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Tools & Supplies: Airbrushes
Talk about airbrushes.
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Airbrush dilemma...
Becky
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Skåne, Sweden
Member Since: May 26, 2002
entire network: 70 Posts
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 12:24 AM UTC
I'm considering getting an airbrush, but there are things I'm uncertain about.

First of all, as a beginner, should I go for an expensive airbrush or should I start with a less expensive and learn the basics to begin with?

Second, single action or double action? What's the difference, and which is easiest for a newbie?

Think that's all for now. Thankful for anyone's input on the subject.
FAUST
#130
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Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Member Since: June 07, 2002
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 12:32 AM UTC
Ola Becky

It depends a bit on what kind of work you want to do with it. I would advise you to start with a double action airbrush. It is a bit harder to learn to work with but you will find out soon it gives you great control over your paint and it will not limit you later on when you want to tackle more elaborate paintschemes.
As for which airbrush to choose. Do a little search in the reviews section. The last weeks there have been quite a few airbrushes being reviewed and currently working on rounding up my own review of a badger airbrush. It should give you quite a good insight in what to choose and for what pricerange and what you get for that kind of money.
BigSmitty
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Minnesota, United States
Member Since: October 01, 2008
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 01:13 AM UTC
My personal opinion? Think of it as a car. If you have just gotten your license, would you really spend your money on a Ferrari and take years to unlock it's true potential? A bit of an overstatement possibly, but it is sort of the same thing here.

I would suggest getting a good external mix single action airbrush to start. Why? If you are learning how to airbrush, you want to learn how to spray patterns, get your paint consistency correct, etc. It's sort of like digital cameras; your first airbrush should be basically a "point and shoot". An external mix airbrush also is much simpler to clean up as you don't need to remove the needle to clean it. Most folks will tell you the number one reason their airbrush stopped working was due to a broken or bent needle. As an added bonus, when you decide to make the move to a more sophisticated airbrush, you can always keep the "workhorse" SA airbrush for laying down large single color areas, such as primer coats, base colors for camo schemes and the like.

To answer your question about single-action vs double action; a double action airbrush requires you to press the button for airflow, then draw back the trigger (on top) to control the paint flow. Single action airbrushes lay out a constant paint flow, the trigger only acts to start or stop the airflow (like an aerosol can). Single action airbrushes aren't designed to control fine lines and do detail work, but if you are just learning the basics, it should work just fine. Additionally, you want to look for an external mix for your first one, as it's generally easier to clean.

If you are serious about airbrushing, then I would suggest spending money on a quality compressor with a regulator and moisture trap. Those cans of compressed air won't cut it for long and are expensive in the long run. Depending on where you will be painting (indoors/outdoors/garage) you might want to look at either a commercially available paint booth with fume extractor (even those "friendly" acrylics smell to others around you) or some of the homemade versions that are available by searching this forum.

Hope this helps you out and points you in the right direction. I'm sure others will chime in as well.
pseudorealityx
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Georgia, United States
Member Since: January 31, 2010
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 01:35 AM UTC
What paints do you intend to use, or are available locally?
russamotto
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Utah, United States
Member Since: December 14, 2007
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 03:01 AM UTC
I'm very new to airbrushing. I have a single action Paasche and I am currently also working on reviews for two Badger airbrushes, both double action.

I thought the single action was a good starting point. It was easy to use, easy to maintain and there are only a couple of parts to worry about. It is an external mix, meaning the paint is drawn up to the spray nozzle by siphon action from the air flow, the paint and air mix at the nozzle and this creates the spray pattern. It is good for broad coverage, not so good for fine detail. Paint flow can be controlled to a degree with a pressure regulator. You press the trigger and you start painting.

The double action triggers are different, but not hard to use. You press for air flow and then pull back to release the paint. The air and paint mix inside the airbrush, either by siphon action (bottle on the bottom of the airbrush) or gravity flow (cup on the top of the airbrush, the paint simply drops down into the flow tube). When you pull the needle back it increases the flow out of the nozzle, similar to a garden hose spray nozzle. By adjusting the air pressure regulator you can control the air pressure, get in close and do fine detail work. There are more parts but it seems to come down to the same basic principles as the single action, with the major difference being much finer and closer detail.

Price wise, you can get a good workhorse airbrush to start with for a fairly good price, either single or double action, that will keep working for years. If you want something fancier, you can get that later. I like my Paasche H, and I also like the Badger 105 I am reviewing. There are other basic models you can choose from.

Look at the reviews posted here, and anywhere else you can find them. You can ask questions about specific models you are thinking about and get feedback from actual users. When you do make a choice, let us know how it goes.




ludwig113
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Member Since: February 05, 2008
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Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 - 04:55 AM UTC
hi,
dont forget trigger airbrushes, they are the easiest to control.
i originally bought one of these before i upgraded to my current one, a grex.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPRAYMASTER-GRAVITY-FEED-D-ACTION-TRIGGER-AIRBRUSH-ABR-116B-/160692404569?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item256a038159

paul
Militarymodeller80
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Member Since: March 19, 2012
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Posted: Friday, August 10, 2012 - 09:43 AM UTC
Hi

If I was to recomend one airbrush that is suitable for beginners and would grow with you and still be fully usable when you are much more experienced than that brush would have to be an Iwata Revolution CR, it will easily do for your first airbrush and is good enough to do most if not all that a more experienced airbrusher would ask of it.

It's not that we'll known but the Revolution is the same airbrush as the HP-CR plus, it has no adjustable handle, but that is available as a spare part from Iwata and it has the larger 0.5mm needle head assembly instead of the 0.3mm and again those are available as a spare part as well. For me it's a no brainer, £95 for a Revolution or £175 for a HP-CR, most people don't need or use the adjustable handle anyway, it's only of real use if you are spraying inks anyway.

The Revolutuion BR is also worth a look if you want a smaller cup and finer needle.

Paul
denstore
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Skåne, Sweden
Member Since: January 05, 2009
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Posted: Monday, October 22, 2012 - 09:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I'm considering getting an airbrush, but there are things I'm uncertain about.

First of all, as a beginner, should I go for an expensive airbrush or should I start with a less expensive and learn the basics to begin with?

Second, single action or double action? What's the difference, and which is easiest for a newbie?

Think that's all for now. Thankful for anyone's input on the subject.



Definitely a gravity fed double action. Best performance for modelling purposes. And you will go there sooner or later, so there's no need to get a single action, and then relearn the technique again when you get a double action.

Where in Skåne are you? If you are close to Malmö, I'm sure someone at IPMS Öresund can let you try a couple of different models.
spiralcity
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Illinois, United States
Member Since: October 14, 2012
entire network: 150 Posts
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Posted: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 07:03 AM UTC
You could always start with a used good airbrush and save some money.

Actually a Paasche Talon is fairly cheap and a decent brush to start with. I started with a Paasche VL which I still have and use after 25 years. If your just painting models and your not worried about super fine lines, the VL will do the job. But there are many choices so do some research.

I have owned the 3 brushes below for no less than 20 years each and they all work great and are still used today.

Badger 150, Badger 175, Paasche VL


I also own the Talon which I recently purchased about 5 months ago.



I havent had a chance to shoot with this one yet. It's a Pecision Aire Treo XF. I bought it for finer detail but havent had a need for it yet.



dangerdan87
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United States
Member Since: September 27, 2012
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Posted: Friday, October 26, 2012 - 11:11 PM UTC
I bought my first airbrush a few weeks ago. I got an Iwata HP-C Plus and I love it.

I've heard people say it and I believe it, don't buy a cheap airbrush. Cheap airbrushes can improve your ability to airbrush, but your only limited to what the airbrush can do.

I have no prior experience in airbrushing, but with my Iwata, I can comfortable make very thin lines and have gotten pretty good at shading at various levels.

Do your research and get a gravity feed double action airbrush from a reputable manufacturer (side note: The NEO for Iwata airbrush is not an Iwata airbrush).
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