Small Scale Military Headquarters

I think this question may have been asked before:
What is a good (inexpensive) airbrush?
What things do you look for when you are comparing them?
Where is a good place to buy from? (online and B&M)

Any help or advise would be appreciated!

well, I use a Badger 150. Very easy to use and to clean and have a dual action system.

Some ebay links to it :

http://cgi.ebay.com/Badger-150-Bottom-F ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Badger-Professional ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Badger-150-Professi ... dZViewItem

I hope it will help you.

phil

Razor

Badger 150 for me also........... However I have an extra fine head and needle as I found the standard one supplied was a bit heavy handed, especially for doing scribble and spot patterns.

But you really need to consider getting yourself a decent compressor to get the most out of your air brush, in the past I have I used all the cheaper alternatives like pressure pack air cans, spare tyre adapters and a sub par compressor, but until I went out and spent the money a good compressor a few years ago the results where always marginal and the brush was a lot harder to work with.

My compressor looks like this one.



It is not a top of the line model but it does the trick and has a condensation trap (a real must IMO), I think that it cost me about AU$150 at the time, but was well worth it and in hind-sight is something I really should have done it years ago.

as Spud say, the compressor is an important part and it do half of the job.

phil

I have too been looking into a airbrush. But i never have really got around to buying one So i guess the badger 150 would be a good one to get. Here are some questions to add on, where can i get a one? What paint should you use for really detailing and normal uses? How much would it cost and how much would buying paint cost? I am getting into the customizing things now

Hi V2Man,

difficult to say about prices in the US as I live in Europe. Now about Badger 150, just check links I posted above to EvilBay.

For my part, I use enamel paints (Humbrol). Wide range of colours and easy to use.

phil

Thanks, guys!
Appreciate the information!

I have only been using compressed air cans and feel I need a compressor if I am going to get good results. The hobby shop compressors are terribly expensive and I wonder if I couls buy a cheap one at Harbor Freight tools and use it.

Any idea? My only concern would be that the output PSI range would be too varied to be effective.

If anyone has any experience, please share.

olifant wrote:I have only been using compressed air cans and feel I need a compressor if I am going to get good results. The hobby shop compressors are terribly expensive and I wonder if I couls buy a cheap one at Harbor Freight tools and use it.

Any idea? My only concern would be that the output PSI range would be too varied to be effective.

If anyone has any experience, please share.

G'day Olifant

As I said above, I feel that wasted my time with a sub par compressor for a long time and it’s use often resulted in having to repaint surfaces more that twice on many an occasion.

A lot of this rework was due to with the low and inconsistent pressure that this compressor delivered, the effect being that the paint spits out in larger droplets giving a speckled finish to the edge (like using the old tooth brush flick method), however with a regulated air supply the spray edge is soft but sharp as the droplets are nice and small.

Added to the above was the unpredictable event of condensate passing into the paint stream, the corresponding splat resulting in the need to wait for the paint to harden and then and then a gentle rub back, however no matter how gentle you are there is always an obvious tell tail of where the splat occurred. Then as if to add insult to injury while trying to fix up splat point, another condensate splat will occur.

Take my advice and save up to get a real airbrush compressor with a regulator and condensate trap, as I said mine only cost AU$150 about 5 years ago so I’m sure that you should be able to track one down for about US$150 toUS$200.

A decent compressor is critical, without a doubt. I use an Iwata HP-C airbrush and a small Campbell-Hausfeld air compressor with a 1 gallon tank. I added a pressure regulator with moisture trap to provide more controlled airflow, since the compressor is rated at 100 psi for the flow rate the airbrush uses--way too much for the Iwata. The compressor was only $45, and seems to do a very nice job, but it is also rather loud (since it is designed more for use with an air nailer). The regulator was another $25.

What about a simple air cylinder that could be refilled?

olifant wrote:What about a simple air cylinder that could be refilled?

pressure will not be constant.

phil

Scuba tank with a pressure regulator?

exether_mega wrote: pressure will not be constant.

phil

BS!

I now use a CO2 cyl with a regulator and get clean, moisture free, air without the heat and pulsing of a compressor.
No noise to upset the wife.
I am very pleased to have moved up from a compressor.
It is a small tank but I rarely have to fill it, and it can even be filled at your local Beer Barn. (open late)

I use a Badger 100 and a 150

If you have Michaels or Hobby Lobby in your area, they frequently have coupons for 40-50% off one regular priced item. I used this approach to get a significant price break on an Aztek A4709 airbrush set, Badger Whirlwind II compressor, pressure regulator and moisture trap. I'd like to get an air tank to help smooth out the air supply.

Don't forget the important thing that I did: time to use it!

aae

aae83 wrote:If you have Michaels or Hobby Lobby in your area, they frequently have coupons for 40-50% off one regular priced item. I used this approach to get a significant price break on an Aztek A4709 airbrush set, Badger Whirlwind II compressor, pressure regulator and moisture trap. I'd like to get an air tank to help smooth out the air supply.

Don't forget the important thing that I did: time to use it!

aae

Can you get the coupons in the store?

I've never seen the coupons in either store.

I've only seen the Michaels coupons in the Sunday ad section of the paper. They require the original coupon from the newspaper ad.

Hobby Lobby's coupon is available both in the paper and online, if it's valid for the current week (they seem to alternate on/off on a weekly basis, so if you're not in a hurry and can wait a week, you can generally get the discount). They don't care if you copy it, but you're not supposed to use more than one coupon per day. Here's the link: http://www.hobbylobby.com/site3/weekly/weekly.cfm

You also have to make certain the item you want isn't already on sale for a lesser amount, though I think they'll sometimes honor the greater discount.

This week's HL coupon is 40% off cake decorating stuff. Not so useful to us... unless maybe someone can use frosting tools to apply zimmerit.

aae

The only airbrush you'll ever need: http://cgi.ebay.com/Paasche-VL-AIRBRUSH ... dZViewItem

Easy to clean and comfortable to use.