Rattler: Can Cheapness Become Deadly?

Hey Gig,
IMO, Rattlecans have thier place and are very useful for some jobs. Airbrush can do the same jobs and alot more jobs better. Thats the simplest way I can put it.

Rattle cans are good, but you can't do any shading or weathering with a can.

Get the AB!

Rattle cans are good for large coverage and esp. heavy pigmentss ( like white and yellow). but they must be well shaken (not stirred) and sometimes heated in warm water to raise their internal pressure. But they are not good for fine work like Luft camo.

Except 1:1 Luft camo, that is!

Go for a decent AB, rattle cans can get pretty expensive, and are suitable only for single colour paint jobs. They also have about a 5" spray pattern, stink to high heaven and are very toxic to boot.

I bought the Badger 150, and am simply blown away with the results, and it's a MOR AB!

Unless you're only thinking about building 1 model every couple of years or so, I would suggest you go ahead and spend the bucks on a decent a/b. Considering the cost of a good kit nowadays (Hasegawa or Tamiya), 2 to 3 kits would equal the cost of a Badger 100.

ditto on what everyone else said... the cost of a decent airbrush (about $45 to $65 dollars) and a commerical compressor (about $60 at Lowes or Home Depot) would be the overcome after about 6 models and corresponding spray cans of color... and the airbrush would allow you a lot more options on what you are painting no matter which brush you got (almost any brush that is)
Go for a Badger, Paasche, Iwata or Thayer and Chandler brush and you will be ok!

Check out the options at www.bearair.com and www.dixieart.com. Dixie Art won't start processing orders till next week or so but you can still browse their selection in the meantime!!!

Go with the AB. Like others have already said, it will pay for itself in under a year, and you'll find yourself able to produce results you never thought possible.

Now isn't that worth the money?

Karl

Another downside to rattle-cans is the lack of colors. An often repeated thread deals with someone who requires a color that is available only in a bottle. My take is that unless one's future modeling include spraying something only once or twice, get an airbrush.

Do people even use rattle cans anymore? I though they died out with Neanderthals. Someone call National Geographic...