Airbrush and Compressor

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:42 pm

It may be a while before I can get these but I am interested in what model of airbrush they have, what benefits and problems they have discovered. Likewise with the compressor, inparticular the working time and noise.

mertaal · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:11 am

Big topic! I started off buying a cheapo "generic brand" which basically means a chinese knockoff of an established design.

I did loads of research, and everything I read pointed at buying a cylinder compressor with a tank, and not an "old fashioned" diaphragm compressor.

Initially i was happy with both, but after about 6-8 months of regular but light use the compressor broke, and I replaced it with this tiny little thing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/22142057 ... 108&ff19=0

It's a diaphragm type, but it was recommended me by an excellent painter and friend who said he'd had it for a few years and never had a problem. I've been using it (on and off) for a year, and have noticed none of the issues people describe with diaphragm compressors (variable pressure, moisture etc). It's actually designed for fingernail studios, and is very compact and a lot easier to store than the other gigantic and noisy thing. All in all I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

As far as airbrushes are concerned, I would start off with a cheapo chinese knockoff from eBay. Mine still works fine, although I have upgraded. They are reasonably fiddly tools and I think it's probably best to learn how to use (and most importantly, how to clean) a cheap one first. They can be expensive.

What you (and most miniature painters) need is a dual action (you can adjust the air flow intensity and the quantity of paint by pushing down or pulling back respectively, on the trigger) and gravity feed- the cup is on top of the airbrush and the paint uses gravity to get to the needle. Other types are not suitable for miniature painting really.
So- dual action, gravity feed. Something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HS86-Gravity- ... 1c200a542c

That's from the same place I bought mine originally, and the service was good. I don't recommend the exact model because I haven't used it, but it's the type I'm suggesting, and I think at that price range they all look more or less fine.

Hope that helps!

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2014 9:30 am

Many thanks mate and you have answered my research.
For the airbrush I was looking toward a gravity feed with a dual action, but it was a question of how far I would go price wise. A lot of forums went against the cheap models but your explanation makes else as I would initially use them for undercoating to learn how to use them. From there I could identify how to target small areas and so on.
The compressor looks nice and I presume will be very quiet as it's for nail art. My research had pointed toward a diaphragm so it's nice to see that works.

mertaal · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2014 9:46 am

I managed really well with a cheapo model to begin with, mostly undercoating in fairness. The more expensive airbrush I now have gives a little better control, but to be honest, considering it's four times more expensive, it's certainly not four times better! I know some people hate the idea of splurging £25 when they know they're going to buy a £125 model later down the line, but I quite like having the security of a "spare", and have even used it to shoot materials I wasn't so sure about (PVA glue in a Harder Steenbeck Infinity? I don't think so!) to see if they worked ok.

The airbrush is not quiet. Your wife could not watch TV in the same room, but it's no different to a our fan extractor above the cooker when on top setting. The other thing sounded like a motorbike engine! Ok, slight exaggeration, but it was a noisy thing.
I guess, to illustrate the difference, if I listen to an audiobook while airbrushing, I used to have to wear earphones, whereas now I can just pump it up to full setting and hear it more or less ok. For comfort though, I mostly do wear earphones anyway though

.

In my own painting, the addition of a zenithal undercoat was one of the "big steps" in my progress. The other was use of a wet palette. I use the airbrush for weathering as well, and it's pretty much invaluable for scenery painting!
I've seen lots of people come up with really good effects on space marine armour, etc, but on miniatures pretty much everything that gets laid down with an airbrush is painted over. One day I'll experiment with some of those other techniques. They look fun!

Good luck with it anyway. I'm sure you'll be glad you joined the dark arts

.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2014 12:08 pm

The zenithal undercoat is one of those things to experiment with and likewise the wet palette.
I have been using a medium to stop it drying but also coming back to the figure just to work on the blending with a paint and water mix.

Minimal Monkey Saddle · **Joined:** Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:55 pm **Posts:** 463

I bought an Iwata revolution airbrush and a Paasche D3000R compressor a few weeks back. I'm still getting to grips with the pressure settings and consistency but otherwise I'm more than happy. I'm finding priming with an airbrush, especially zenithal preshading, is significantly better than using spray cans and worth it for that alone (bearing in mind I can paint up to 30 models a week). The working surface and transitions are very smooth.

My compressor has a tank so isn't constantly running when in use and the noise when it is running isn't that bad. I would still recommend using one away from the main living area if you live with other people. And crack a window/wear a mask/use an extractor fan to avoid inhaling any nasty stuff.

Airbrush and Compressor

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