best air brush?

Ronald,

I don't know what the best place is to shop at in person, but I personally like to buy my airbrushes and parts from Dixie Art at http://www.dixieart.com/

In regards to the best airbrush, that is a loaded question. There are many good airbrushes and you basically have to choose one that you like the feel of and go with that. If you are buying online then your best bet is to choose one you like the best from Badger, Thayer&Chandler, or Iwata and go with that.

My recommendation is to look at the Thayer & Chandler Omni 3000, the Badger Anthem or the Iwata Eclipse and choose one of them. I personally would choose the Omni as that is my favorite.

Mike

The Best... Micron, but its about a 600 dollar airbrush.

For me...

Best all around .... Aztek 470

Best detail brush ... Sotar 20/2

QUOTE: Originally posted by RonUSMC The Best... Micron, but its about a 600 dollar airbrush.

You can get the Micron's for $265 from Dixie Art but they are absolute overkill for model painting.

Mike

Yeah, I almost got one... but got the Sotar instead. A 100 dollar difference.

My only thing is... I really like easy to clean brushes.. because I like to airbrush every part. But, I am really getting good at airbrushing. I think it is an absolute joy to be able to airbrush shadows, rust, oil streaks, chips... everything... easy peasy.

Here is an idea of what I do...


Now... this has only been done with an Aztek and a tan tip. The smallest tip for that airbrush.. but if you notice, the small sand colored camo streaks in it... are the smallest the Aztek can go. I want to go smaller. I want a solid streak of paint the size of a hair. That will give my models more depth. This 1/35 hummer is sitting on the shelf until wednesday when my new sotar gets here.... then I will REALLY detail it, :)

Ron,

Nice work there my friend.

Keep us posted on how that Sotar performs when you get it.

Mike

I will buddy. I expect it any day now.

I have been chatting with a Pro builder friend of mine and I am getting very psyched up about it. He says its easy to clean and does super fine work.

That hummer will be the first test for that little bad boy, then I will post some pics of the detailing I did with it.

Ron,

That sounds great. I know a guy who is involved with Badger and runs an airbrushing Bootcamp and he told me the Sotar 20/20 was a great airbrush and the needles are very strong compared to the Iwata Micron's. Now I want one too. Haha

Mike

Ron would u recommend the Sotar for a total begginer? And also how much do air compressors usually cost?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Gus. Ron would u recommend the Sotar for a total begginer? And also how much do air compressors usually cost?

I'm not Ron but I'll give you my opinion.

I think the Sotar is much too expensive for a beginner as well as being unnecessary for almost everything. I find it hard to believe you can get a finer line with the Sotar than you can with my Vega 1000 with the #1 tip and needle on it. If you were using paints that were even thinner than modeling paints then the Sotar would excel over the other airbrushes we normally use.

If I were you and I wanted a good gravity feed airbrush I would buy an Omni 5000 which will do practically anything you want for modelling.

Here is a link to the Omni 5000 and other Omni models:

http://www.dixieart.com/Omni.html

In regards to compressors the prices vary from $100-$1,000 depending on what you want. I think the Createx (Sim-Air) Intruder 2000 with a regulator for $199 is about the best you are going to get in that price range. It comes with everything you need including an airbrush holder. Here is a link to it at Dixie Art's web site http://www.dixieart.com/TC2000.html


If that is too expensive then you can get something used off Ebay. I have seen some fantastic deals on there before.

I wouldn't waste my money on those cheap diaphram compressors that pulsate the air and are noisy. They usually die a premature death from overheating because they run all the time you are using them.


If you have a little mechanical ability you could also build a silent compressor with a 1/3 or 1/2 hp refrigerator motor and small air tank.

Mike

Wow thanks mike for all the advice. You pretty much answered every question i had about airbrushing. Thanks also for the links.

My pleasure Gus.

I started airbrushing plastic models back in the late 80's and got into T-shirt airbrushing in 1993 so I have been exposed to quite a bit in that time. If what I have learned can be of any help to you or anyone else I will try my best to help out in any way I can. I know how confusing it can be with all of the equipment out there and not many people in stores who know what they are talking about when it comes to airbrushes.

If you would like to see some of my artwork on T-shirts and practice sheets here's a link:

http://myartworkgallery.com/mag/slides.asp?member_id=14

God Bless

Mike

Wow, that looks awesome I like the Leopard one. I wish I had half the skills you have at something like that.

Thanks Gus.

With some practice you could be even better, you never know.

Mike

This is all solid advice.

I have had 2 days with my Sotar and all I can say is this thing is incredible. I have never used an airbrush that performs like this. Its unreal. I still haven't worked up the skills to use it for hairline stuff yet, but I am getting close.

Ron,

Did you get the one with the smaler color cup or the larger one?

Are you spraying enamels like Model Master or acrylics?

Just curious.


Mike

The larger cup.

Spraying Model Master Acrylics exclusively. I will have to spray some Tamiya stuff soon though.

MikeV makes an excellent point when he says that most salespeople don't know much about airbrushes. Let's be blunt: they usually push whatever model of brush they want to move off the shelves. Forums like this one and internet customer surveys are a good way to learn about the various models and their uses.
I used to use a single action brush, which was ok for general use, but when I finally moved up to a dual action I chose the Aztek A470 with the wooden case and six needles. Is it the best available? Probably not, and I haven't had the chance to use all the competing models, of course, but it works very well, is easy to operate, and replacement parts are readily available at my local shops. It won't do the razor-sharp pecil-thin lines of the more expensive units, but it seems to be a good over-all gun.

Glenn

Yeah, the Aztek is a fine shooter.

I painted the Hummer above with an Aztek.. and that thing is 1.35 and small, but the gun did well.

Im still getting used to my new one, hopefully I will be able to do hairline stuff with it soon.

I've two airbrushes a evolution dual action with a .15 and .4 needel and a Hans acombined dual action with a .2 needle. Both are very fine, but I tried them first in the shop before I bought them. I believe a large part of a good airbrush is the way you are happy with handling it. So my idea of a good airbrush doesn't mean that you will like it. Try before you buy.

Kinda new to airbrushing and using the 470. I've painted a few projects which have come out pretty decent. Problem I have is consistency with the gun. Sometimes it works fine and many times it starts sputtering minature droplets of paint, which can be a problem. I've usually have a 1-1 mixture with enamaels. Tried using the different tips to experiment , changed pressures, which is normally at 20 PSI and ocassionally still have problems. I have to say that this is the 4th Aztek gun I have had in as many months. Had problems with the other three and returned them and got a new one. I guess it will come with time but it sure feels like its taking for ever to get over this learning curve. Any hints would be appreciated. Use primarily Model Masters paint.

put a condensation filter on it.

That is the same problem I have with my Aztek, sometimes it sprays just fine for 10 seconds or so, then it will barely spray for a few seconds, then not spray at all for a few more seconds. It randomly repeats these same patterns until I'm done painting. That is why I've ordered an Iwata Revolution, should be here in the next couple of days.

How do you guys put pics in the body of your posts like that. If Mikev is going to show off his fine artwork, I want to be able to show off some of mine as well. I'm not near as good an airbrusher as he is, but I have cornered the market on pencil/charcoal and pen and ink.

madda

QUOTE: Originally posted by maddafinga How do you guys put pics in the body of your posts like that. If Mikev is going to show off his fine artwork, I want to be able to show off some of mine as well. I'm not near as good an airbrusher as he is, but I have cornered the market on pencil/charcoal and pen and ink.

Madda,

You need to have your photos posted on a web site and then put the link to that web site's URL here to link to it.

Mike