 Pong wrote: |
Hi all. I am new to scale modeling, I want to try airbrushing and I need help deciding which brand of AB to buy and what compressor to go with it. I am planning to create 1/48 scale WWII aircrafts and 1/350 naval ships of the same era. I would appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance!![Smile [:)]](/emoticons/icon_smile.gif) |
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My first experience with airbrushes was a Revell intro set: Single-action air brush, some paint basics (primer, two colors, cleaner) + a couple of cans of propellant. When I came home I discovered that just the siphon feed of the brush would hold half a bottle of the paint I intended to use.
So you want to research how little paint the airbrush can get away with. For the kinds of models you mention, you will want to work in the 1-5 ml paint cup range.
It didn't take me long before I was so PO'ed by the Revell that I bought a Harder&Steenbeck Evolution. Sure, it's an expensive piece of kit, and a hobbyist will probably never learn enough to really push it to its limits, but the thing is really well designed and put together. Unlike some other brands, which seem to rely on precision-machined component fitting together perfectly, the H&S uses gaskets and O-rings everywhere. They also come with several cups for color (5 ml, 2 ml, micro paint cups) and several nozzles (0.15mm - 0.6mm). Among the extras is a cleaning set that really saved me when I got the paints mixed up and everything gooed up inside the nozzle. It is easy to break down and clean.
The downside, if any, is that there are no instructions of use / clean that will be useful to the beginner. I had to learn the hard way (damaging a couple of needles + nozzles in the process) so you might want to find somebody who already owns the kind of airbrush you decide on, to show you how to operate it. Operating the airbrush is no big deal, you just have to know two or three things you do not want to do.
DoC