I’am fairly new when it comes to airbrushes and I found this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220097568803&rd=1&rd=1and was wondering is it any good?I will be using it to paint my USS Gato 1/72 and was wondering do you think it could get the job done?
i’d say that’s a great deal for $50 but note that they’re charging 40 for shipping.
the badger 350 is what i started with. in fact i still have it. it’s single action but it gets the job done just fine. the compressor looks alright too but i don’t know that much about it. probably beats the canned air…
wait for other opinions before you go shelling out for that. looks good to me though.
It looks like a Badger 350, but I would get confirmation if this is the genuine item or not.
Here in Australia it’s possible to find a no-name Chinese made B-350 clone in hardware stores, auto parts stores and hobby shops, ranging in price from Aud$10-$20 (that’s about US$8-$16)
This is most certainly NOT Badger. Nowhere in the description the word “Badger” is mention. This is most certainly nameless chinese copycat, stolen design.
That doesn’t immediately means it’s crap. Some of nameless chinese production is pretty good, for its price. Most brandnames are produced in China, too, sometimes in the same factory by the same workers. Some of copycat production is undistinguishable from brandname. 
But in such cases you rely mostly on pure luck.
Single action external airbrush is comparatively simple piece of equipment; it will work, no doubt. Since it’s that simple, may be it will work no worse than brandname, and in any case it would work not much worse.
Compressor is different. You see, compressors are relatively fragile things working in comparatively extreme conditions with at least one seriously moving part. I don’t trust chinese nameless compressors - they would work for 3 month, for half a year - and then they’ll die.
Mind you, I don’t trust brandname compressors either. Genuine Badger may work for a year, year and a half and THEN die. Those small compressors just aren’t made for a lot of work, they don’t have stamina. Brandname compressors are definitely overpriced.
I would advise you to look for compressor in your local hardware store. I don’t know how in your country, but here there are many small quiet cheap workinghorse “garage” and “garden” compressors, which are cheap even if a bit bulky, and will work for years and years and years.
And then you can buy a very cheap copycat chinese airbrush, for your first one. It will work. You wouldn’t be able to draw “pencil lines” with it, but it will work.
Or buy the real deal, expensive brandname. Although in such case buy internal double action one.
Well I have do you think 30 psi is good enough to use for this type of painting?
30 psi should be fine.
this is starting to sound like a scam. is there really no other place you could get a cheapy airbrush and compressor?
Looks like a combo kit of the compressor and AB sold through Harbor freight http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=airbrush $70 compressor and $5 AB.
At least you can read up on them at HF and see what you’re in for.
-Fred
I’ve bought that airbrush. I mean, for $5 I had to try it out. The hose works pretty good. The lids don’t fit really well on the bottles, but I had lids that did, so I salvaged both the bottles and the hose which I still use today. The airbrush sprays paint, and I thought I would use it for spraying Future. Except it’s plastic, and not very good plastic, and it doesn’t spray paint very well, and so I tossed it out. Oh well, it was only $5.
Both the compressor and airbrush are available at places like Harbor Freight, in fact the pics on evul-bay and harbor freight are the same pics. Harbor Freight would be easier to deal with in case you are unhappy. The compressor isn’t bad, and should give you a couple or three years of use. The airbrush IS bad, so save your $5. You can buy a couple of jars of paint with it.
Dixie Art sells the “real” Badger 350 for $30, the 200NH (internal mix, single action) for $46, and a top quality 100LG for $65. You will be much happier for spending a few extra bucks. A poor tool is a bad way to learn the craft.
Edit:Well I decided to go with the compressor and I’am going to get a Airbrush City 1104 internal mix dual action airbrush.So,thanks everyone for your input.
Be aware that Airbrush City’s 1104 is pretty much a Chinese made clone of the Badger 150. (with a lot lower build quality) I did a mini-preview of an equivalent unit a while back - read here: /forums/531407/ShowPost.aspx
Edit:nm
Alpha54: you have pointed, that it wasn’t very well assembled and couldn’t be used “out of box”. When I’ve received my own (genuine) Badger 3155 Hybrid, it wasn’t well assembled either. The needle wasn’t set correctly, but was put a bit to the back, so the tip was never closing. Since I had no idea what happens with my airbrush, it took me half an hour to completely disasseble it (the tip was set so hard, I needed pliers to unscrew it), to understand how to assemble it back, and fix the needle position. Later I’ve found small print in the manual: “airbrush may need adjusting before use”. So, brandname is no guarantee of “out-of-box” usability.
Well, considering that Bear Air is offering the genuine Badger 150 kit for $55 or a B-155 Anthem for $47.40, compared to Airbrush City’s 1104 B-150 clone for $49.99, I know which one I would rather get.
At least you get a manual and a parts list with the genuine “brand name” item. I’d lay down money to say that you’d get neither with the clone. It’s not just the brand name itself, it’s the support (ie. parts and user-level support) that you get afterwards that makes the difference.
EDIT: The point I made in the mini review was that a beginner who was unfamiliar with airbrushes might have difficulty getting the thing to work if it was improperly assembled “as supplied”, given that no manuals or parts diagrams were supplied.
The post above in reference to a brand-name item, complete with manuals and parts list, which was supplied not properly adjusted further reinforces that point.