Airbrush Treat?

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Got a little but of spare cash burning a hole in my pocket so figure I'd get another airbrush but what should I get?
I have a Neo as my primer and larger area and a Badger Khrome for more detail but want to add something new.

So what do you folks recommend?

Cheers
Adrian

[Jack L]

Got a little but of spare cash burning a hole in my pocket so figure I'd get another airbrush but what should I get?
I have a Neo as my primer and larger area and a Badger Khrome for more detail but want to add something new.

So what do you folks recommend?

Cheers
Adrian

I bought a H&S from John's shop here a few years ago a really reasonable price, and haven't looked back. Needles take about 30 seconds to change. Easy to strip and clean, and spare parts easy to get hold of pretty cheap (o rings and the like). Can't comment on other brushes though.

[Jim R]

I have both H&S and Iwata and although both are excellent I prefer my Iwata.
Jim

[Tim Marlow]

I suppose the question is “what do you want it to do that the others don’t?” Adrian. Another way to look at it is how good is your air supply and ancillaries? Might get more bang for your buck by updating or improving them rather than duplicating what you already have?

[BarryW]

I have used several types of airbrush and currently have the following all in regular use.

A H&S Infinity used with a .2 needle. I use this for very fine detail/ touch ups. This strips down easily and quickly.

An Iwata Neo with a pistol grip as my spare airbrush and for varnish coats. An excellent all round brush but the needle seems to be less robust than others but they are at least cheap to replace.

A Topnotch with a pistol grip and a spreader cap. I use this for laying down primer coats. Another decent airbrush that is perhaps not as refined as my workhorse or the Infinity.

A Creos Proton Boy PS 275 with a 0.35 needle. My workhorse that is the best airbrush I have ever used. This is another pistol grip brush and it I can achieve thin lines as well as decent wider coverage. More refined than the Topnotch and Iwata and, in some ways, the Infinity.

As you will see three of my airbrushes have pistol grips. These do cost more than the traditional types but the cost is worthwhile as I find them easier to control and I am less prone to my finger trigger cramping up.

[BarryW]

The airbrushes mentioned above

My H&S



The Iwata

The Topnotch
The Creos - the pistol grip is purchased separately.


You will also see that I have a fine pressure control attached to each airbrush. This is extremely useful and more effective than using the pressure control on the compressor. I set the compressor at 20psi and adjust it down on the fpc for that, using MRP I spray mostly at 10-15psi.

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting selection there Barry. Do the trigger grips change the brushes from double action to single action or can you still control air and paint individually? I don’t see that as an issue if they do, by the way. Air control on a double action brush is limited to on/off anyway, so having air come on as soon as you call for paint is a bonus in model making. After all, how many times do we actually want paint on before air!
Can’t see the fine pressure controllers that you mention though. I can see an in line filter with airflow regulator on the Topnotch and an in line airflow regulator on the Creos, but no air pressure regulators?

[BarryW]

Interesting selection there Barry. Do the trigger grips change the brushes from double action to single action or can you still control air and paint individually? I don’t see that as an issue if they do, by the way. Air control on a double action brush is limited to on/off anyway, so having air come on as soon as you call for paint is a bonus in model making. After all, how many times do we actually want paint on before air!
Can’t see the fine pressure controllers that you mention though. I can see an in line filter with airflow regulator on the Topnotch and an in line airflow regulator on the Creos, but no air pressure regulators?

Still double action. Pull the trigger back and air starts and, as you pull it further back, paint starts flowing and increases as you pull further back. I find it much more comfortable and controllable.

[langy71]

Hi Adrian,
I've used all manner of airbrushes over the years, tried an Iwata NEO and for some unknown reason, it constantly back feeds air into the paint cup...it's been cleaned to within an inch of it's life but still does it.. so I bought myself an H&S Ultra, loved it so much that I recently bought the H&S Infinity (like Barry has pictured), this is my go to airbrush for 99% of things and I use the Ultra from lacquer coats / varnishing...

I'd highly recommend the H&S make, but in the end its down to how you as an individual get on with each brand..

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
I have been considering a pistol grip airbrush for a while now. I know a few people who have them and speak highly of them. I have looked at a few but never considered your favourite, the Creos Procon Boy PS 275. It looks very good. You say yours has a 0.35 nozzle but the ones I have seen for sale have 0.3. The pistol grip is sold seperately but seems hard to find.
You've got me thinking :tongue-out3::thumb2:
Jim

[BarryW]

Hi Barry
I have been considering a pistol grip airbrush for a while now. I know a few people who have them and speak highly of them. I have looked at a few but never considered your favourite, the Creos Procon Boy PS 275. It looks very good. You say yours has a 0.35 nozzle but the ones I have seen for sale have 0.3. The pistol grip is sold seperately but seems hard to find.
You've got me thinking :tongue-out3::thumb2:
Jim

My mistake, the Procon Boy is .3. The Iwata is the .35. I got the airbrush from John and Googled for the grip,
finding it with Everything Airbrush.

[Jim R]

Thanks Barry
I feel a stirring in my credit card.
Jim

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I suppose the question is “what do you want it to do that the others don’t?” Adrian. Another way to look at it is how good is your air supply and ancillaries? Might get more bang for your buck by updating or improving them rather than duplicating what you already have?

I'm sorted with everything else Have a decent compressor and even a spare ( well its the GF's ) I was looking at the Infinity as I'm doing more and more detailed figures now so wanted something that was decent.

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

The airbrushes mentioned above

My H&S

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The Iwata
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The Topnotch[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1177574[/ATTACH]
The Creos - the pistol grip is purchased separately.
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You will also see that I have a fine pressure control attached to each airbrush. This is extremely useful and more effective than using the pressure control on the compressor. I set the compressor at 20psi and adjust it down on the fpc for that, using MRP I spray mostly at 10-15psi.

Maybe just me but I see the trigger ones as too bulky, kinda blasters vs Lightsabers I've used dual actions now for over 30 years and pretty much control with ease. I do like the Infinity for all the up coming detail on the figures I'm printing so will most likely go for that.

[BarryW]

Maybe just me but I see the trigger ones as too bulky, kinda blasters vs Lightsabers :smiling3: I've used dual actions now for over 30 years and pretty much control with ease. I do like the Infinity for all the up coming detail on the figures I'm printing so will most likely go for that.

You have the wrong idea about the triggers. Far from ‘blasters’ they give as fine a line as anything else, they are just more comfortable to hold and use. They are dual action, just the same as the others. I would get a trigger version of the Infinity if they did one.