CONFUSED ABOUT AIRBRUSHE STYLES

i really like gravity feed brushes myself. they are slightly easier to clean than i siphon feed and they are more efficient with paint in my observances. for example, say you need to touch up something like a cammo job on a subject, you pick up the gravity feed, get a dropper and put a drop or 2 of paint in the bowl and you're off to touching up with the minimum amount of paint waste. on the other hand, you pick up your siphon feed, plug in the color cup, and your gonna have to put a minimum of 5 or so drops in it before it'll pick the paint up, and you've just wasted paint because its only gonna take a small quirt to get the job done. thats just one example and paint waste may not be an issue for you but waste bothers me. another advantage the gravity feed brush has that is important to me, is it can atomize paint at a slightly lower pressure than a siphon feed which also translates to saving paint because the lower pressure you can use to get the paint on the subject, the less overspray you'll have. i've never used an anthem 155 but i've heard alot of good things about them on this forum. it would do the job no doubt, but i still think gravity feed would be a better choice for modelling. later.

gravity all the way!

I agree with saltydog's post completely.
The Anthem 155 is an awesome airbrush and I love it but the points that saltydog made are right on the money.
Also remember that because of the siphon-feed design you will have to paint the model at a different angle than you do with a gravity-feed.
With the gravity-feed models you can put the aircraft model on a surface and shoot the airbrush straight down onto the top of the wings and such for freehand camo paint jobs and such. Now if you use a siphon-feed for the same paint job you would have to use a bottle under the airbrush with a lot of paint in it to be able to spray down at that angle. I prefer the metal, 1/4 oz color cups in a siphon-feed for modeling but you can't tip the airbrush forward much more than 45 degrees or so or you will have paint spilling out of the cup. [:0]

So it all boils down to these factors. I like the ability to be able to paint down onto the model with a gravity-feed but if you use a siphon-feed and a metal color cup then you are going to have to paint it with the model in one hand and the airbrush in the other, or devise a special holder to hold the model at the angle you want it.
If you want it strictly for modeling then I would buy the Omni 4000 or 5000 or another gravity-feed, but if you want to get into other things with the airbrush later such as T-shirt airbrushing and only want one airbrush then the Anthem 155, or Omni 3000 would be the one to get.

Mike

Based on my extensive one hour experience with a gravity feed brush, they do have one big drawback ... that great big paint bucket sitting on top of them! I'm so used to my Omni 3000 that is siphon feed, having that paint cup up there blocking my light was really annoying. Guess I'll get used to it though.

That is true Scott, but after a few minutes with it you won't even notice it anymore.

Mike

Thanks guys you have set me straight

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV ... Now if you use a siphon-feed for the same paint job you would have to use a bottle under the airbrush with a lot of paint in it to be able to spray down at that angle. I prefer the metal, 1/4 oz color cups in a siphon-feed for modeling but you can't tip the airbrush forward much more than 45 degrees or so or you will have paint spilling out of the cup. [:0]

Well, that depends. I tend to spray at all kinds of angles, and I used to have the same problem with my siphon feed brushes. Either keep the bottle pretty full or spray pretty much level. So, I took the tube off my feed cap and found another piece a little bit longer. I heated it with a heat gun and curved it so it aimed right at the bottom corner of the bottle, and cut it off virtually flush with the bottom of the bottle. After a little tweaking I can slurp the bottle completely dry and spray close to straight down.