HarasinCreed Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hay there I have been looking at buying an Airbrush for some time now and was wondering which model/brand i should be buying. I want a Double-Action, Gravity feed Airbrush and hoping not to spend over $200 New Zealand (about $110 US). If you know of any good ones that come under this price please tell me. Thanks P.S i hope i posted this in the right place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanhausen Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I'd say an important issue is whether you have already used airbrushes or not. There are mainly 2 theories: 1.- Go for a cheap one, learn how to use it and its probably everything you will ever need. I got one off ebay for some 20 Euros (something like USD25), brand new and EXTREMELY similar to Iwata (which are a top brand for airbrushes). 2.- You are only going to buy 1 airbrush so go for GOOD quality. Better spend USD60 now and have a long lasting tool. My experience... I went for the cheap one. I had never used airbrushes, only the spray gun of GW. I also got a cheap compressor (known as the elefant because the ring where you fasten the air line looks like a trump and the sides have markings like the animal's ears). Total was some 70 Euros. I've used it a bit, not as much as I've wanted due to lack of time. What's important is: - Dual action airbrush. Be careful you dont get a spray gun. The main difference is that a spray gun only understands "on vs off" and you really can't measure how much paint goes out. Dual action you can choose how much paint and how much air. - Gravity feed. If possible, try to get one that un-screwes, because that will allow easier cleaning. - Humidity filter. You can get them for reasonable money (some 12 Euros) and they are CRUCIAL! In Spain it does get a bit humid sometimes and without the filter every 3 or 4 seconds you get a nice paint blot. - Needle size. I'm not sure now, but I'd say I got a .15. The smaller the number, the finer the lines you can do. Last, I'd suggest you get it from a local retailer if possible. This is because although ebay is a bit cheaper, its hard to make questions and get customer support... whereas the local shop is always there and you can pop in for advice or pieces. As said, I spent 70 Euros... only to find that if bought locally it would have been something like 85. For that difference, I'd rather get it at the shop for the above reasons. Anyway, hope it helps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Saturnus Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 after doing some home work, it seems iwata makes a quality brush. BTW Great explanation Tanhausen, everything you said was spot on! Personally im going to buy a Iwata Airbrush. That one in fact for myself this Christmas ( WINTER SOLSTICE ) ^.^, for around $119 you ca get a airbrush from iwata, but Master also makes a good brush for less. Also from what I understand that website is pretty competitively priced, but if you can take Tanhausens advice and buy locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanhausen Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Just for the record: airbrushes are available in a HUGE range. Price is an orientation, but its more of what you want to do with it. You can go from USD 20 to 1500. I'd say USD 400 is probably what you can consider professional level. And also, Iwata is taken as a product benchmark, but there are many other brands, such as Artesanía Latina. What I mean is that you might find a USD25 airbrush with a .15 needle and think "hey, that's great, very fine lines and cheap". But what happens if you want to paint "thick" lines (something like big tank plates)? You'll have to work more in order to get a nice result. Also, how much you can strip it is quite important. Cleaning the airbrush is A PAIN. And you have to clean it after EACH colour you use. As usual, there are solutions to every issue, such as ultrasonic cleaners (I found one for USD30, small and cheap enough to try it out) that will work wonders, or you can simply use cleaning chambers (a small flat container made of plastic that uses a bit of vacum to clean). Even easier is simple tap water or Tamiya XA-20 (thinner)... that is if you can physically access the area you want to clean. As you can see, there are many issues, that's why I suggest going local: you can touch, ask and come back if necessary. winterdyne uses airbrush and I'm sure there are many other such as SquigBait and others :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashdown Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I have a badger velocity and love it. I paid 90$ after shipping from a company named TCP Global Corp. It is balanced very well, great trigger response, and well made. Here is a review of the brush. **I am not a rep or trying to peddle any ones goods. The internet is full of scams and counterfeits. I had a pleasent experience with the aformentioned company and with the airbrush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malalite Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I use a low-end Paasche myself, but I've been speaking with a guy who does garage kits for his hobby, and he strongly recommends Iwata as a quality airbrush. I may upgrade one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarasinCreed Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Another question what needle size should i buy. I saw an airbrush with 0.35mm diameter needle. Any thoughts on it as i am wanting to paint up a tau army ie using the airbrush to paint their armour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GumbaFish Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 My airbrush has a .3mm nozzle and that has seemed to be a pretty decent compromise for me to do basecoats on marines and some finer preshading and highlighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenley Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Why would I want a gravity fed airbrush? Is there a benefit to it? And is the GW one the only one with the marks to let you know the ratio of paint to water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarasinCreed Posted August 26, 2010 Author Share Posted August 26, 2010 Ok thanks for response sounds as if this airbrush might be the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arschbombe Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Why would I want a gravity fed airbrush? Is there a benefit to it? The paint quantities you need to spray 40k models isn't all that much. Using a gravity feed brush lets you waste less paint and creates less of a mess when used with eye dropper paints like Vallejo Model Air. It also lets you spray at a lower air pressure as a siphon feed needs more pressure to suck the paint up out of the jar. I started with gravity feed and switched to gravity feed after I found that I didn't need the big jar full of paint. I started using the little paint cup instead and found I really liked being able to just add drops of paint to it. All of the GW colors I use now have been thinned and transferred into reaper eye dropper bottles. And is the GW one the only one with the marks to let you know the ratio of paint to water? AFAIK it's the only one. GW's markings only work for the citadel colors and foundation paints. There are so many variables (type of paint, brand, solvent used, air pressure, ambient humidity etc. ) it's not worth it for regular airbrush companies to bother marking their paint cups. Thinning paint for airbrushing is a trial and error process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarasinCreed Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 What do people think of this Airbrush set http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Model...n-313124889.htm Do you think that the Airbrush is of a high enough standard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarasinCreed Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 What do people think of this Airbrush set http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Model...n-313124889.htm Do you think that the Airbrush is of a high enough standard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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