Best Beginner Airbrush?

[SpicyJuan11]

I'm not sure where to put this thread so I'll just put this here, mods please move it to the appropriate forum if it's placed in the wrong one.

Although I feel like I've been steadily improving with my brush painting skills, I've gotten frustrated enough that I'm ready to go ahead and buy an airbrush so I can achieve better finishes more easily and paint larger models such as 1/35 armor and 1/48 aircraft. I had a cheap $20 Central Pneumatic airbrush which doesn't really work and as such I'm ready to invest a decent amount of money ($120) to obtain a decent airbrush which can consistently work and is forgiving to use for a beginner such as myself who will undoubtedly not thin my paints enough, struggle with dry tip, etc. So far I've narrowed down my options to three different airbrushes:

• Iwata NEO CN ($60, Iwata NEO CN Gravity-Feed Dual Action Airbrush | Hobby Lobby | 395327 )
  • 0.35mm nozzle
• Badger Patriot 105 3in1 Gravity Airbrush ($88, Badger Patriot 105 3in1 Gravity Airbrush )
  • 0.3, 0.5, & 0.7 nozzle
• Harder & Steenbeck ULTRA V2.0 ($90 Harder & Steenbeck ULTRA V2.0 )
  • 0.2 nozzle (0.4 available extra)

Does anyone have any experience/knowledge with these airbrushes? Which do you recommend? Are there any others that I haven't listed for a similar price which you recommend?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Crimea_River]

I just received the H&S Ultra and tried it a few times. Great product. I'd recommend that, if you go that route, try to get the Ultra kit with the extra nozzle and 4 oz. cup. That set should do you nicely for many years.

I also have an Iwata HP-CPlus which is excellent as well but it's limited to the one .3mm nozzle. I'm not familiar with the Neo but I trust that it's of similar high quality as well.

 

[fubar57]

Can't go wrong with the above recommendation, just check out the finishes on his models. I'm still using my Aztek A470 and when that dies I'll swap over to the H&S Ultra

 

[Crimea_River]

Terry did an excellent review of the Ultra 2 in 1 here: Harder & Steenbeck airbrush review

 

[SpicyJuan11]

I just received the H&S Ultra and tried it a few times. Great product. I'd recommend that, if you go that route, try to get the Ultra kit with the extra nozzle and 4 oz. cup. That set should do you nicely for many years.

I also have an Iwata HP-CPlus which is excellent as well but it's limited to the one .3mm nozzle. I'm not familiar with the Neo but I trust that it's of similar high quality as well.

Can't go wrong with the above recommendation, just check out the finishes on his models. I'm still using my Aztek A470 and when that dies I'll swap over to the H&S Ultra

Thank you for the recommendation. I do not mean to play "he said, she said", however would you mind addressing this criticisim from a poster in another forum regarding the H&S Ultra? Since I'm spending a significant amount of money, I really want to make sure I'm buying something that is both durable/reliable, as well as fit for detailed work.

I have used all 3.

The Neo has a spongy trigger. It's essentially all on, it all off, you can't do a ton of feathering with it. It uses a little nozzle that screws on and can be snapped off if you over tighten. Parts are not cheap, but won't break the bank.

The 105 is a workhorse brush. It will spray anything you throw at it, and parts are cheap. You can outfit it with a 0.33, 0.5 and a 0.7 so it will do it all. It's currently my primer and varnish brush. Of the 3 - this is the one I would get.

I have the Infinity, the Dad to this brush. You get a trait quality brush with the Ultra, and all the needles and nozzles will fit the Evo and Infinity if you upgrade. I am not a huge fan of the push in friction fit cup, but that's me. All H&S brushes need to be really clean to spray right, and you need to thin your paints, even with the 0.4.

I plan on using Vallejo Air, Vallejo Model Color, Tamiya Acrylics, and maybe some AMMO and AK 3rd Gen for paints.

 

[Crimea_River]

"...need to be really clean to spray right......" - True for any quality brush
"....need to thin your paints......." - That's a given. I use Tamiya acrylics and thinning is a must. Ratios depend on what I'm doing.
'....friction fit cup....." - Not a fan either but it's not the end of the world. The 2 oz cup that comes with the base Ultra is pretty small but fine for small jobs like mottling. The 4 oz cup allows for larger jobs and offers less chance of spilling the contents. As I have the nase Ultra, I will use that for fine/finicky work and my Iwata for everything else.

True that the Iwata parts are expensive. I broke my screw-in nozzle a few months back and a replacement one cost me $50Cdn. A new needle is about $20. but in the 15 years I've owned the brush, I've only broken the nozzle once and that was because I didn't clean it properly and it seized.

Also consider the scale of your work. Unless you are doing large RC models, anything over a .4mm nozzle won't be of much use. I have, on occasion, used a .5mm nozzle in my Paasche VL for gloss coating but it's like using a a sledge hammer when a tack hammer will do. I've done 90% of my work with with my .3mm Iwata and it's just fine. I don't have the issue with the "spongy trigger".

 

[Hornchurch]

Which do you recommend?

Are there any others that I haven't listed for a similar price which you recommend?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

'


Back in the late 1990's, I started MY airbrushing career with the venerable & (then), ubiquitous "BADGER.200" with a Medium head/needle

To be fair, it's pretty "idiot-proof", BUT, like all airbrushes, thorough cleaning is KEY !!!!

Not much to go wrong, provided ya run it through with a suitable cleaner.

Ted Taylor (now deceased), used to use a Badger.200 "only" when I knew him & he is 'the one' that taught me how to spray.

Ted was no idiot & he used to "do" NEW model-reviews for both REVELL & TAMIYA in the U.K press magazines

I'll provide a link & you can judge for yourself, what a competent man, can "do" with a basic Badger.200 - (admittedly 'clean-finishes')


modelwork home page


Just scroll-down & click each plane, to see what he was doing back in the late 1990's & early 2000's before he died.

Incidentally, it was a boost having him at our monthly IPMS meetings (at Hornchurch IPMS & 'Southern-Expo'), because of 'new-releases'

Tamiya & especially REVELL used to give him a kit, BEFORE general public release & we'd get to see it, many, many months ahead, before the public.

One such was the REVELL/MONGRAM 'PRO-MODELLER' Messerschmitt Me.110-G.4 Nightfighter / Another was the 1/32nd Hawker Hunter.


His airbrush technique was very basic & straightforward, no faffing about & he ALWAYS got stunning (plain) results with the BADGER.200

Some of the other lads on here will tell you 'when' BADGER changed to the "new" 200 style-head, simply re-named BADGER 200-NH = (New Head)

I've used BOTH types & assuming that the user has more than three brain-cells (Phew, I just made it !), then you're GOOD TO GO.


Spares ARE more readily available than Dog-$h!t over a Public-park was circa 1970, so, "if" ya trash a needle or such, it's easily replaced.


Figured I'd just "throw the suggestion in there", as the BADGER.200-NH is still readily available & I presume (?), cheaper than those you've listed ?


Sorry regarding MY lack of (up to date), knowledge on prices, as I haven't bought ANY airbrush since 2014 (I have a fleet of BADGER 100-LG's, Anthem, etc.

Hopefully, some of the other lads on here or kit-forums, plus you/yourself trawling about on the 'net, can dredge up some recommendations & prices.

Please DON'T discount the BADGER 200 NH tho', purely as a starter, to starter-intermediate airbrush, to teach YOU all the skills you'll need to progress.

You can THEN (at some later-date), go thru the minefield of (much) more expensive "Dual-Action" and "Gravity-Feed" airbrushes on the market.

Badger's spares availabilty is what gives them the drop, in many instances, particularly "if" you're stateside.

I'm in the U.K & back in the 1990's & 2000's, any half-decent Arts & Crafts OR Hobbystore would carry a large range of spares.

Am told that Badger's customer-service is "Good", although to be fair, I've not had to use it, myself - Hope ANY of the above is of use ?

'H.C'

 

[SpicyJuan11]

I just received the H&S Ultra and tried it a few times. Great product. I'd recommend that, if you go that route, try to get the Ultra kit with the extra nozzle and 4 oz. cup. That set should do you nicely for many years.

I also have an Iwata HP-CPlus which is excellent as well but it's limited to the one .3mm nozzle. I'm not familiar with the Neo but I trust that it's of similar high quality as well.

Can't go wrong with the above recommendation, just check out the finishes on his models. I'm still using my Aztek A470 and when that dies I'll swap over to the H&S Ultra

Terry did an excellent review of the Ultra 2 in 1 here: Harder & Steenbeck airbrush review

Thank you all for your suggestions. I went ahead and bought the H&S Ultra 2in1. I'll report back when get it and try it out. Now I need to figure out how to use and clean it...

 

[Crimea_River]

As they say in the business "RTFM" or Read The "Full" Manual. Good buy. You'll enjoy it.

 

[SpicyJuan11]

As they say in the business "RTFM" or Read The "Full" Manual. Good buy. You'll enjoy it.

Thank you. How fragile is it?

 

[Crimea_River]

The needle is very fine so you need to take care removing and inserting it so as not to bend the tip. True of all AB's. Other than that, the body is good and solid.