Help me pick my first airbrush

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Lookin for an affordable(below US$100.00) yet good quality airbrush. Goin to use it to do models especially tanks, ships and perhaps later some aircrafts. Been using Tamiya’s spray can all the times and i think it’s time to move on and get some progress in my model building . I’m a complete moron when it comes to airbrush so your help, explanation and suggestion is really much appreciated.

btw I’ve seen well camouflaged Tanks(tri-color) from time to time. Are they done with airbrush as using spray can is not possible without complex, tedious masking…or are they done with liquid masking? But it doesn’t look like it. Thx

2

Right here:

http://bearair.com/prodinfo.asp?number=100176

Badger’s Crescendo 175 is a great beginner airbrush. It’s dual-action, bottom-feed, and has very nice balance - easier than some of the gravity-feed models. I started with an aztek airbrush, and very soon switched to a Badger 100. A few months later I got a 175 as a second airbrush and really liked it, wished I had started with it.

It works very well for everything from basecoats to thin camo lines.

A lot of ‘modeling experts’ will tell you to start with a single-action, but airbrush experts almost all say to start with double action. I think you’ll be very happy with it, if you choose to go this route.

Best of all, it’s only $60, barely more than the average Aztek.

3

Thin lines need to be done with an airbrush. You should choose one that will last you years with parts easily obtain.

I wouldn’t spend anymore than 130 USD on one. I’d recommend a side feed which offers both the flexibility of a gravity feed and using multible paint cups for quick color changes.

I use an Iwata HP SBS with Aztek’s cups (yes they are interchangable). The needle is 0.35mm which is fine enough.

4

Someone told me to stay away from badger’s airbrush while in this forum it gets recommendation. So confusing…at US$60.00 it is tempting though.

I’m lookin for a long lasting airbrush costing less than a US$100.00

Pls keep the post coming as i need to know for sure(to compare)…thx

5

If someone had personal problems with Badger, that’s one thing, but they are one of the oldest and best Airbrush companies out there. The very best modeling airbrush available is the Sotar 20/20, a Badger brush.

The Iwata brushes are generally better than Badger, but like it or not, as a beginner you’ll find yourself having to replace parts, which won’t be very expensive with the Badger airbrushes. YOU can get a new tip and needle (the most commonly damaged parts) for about $15, while those parts for the average Iwata airbrush cost around $25. It’s generally easier to repair Badger airbrushes.

Iwata’s airbrushes are very good, but they’re more expensive and require more careful maintainence. I wouldn’t start with Iwata - you should start with something that is good quality but can take some punishment.

This airbrush could also be an option:

http://bearair.com/prodinfo.asp?number=100269

The Badger 360 has a rotating front section, allowing you to use it as both gravity and siphon feed. It’s a litlle more expensive than the 175, but it does offer gravity feed which can be important for camouflage patterns.

6

Who in there right mind would say that? I would suggest taking their future advice with a grain of salt. Badgers are one of the best airbrushes you can buy. There are more expensive ones, but they aren’t necessarily better. I have two the 150 and 100LG. I highly recommend them both, but the 100LG is a touch better at fine lines. They are easy to clean, easy to fix.

The Paasche ones are also quite good, and so are many Iwatas. Badger parts are (IMHO) easier to find, not that you need to replace them that often. There is a teflon washer on the 100 series that people tend to lose and the needles can be fragile if you aren’t careful. My 150 is over 20 yrs old and still goes strong!

7

My wife bought for me the Badger Chreshendo 175 complete set from Bear Air for my birthday. I love it. It is definately better than the chinese imitation badger I had been using. I love it b/c it came with 3 different needles, fine, medium and grande. Makes it easier to do many many things!!

8

Michael:

The Iwata Eclispe is what you want. Ordered from Dixie Art it is $109, but this includes the shipping. It is a high quality, versatile airbrush. Easy to clean, easy to find parts for (should you need to), and can spray wide or fine patterns.

This is based on my personal experience, so don’t take this as a “knock” on other brands…as Bill pointed out there are high end and begineer brushes made by most manufacturers.

9

I use my Badger 100LG for ALMOST all of my spraying. AWESOME airbrush, inexpensive, and easy to get replacement parts for. The other two are a Badger 200 for my NMF’s, and a Badger 350 for clearcoats.

10

Bgrigg you have 20 year working airbrush? It’s not the airbrush that amazes me but it’s you. Been doin the same hobby for 20 years wow that’s somethin called passion…[bow]

Is Paasche H any good(for wide and fine spray)?

So many Bagder series that are mentioned, which one preferable for a beginner?

11

Well, I’m 47 now, built my first model when I was around 7 or 8, took a break when I discovered girls at 15, started again when I was in my early 20s, stopped again when girls discovered me [:P], and started up again a couple years ago after a 20 year hiatus. All in all probably only 10 years in all at the bench. Sorry to disappoint you! [;)]

I haven’t owned the airbrush for that long though, it was a gift from a friend of mine who bought it new and used it to illustrate posters with. It might even be close to 30 yrs old. At least the handle and body is, the head assembly, washers and needle are brand new. Until then I hand brushed or used rattle cans. He gave it to me only a couple of years ago.

If I had to limit myself to one brush it would be the 100LG with the medium sized needle. I would also buy the fine head assembly and needle for spraying very fine lines, with very thinned paints.

That’s a dual action brush, spush down on the trigger for air and pull it back for paint. The more you pull it back the more paint. It’s a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it works very well. You can save a few bucks and get the 200G with is the single action version. There you set the amount of paint by dialing the needle in and out of the nozzle, and push down the trigger for the airflow. The neat thing with this brush is that if you decide to upgrade to the 100 series in the future, all the parts are interchangable. The 150 is the 100 with a siphon feed. There is also the 150SF or Side Feed, which allows you to use the brush pointing straight down. It’s very similar in use to a gravity feed, but has interchangeable color cups. It was designed for photo retouchers to use. It’s pretty rare and many of the online shops don’t bother with it.

In the perfect world of endless resources I would have the 200G, 100LG and 150, so I guess I’m two thirds the way to perfect! Right now I have the 150 with the medium head/needle and the 100LG has the fine head/needle. Oh, let’s face it, I would have dozens of airbrushes: Badgers, Paasche, Iwata, T&C, Wold, Aerograph and many more. After all I would have endless resources!

Our very own MusicCity has an excellent article on the various choices of airbrushes.

It isn’t so much what is a good beginner brush. It’s all about practice, practice, practice and more practice. There are some people who are so talented I swear they could paint with a soda straw and their own lungs!

12

Who told you to stay away from Badger? An Iwata sales rep? [sigh]

There is NOTHING an Iwata or any other brand can do that a Badger of equal value can’t and I have a little bit of knowledge of airbrushes and Badger’s in particular.

13

Understatement of the year! [(-D]

14

Sorry bro, just trying to be humble. [:P]

15

Thx for the info. I think i’ll start lookin for Badger 100LG or a Badger Creshendo 175. I’ll scout the local hobby shops for any trace of em.

Been using the rattle cans too but after a while they cost a lot…

Thx guys

16

Check Bear Air for the Badger 175 creshendo . They had the best price around when my wife purhcased it for me. I was AMAZED at the price break!!!

17

Those two airbrushes are quite different.

The Crescendo was designed for T-shirt airbrushing like the Paasche VL and the 100LG is an illustrator’s airbrush. Both serve the purpose they were designed for very well but personally I would take the Badger 100LG any day over the Crescendo for models.

Just my opinion of course. It all depends also on the style of airbrush you prefer in your hand.

I prefer a smaller bodied airbrush over the big Crescendo.

One advantage of the Crescendo though is that it can put out an enormous amount of paint if needed, more than any airbrush I have used, although the Anthem is a close 2nd.

18

Thx MikeV. After your explanation i think i’ll look for Badger 100LG first then Paasche H. Do they come with a set of needle for wide, meium and fine spray? Or do i have to buy the set needles seperately?

19

Michael,

With the Badger 100LG I would recommend the medium tip and needle and down the road if you want to experiment then get the fine tip and needle.

With the medium tip/needle combo you can spray anything you will ever need for modeling in my opinion. The Paasche H you could go with the medium and the heavy for extra coverage if you want although I say the Badger 100LG will cover 90% of your modeling needs unless you plan on building really big models like the 1/48 AC-130 Spectre where you will need a siphon feed bottle for more paint. [swg]

20

I have both the 100LG and the Crescendo 175, and I find the 100LG better for all applications requiring painting lines thinner than 3/8" or so, but I like the Crescendo for basecoats and especially clear and metallic lacquers. You’re certainly right about the 175’s paint volume - you can empty the color cup in about seven seconds!

The danger with the Crescendo is that with one wrong move you can put half an ounce of drippy mess all over the side of your model, because the paint flow volume is so fast. The 100LG is a bit harder to control, but has a lower flow rate and can paint finer detail. It’s my favorite airbrush, but I didn’t to to great a job learning on it. (busted my way through three needles/nozzles before I realized they were FRAGILE [:-^])