Airbrushes

[hubbabubba]

Airbrushes
Anyone got any recommendations on brands that are good, ones that should be avoided, do\'s and don\'ts.
I\'ve seen one in a case with a cheap compressor for +/- 230 euros.
I\'ve been told that the canned air can cause problems with loss of pressure when the can is too cold, and the cheaper compressors can give problems with none consistent air flow, but I really know bugger all about them, so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[mud duck]

Well, GW is putting out a \'airbrush\' in June/July that supposedly looks like a hand flamer......

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

Iwata..Iwata..Iwata..

Id go with an HP-C Plus if you want a good all around airbrush. You can buy many off eBay fr $150.00 or so.

As for compressors, Id recommend something with a small tank and a good regulator and water trap. As for brand.. not sure what to reccomend as your in Spain.

 

[spazzy]

I\'ve never used an airbrush before, and I had never thought that it would be good for minis. I always thought that they made large messy lines...am I mistaken? What good use can one get out of an airbrush for minis?

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

Originally posted by spazzy
I\'ve never used an airbrush before, and I had never thought that it would be good for minis. I always thought that they made large messy lines...am I mistaken? What good use can one get out of an airbrush for minis?

really quality aiurbrushed can paint a line as thin as a human hair or a pencil line.. I have one that will come close to that. For 28mm figures they would be great for really good primer and sealer coats a for things like Marines.. good base coast. They would be best for Vehicles.

The problem is people go out and spend little money on a cheap airbrush and cant figure out why thye cant get a decent coat of paint out of it nore the fine lines they expect.

 

[spazzy]

I see, so primarily primer and sealer, does it have the same problem with drying and beading that most spray cans can have? I\'ve given up on spray primer. It always cheeses me off! I would suspect that for fine detail work it might be difficult to maintain a steady hand...is it?

 

[fenriskw]

I want to throw in an agreement with DFD, if you\'re going to buy an airbrush buy one of the Iwata models. They are well built and a joy to use.

I don\'t know much about compressors since I use 20 and 40 lb CO2 tanks for my airbrushes.

 

[MAXXxxx]

what worked for me (I\'m also new to this thing):
Modelmaster Airbrush kit from ebay-simple2trade shop
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Simple-Two-Trade_KITS-SYSTEMS_Professional-Kits_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ176371419QQftidZ2QQtZkm

it costed about 90 euro for compressor+airhose+ airbrush.
the compressor is really good (ok I have no other to compare to). I gives a constant airflow, isn\'t too warm/hot, cuts out when the internal air reservoir is full, silent (the neightbours are not bothered by it, and you can hear radio/mp3s without a problem, but it has a \'hum\'), has an internal moisture trap.

When I turn the air pressure down to about 20psi I can do relatively fine lines with the airbrush.

but the main point would be getting it for the price and for the compressor. Then I\'d still recommend getting another airbrush for the detail work you want, and use the one in the kit for basing/larger surfaces.

 

[hubbabubba]

Ok, that\'s cool, had a look at the Iwata stuff, six different ranges to choose from???
Next question is whether there is any advantage to having an under slung cup with changeable bottles? It occurred to me that this would be a good idea as I could change colour by just running some water through to rinse and changing the bottle. However, I\'m informed that the top mounted cups give better flow as gravity means less pressure is needed in the cup to get the paint into the brush, resulting in more even painting. What would you recommend, are the top loaders a difficult to clean? Can you get separate cups for them too?

 

[MPJ]

I know from previous posts that it\'s not popular amongst the \'artists\' around here but I really like my Aztec airbrush as seen here. For a compressor I have an Airmaster as seen here. I like the combo very much for hobby purposes. I also have a few, more artistic, airbrushes but I always tend to use my Aztec as they are easy to use and easy to clean up after.

 

[airhead]

Iwata lines - HP-B or HP-C will do nearly everything you want with a mini.

Bottom feed by its nature requires more pressure to lift the paint - making it very hard to do very fine lines with a bottom fed gun. Top feed allows you to use minimum pressure which allows the finest of lines, but you often waste paint in color changes if you cannot pour what\'s in the cup back into the paint pot. Side feed = worst of both worlds.

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

To answer questions on cup feed/bottom feed. Ive dealt with both and a cup feed as Airhead said requires less pressure to spray paint. Less pressure and properly thinned paint give a very nice finish.

I clean the brush proper between every color change anyhow so the changeable bottles means nothing to mea. Yes you will see the guys doing tshirts with a dozen colors and a syphon feed brush but they are big brushed designed for tshirts and would be like painting models with a squirt gun.

For paints I spray in my Iwata Ill list the paint and its chosen thinner.

Vallejo Model Air -Thinner is water
Vallejo Model Color_Thinner is Vallejo Airbrush thinner
GW paint-Thinner is Vallejo Airbrush thinner
Lifecolor-Thinner is water
Tamiya Acrylics-Heres the tricky one..it says acrylic..you can clean paint brushes with water even thin is slightly with water..and they sell thinner which is Alchol based..but the best kept secret with Tamiya paints is get this..thin it with Lacquer thinner. Tamiya sells its own brand of Lacquer thinner which works the best. Makes the paint dry glass smooth and dead flat. The Tamiya paints are an acrylic resin which is why the lacquer thinner works best.

I do reccomend the HP-C Plus to most because its got an extra option over the basic HP-c that allows you to adjust the brush easier when in use.

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

Originally posted by fenriskw
I want to throw in an agreement with DFD, if you\'re going to buy an airbrush buy one of the Iwata models. They are well built and a joy to use.

I don\'t know much about compressors since I use 20 and 40 lb CO2 tanks for my airbrushes.

Those are nice.. perfict moisture free air source. How long does the 40lb bottle last?

Ive seen a new regulator set up that works off of paint ball gun cylinders for travel Im checking into. Its designed for a carpenter to use with a nail gun on a job site with out electricity but should work Id think.

 

[Avelorn]

Hopefully I\'ll be able to by my long awaited airbrush by the end of the summer. So I\'m following these threads with much interest.

 

[hubbabubba]

All good helpful stuff, thanks all

 

[DaRat]

I\'ve started using an airbrush fairly recently, and I\'ve been quite happy with my purchase (Iwata HP-C Plus, Iwata Power Jet Lite, Artograph spray booth). I\'m still learning how to use the system, so I haven\'t done all that much with it.

But, the combination has been very handy for priming, sealing, and an initial (one color) base coat. The latter has saved some time, even if I can only do one predominant color (skin on the 9 test zombies and orcs).

I haven\'t seen any pulsation issues yet, but I also haven\'t been trying to do fine lines (yet).

Buy a spare nozzle and a spare needle when you get the airbrush. You\'ll need them. I broke my nozzle (by over tightening) when reassembling after the first time.

 

[airhead]

Yea, those cones & needles are not cheap on the HP\'s. But try them on the CM models. Way ouch.