airbrush for 11 year old?

I too am getting a Paasche H on the weekend and considered for a time the Mighty Mini and after hearing some not so good reviews about it turned my attention to the Paasche H instead. By the way I'm 14

thanks for the replies . thanks for the heads up about the mask fitting mike, hadn't thought about that, i'll probably only let her paint outside. i have a 3 gallon compressor  for regular use and a 7 gallon air tank i have filled up for use when silence is a must. i agree with you guys about the mighty mini, after looking at it up close at walmart it does look like a waste of money. i think i'm going to go with the bagder 200G from dixieart, it looks like a good brush. i'm a frequent visitor of hobby lobby by the way . they've had the 40% off internet coupon for like a month straight now. plus this week plastic models are half off!! thanks again for the replies guys, i appreciate it.

I bought a mighty mini to learn with, and all I learned was that it took more practice to keep that thing spraying paint than to make a nice paint job with it! It is seriously not worth the money unless you can use the little compressor for something else after you get tired of it! It is seriously a pain, I cleaned it constantly and it would only work half the time! I would recommend just what Tho said, but maybe if you want to save a little cash, buy a refillable air tank, but if you can get a compressor for $54, thats a heck of a steal! Good luck!

looper wrote:

well it seems the stepdaughter took a big interest in the model building hobby . she says shes bored with the skill level 1 cars and is ready for skill level 2. can someone recommend an easy to use/clean airbrush for an 11 year old? she wants the mighty mini for x-mas ..would that be ok as a starter for her? thanks for any help

I ditto the brushes Mike listed, the mighty mini is an external mix single action and wouldn't achieve the results you could with an internal mix like the Badger 200.  Plus the Mighty mini has a plastic tip which I don't think would be hard to break (as in large protruding tip)    If you already have an airsource she'd be all set with a brush like those and have something that would last her quite awhile as her skills can grow with it.

If you don't have an airsource there are several inexpensive options, if she paints in a place where noise isnt an issue (in the garage or room at the back of the house) a commercial type from Lowes isn't that much, or if you have a Hobby Lobby or Michaels nearby wait for one of their 40% of any one item coupons and get a hobby type compressor from them, they normall run about $130.00 so with 40% off would be about $54.00, (---edit--- my math was off  I meant $82 or so... forgot to do the last of the equation)  so altogether with the brush (if ordered from www.dixieart.com, it is $41.00 there) it would only be about $10.00 more than the mighty mini but with twice the brush and a compressor to boot!  (---edit 2---  it would be about $40 more than getting the mighty mini... once again due to my poor math skills haha)

A good single-action airbrush is probably the best bet for her age.
Maybe a Badger 200, Vega 600 or a Paasche H would be great choices.
I would just recommend that you have real good ventilation as you don't want her inhaling any paint particles and masks don't fit little faces very well.
Keep us informed on what you get her.

Mike