Hi everybody, I'm not a very experienced modeler, and I will be celebrating my birthday soon, so I was wonderinng what kind of airbrush and compressor I should request. I feel really comfortable with 1/72 scale, so an airbrush that I could use to do camo and painting work in that scale woud be great!! Thanks for the help in advance!!

You will probably get as many answers as there are airbrushes.

Some folks might even recommend a 'beginners airbrush.' The only problem there is most of these single action, external mix, airbrushes are crap, and even when made to work do not do a fine enough spray pattern for the scale you are working with.

I have been looking for a new airbrush myself, but have been sticking with my good ole, reliable, Badger 150 for 20+ years now.



As far as compressors go--I don't have one either! I have been using a ten gallon pressure tank and regulator. I simply fill it up at the local service station with the car tire hose. A pain in the arse--yes. But it also keeps me from taking my airbrushing sessions past the aggravation point. I am forced to quit when the air runs out and then the paint gets a chance to dry properly.

Many will also say 'it is not the airbrush, but the artist, that produces the final product.'

This is not meant to impress you in the least. It is by no means good, but simply to let ya know what an ancient airbrush and gas station air can produce:


But that's me. Get a reliable compressor and a tank, a mid priced airbrush that others that follow this post will recommend, and enjoy painting.

I have a Campbell Hausfeld compressor. It has a 2 gallon tank and a 1/2 hp motor with a moisture trap and pressure regulator. I picked it up, new on ebay for about $90 last year. I have 2 airbrushes, a Paasche VLS and an Aztek A470. Both are bouble action. I bought the Paasche first but haven't used it since I got the Aztek. The Aztek gives me better fine line control (for camo!!) and is much easier to clean and change nozzles. It works well with both enamels and acrylics. I also bought the Aztek on Ebay, used, for about $60.

I started modeling about 2 years ago and my badger 155 anthem (double action) hasent failed i mainly do 1:72 scale also.

Here is a pic of my most recent tank camo done with it.

hi Keith, how long would the airbrush last without a steady stream of air supply? 20 min? or more?

Thanks for the Help! When it comes to airbrushes, which ones have warranties in case they break??

Hi Zep!
All good airbrushes have a warranty, that's one good reason why they cost so much. BUT you will break parts in use, however careful you are - I've bent needle tips and split nozzles by being either in a hurry to clean up, or just plain too heavy handed.
As I tell anybody who will listen :-) my choice of airbrush was decided by the local craft store being open on a Sunday and only three miles from my home, so if anything breaks I can easily get more. I also keep a stock of the small parts in the garage where I do my spraying - you can't really spray indoors without some sort of spray booth to get rid of the paint overspray and fumes.
As for my airbrush and compressor - I've got two Badger 200, with different size nozzle and needles, and I have a Revell Omega compressor.
The best way is to practice and then practice somemore - that way you'll get good

Danny,
Well, I have applied the brown and green pattern on a 1/25th scale Panther AND the brown and black camo on a 1/35th Leopard 2 in the same session. I guess it depends on the pressure setting, how the airbrush is behaving, etc. I guess you could do some math--7 gallon tank, 115 psi filled, and regulator set to 15-30 psi. Does that help? Any quantum physicists out there?

i LOVE my campbell hausfeld compressor, had it for about half a year now, NO problems at all, i'd recommend it to you, its very easy to use and good for anyscale

Thanks for the help guys!! Any Other advice would be throughly appreciated!!!

I am by no means an expert, but I have a Badger 150 that works great, and have always heard nothing but good things about these, especially for a first airbrush. Check out the link below, they have some great little airbrush/compressor package deals. I got mine from there and absoulutley love it, easy to use, and even came with a water trap. If you can I reccomend getting a compessor with an airtank attached.

http://airbrush-depot.com/scripts/depot.exe?pgm=brushgate.bbx

DON'T GO Cheap. I did and the airbrush only worked reasonably once then broke, some Testors Aztec I think. Real piece of *&^%. Now I handbrush.