Airbrush and Primer guidance needed

[alexz3]

Hi everyone,

I have a hobby shop near the office, and they sell these items:

View attachment 72785 View attachment 72786 View attachment 72787

Are these any good? I have never done any airbrushing but I'm tempted to try. I paint mostly GW miniatures and have some 40K vehicules coming.

Would the end nozzle be too small? Can I interchange it or is this not needed?

They also sell these paints:

View attachment 72788

Anyone ever used them? They are big bottles but pricey.

Regarding spray primer, they have these:

View attachment 72789 View attachment 72790

Think these can be used directly on my minis? I tried Liquitex once and it was a disaster, the paint just slid off the primed minis.

Thanks!

 

[MAXXxxx]

Airbrush: I don't know Badger enough, but for that price you could get a HnS Evolution Solo with an extra Nozzle (a larger one) +needle (for the larger one).
Funny thing is that there is on AB I'D like to buy from a hungarian seller ( http://www.paplaszlo.com/ad3202.html ). Costs a whopping cca.35 euro, tried it at a friend comparable/better than the HnS Evolution line.

The compressor for 171 looks ok-ish, I miss a tank under it. I got my current for 250euro with tank from a local store (similar, not the cheapest price, but no problems since I bought it in 2010).


Createx paints are good, but I'd rather buy 3 Vallejo Colors instead of one of them. Minis don't need that much of a paint, so the smaller size in vallejo is not a problem and you can have 2 extra shades/colors.

Spray: yes they can be used, but... I rather pay the extra for the GW sprays. They are expensive but never had problems with them. These sprays you might have 1 that works super, then another that messes everything up and is a waste. Quality Control is low.
Hmm, I see on rustoleum spray, that might be good. At least I hear good things from those.
Or if you have an AB: AB Primer from Vallejo for example

 

[DaBeebs]

Advice on the airbrush...I've always steered clear of Badger, as they like to thread their stuff in proprietary thread pitches (makes upgrades later a PITA, as you either have to buy everything again, or adapters for everything). Check out Amazon...I bought a Grex a couple of months ago, and it has been a real treat to use. I've used Paasche for years on automotive lacquer based paints, and loved them; but saw a lot of features of the Grex that I really liked, and all the reviews I read said quality was on par with higher priced brushes. Also, siphon feed increases your volume of paint used vs a gravity/side feed (you will be spending more money on replacing your paint supply vs. expanding your color/brand range).

Paint...go with your preferred brand of mini paint. Grab a bottle of Liquitex Airbrush medium, or vallejo's, or I've even been using Windex, and learn to thin the paint you have already spent money on. In the past, I wasn't really that impressed with createx, but again, I was used to lacquer based paint.

Primer...I've been using the vallejo primers (black and grey) thinned down and sprayed through the airbrush. I've been extremely happy with the results, as well as, the economic value in them (I was spending $14.00 every pay period to replace my cans of Krylon Fusion, as I was burning through them pretty fast).

 

[ekipage]

I have used both Krylon and Rustoleum to prime and never had a problem with either of those, but like DaBeebs said, depending on how much you prime you might go through it pretty quick. Can't comment on airbrushing as I haven't tried that bit out yet, I am seriously thinking about picking one up soon though.

 

[Dexter0015]

Back in my first period of painting, when I was a teenager, I used to prime using spray cans, but I was'nt really happy with it.
I do not know if it is related to my poor skills but I never liked how it feels and always found the result to thick for my taste.
Anyway when I came back to paint I decided to try airbrush and I definitively prefer to work with it.

But, and this is just my opinion, as I was (and still am) a total newbe at airbrushing, I made the choice to buy a cheap one to start with.
I bought a bundle on amazon for around 150-180 € including a small compressor and 2 different airbrushs (one with a reservoir on the top, and another one on which you can attach reservoirs from the bottom, which I never realy used).
I have it for about a year and half now, and even if I've broke a nozzle (which I've just replaced and did not cost me more than 10 €), I'm happy with it and I think I'll stick with it for some time. I may buy a better airbrush down the road, but not until I start ncrease my skill at using it for more than priming.

 

[Hairster]

I bought one of these to start off....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Profession...eywords=abest&qid=1554826455&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Great price, compressor works perfectly and has a storage tank the kicks in and out when full/needing top up. It comes with a cheap basic airbrush (meant for nails/spraying cakes etc) which is fine for priming/basic base coats.

I then picked up a Harder and Steenbeck ultra pretty cheaply to upgrade....I've been using that ever since. Will probably upgrade agin soon to an H&S Infinity when I have som free cash.

For paint just pick up the appropriate thinner for your usual paint brand and mix it in the hopper.....job done.

 

[bullfrog]

I have a badger Krome but I can say that they are nice airbrushes. Very well balanced in the hand. Not sure how many models the feature of the small floating spray tip is on but to me it’s a slightly annoying thing. My eyes aren’t the best and I find it fiddly when stripping it down. Always good customer service with the company. My airbrush came with adapters for other connectors but I ended up getting a badger hose shortly after as I needed a new one anyway.

As for spray primers I only use them when lazy or strapped for time. Have never had trouble with Vallejo cans. Go with GW as a second choice. Since discovering the Vallejo surface primer bottles I use it through the airbrush. They even brush on with no brush marks. Very cost effective if you buy the 200ml bottles. Worth getting black, white and grey in the larger size and complement with the smaller specific colours.

Createx paints spray well through an airbrush. Fantastic if you want to paint a motorbike fuel tank or helmet but not so well suited to mini painting. Many of the colours are transparent designed for multiple overlay effects. Many of the opaque colours are quite bright and vivid and therefore not really suited to some styles of mini painting. For military armour I tend to stick to my tried and true brand of Tamiya acrylics or enamels. For mini painting I like the Vallejo Model Air and Game Air. Good range if you don’t like to mix your colours. Haven’t had problems spraying Scale 75 but I haven’t used them a lot. I enjoy brush painting so I airbrush as little as practical.

 

[alexz3]

So in the end I got an Iwata Eclipse HCS and a Revel compressor (though I had to go buy an adapter for the hose and compressor to connect).

I also got Black, Grey and White primer, as well as a flow improver, a spray booth, some latex gloves and a filter mask, and finally a thing where I can empty / clean my airbrush and hold it.

I started using it this weekend and learned a lot about using it, cleaning it, unclogging it, correct paint mixing, etc.

Here is some of the stuff I did just this weekend, from basecoat to finish:

View attachment 72958 View attachment 72959 View attachment 72960 View attachment 72961 View attachment 72962 View attachment 72963 View attachment 72964