Need some help getting good air brush and compressor

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G

Glue Sniffer

Airman
19
13
Sep 28, 2021
Northern Mi
Hey Guys,

Getting back into modeling after a 25 year break. Im looking at getting a good airbrush and compressor that I won't grow out of. I dont anticipate taking another hiatus LOL. I build in 1:48 or 1:32 FWIW.

Any help would be appreciated and if you can recommend any good online vendors id also appreciate that as ive no local hobby shops to stop into.
 
No price limit...just want to buy the right items once instead of having to upgrade a few times to get it right. When i was younger my gear wasn't the greatest and ruined much of the fun for me.
 
A factor may be where you live with regards to shipping as well. Living in Canada, the shipping from the U.S.of A is $$$$$$$$$$$ while the shipping costs in Canada are $$$$$$$
 
Like Geo, I use a generic compressor, the same type being supplied under different labels, which cost me about £80 in the UK around 3 or 4 years back. It has a water trap / filter (arrowed ) with adjustable pressure regulator, and has worked fine over the years.
I have a couple of inexpensive double-action gravity-fed airbrushes which I use foe general coverage and clear coats, and use a Harder & Steenbeck Ultra "two in one" airbrush, which has two sizes of paint cup, and two sizes of needle / tip, allowing broad coverage and very fine lines.
I did a review of this some time ago, which can be found in the Modelling threads.
Pics of both below.
Airbrush H&S 002.JPG
Compressor..jpg
 
Great info thanks guys. Should I be looking at getting a cheaper one as well for priming, clear coating etc?
 
I will be upfront about it I can't stand airbrushing it sucks the fun out of modelling.

However I did have a H&S Evolution 2 in 1 with a generic compressor. It cost me £150 for the pair. The H&S was nicely built and thickly chromed and felt lovely in the hand. It was all the setting up and cleaning I didn't like.

For the costs I didn't think the H&S was massively better than the cheap Chinese airbrushes you can buy but I think it's the longevity, consistency and availability of spares and extras your paying for. The Chinese copies can work very well or be absolute junk you won't find out till you try it.

If I was buying again I would get an Iwata or Badger for the simple reason their is a stockist in reasonable driving range.
 
Stu's comment about airbrushing taking the fun out of modeling does not match my experience. I've never gone back to the hairy stick after learning air brushing and there is constant challenge to improve one's technique and to achieve interesting effects. I have an Iwata HP-CPLus (0.3mm nozzle), an H&S Ultra (0.2mm nozzle) and a rarely used Paasche VL with multiple nozzles up to 0.5mm which I sometimes use for gloss coating.

For versatility, you'll want either an airbrush with interchangeable tips down to as low as 0.15 or 0.2mm or, as in my case more than one brush for different jobs. Your preferred modelling scale (mine is 1/48) will be a factor in deciding what tip sizes you'll be happy with in the future.

My compressor is a Paasche D200 and it's a beast. - noisy but robust. I bought it about 30 years ago and it's still providing great service.
s-l1600.jpg
 
Last edited:
Crimea_River said:
Stu's comment about airbrushing taking the fun out of modeling does not match my experience.
Click to expand...
I fully admit you can do some outstanding work with an airbrush, not blowing my own trumpet too hard I did some good work myself. Its just I love mucking around with a palette of colours and a jar of hairy sticks.

I can put my brush down and go and answer the door or a call of nature. I can listen to sports without the duhduhduh of a compressor. I don't have to wear a respirator. When I feel like finishing for a while I can chuck the paint palette in the sink and the brushes in a jar of water and come back weeks later and pick up where I stopped.

Oh and a roll of Tamiya 6mm masking tape has lasted me for over a year.
 
I agree with Andy. I have the Paasche Airbrush D3000R. I've listed it above. Quite and reliable, I can positively recommend it. I do brush painting lttle as possible. The capability of air brushing is smother than a brush.
 
fastmongrel said:
I fully admit you can do some outstanding work with an airbrush, not blowing my own trumpet too hard I did some good work myself. Its just I love mucking around with a palette of colours and a jar of hairy sticks.

I can put my brush down and go and answer the door or a call of nature. I can listen to sports without the duhduhduh of a compressor. I don't have to wear a respirator. When I feel like finishing for a while I can chuck the paint palette in the sink and the brushes in a jar of water and come back weeks later and pick up where I stopped.

Oh and a roll of Tamiya 6mm masking tape has lasted me for over a year.
Click to expand...
If it works for you. It's your thing.
 
Something else to put into the criteria hopper, is what type of paint are you going to primarily going to be shooting. I know that some air brushes are finicky on what they will shoot.
 
Do not buy a compressor that does not have a tank which acts like a buffer to prevent on and off surges of air. Also, the air regulators that come with 99% of the compressors are neither accurate nor fine enough for airbrushing when you need to dial in 1-2 pound increments. Buy a stand alone regulator and hook it up in line w quick disconnects. I use a Bedford regulator 26-1125 but seems to be discontinued. I do like all the Iwata compressors and airbrushes but they are expensive. If you have the right equipment, the hobby is much more enjoyable since you'll spend less time dealing with substandard equipment and trying to figure out how to make it work or how to make it better.

Iwata Airbrush Official

The official website of Iwata Airbrush. See why inspired makers and creators insist on Iwata. What will you create?
www.iwata-airbrush.com www.iwata-airbrush.com
 
Don't buy a Chinese airbrush! The o-rings used to seal these guns cannot tolerate aggressive solvents (acetone or MEK) which are often needed to clean out cured acrylics or actually used in lacquers such as Tamiya's new line. I have two Badger guns: an XF-150 bottom-feed and an XF 250 top-feed gun for detail work. The 150 is 40 (or more) years old and was rebuilt completely (for free… it has a lifetime warranty) and I changed it to a large needle and nozzle for ease in spraying larger areas. The Badger guns are American made and have teflon seals that are impervious to anything you'll blow through the gun.

I have a new Paacsche compressor with regulator and reservoir. It's a good machine. Very quiet and the reservoir means it's not pumping all the time. That said, all of these machines are made in China and probably in the same factory since they share an awful lot of similar characteristics. Prior to this I had an ancient Badger diaphragm compressor that ran for years and years, but it was noisy and pulsated. It had no reservoir or pressure regulation, but it painted a lot of models. If you can, buy a compressor with a reservoir. You'll be thankful you did since it does a much more even job.
 
I sure appreciate all of the above advice. Im in between the Talon and the Eclipse. Both seem to have great reviews...are parts easier to get for one over the other? I know hobby lobby carries the Iwata but I dont have one within 45min so it really doesn't matter too much.
 
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