[mvdeschane]

Thanks Big Ed, I see how to do it now!

 

[flyboy2610]

I found 2 air brushes, a Badger 350 air brush and a Badger 250 basic model.

The badger 350 is a decent little airbrush. Nothing fancy, it just quietly does what it was designed to do. I have a single action airbrush from Harbor Freight, paid $8 with a coupon. It's a Badger 350 knockoff. If it ever dies, I'll replace it with a Badger 350. I use it more than my other two airbrushes.
Just play around with it. Use some food coloring in water to get the hang of it. I have a water trap/regulator screwed to the end of my workbench. Air comes in one side, goes out the other. The reason for this, even though the compressor (similar to this: https://www.menards.com/main/tools/...5-psi-portable-electric-trim-air-compressor/3301511/p-1444423543348-c-12910.htm ((Harbor Freight has a similar compressor in it's Fortress series)) has a regulator, the water vapor needs to cool down so it can condense. It does this in the hose, hence the need for a water trap at the airbrush connection. Get a braided airbrush hose, they are MUCH nicer to use than the plastic hoses!

 

[flyboy2610]

What is a good-average price for a compressor, airbrush and ancillary stuff to get an air brush up and running. I already have a respirator.

That depends on what airbrush you get, where you get your compressor, etc. Amazon has the Badger 350 for under $30, Harbor Freight has a quiet compressor with a tank for $170 (2 Gallon 135 PSI Ultra Quiet Hand Carry Jobsite Air Compressor), you'll need an air-trap/regulator (1/4 in. Air Line Filter/ Regulator with Gauge) $16, a hose from the compressor to the air-trap figure $20, and a hose from the air-trap to the airbrush (1/4 in. x 10 ft. Braided Nylon Airbrush Hose) $8. Plus any fittings you need to get it all hooked up, add another $25. So for about $275 - $300 you could have a decent setup. Harbor Freight does sell a 1 gallon ultra quiet compressor for $130, but i would spend the extra $40 and get the 2 gallon one, just because it would be more useful around the domicile for other things as well.
It's an expense, but once you start airbrushing you'll wonder why you didn't do this sooner.

 

[Big Ed]

The badger 350 is a decent little airbrush. Nothing fancy, it just quietly does what it was designed to do. I have a single action airbrush from Harbor Freight, paid $8 with a coupon. It's a Badger 350 knockoff. If it ever dies, I'll replace it with a Badger 350. I use it more than my other two airbrushes.
Just play around with it. Use some food coloring in water to get the hang of it. I have a water trap/regulator screwed to the end of my workbench. Air comes in one side, goes out the other. The reason for this, even though the compressor (similar to this: Masterforce® Ultra-Quiet 1.8-Gallon 125 PSI Portable Electric Trim Air Compressor ((Harbor Freight has a similar compressor in it's Fortress series)) has a regulator, the water vapor needs to cool down so it can condense. It does this in the hose, hence the need for a water trap at the airbrush connection. Get a braided airbrush hose, they are MUCH nicer to use than the plastic hoses!

Thanks, I have the rubber hose with it.
I made another thread (discussion) about what water filter brand/type someone uses.
I would like to see what everyone else does.
Food coloring? I don't think I ever bought any of this. lol
I will dive right in with a water based paint.

 

[flyboy2610]

Thanks, I have the rubber hose with it.
I made another thread (discussion) about what water filter brand/type someone uses.
I would like to see what everyone else does.
Food coloring? I don't think I ever bought any of this. lol
I will dive right in with a water based paint.

Replied on your other thread as well.
The food coloring/water lets you get the hang of it without wasting paint.

 

[CTValleyRR]

What is a good-average price for a compressor, airbrush and ancillary stuff to get an air brush up and running. I already have a respirator.

Maybe $175? Compressor $70, regulator / moisture trap $30, airbrush set $75-is, depending on how much other stuff you get with it. Definitely get a cleaning station.

 

[Severn]

I have an iwata something. I got it at hobby lobby. I think it's entry level oriented. I figure a pro invests with knowledge an experience. I just wanted something solid enuff it would give me a good shot determining if I like this or not.

 

[mvdeschane]

Cost?

 

[Severn]

I paid 120 for the badger. The iwata was similar. Im thinking about 250 including some vallejo paint which I got and used the hobby lobby coupon to help with. They disallowed the coupon for the air brush... Now that would have been a deal. But I didn't take into account the paint aspect. I bought two of the vallejo sets for modelling. One I think is grays and the other reds or rusts really. I don't recall the details. It's all pretty easy to find them on the hobby lobby website...

 

[Severn]

This is the paint I bought:

Rust & Chipping Effects Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints | Hobby Lobby | 1559921

Get Rust & Chipping Effects Color Series Model Airbrush Acrylic Paints online or find other Rust & Chipping products from HobbyLobby.com

www.hobbylobby.com

and

Air War Color Series Model Paint Set | Hobby Lobby | 1559905

Pick water-based, matte acrylic colors developed especially for airbrushing. This fantastic formulation has various new resins that have been selected for qualities which up till now had not been achieved in water-based colors. The strength, resistance and covering power of Air War Color Series...

www.hobbylobby.com

The store had a whole rack of paints but it was overwhelming since i don't know what i need. And i think i have a couple of bottles of basic primary colors which i'll practice with. the food coloring idea is another great suggestion.

the airbrush --

Iwata Eclipse All-Star Versatility HP-CS Airbrush Kit | Hobby Lobby | 330266

This Iwata Eclipse All-Star Versatility HP-CS Airbrush Kit has a multi-purpose, high-paint-flow, high-detail Eclipse Series airbrush that covers a wide range of uses. It is commonly used to spray premixed or heavier paints and it is well suited for uses demanding precise control of spray when...

www.hobbylobby.com

I see that's $150 not $120.

Now normally I'd probably have gone for the NEO or anything clearly marketed for absolute beginners... but i read a few online reviews of various airbrushes and this particular model seemed to rank at least in the top 2 or 3 consistently ... and since i "saved big money" on the air compressor -- I convinced myself that this was going to be "well worth the money"...

So I went for it.

It might have helped that I had a little gift money to spend as well.

I wish I could say I had real use experience & had a favorable impression -- but I just want to be clear on this point -- I haven't so much as cracked the boxes on any of it.

(these 3 names appear over and over in airbrush searching: badger, iwate and paasche -- so I kind of assume these are your top 3 brands & i suspect all sell solid stuff more or less.)

 

[Lemonhawk]

Unfortunately is seems the master air compressor I got a year of so ago has gone up in price from 100 to 150. I also watched the Amazon warehouse sales and got Paasche VL series airbrush set for $35 (it was missing one of the 3 needles). Nice thing about the compressor was that it had a tank and came with a airbrush 10' hose that I then adapted to the Paasche 6' hose which I had the quick disconnect to the air brush on. While the compressor is really quiet, in general the tank allows the compressor to only annoy you every so often. It appears that the makeup and cake decorating crowd has cause a price increase in the compressors!

 

[mvdeschane]

I have not made up my mind, yet. Videos I've seen on Weathering sent me down this path and I don't know if I'm going to spring for an air brush; or, not, at this time. I currently use acrylic paints and would use Vallejo paints in any air brush I might buy.

 

[CTValleyRR]

All airbrushes that I am aware of will handle acrylic paints. Properly thinned, of course, Vallejo's Model Air / Game Air lines are pre-thinned, the others need to be thinned down to the consistency of 2% milk. All excellent quality paints.

I realize the choices -- especially with Vallejo, which has something like 450 paint shades, plus another 50 or so other products -- can be overwhelming. Instead of buying the sets, however, download their latest catalog (Vallejo download color charts for hobby, fine arts and crafts) and pick about a dozen colors to start -- ones that look good to your eye, or that sound like colors you might want (Mud, Smoke). There is a slight issue, in that the paint may not come out quite the shade you see on your monitor, but that's pretty minimal. Don't try to buy 10 different browns, though. Buy a couple very different shades of brown, gray, and green. Then buy more as you realize your collection is missing something. The sets don't give you very much of a price break, and because they all contain brushes, you'll very quickly end up with a bunch of decent quality (but not GOOD quality) brushes.

FWIW, the best prices and selection on Vallejo products I have been able to find is from Scale Hobbyist (www.scalehobbyist.com). They stock the whole line, ship promptly (1st class USPS, usually) and for a fair rate. I get my orders (New Hampshire to Connecticut) in 3 days.

 

[mvdeschane]

This brings up a pet peeve of mine, why are the paint manufacturers pre-thinning their paints, especially Acrylics as thinning with distilled water is so simple to do! That they are doing this, means that they are making their paints so that they aren't good for brushing, which I am partial too! We are becoming a society where everyone must think exactly alike! For me, this will never happen!

 

[Big Ed]

I paid 120 for the badger. The iwata was similar. Im thinking about 250 including some vallejo paint which I got and used the hobby lobby coupon to help with. They disallowed the coupon for the air brush... Now that would have been a deal. But I didn't take into account the paint aspect. I bought two of the vallejo sets for modelling. One I think is grays and the other reds or rusts really. I don't recall the details. It's all pretty easy to find them on the hobby lobby website...

I thought the Badger 350 (Which, I didn't know I had ) was an El cheapo gun. I don't know, I found the Badger 250 basic model too down in the basement. Both I didn't know I had.
But am I correct with saying that you paid $120 bucks for the 350 model?
I see them for a much lower price?
But now I also see that the Badger 350 has a few different models?
The Universal 360 model I saw at $119.

I am guessing the the Universal gun is more bucks because ( copy and paste)> The Universal has a 360° front end rotation so it functions as either a gravity or bottom feed airbrush. It offers precision handling at high or low pressure.

I might try mine out today, it is suppose to rain. A good excuse not to work outside on my projects.
But then again there is my never ending battle to clean up my garage and basement.
What to do, what to do.............first finish my cup of mud first.

If I clean the basement some more I might find other things like the air brush guns I didn't know I had.

I have many inside projects on my list too, but the old ( young) lady brought her computer, printer and a bunch of papers home! Set up shop where my desktop used to be. I don't mind that but I can't make any noise as she is on the phone with conference calls and if she isn't she needs some quiet to concentrate on her work.

So, I can't knock off any of the inside things while she works.
She will allow me to clean the dishes.
And she Loves a man with dishpan hands, but that has a plus for me as it cleans under my fingernails nice.

 

[johnboy]

Flea markets and garage sales....got my badger 200 new in the box for $5, and my compressor for same price. I still frequently see airbrushes for under $10 but compressors not for $5 but still way under retail.

I started out using the cans of comprssed air, then ran a line from my garage compressor to the basement, and now using my smaller $5 job.

Many benefits...use any paint you have on hand or mix a batch of your own color, able to control amount of paint so as not to obscure details, change flat to gloss or gloss to flat or matte using appropriate clear topcoat; much better quality than spray bomb or brush.

Versatility.....I also restore old bicycles and have saved many flaking decals by spraying them with clear. Many years ago I painted the firewall of my vintage pick up truck using left over paint from that used for the body.....incredible control..I was able to pull wires aside, paint the metal, put wires back in place and paint the other side. No one believed me when I told them how I did it!

Cons: Yes you MUST throughly clean after use (easily done in less than 5 minutes.). Also intial cost can be a bit steep if you don't like garage sales/flea markets.

It does take a bit of getting used to but you can practice on almost anything using almost any paint.

I use mine frequently for a variety of purposes and wouldn't be without it. Howevever I haven't thrown away my brushes as they are still good for many applications.

 

[Severn]

The badger above is the compressor. Tc910. $120. Anyway I'm not saying it can't be found for that. Literally I was in a store close out kind of thing buying some other trinkets ...and on the checkout counter was this huge box with a big mark down. I recognized it. I did a quick google search, determined it was at least a good price and nabbed it.

 

[Big Ed]

The badger above is the compressor. Tc910. $120. Anyway I'm not saying it can't be found for that. Literally I was in a store close out kind of thing buying some other trinkets ...and on the checkout counter was this huge box with a big mark down. I recognized it. I did a quick google search, determined it was at least a good price and nabbed it.

OK, so the compressor was that much?
Did a air brush gun come with it?
Or did you have a gun?
I thought you bought a gun for that price.

 

[Severn]

No I bought them separately. I had been thinking of getting the air brush and only had the vaguest notions about the compressor. I ran into the deal on the compressor and nabbed it, and then managed to get the air brush from hobby lobby a day or two before it closed here. I have them right here in their boxes, the paint and I'm dang close to clearing the space to try it out ... dang close I tell ya!

compressor: 120
iwata eclipse hc: 150
paints: two vallejo sets $25 ea I think, one 40% off due to HL coupon.

I had a little gift money to subsidize which helped justify it. And as I said, I didn't consider the paint aspect at all -- like "ok got the brush, now... and these things need paint... wait, how much?!" ... but anyway that's an obvious ongoing cost item.

 

[CTValleyRR]

This brings up a pet peeve of mine, why are the paint manufacturers pre-thinning their paints, especially Acrylics as thinning with distilled water is so simple to do! That they are doing this, means that they are making their paints so that they aren't good for brushing, which I am partial too! We are becoming a society where everyone must think exactly alike! For me, this will never happen!

For the same reason that any manufacturer does anything: it sells.

Brush painting requires a consistency about that of heavy cream; airbrushing more like 2% milk. Like you, I definitely prefer the finer control that comes with a brush (FWIW, I have been painting wargaming figures longer than I have been model railroading, about 55 years now). I am gratified that Vallejo has far more selection in their brush painting lines than in their airbrush ones.

But if you read posts by people new to painting, they seem terrified, or at least mystified, of concepts like paint thinning and color mixing. Or, maybe, they're terrified of making a mistake. Either way, many people seem to prefer buying a "ready to use" product rather than go to the trouble of preparing it. I'll bet, if it were possible to sell pre-mixed, unset "pour and spread" plaster, it would sell like hotcakes.