Does the airbrush matter

[Crispier]

Hello.

I'm kitting up for my little den where I can build scale model ships. I have been hand painting and would like to progress to using an airbrush.

My son in law has been model building and painting for clients for a number of years and has advised me that the compressor is the most important item rather than the airbrush itself. Is there a material difference in performance between a top end iwata/harder and steenbeck etc, and a cheapo Amazon unit?

Thanks

[peterairfix]

I managed decent results with a £14.99 airbrush but I have a sparmax which cost me £50 and that's how much I am willing to pay but I only get marginally better results so it probably all down to what you are willing to pay.

[Mark1]

I could do ok with the cheapies but i spent 130 quid on an iwata and yes there was a noticeable difference, the iwata had much finer control so in my opinion a decent brand is worthwhile but top of the range can go into hundreds and probably aimed at people who use them for a living and not really beneficial for the average hobbyist.

[Guest]

IMHO, you’re probably better off buying a modestly priced one to start with. Not the cheapest you can find, but also not an expensive one. Once you gain some practice with it, you’ll probably be quite happy with it. Sometime down the line, you may find you’re hitting the airbrush’s limits, and then would be a good time to invest in a higher-quality (=more expensive) one. The reason being, high-quality tools don’t generally make much difference compared to average ones until you have the skill to use them.

[Dave Ward]

Chris,
the person wielding the airbrush is the most important factor! An expert could get fantastic results with a cheap airbrush, whereas a newbie wouldn't succeed with the most expensive airbrush in the world!
I would suggest that you acquire a cheaper airbrush, to learn the ropes, then as you feel more comfortable, explore a more expensive model. John has some very reasonable models in the shop - like this - https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/0-3...ms-200-p17352/ - don't forget your 5% discount as a SMF Supporter!
Of course you do need a compressor - there are lots of questions & even more answers on the forum about what sort!
Dave

[Andy T]

Chris,
the person wielding the airbrush is the most important factor!
Dave

This.

Like Jakko I would suggest not going for the absolute cheapest you can find. A little bit more money can get you something that's reliable, and you can get replacement parts for when you almost inevitably bend a needle or similar.

I'd agree with your son that the compressor is quite important though. I spray cars for a living so know that a good, clean, reliable air source makes life easier, even though many manage with the most basic of units perfectly fine.

[Crispier]

IMHO, you’re probably better off buying a modestly priced one to start with. Not the cheapest you can find, but also not an expensive one. Once you gain some practice with it, you’ll probably be quite happy with it. Sometime down the line, you may find you’re hitting the airbrush’s limits, and then would be a good time to invest in a higher-quality (=more expensive) one. The reason being, high-quality tools don’t generally make much difference compared to average ones until you have the skill to use them.

Thanks for that, I've just bought a modestly proced one until I can master it, I worked on the principle that if I knacker it it'll be cheaper to replace than one needle for a high end one.

[Crispier]

Chris,
the person wielding the airbrush is the most important factor! An expert could get fantastic results with a cheap airbrush, whereas a newbie wouldn't succeed with the most expensive airbrush in the world!
I would suggest that you acquire a cheaper airbrush, to learn the ropes, then as you feel more comfortable, explore a more expensive model. John has some very reasonable models in the shop - like this - https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/0-3...ms-200-p17352/ - don't forget your 5% discount as a SMF Supporter!
Of course you do need a compressor - there are lots of questions & even more answers on the forum about what sort!
Dave

Good advise, I picked up a Sparmax Arism from ebay, good condition too. I read that the compressor was probably more important than the airbrush itself.

[spanner570]

Chris.

Too late now, but what do you mean " Progress to an airbrush"?

Be a good boy now and return to hand painting. Far better, simpler and a darn sight cheaper......

Ron

[Crispier]

Chris.

Too late now, but what do you mean " Progress to an airbrush"?

Be a good boy now and return to hand painting. Far better, simpler and a darn sight cheaper......

Ron

Never been a good boy so not starting now

[Waspie]

Well I'm a newbie to this ere modelling lark. I was gifted a cheapo airbrush/compressor by a mate. It's certainly not the best but after some fiddling and assistance/advice from the guys on here I get some half decent results. Probably upgrade to a better mid range at Crimbo then who knows after that. Learned a lot by just experimenting and watching YouTube.

[PsiFox]

I’ve seen many a post on social media where people say should I get a airbrush.
I will often suggest a compressor and airbrush from Fengda on Amazon,with an outlay of around the £100.

I always see people saying to beginners go out and buy a H&S they’re great and you won’t regret it when you spend £400 on an airbrush and a compressor.
Now that’s all good and they are good airbrushes but not everyone likes them. It’s quite common to see posts along the lines of I just dont like using an airbrush I’m going back to a hairy stick.
Fhats fine as well not everyone likes spraying and it’s a much less outlay with the Fengda.
I have a couple of Fengda, along with my Iwata and Grex, sorry it’s 3 Fengda. I keep one purely for primers, one for clearcoats and one for general spraying, like fuselage interiors. The Grex and Iwata are kept for more fine, detailed work.
Thing is the Fengda work perfectly well, I have no problems at all using them. I strip and clean all the main parts at the end of the day, which I practice doing, and each one takes less than 5 minutes to clean.

Jenesis does some nice reviews on them on her YT channel.

[Crispier]

I’ve seen many a post on social media where people say should I get a airbrush.
I will often suggest a compressor and airbrush from Fengda on Amazon,with an outlay of around the £100.

I always see people saying to beginners go out and buy a H&S they’re great and you won’t regret it when you spend £400 on an airbrush and a compressor.
Now that’s all good and they are good airbrushes but not everyone likes them. It’s quite common to see posts along the lines of I just dont like using an airbrush I’m going back to a hairy stick.
Fhats fine as well not everyone likes spraying and it’s a much less outlay with the Fengda.
I have a couple of Fengda, along with my Iwata and Grex, sorry it’s 3 Fengda. I keep one purely for primers, one for clearcoats and one for general spraying, like fuselage interiors. The Grex and Iwata are kept for more fine, detailed work.
Thing is the Fengda work perfectly well, I have no problems at all using them. I strip and clean all the main parts at the end of the day, which I practice doing, and each one takes less than 5 minutes to clean.

Jenesis does some nice reviews on them on her YT channel.

My son in law paints warcraft models for extra cash, he came round and gave me 1-1 tuition and will continue for a few weeks, he showed me the fundamentals which I practised with him present, it was good to have live instruction which beats the youtube videos which are informative in their own right. He only uses cheap airbrushes but his results are amazing,

[Crispier]

Thanks to everyone who welcomed me, I see I started an old sailor boys reminesence dialogue, I wasn't a Ganges biy so I feel relatively young in this company!