Coganaut Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hey everyone! Looking to step up my painting akills by adding a airbrush to my arsenal. I know what I am looking to do with it but dont know what brush to look into getting... My main uses will be priming the minis and the doing glow effects, like in the picture I included. Seeing as I wont be doing much can i just get a low cost brush and be alright? Ive noticed some going for around 30-60$ and the price is definitely appealing. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spifferson Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 The general consensus is that you shouldn't cheap out on your first airbrush. There are entry level airbrushes made by reputable companies like Badger and Iwata. Also if you have one of those giant craft stores that has regular 40-50% off coupons (Michaels is my local version) you can get a pretty good brush (Badger Patriot 105) for a reasonable price. Priming and and doing the detail work will require different needles or possibly even brushes. Personally if it's an either/or situation I would get your first experience priming and working on large projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durant Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Most important, when you get a brush film how you unscrew it to pieces. You will clog it, you will, all of us did. Also buy Vallejo airbrush cleaner and flow improver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 4 hours ago, Spifferson said: The general consensus is that you shouldn't cheap out on your first airbrush. There are entry level airbrushes made by reputable companies like Badger and Iwata. Also if you have one of those giant craft stores that has regular 40-50% off coupons (Michaels is my local version) you can get a pretty good brush (Badger Patriot 105) for a reasonable price. Priming and and doing the detail work will require different needles or possibly even brushes. Personally if it's an either/or situation I would get your first experience priming and working on large projects. Sadly getting an airbrush is one of those things you shouldn't scrimp on too much. As Spifferson says there are some really good deals going but I would advise to go for a "main brand" manufacturer or one by recommendation. Iwata, Harder & Steenbeck, Badger etc. Personally I would go in that order preference wise too. In the past year or so the number of Iwata Neo's being used by "professionals" has risen massivly The biggest investment though will be a compressor - ideally you want one that has a reservoir tank (with moisture trap) as this gives the most consistent flow for miniatures. Needle size I'd suggest a 0.3 or 0.35, this will give you the best of all worlds and sprays acrylics without too many blockages. I use my Iwata HP-C for a mixture of priming, base colours and detail work without any real problems. Vallejo Airbrush Thinner is brilliant for thinning pretty much any paint to go through the airbrush although I personally prefer Forge World Solution for Citadel paints if you can get your hands on it - it just has a slight edge for thinning Citadel paints (and works as an excellent cleaner too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coganaut Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hey thanks for all the replys. I was looking at a badger originally so just keep saving and see what I can afford. Getting one on sale would be nice, will have to keep checking at Michael's. I honestly didnt think so much went into choosing a compressor, is there a perfered brand or just find one that has all the mentioned features? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunnlock Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hi, Airbrushing looks really complex at first, but once you get used to it you acquire some really good techniques which help a lot! I personally can't think of painting without using an airbrush now. I've tried both branded and unbranded airbrushes. Painters will probably throw rocks at me, but I personally don't see a major difference between both... The main factors to obtain good results with airbrushing are, for me, paint thinning and air pressure. I use X20-A thinner from Tamiya Color and can't complain about it. It thins well pretty much any type of paint you'll want to use (generic GW and Army Painter for me). As mentioned I use an unbranded airbrush, which I bought as a pack with a compressor. You can find many of them on eBay (ex: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FoxHunter-AS-186-Complete-Airbrush-Kit-Compressor-With-Tank-Nail-Tatoo-Art-/200600974912?hash=item2eb4bff640:g:QRQAAOSwxH1UGATN). You will want a dual-action airbrush; that means you control both air pressure and paint flow with your finger. That permits you to be extremely precise on what you want: it goes from priming a model to paint a gradient on the sword of a plaguebearer (I did all mine in no time thanks to airbrushing), or even tinier if you use a really small nozzle. I use a 0.25mm nozzle for nearly everything. For the compressor, one with a tank is definitely needed, as it means it will build air in the tank and keep it cool and with a constant pressure. As a result, you'll have a constant and reliable flow of air and you'll avoid little paint splashes when using the airbrush. You can find a video from Buy Painted (painting studio) explaining all of that: Finally, main thing is: practice! The more you'll practice it, the better you'll get at it. It takes some time to get used to it, just make sure you clean it really well whenever you're finished with it (use an airbrush cleaner, then demineralised water). You can find tons of videos explaining how to do a proper clean job on YouTube. Hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dez Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Most compressors are made by the same company, so you can pretty much go with anything. Just make sure there is a moisture trap and a way to regulate the airflow of course. My personal recommendation (after starting with cheap no name airbrushes) is to go with a Badger Sotar 20/20. It's a great workhorse airbrush, you can get pencil thin lines all the way up to base coating in one brush. It's also really cheap, though a bit more (and worth it!) than the cheap knock offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vasshpit Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Welcome to the airbrush club! Today's my b-day and the girlfriend gave me a Badger Patriot!!! Yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 3 hours ago, grunnlock said: I use X20-A thinner from Tamiya Color and can't complain about it. It thins well pretty much any type of paint you'll want to use (generic GW and Army Painter for me). Two words of warning on this. Firstly try it out on the paint first - I had a whole pot of one of the old Foundation paints congeal on me when I thinned it with this! Secondly X20-A is basically refined rubbing alcohol - be careful of the fumes and remember it's highly flammable 3 hours ago, grunnlock said: I've tried both branded and unbranded airbrushes. Painters will probably throw rocks at me, but I personally don't see a major difference between both... The main factors to obtain good results with airbrushing are, for me, paint thinning and air pressure. Must be honest and I thought this too until I got my Iwata - for me it's the W&N of the airbrush world! That said I will say learning the ropes on a cheaper airbrush has meant I didn't make some of the more obvious mistakes with an airbrush that's worth over £100 so having a cheaper one to learn on isn't a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dez Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 1 hour ago, Vasshpit said: Welcome to the airbrush club! Today's my b-day and the girlfriend gave me a Badger Patriot!!! Yay! Happy Birthday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 1 hour ago, Vasshpit said: Welcome to the airbrush club! Today's my b-day and the girlfriend gave me a Badger Patriot!!! Yay! Lucky chap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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