Opinion needed on airbrushes

Well, I'm a Badger man myself. For overall coverage, a Badger 200 single action works nicely. For finer detail, a Badger 150 IL double action works really well. Both will be under $70-75. Check out this site. They have a great selection and will recommend which AB's are the best for certain applications. www.dixieart.com

 Andy

I use a Badger 350 myself.

Actually, I have two.  One has the basic medium needle assembly and the other has the fine needle assembly. 

HobbyLobby carries the 350.  Can't remember the price though.  I wanna say around $75; but if you've got a coupon (check their website) you can pick it up even cheaper.

I use a Badger 100 SG for detail work, and a 100 LG for larger areas.

The SG has a fine needle and head assembly, while the LG has a medium.

I have been known to swap the head assemblies around, and use the fine head on the LG for large areas of mirror wave or mottling.

So you could just buy a 100 LG and a spare fine head and needle to handle both area and detail work.

Karl

JD, how large of a coverage area are you talking about?

E

Sherman1111 wrote:

I would like a general purpurpose for painting large areas, and another for detail work try to keep no more than $300 each any suggestions also opion for airbrush.

For modeling, you don't need to spend $300 each for airbrushes. For $300, you can get hand-tuned airbrush that are aimed for fine artists.

The Iwata Eclipse HP-CS is probably one of the most popular airbrush around here. You can get it for about $110 using the Hobby-Lobby 40% off coupon or by by internet order. It will be somewhat higher at LHS. I like my HP-CS very much for several reasons, easy of cleaning, well balanced body and very smooth control. It is good enough for both detail and large area works with its 1/3 oz cup.

If you want an airbrush with siphon feed paint bottle for extra large area coverage, the Iwata HP-BCS would be a good one to have. It is slightly cheaper than the HP-CS. Hobby Lobby carries both.

The Badger Renegade, Iwata Eclipse and Paasche Talon are all very good airbrush and will serve any modeler well for many years. The one time price difference among them are small. The bottom line: get whatever model for which you can buy replacement needle locally. It will be cheaper over the long run.

I chose Iwata because I can get needle and nozzle replacement cheaply and conveniently at Hobby Lobby. Its needle also has the reputation of being the longer lasting one and doesn't need replacement as ofter. Buying needle and nozzle replacement by mail order is not practical because shipping often costs more than the part itself.

keilau wrote:

For modeling, you don't need to spend $300 each for airbrushes. For $300, you can get hand-tuned airbrush that are aimed for fine artists.

For $300 I can get a Sata spray gun for painting cars!

Mike, pull that $160 Velocity out and give it a whirl this weekend :)!

E

H3nav wrote:

Mike, pull that $160 Velocity out and give it a whirl this weekend :)!   E

I wished the spirit would move me H3. I am in a rut big time and my crazy hours don't help.

Dont listen to any hype about which AB is the best ect., ect,ect.

This is pure bunk! If your not an artist and are just shooting models you'll find there are many AB's that can get the job done for well under 100.00 USD.

I had a bit of a go-around in another thread about this. I own 8 AB's now, some are old and some brand new. I like them all and use them all.

Here are a few of the popular brands:

Paasche

Badger

Iwata

Richpen

Percesion Aire

Peak

Satagraph

DONT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THE VL IS A BAD BRUSH!

Here's a link to what users have to say about Paasche's VL.

http://www.airbrushtechnique.com/Reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/29

And here's a GREAT link to an artist who visits the forum at an AB site I visit often. She uses the Millenium which is the VL with a cutaway handle.

http://www.airbrush.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=347155&mpage=1

The VL is a bad brush.  Just kidding!

I have owned one before, and while it's not my preference (for reasons I could go into detail about) this is like comparing brands of cars, powertools, etc.  In MOST cases, it is about comfort, ability to get support, parts, etc.  I have seen people with really crappy knock-off single action brushes do things that make my jaw drop.

I LIKE Badger because they have great customer service, are polite on the phone, inexpensive, and make a brush which will do almost anything you need it to.  I mainly shoot Tamiya, Vallejo, and Golden's acrylics.  I find that #1, too fine a brush and head clog no matter how well I strain and thin my paints.

#2, my Badger 100LG with medium head and nozzle is capable of far more detail and precision than my hands can produce.

In the end, get what makes you happy, and practice, practice, practice, and oh yeah, practice!

Chris