Helicopter Painting

My first advice would be to look around locally and see what is available. If you get something that requires you to order replacement parts from Europe every time you need a new needle or nozzle you aren't going to save much in the long run.

There are literally hundreds of posts on that subject in this area of the forum. With the help of some of the members here I came up with This Page on my web site.

Thx for the feedback and link. Ran into your page this morning, very informative.

Locally I can get hold of Aztek and Badger airbrushes and parts. There is only one LHS that stocks Aztek but the distributor is in another city. The LHS prices are very high.

Another LHS stocks the Badger range and is cheaper generally. However the local Badger importer is based in the city I stay in and they sell to the public.

From a support point of view I'm limited to the two. I'm hesitant to go with Aztek not because of its reputation on the forums but because my brother bought one and its been replaced twice because both brushes were leaking air.

I'm leaning more towards Badger because of the parts. However its cheaper to buy the brush overseas/online than it is here in South Africa. A Badger airbrush with shipping is 25% cheaper than a local price on www.towerhobbies.com

If I can find a brush overseas I can bring it back myself and save on shipping.

Unfortunately I'm not sure which Badger would meet my criteria.

Badger makes excellent airbrushes. I have four (actually two Badger and two Thayer and Chandler but Badger makes T&C). If you can get parts for Thayer and Chandler the Omni 4000 is an excellent all-around brush. Also the Badger 155, 360, and 100 would be great choices. The 155 is a siphon feed brush, the 360 is convertible between siphon and gravity, and the 100 is a gravity feed. All three are internal mix and double action.

Do you by any chance know what the thinnest spray pattern is on the 360 is?

Have you checked any art supply stores in your area? They carry airbrushes here in the states.

Hi all

Thanks for the responses. I've done some shopping around locally and in my currency(South Africa Rands) the Aztek A470 kit with all the nozzles and different paint cups will cost 2000 rand. I can get the same thing online in the US and it will cost R880 which includes their most expensive means of shipping.

I also priced the Badger 155 since the Badger importers don't carry the 360. The local price is 1035 rand, from the same website the 155 will cost me R600 including shipping.

Now you guys can see why the overseas market is so viable. The A470 is slightly less than my monthly rent.

My only reservation is warranty. I know that all the Aztek brushes come with a lifetime warranty but if I don't get it from the LHS, there is no reason for them to support it.

Same with the Badger 155, although the importer is about 2-3km from where I live and they stock all the parts, needles etc. Not sure what the Badger warranty is.

It might be worth the gamble to go with the Badger, how often does something go wrong with a badger?