I'm thinking about getting an airbrush as I intend to start taking modelling a bit more seriously. However, being only 14, I am on bit of a low budget as I am too young to get a job and earn any real money. A compressor is out of the question. What would be a good airbrush to get me started with? It would have to be relatively cheap, and also relatively cheap to maintain.

hmm i'm very interested to all the answers on this topic. ( i have got the same problem as you ). you can only work in supermarkets if you are 15 years or older... and i'm only 14

gr. majorme

I have an airbrush & compressor set that I got at Wal-Mart for $50USD. It's no the best but you can get peaty fine lines up to 2 inch coverage. I am trying to get my hands on a Paasche H.

Paashe H and Badger 150 are very good starter airbrush...

Check out this on ebay.
They sell lots of different airbrushes, from beginners to pro models. I bought one a few weeks ago, a 132-A, which I'm very happy with. If you can't get it cheap this time, try the next one, as they have them on ebay continualy. Next day delivery aswel. recommended

Cheers
Henk

HarborFreight.com has these cheap single action air bushes for like $9.99, that hooks up to canned air

Be careful of canned air. The go fast and end up costing more than a top of the line compressor very quickly. As for a starter AB I would go with an Aztec.

HTH

John

For an inexpensive starter AB, I would recommend a Badger 250, which costs between $15 and $20 US. If you could swing around double that amount, a Badger 350 would be a good choice.

I started airbrushing with a 250, and was able to get acceptable results - better than spray cans or hand brushing. The 250 would not be anyone's choice for fine lines, but at the time I was mostly spraying single colors on model RR building kits and i was happy with the results. The brush is fairly simple and easy to maintain. I used my 250 for around three years with no problems, and finally got rid of it when I upgraded to a Badger 200.

And when i was painting with the 250, I did use the canned air bottles too without too many problems. I did have to use the pan of warm/hot water to set the can in to overcome the chilling effect, but other than that it all worked out for me.

I also am starting to take my modeling a bit more serious. I just picked up the Harbor Freight Central Pnematic Hobby Air Brush Kit. The cost was $9.99 and I will be starting with an air can. I have to take baby steps and do this as a relaxing hobby from my stressfull career.

My models so far have all been painted by hand and using spray cans. I have had great results and with each model, my skills are improving. This is a big step for me with the airbrush. I have no clue on how to use it, but in the process of doing research before moving on to another model. Can anyone point me in the right direction for a web site that may explain the basice of model airbrushing?

I will keep the group posted on my progress with this new tool.

Thanks

Sam

Hi everybody,

I'm also quite a unknown with the phenomenon of airbrushing (I did of course knew they existed...) and I bought some starterkit at Conrad Electronics (Maybe of interest to you Martijn). I did never tested yet, but I'll soon start practicing with it. I already bought some paints as a start, the Vallejo Air model paints. The kit is quite cheap, but I read some satisfying comments HERE.



Jelger

I have to second or third the Harbor Freight airbrush set. For ten bucks you get a pretty decent double action setup that works well.

A good substitute for that canned air is also in Harbor Freights' aisles. They have an 11 Gallon air tank that is designed to be used to fill a tire for about $12. Take it to a gas station and fill it up and you have an instant air supply that will last for more than a few paint jobs. You will have to make up an adapter to hook the outlet line to the air brush, but then those parts are also available there as well. Not to mention you can refill it time and again without the cost involved in buying the cans of propellant. That way you can save that one can of propellant for a back up in case you run out of the free air from your tank in mid squirt.

Check out the triple treat feature. Check the airbrush company's version. Nice brush!!

The Paasche H has proven to be a simple, reliable, affordable no frills brush for me. It is what I started with years and years ago. Parts are readily available for it everywhere too. I think they can be had for less than $50 on sale.

I remember when I finally bought a compressor. I had been modeling for well over a dozen years and had been given several cheap airbrushes and propel cans as Xmas gifts during those years. It wasn't until I finally threw down for a compressor that I could really explore the possibilities for an airbrush.

Money is tight for a lot of folks these days but I'm still using that compressor I bought 18 years ago. Its loud but reliable. If you want to airbrush, I really suggest that 'by hook or crook' you buy a compressor (preferably _not_ crook ;^).

Paasche D500 diaphram pump with a moisture trap. I got mine on sale for well under $100. I'm sure the prices have risen but I'm also sure its much cheaper than a Wii or an Xbox (and will far outlast either of them too.)

You might check on Ebay or Craigslist as the gentleman in the earlier post linked.

Hello Dave -

I feel like a 'lab rabbit' when it comes to airbrushes. I've tried all the following:
Badger
Paasche
Iwata
Aztec

All have their pro's and con's. I've recently purchased an "Air Force" double action airbrush at a local farm & tool supply company ( Fleet Farm..in some places it's Farm & Fleet)
Now, I realize you're in England so I doubt there'll be a "Fleet Farm" there; however, there's a website that you may be able to tap into regardless of being in the U.S. or U.K.
Here it is: http://www.bearair.com/

They cover most major brands, and have good prices. Hope this helps!

Here are a couple of links that might help you in your decision process

http://www.howtoairbrush.com/

http://www.scaleworkshop.com/workshop.htm

I found them to be very informative for airbrushing

Dave -

I got my first airbrush when I was about your age. I saved my money for several months, and for my birthday my parents supplemented my savings and I bought a Badger 200 and a small compressor. It wasn't cheap - I recall the entire outlay came to about $200 - but I still use both of them twenty-nine years later! Pretty good value for money, yes? The good news is that today you can get approximately the same tools - or even slightly better ones - for the same money or possibly less, if you shop carefully.

I've added other airbrushes to my arsenal over the years. I've owned or used just about everything at one time or another - Paasche, Iwata, Olympos, Richpen, Tamiya, Sotar, Aztek, Aerograph, Hansa, Efbe, Gunze, Sparmax, and Harder and Steenbeck - and I have a small side business repairing and tuning airbrushes for artists, so I have a little experience to draw on. The best advice I can give you is to shop around and compare prices, which can vary widely from one vendor to another. Check out on-line dealers like Chicago Airbrush, DixieArt, and Coast Airbrush in the U.S., and Obleeiks, Shesto, Hannant's, and The Airbrush Shop in Europe. You can also try buying a used airbrush, but I'd be very leery of doing this, especially if you're buying one over the internet and can't guarantee the condition of the tool. I've seen some people get fantastic bargains on Ebay and similar, but I've also heard plenty of stories of people who got burned.

You should also try to get in touch with a local model club in your area, and talk to the members to see what they use and what's available locally (availability of parts is *always* important, especially when you're first learning to use and maintain an airbrush). If you're lucky, club members or a local dealer will let you "test drive" an airbrush to see if it suits you.

I would recommend sticking with a name brand manufacturer, such as those listed above. As I mentioned, spare parts are an important consideration, and while there are some very inexpensive "knock-offs" available as house brands or with no brand name from shops like Harbour Freight Tools, Halfords, and on the internet, parts for these may be hard to come by if something goes wrong. A $30 double-action airbrush is no bargain if it breaks and can't be repaired. The quality of the "no-name" airbrushes also seems to vary widely; most are "chinese copies" or "work-alikes" of licensed designs by Iwata, Olympos, Badger, and Sparmax, and while some I've seen are actually quite well-made, others have been poorly-finished and clumsy. If you buy a branded airbrush, you will have some minimal assurance of quality, and usually have a warranty as well.

As to specific recommendations, I would agree with those who tell you to stay away from the cans of "propellant" available at hobby shops and art supply stores. While the initial outlay for a small compressor can be substantial, if well-cared for it will last for years - decades, even - and will be far cheaper, in the long run, than throwing away money on disposable cans of compressed gas (which have a habit of going flat just when you ned them the most!). Small compressors designed for airbrush use are available from Badger, Paasche, Iwata, and Sparmax, and can be surprisngly affordable. Don't forget to get a good-quality braided cloth and rubber hose, too. I recommend hoses by Iwata, though those by Badger and Paasche are acceptable, too. Stay away from cheap vinyl hoses or "coiled" hoses, as they can crack and split with age and are usually of indifferent quality. Depending on what hose and airbrush you buy, you may also need a small fitting to fit the hose to your brush. Paasche and Badger, especially, use their own thread sizes and so require an inexpensive adapter (approx. $3) to fit hoses with "standard" size hose fittings like Iwata's.

I've probably raised a few hackles here by telling you to avoid the "no-name" airbrushes, and I'm going to raise a few more with my next piece of advice: do not buy an Aztek airbrush. I know there are modelers out there that swear by them, and other prominent modelers - like Aussies Brett Green and Chris Wauchop at Hyperscale.com - who really do get fantastic results with them. The truth, though, is that guys like these are so talented - and so practiced - that the tool they use doesn't really matter all that much; they could get stunning results blowing paint through a straw, if they chose. The Aztec does have a few things going for it: its light weight and its ergonomic design. But these are offset by it's indifferent quality and inherent design flaws. In my experience, Aztek's are no easier to clean than conventional airbrushes, especially since - to clean them thoroughly - the nozzle assembly has to be dissected, which can be a difficult trick to pull off without damaging it (and spare nozzles can be a bit pricey). The Aztek is about the same quality as a disposable Bic ballpoint, in my opinion, but less reliable. The innards of the brush in the "no maintenance" handle are made of plastic and vinyl tubing, and tend to come unstuck with age. Most damming, the Testor's Corporation shortened the warranty to just a couple of years from its former "lifetime" status. Badger and Paasche, by contrast, will handle most "heavy maintenance" tasks on their 'brushes for the cost of postage alone. Lastly, Aztec's are not really that cheap. An A470 airbrush with a couple of paint cups, a hose, and a spare nozzle or two can easily cost more than $100 by itself. The "deluxe" sets in the wooden cases can run over $200.

Interestingly, many modelers who extoll the virtues of Azteks own more than one - so as to ensure that they have at least one working airbrush when the others are back with the manufacturer for repair!

With that point out of the way, you have some choices. First of all you have to decide if you want to buy an internam-mix or external-mix airbrush. External-mix airbrushes, like the Paasche H and the Badger 350, do just that: the air and paint are mixed in the opening of the airbrush nozzle as the air blowing through the nozzle syphons the paint from the bottle. Internal-mix airbrushes, by contrast, draw the paint into the body of the airbrush and mix the air and paint further back inside the "head" of the airbrush. Speaking very broadly, internal mix airbrushes atomize the paint more thoroughly, producing a finer spray, and are easier to control, allowing the user to create finer lines and smaller spray patterns. External mix airbrushes can handle heavier media more easily, and are faster and easier to clean up, as they require less complicated dissassembly.

For most modelers, I recommend an internal-mix airbrush. While you can get very good results with an external-mix model, in the long run the internal mix brush will be more versatile and produce, in the hands of the typical user, better results.

Next, you have to choose between so-called "single action" and "double action" airbrushes. These terms refer to the way the air valve is opened to start the flow of air and paint, and the method used for adjusting the needle in the nozzle tip, which controls the amount of paint that's allowed to flow and thus the width of the spray pattern from fine to broad. With a single action brush like the Badger 200 there's a small vernier screw at the back of the brush that controls the needle and the flow of paint, and the trigger only opens and shuts the air valve (hence it's a "single action" trigger). With a "double action" airbrush, such as the Paasche VL and the Badger 150 (as well as most Iwatas and even the Aztek), the trigger controls *both* functions: pressing down on the trigger opens the air valve, and pulling the trigger back controls the needle. The more the trigger is pulled back, the futher the needle moves fromits seat in the nozzle and the broader the spray pattern.

The choice between single- and double-action is much more difficult. On the downside, double action airbrushes are generally more costly than single action, and their more complicated design makes them more difficult to dissassemble and reassemble for cleaning and routine maitenance. On the plus side, double-action brushes are more flexible, allwing a modeler to go from a fine spray to a broad spray with just an adjustment of their fingertip, where a double action brush usually requires that you stop spraying to adjust the needle. In my experience this is a valid argument, but it is equally valid that you can still do very fine work with a single action airbrush, as the critical factors in controlling line widths are the needle and nozzle sizes, the paint-to-thinner ratio, and the air pressure. All these being equal, a single and double-action airbrush should produce similar results.

For myself, I started with a single-action Badger 200. Once I had some practice in its use I had no problem producing very fine lines and patterns, such as mottled camouflage on 1/72 scale Luftwaffe aircraft. I did later add double action airbrushes to my collection, starting with a Paasche VL and a Badger 150. The biggest problem I had in adapting to these brushes was simply getting used to the motion; of using the trigger alone to control both air and paint flow. For this reason, many will suggest that you start off with a double action brush and avoid single action altogether. My experience was that, after a brief period of transition and learning, with practice the use of a double action was not so hard to master. Today, I use both double and single action airbrushes on my workbench, and can switch back and forth between them with no difficulty.

Still with me? Good!

Here are some specific recommendations for you, Dave.

From the standpoint of budget, you might be best served in the short-to medium-term by buying an external-mix airbrush, which will be cheaper than most of the internal-mix options. This will get you started, and - with practice - will allow you to paint some effective camouflage schemes. It will also acquaint you with the basics of airbrush operation and use, and will be simple and easy to clean and maintain. If you go this route, I would recommend buying a Paasche H or, failing that, a Badger 350. The Badger 250 is also an external mix airbrush, but it's very, very simplified - little more than a cheap spray gun - and gives the operator almost no control over paint flow and spray pattern. The 250 is good for primer coats and maybe for single colors, but little else. For external-mix brushes, I perfer the Paasche H. Paasches aren't the most sophisticated airbrushes around; they're big and kinda chunky, but they're very durable and have been a mainstay of art colleges for decades. I've seen modelers get fantastic results with a Paasche H (if you want an example, pick up a copy of Osprey Books' "modeling the DeHavilland Mosquito", by Roy Sutherland. Many of the models in the book were painted with a Paasche H).

Just bear in mind that if you start with an external-mix airbrush, you will - if you continue - want to upgrade to an internal-mix airbrush at some point in the future. Which means you'll have to spend more money.

If you can spend a few more dollars (or pounds, in your case) and want a longer-term solution, then I'd recommend you get an internal-mix airbrush. Good choices here are the Badger 200 series (single action), the Badger 150 (double action), Badger Anthem 155 (double action), Badger Crescenco 175 (double action), Paasche VL (double action) or one of the Iwata "Revolution" series, such as the Revolution SAR (single action) or the Revolution BCR (double action). Pricewise, from least expensive to most expensive, they will probably run Paasche-Badger-Iwata, with double-action brushes being a bit more dear then their single action counterparts. Shop around; many dealers have sales, so you can find airbrushes on offer as much as 40% off MSRP. Iwata has a reputation as being a "top of the line" brand, and they assuredly aren't cheap, but they are surprisingly price competitive with Badger and can often be found at a discount. Personally, I like the Badger 200 and 150 and recommend these without hesitation, and I have nothing but good to say about the Iwatas as well, bearing in mind that they're a bit pricier than the Badgers. I have had good results from my Paasche VL (which I still own) and have used the Crescendo and Anthem, so can vouch for them also. With care and proper cleaning and maintenance, all of these brushes should give you decades of use, and offer enough flexibility to handle a wide range of work and media. As your skills with an airbrush develop, you will still continue to find these models to be very useful. Availability and spare parts for these models should not be a problem, unless you live at McMurdo Sound.

Check out Badger's web site. They have a "garage sale" tab where they offer discontinued models and airbrushes with slight manufacturing defects, or from custom-stamped orders that weren't filled (so your airbrush has "made expressly for Jon Wojhowicitcz" on its side. So what?) at a discount over retail. Also be sure to shop around on the web and contact mail-order shops in the US or on the continent. Depending on exchange rate fluctuations, you may be able to save some money by ordering from overseas, even after paying for shipping. If nothing else, it's a good reason to start following the published exchange rates in the Times and the FT!

Finally, if you can afford to stretch to buy a small compressor, do so. Skip the cans of "Propel" or whatnot; they're a false economy. Don't go overboard; the basic elements you need to start airbrushing are (1) an airbrush and bottles, (2) a hose with adapters, and (3) a compressor. Like I've said, shop around; some dealers offer discounted packages that include the airbrush set, the hose, and the compressor. Some compressors come with regulators and filters. If you can afford one of these, great, but if not, don't worry about it. Most of the small conpressors produce no more than 25-30psi max, which is fine for spraying without a regulator, and you can always add a regulator/filter unit to the compressor later as your finances allow. If you live in the UK you may need to add a moisture trap to your hose, but you can get a cheap in-line moisture trap and couple of hose clamps for just a few pounds. That should be enough to get you started.

I know this seems like a lot. I hope it helps.