After doing some hand painting I can see where there would be a benefit to airbrushing. I have no experience with it but that has never kept me from giving something a try. What airbrush do you use/recommend. What are the pros and cons of a particular airbrush. Thanks, RR
I used several Paasche VL dual action airbrushes, one for each type of paint I used. The brush is extremely well-built. A good place to buy one is Dixie Art: http://www.dixieart.com/ Prices are low, and they offer free shipping on orders over $60. You mya not be familiar with single action versus dual action brushes. With a single action brush, you can only control the amount of air passing through it. The more you press, the more air goes through. With a dual action brush, not only do you control the amount of air, but also the paint flow. First you press down to get the amount of air you want, then you pull back on the button to increase the amount of paint flowing through the brush. A dual action brush, with a little practice, gives you much finer control over the final paint job.
Thanks for the quick lesson and the link. I should mention I am modeling N scale so, I would think "fine" control would be an important feature. RR
This is like the 'which DCC?' question Most of us like what we have. It has been thrashed a fair bit in the last year or two, so have a good root around with the search facility.
I found this thread to be useful to me. Scroll down to the section "Airbrushing Acrylics." http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/blog.php?b=340 Ben
I have used the search function and found most threads (a handful out of 225) go back to 2005. I would think like most technology today, things may change over a 3 year period. I am not trying to start a debate on what is best. Only for some useful information to research as to what differences exists and where to focus my research to help make the most educated purchase. RR
Its an excellent thread and have read it a couple of times. Unfortunately, it does not go into much detail as to the equipment used and the pros and cons of what was used. RR
Like you, I had never airbrushed anything before, but I know I'm terrible at hand painting so I bought one to give it a try. I bought a Testers Aztek 320. I've used it to paint buildings and some rail. I plan to use it for painting a part of a backdrop and weathering also. I like it so far. Pros: 1 .It's easy to clean. There is one tool for assembling/disassembling and cleaning it. It comes apart in seconds and I can drop everything in a jar of mineral spirits to wash it. 2. It is easy to learn. It came with an instructional DVD. 3. Parts are readily avaiable (just about every hobby shop in my area carries the nozzles and feed cups) Cons: 1. I tried to paint with acrylics but couldn't. You have to buy a seperate acrylics nozzle. (might be true for other airbrushes) 2. There is thumb wheel at the base of the pen that adjusts air flow (I think). It is difficult to adjust use while painting (especially if your'e wearing rubber gloves). 3. Using it with the canned air was worthless. I tried it because I was afraid my 6 gallon air compressor would blow the airbrush apart. Eventually, after suffering through two cans of air, I built up the nerve to hook it to my compressor & it ended up working great. (I keep it at 20psi) For paints, I've stuck with enamels (floquil, testers). I like how they apply, dry and clean up. I use testers general purpose airbrush thinner to thin and mineral spirits to clean. Just my observations, haven't tried anything else. And don't have alot of experience airbrushing, but so far, I love it. Here is the of my first buildings I painted using it.
Well, I have an Aztek too. I researched and it seemed the right one for me. Been fine so far, but I don't use acrylics. (Use the Tamiya mind-enhancing stuff ). I don't think you'll find airbrush technology changes much over time - it's a mature product and there aren't any electronics to miniaturise ... yet ... (I'm old fashioned - never yet found a water-based thing I could make stick properly . I do have an extractor fan, but I'm afraid working with rubber gloves (even the thin latex ones) is a pain.)
I have the badger standard set 350-3, I like it so far only used it a few times. It's a single action and is easy to clean because the paint is mixed at the tip and doesn't travel thru the body. The dual action can clog up and be a pain to clean at times, I used to have a fancy badger dual action and I like this one better. When you get good with it you can turn the nozzle by hand to increase or decrease the paint as you use it anyway. For weathering and color fades in water bases it's the only way to go. The cans of air suck, I bought a regulator and a adapter and hook mine to my air compressor. It's kinda overkill as its a 6.5HP 60 gallon upright, but it works
Is this another difference in single vs dual. One mixes the paint at the tip and one mixes before, along with the ability to control just the air flow vs both air and paint flow? RR
No, whether an airbrush is external mix (mixes at the tip) or internal mix is technically independent of whether its a single action or double action. As a practical matter, I doubt if there are any external mix double action airbrushes (I haven't seen any), but there are many internal mix single action airbrushes.
I have an Aztek too. I purchased the package airbrush + the blue compressor. I only paint with acrylic paints : Tamiya and Polly Scale. I use it for weathering too. Most of the structures ( including the loading platform ) + the styrene road ( behind the engine ) on that picture were painted with the Aztec. Jacques
First off, unlike DCC, there's not a whole lot of technical advances going on in airbrushing, at least not on the brush side. Paint is another matter. However, "not a whole lot" is not the same as "none." Badger has just released a new series of airbrushes, their Renegades. There are three models, a gravity feed, a side feed, and a bottom feed, all double action. Initial user reviews have been very good, with the ABs having a very wide use range compared to brushes on the market. Iwata has brought out brushes with their MAC (tm) valve, Micro Air Control, which allows you to control the air pressure at the brush. I'm not aware of any updates or new features that Paasche has introduced recently. A little exploration will reveal that the air brush using modeller community is fairly isolated from the airbrush using community at large, and also fairly "backward." One of the most interesting disparities regards suggestions on which type of airbrush for starting out. Many, if not most, in the modelling communities (model railroading, plastic/static modelling, R/C cars & aircraft, etc) will recommend starting with a single action brush, often an external mix, because they are easier to use and easier to clean. This is even more prevalent in the model railroading community, since the airbrush isn't a major part of our repetoire compared to the plastic modellers. I've yet to see anybody in the kustom (cars, motorcycles, etc) community, t-shirt, body art, graphic arts, illustration, fingernail or fine art airbrush communities recommend anything other than a double action internal mix brush. They may differ on the brand, model and feed type (nail shooters and illustrators prefer gravity feed with lit'l tiny paint "cups", kustom painters use a variety of different brushes), but they're pretty much in unison on double action internal mix. With all that said, here's my recommendations for starting out. 1) Use either a compressor with a 2+ gallon tank, or a CO2 tank, as your air source. DO NOT get one of the small "air brush" compressors. They just aren't worth the $$. 2) Get a double action airbrush. Yes, its a bit more difficult to learn, but not really very much more. In North America, your best options currently are Iwata, Badger, and Paasche. Both the ABs and parts are widely available. Expect to spend 60-$150 dollars (depending on how good of a deal you get) on an AB that you can use for almost everything you'll need. If models are your primary focus with scenery being a minor concern, then look at getting a gravity feed fine line brush. For killer deals, check out Badger's Garage Sale, which you can find by going to their site. 3) Get some instruction, even if its only renting a video. (I can recommend two right now.) The reason for the instruction is it should include exercises that will teach you the best way to USE the airbrush. If you don't, you will almost certainly pick up bad habits that WILL bedevil you. DAMHIKT. 4) Go to Testor's website, they have a really good modeller's guide here: The Testor Corporation: Modeler's Guide. It includes a section on airbrushing that very briefly covers some of the exercises mentioned above. 5) FineScale Modeler (Kalmbach's plastic modeller magazine) has a good airbrush forum. Visit it, you'll learn a fair amount of info that is pertinent to our little world of airbrushing. The plastic modellers spend more of their hobby time using their airbrushes than we do, so they give it more attention. Of course, they tend to be completely lost when it comes time to add lighting or animation! 6) Airbrush.Com and AirbrushTalk.com both are resources that cover most of the rest of the airbrush world. Here is a link for AirbrushTalk.com's Airbrush Talk, Learn the Basics of Airbrushing Technique - art painting, illustration, auto graphics, crafts 7) Remember, you can earn points with other folks by airbrushing some simple T-Shirts, tote bags and the like for the mother in law or grandkids or dog. These points can come in handy when you're busted trying to sneak that new ABBA set of F-7s into the train room!
Could you please suggest a couple of good , decently priced ,models that match your specification ? By the way , thank you BikerDad for taking some of your valuable time to elaborate that detailed reply. Jacques
Some suggestions for good double-action airbrushes well suited for model railroading applications. All of these are gravity feed, except the Anthem 155. Badger Renegade Velocity - this is their new gravity feed model, single needle/tip. Supplies on these brushes are tight currently, it looks like the 'Net price will be around $100. Initial reviews are very positive. IPMS Product Review: Badger Renegade Series R1V Velocity Airbrush Badger Anthem 155 - Take a Michael's 40% coupon and you can get this for under $100 easily. 'Net price @ $65. Its what I'm using currently (which is why I included it), but I plan on adding either a Renegade or the Iwata HP-CH for finer work. Siphon feed means I gotta run higher pressure than I'd like, hence the fine AB. Iwata Eclipse HP-C MSRP $185, 'Net price @ $115. Similar to the HP-C Plus, no Teflon packing. Iwata HP-C Plus, 'Net Price @ $170- uses Teflon needle packing, which results in less maintenance hassle compared to using other materials for the needle packing, which are susceptible to solvents. Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH/C, 'Net @$200 - Teflon Needle packing, MAC valve. Anything beyond this (and they do have models above this) is overkill. I wouldn't have included this if it weren't for the MAC valve. The HP-C Plus is the same brush without the MAC valve, which you can add later (sort of, Iwata makes an external MAC valve for their brushes), if you wanted. User reviews on this are very, very good, but its also somewhat pricey. Tamiya has a number of nice Airbrushes, I believe that they are made for them by Iwata. 'Net price runs between $130 and $160 or so. I don't know much about the Paasche's, so I can't recommend (or steer you away) from any of them. In addition to Dixie Art linked above, Coast Airbrush and BearAir are good sources of airbrushes. Also, many of the modeller sources (plastic and MRR) carry a variety of airbrushes, and their prices can be competitive. Last, regarding the Testor's Aztek brushes. They have two big advantages; availability and probably the best ergonomics out there. From what I've read over the last few years, those advantages do not outweigh their shortcomings. Yes, you can get good results with the Azteks. You just have to work harder at it. Outside of the modelling community, almost nobody uses the Aztek brushes. The Azteks bring up an significant point. Ergonomics. Each airbrush has a slightly different feel. It would probably be a good idea to get your mits on some of the brushes you are considering. Just one thing though: if you're going to take up a retailer's time pawing over his merchandise to decide which brush to get, do him the courtesy of actually buying the brush from him, assuming he has the brush you decide upon. Your best "bang for the buck" is probably the Renegade Velocity, followed by the Iwata Eclipse HP-C. Resale value of the Iwata will be better than almost anything else, if it comes to that. For want of a better description, the Iwatas are the Katos of the airbrush world.
From an "airbrush" search in the How To Forum: Siphon or Gravity Feed Airbrush Selection: Types and Functions Airbrush Compressor Selection #2 Airbrush Compressor Selection #1 There are several others.
