Hi Bob
i agree with the other; a duel action gravity fed airbrush is the best optoon. That way you can control thd amount of air and the amount of paint seperately.
i bought a cheapo Chinese airbrush from Ebay when my daughter toyed with nail art and was pleasantly pleased with it. A good starter airbrush.
regarding compressors- like others have said; one with a reservoiur is essential. My first one didn't have one and the air pulsed which did not make airbrushing easy, having a reservoir tank means the airflow will be a constant pressure.
it may sound counter intuitive but if I were starting out I would get a decent compresser and a cheapo Chinese airbrush.
when you are set up with them there are two things you need to do: practice and clean the airbrush. practice, practice practice and clean, clean, clean. More people have problems by not cleaning airbrushes than anything else. Every I use mine I take it apart and clean it, then I clean it again! i probably spend more time cleaing than actually airbrushing!
l
with most things, it takes practice to get any good. The airbrush is no different.
There are 7 variables when airbrushing:
1 - air pressure, - set on the compressor,
2 - amount of air going through the airbrush - controlled on the airbrush, (usually by pushing down on the airbrush trigger)
3 - paint consistency,
4 - amount of paint going through the airbrush - controlled on the airbrush (usually by pulling the trigger backwards which pulls the needle back allowing more paint through the nozzle,
5 - size of the airbrush nozzle,
6 - how far you are from the surface being painted,
7 - the speed you move the airbrush across the surface being painted.
it sounds worse than it it, but only by practice and trial and error will you what is comfortable for you, and that will depend on what you are doing. For instance airbrushing a base coat over a whole model may be best holding the airbrush. a few inches from the models with a high pressure setting so you get a wide spray area, while detailed camo may be best holding the airbrush closer and running at a lower pressure.
i used to airbrush s lot more than 'i do now, so everytime i return to airbrushing I work through a practice routine to 'get my eye back in', I posted it a while ago, :
https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/airbrush-practice.32531/
Also wear a mask - most paints are not actually poisonous but the droplets do dry and if you breath then in they will not do your lungs any good.
most of all - have fun!
Peter