"Airbrush Help" Topic

I need a good airbrush to do some camo on some German tanks (28mm).HobbyLobby or Micheals would be best .Any advice.
John

Michael's with their 50% off coupon.

tcpglobal.com has Masterbrand Airbrushes that are Iwata Pashe knockoffs that are pretty good and less than half the price. They also have namebrand airebrushes at good prices.

I got my Badger 155 from Michaels with a 50% off coupon. It is a pretty great brush, though the learning curve is moderately steep as it is dual action. I have also heard the Badger 350(also at michaels)is a good one and is about half the price. Overall I would still lean toward the 155 as you can never have too much 'brush.' Beware of the Badger 250 as it is not a true airbrush. It is actually a spray gun so is about as accurate as a can of spray paint. Good for big flat coats and dirt cheap though…just don't go 'Neat! An airbrush for only $20. USD Can't wait to go home and bash out some late war Luftwaffe camo schemes!' Ha ha!!

A badger 350 should work fine. While single action it's pretty easy to adjust.

If you can afford it go with Iwata :)

Striker and Epting, can you get fine lines with the 350? I was under the impression that it is still limited in usefulness because of the single action.

You won't get fine lines with the 350. It's great for primer and large area colours (and learning).

I'm not sure if it's single action that is the limiting factor though – it may be because it is external mix.

Just a note of caution – from my experience, I started with the Badger 350 and within a month or so decided I wanted a dual action (Paasche) to get more control.

So if a 350 is your first brush, it likely won't be your last !

T he badger 350 is a fine product ,if you have access to the m ,f ,and xf end nozzles and accompanying needles quite nice work.As for dual action i find on a 350 a few nimble fingers on tip and needle allow me to sign my name like i was using a felt tip pen.

T he badger 350 is a fine product ,if you have access to the m ,f ,and xf end nozzles and accompanying needles quite nice work.As for dual action i find on a 350 a few nimble fingers on tip and needle allow me to sign my name like i was using a felt tip pen.A great but ,will do the work ,just practice.

As has been mentioned, the 350 has the option of different sized tips. I believe the standard box set sold at Michael's comes with the medium tip which is good for most hobby uses. You will need to get the fine tip if you want the ability to do fine lines. I would also recommend buying a spare needle regardless of the brand you go for as the tips are quite delicate and are easily damaged. I dropped my 155 dead in the middle of working on a 1/48 Tamiya Jagdpanther, bending the tip something fierce! I was so glad that I had the spare nearby!!
Mike

Asking what airbrush people like to use is like asking which is the best -- blonde, brunette, redhead, etc.

Personally, I've used paasche, badger, iwata and other off brand brushes extensively. I prefer Iwata at this point, as they are the most durable, reliable and consistently performing brushes I've ever used.

But that's a matter of opinion; other people will argue until the cows come home that brushes made by badger and Paasche are in the same league. They have brushes that are similar, i.e. similar design. The new talon and the renegade brushes are similar to the design that you'll see with the Iwata brushes.

I've never had an Iwata brush fail, but I've had other brushes from other companies fail entirely. I'll never use them now, unless I have a good reason to. For instance, I like my SAEM Paasche H to lay down priming coats and spray decanted paint.

It also depends on what you would like to do. I can do extremely tight work with many of the Iwata brushes, but woudl be very hard pressed to replicate this in the same manner with other companies brushes, without using masking or some other shield.

Keep in mind, the airbrush is only one part of your setup. You need a good, reliable air source and have good control over your media (know how to thin, mix and otherwise control the nature of your paint.)

Additionally, any good airbrush artist will demonstrate that the airbrush is only one tool for you to use. You'll continue to use pen/ink, paint brushes, etc., so a mix of media as well as different techniques will give you the best results. You can do a lot with an airbrush, but some things are just not that efficient to do with that tool.