaning, once the nozzle is reassembled, it works just fine. And if the nozzles do get trashed, they are relatively cheap to replace.

In my experience though, you can get a great brush, but if the compressor is cheap, your painting will suffer. So I would recommend getting a good quality compressor with a pressure regulator and a moisture trap. That way you can dial up and down the pressure a little for certain jobs and the trap keeps humidity out of the line. I use an Iwata Smart Jet compressor with my Aztek and it improved its painting by an order of magnitude over the cheaper Badger compresor I used at one time. It is an expensive compressor though (I paid about $250 for it almost 9 years ago) and at least here in the states, it is possible to find decent compressors with moisture traps and regulators for only about $140.

As such, you could split the price 50/50 right down the middle for airbrush and compressor expense. But I would say the compressor is potentially going to give you a better bang for the buck, so if you can spend a little more on that and go with a less expensive airbrush initially, you'll get the big spending chunk out of the way and upgrading the brush can always be done later. Plus, even if you get a more expensive brush later, you would still have the old one and you can use each one for different jobs (such as a single action for general body coverage and the double action gravity feed for free hand camouflage patterns).

Edited October 30, 2010 by Jay Chladek

[fouga]

Well, if you have that much to spend, you can get a good quality airbrush and a compressor, although I am not sure what the import markup and VAT is on the things in Europe as I can only go by US prices.

A single action brush will get you started. A Paasche H series brush is an excellent quality grunt brush. Color changes are easy and so is cleanup. You can't easily do feathered edge work, but if you use poster putty to mask camo patterns, it can work just fine.

A double action brush will offer more flexibility in what you can do, but the price goes up and more of the brush has to be torn down for cleaning. They are also more expensive. You've got two additional choices here in the form of gravity feed and siphon feed brushes. Gravity feed brushes will spray paint at lower pressures then siphon ones, but the color cup stays attached and some cleaning has to be done each airbrush pass. Siphon feed brushes allow you to mix large volumes of color for storage later.

As for the Aztek 470, I own one and I like it a lot. I can see why others don't though. I can use it single, double, siphon or gravity feed. Teardown and cleanup is like my Paasche H series, but it has some cheaper elements to it and the feel is different. Most of the guys who don't like Azteks have mainly learned to use traditional double action brushes and indeed a traditional double action brush has the ability to do things the Aztek can't as easily (such as pinpoint lines). But, for my uses, it works for me. As for taking the brush apart, you don't need to take the body apart at all, but to really clean the nozzles, they should be taken apart and it is very easy to do. Provided the tip doesn't get damaged during cleaning, once the nozzle is reassembled, it works just fine. And if the nozzles do get trashed, they are relatively cheap to replace.

In my experience though, you can get a great brush, but if the compressor is cheap, your painting will suffer. So I would recommend getting a good quality compressor with a pressure regulator and a moisture trap. That way you can dial up and down the pressure a little for certain jobs and the trap keeps humidity out of the line. I use an Iwata Smart Jet compressor with my Aztek and it improved its painting by an order of magnitude over the cheaper Badger compresor I used at one time. It is an expensive compressor though (I paid about $250 for it almost 9 years ago) and at least here in the states, it is possible to find decent compressors with moisture traps and regulators for only about $140.

As such, you could split the price 50/50 right down the middle for airbrush and compressor expense. But I would say the compressor is potentially going to give you a better bang for the buck, so if you can spend a little more on that and go with a less expensive airbrush initially, you'll get the big spending chunk out of the way and upgrading the brush can always be done later. Plus, even if you get a more expensive brush later, you would still have the old one and you can use each one for different jobs (such as a single action for general body coverage and the double action gravity feed for free hand camouflage patterns).

hi jay,thanks for the advice re airbrush compressors,very helpfull,thanks

[witous]

I have had the GREX Tritium for about a year. I was a big Iwata fan until I started using the GREX. It is extremely easy to clean, is very easy to control and durable. EXCELLENT customer service here in the Los Angeles area. It is in your price range.

http://www.grexusa.com/grexairbrush/

Whatever choice you make, try to test drive one before you buy.

[moofles]

Cheers everyone, i have a PO box over here, so shipping in stuff from the states is no problem, i have had some great people tell me that the H&S infinity is a truly epic, brush, it looks complicated as hell, but its within my price range range, at the moment im sitting on the fence im torn between the infinity and the new Azrek, will go to my LHS and see if i can try before i buy. Cheers for all the help, will also have a look at the thread in jet modeling. i work mainly in 1/72 scale using enamels, just after a brush that can give me satisfying pre shading and accursed panel lines, along with good general camo covering (am i asking too much)

once again cheers,

Moof

[fouga]

Cheers everyone, i have a PO box over here, so shipping in stuff from the states is no problem, i have had some great people tell me that the H&S infinity is a truly epic, brush, it looks complicated as hell, but its within my price range range, at the moment im sitting on the fence im torn between the infinity and the new Azrek, will go to my LHS and see if i can try before i buy. Cheers for all the help, will also have a look at the thread in jet modeling. i work mainly in 1/72 scale using enamels, just after a brush that can give me satisfying pre shading and accursed panel lines, along with good general camo covering (am i asking too much)

once again cheers,

Moof

hi, you can never ask too much,cheers

[huntermountain]

I'd like to add something to the link to the tool forum that Kei Lau posted. I since have decided on the Infinity, it's been bought, delivered, and, very shortly, tested. It really oozes quality from the looks and the feel, and the performance delivers on the promises made. It's a great airbrush, easy to clean and operate. It's really not as complicated as it looks, and the manual that comes with it is very good, so there's no problem there.

There's lot's of good airbrushes out there, but don't forget that learning to use an airbrush takes some time, so don't be disappointed if at first things don't really work out the way you'd want them to. Read up on things in the tools forum over here and on other places, and check out Youtube. There's lots of vids over there of people using airbrushes, testing them, cleaning them. And a piece of video can explain things so much better then even the best airbrusher can with words.

Good luck on your search.

Edited October 30, 2010 by huntermountain

[fouga]

I'd like to add something to the link to the tool forum that Kei Lau posted. I since have decided on the Infinity, it's been bought, delivered, and, very shortly, tested. It really oozes quality from the looks and the feel, and the performance delivers on the promises made. It's a great airbrush, easy to clean and operate. It's really not as complicated as it looks, and the manual that comes with it is very good, so there's no problem there.

There's lot's of good airbrushes out there, but don't forget that learning to use an airbrush takes some time, so don't be disappointed if at first things don't really work out the way you'd want them to. Read up on things in the tools forum over here and on other places, and check out Youtube. There's lots of vids over there of people using airbrushes, testing them, cleaning them. And a piece of video can explain things so much better then even the best airbrusher can with words.

Good luck on your search.

going to bring my airbrush into work with me tonight and pratice[in the security game and will be in the building on my own for 12 hours]

[fouga]

Well, if you have that much to spend, you can get a good quality airbrush and a compressor, although I am not sure what the import markup and VAT is on the things in Europe as I can only go by US prices.

A single action brush will get you started. A Paasche H series brush is an excellent quality grunt brush. Color changes are easy and so is cleanup. You can't easily do feathered edge work, but if you use poster putty to mask camo patterns, it can work just fine.

A double action brush will offer more flexibility in what you can do, but the price goes up and more of the brush has to be torn down for cleaning. They are also more expensive. You've got two additional choices here in the form of gravity feed and siphon feed brushes. Gravity feed brushes will spray paint at lower pressures then siphon ones, but the color cup stays attached and some cleaning has to be done each airbrush pass. Siphon feed brushes allow you to mix large volumes of color for storage later.

As for the Aztek 470, I own one and I like it a lot. I can see why others don't though. I can use it single, double, siphon or gravity feed. Teardown and cleanup is like my Paasche H series, but it has some cheaper elements to it and the feel is different. Most of the guys who don't like Azteks have mainly learned to use traditional double action brushes and indeed a traditional double action brush has the ability to do things the Aztek can't as easily (such as pinpoint lines). But, for my uses, it works for me. As for taking the brush apart, you don't need to take the body apart at all, but to really clean the nozzles, they should be taken apart and it is very easy to do. Provided the tip doesn't get damaged during cleaning, once the nozzle is reassembled, it works just fine. And if the nozzles do get trashed, they are relatively cheap to replace.

In my experience though, you can get a great brush, but if the compressor is cheap, your painting will suffer. So I would recommend getting a good quality compressor with a pressure regulator and a moisture trap. That way you can dial up and down the pressure a little for certain jobs and the trap keeps humidity out of the line. I use an Iwata Smart Jet compressor with my Aztek and it improved its painting by an order of magnitude over the cheaper Badger compresor I used at one time. It is an expensive compressor though (I paid about $250 for it almost 9 years ago) and at least here in the states, it is possible to find decent compressors with moisture traps and regulators for only about $140.

As such, you could split the price 50/50 right down the middle for airbrush and compressor expense. But I would say the compressor is potentially going to give you a better bang for the buck, so if you can spend a little more on that and go with a less expensive airbrush initially, you'll get the big spending chunk out of the way and upgrading the brush can always be done later. Plus, even if you get a more expensive brush later, you would still have the old one and you can use each one for different jobs (such as a single action for general body coverage and the double action gravity feed for free hand camouflage patterns).

hi jay,sometimes when i brush paint i DONT use a primer,sometimes i do[depends what colour i use]..as the paint has to be thinned is it vital to use a primer/do you HAVE to use a primer when airbrushing,thanks

[Kei Lau]

Cheers everyone, i have a PO box over here, so shipping in stuff from the states is no problem, i have had some great people tell me that the H&S infinity is a truly epic, brush, it looks complicated as hell, but its within my price range range,

Believe me, the H&S is very simple and eloquent in design that makes it easy to take apart and clean. The Aztek design makes it almost impossible to take apart the nozzle and, if you do, void the warranty. You can find a sticky at the tools forum here on cleaning Aztek.

I may be biased. But you will not see the quality in H&S in an Aztek, even the metallic one.

at the moment im sitting on the fence im torn between the infinity and the new Azrek, will go to my LHS and see if i can try before i buy.

That is a wonderful idea. Hold the airbrush in your hand, try the trigger. Let your instinct to tell you which one is right for you.

It is also helpful to attend a local hobby modeling group and talk to airbrush guru there. However, he may be biased too.

[Kei Lau]

In my experience though, you can get a great brush, but if the compressor is cheap, your painting will suffer. So I would recommend getting a good quality compressor with a pressure regulator and a moisture trap. That way you can dial up and down the pressure a little for certain jobs and the trap keeps humidity out of the line. I use an Iwata Smart Jet compressor with my Aztek and it improved its painting by an order of magnitude over the cheaper Badger compresor I used at one time. It is an expensive compressor though (I paid about $250 for it almost 9 years ago) and at least here in the states, it is possible to find decent compressors with moisture traps and regulators for only about $140.

I can't agree more on the importance of getting a quality compressor.

In Europe or UK, the Revell Master Klass Kompressor is a value hard to beat.

In the US, try Sparmax TC-2000. You can get it at Hobby Lobby Store for $210 using the 40% off coupon this week.

You want to know what compressor do I use? It is an older Paasche DA400 when they still imported it from Taiwan. The current DA400 is not from Taiwan anymore. Sparmax was the Paasche supplier in Taiwan before 2008. Sparmax also makes the Iwata compressors too.

Edited October 30, 2010 by Kei Lau

[Marv]

Paasche H...yes. you can buy a more expensive, fancy airbrush, but you will never go wrong buying a Paasche H, single-action, external-mix airbrush (about $50.00USD). The Paasche is extremely robust, very simple to clean, and gives excellent results.

Since this is your first airbrush, I highly recommend that you buy a small compressor (with moisture trap), along with the Paasche H...this way, you will have a no-fuss setup, that will allow you to develop your painting skills. Leave the high-end airbrush for later. I have been modeling for 50 years, and I use the simple Paasche H anout 99% of the time. I do have an Iwata, but I only use it when I get bored and want something to fuss with.

[Jay Chladek]

In my case, if I spray enamels, I've typically been able to do it without primer. When I spray acrylics, usually I go with a primer first, just to give some tooth for the paint to stick to as acrylics can be a little fragile until they set up in about 48 hours. Of course, my use of primer can also depend on the subject and the amount of surface prep. So if the model is "shake and bake" where there are practically no seams in it to fill, then I may not use primer at all. If the model requires a lot of filling, sanding and the like, then I almost always use primer to both check the seam work and fill some tiny imperfections I may not have caught otherwise. Primer is also very important if I am doing a model in a bright color, such as white. Primer is almost practically a requirement if you are doing something with a gloss finish as well (such as Fouga Magisters from display teams).

BTW, one other thing about airbrushes is regardless of the brand, make sure it is one you can easily get parts for. You could get a brush that somebody says is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if a part goes out (such as if a needle gets badly bent or the trigger breaks) and you have to wait several days for a part to be shipped, then it means you are out of action for awhile.

Edited October 30, 2010 by Jay Chladek

[fouga]

In my case, if I spray enamels, I've typically been able to do it without primer. When I spray acrylics, usually I go with a primer first, just to give some tooth for the paint to stick to as acrylics can be a little fragile until they set up in about 48 hours. Of course, my use of primer can also depend on the subject and the amount of surface prep. So if the model is "shake and bake" where there are practically no seams in it to fill, then I may not use primer at all. If the model requires a lot of filling, sanding and the like, then I almost always use primer to both check the seam work and fill some tiny imperfections I may not have caught otherwise. Primer is also very important if I am doing a model in a bright color, such as white. Primer is almost practically a requirement if you are doing something with a gloss finish as well (such as Fouga Magisters from display teams).

BTW, one other thing about airbrushes is regardless of the brand, make sure it is one you can easily get parts for. You could get a brush that somebody says is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if a part goes out (such as if a needle gets badly bent or the trigger breaks) and you have to wait several days for a part to be shipped, then it means you are out of action for awhile.

hi jay,very true re airbrush spare parts,its funny you should mention fouga magisters as that is one of my favorite aircraft,have 5,airfix and hellar,built 2,one as patrouillie de france,other as irish air corps silver swallows display team,and have another 2 on the way,from kit krazy in the uk,thanks again for the advice