Purchase a quality Airbrush

For that budget you can reach pretty high. 

I'd assume you're looking for dual-action, but what else? Gravity feed, side/siphon feed? 

My three current brushes all fall around your range...

Iwata Eclipse HP-CS (stocked by Hobby Lobby, so it's a steal with the 40% off coupon) - Great general airbrush. Comes with a .35 needle/nozzle but can take .5mm as well. Very well built. Mine's been acting a bit fussy lately despite deep cleaning.

Iwata Eclipse HP-C Plus - Great for fine detail work. Excellent feel. Sucks for wide coverage, though (I believe the .3mm needle is the biggest it can go), so it sucks for, say, painting big swaths of uniform colors. Awesome, awesome brush, but I wouldn't recommend it as your main weapon.

Grex Tritium TG - The trigger grip definitely makes for a more stable painting platform. Sprays fine and sprays well. Seems to clean out a bit easier than the Iwatas. The manual specifically states to not use ammonia through it, so if you use Windex to clean up after acrylics, move on. 

Personally...I'm less than won over by the Grex. For small jobs, it's awesome, but if you're doing something like mottling a Luftwaffe plane, the trigger operation can get fussy, and staying at it for a long time can lead to crazy cramps in your hands. 

Of the three, the HP-CS is my favorite all-arounder, but I'm still looking for my perfect brush. Currently trying to decide between a H&S Evolution and Badger Patriot.

Hodder & Steenbeck are very nice brushes. I have an Evolution 2in1 & another on order. They are dead easy to dismantle for cleaning. Nice to use.

I have 4 needle & nozzles for them. A .1.5, .2,.4 & .6. So they are versatile. By the way the Evolution Solo is the same as the 2 in 1 but you only get one needle & nozzle. The 2in1 you get a .2 & .4 needle nozzle. You can purchase the needle nozzles as extras.

One thing get a dual action (I call it two stage as that is what it is). Biggest mistake I made was to buy a single action first off. Nearly gave up. Then purchased the Evolution two stage & things took off. Do not be put off by the term dual action. Two actions. Press the button down & keep it there for air pressure until finished then release that is all for that action. Second action pull back as required for the amount of paint to be released. Simple & if I can do it it is.

Main thing is practice practice & more. Spent about 3 hours practicing trying to get the complicated camouflage for a late 109 Mess ( not the messy dot one). Not quite right but worth all the practice.

Laurie

I run a Badger 360 and it has performed well for everything I can throw at it.  I use it in gravity feed mode with the built in color cup.  Think I spent around $110 on it.

An H&S Evolution Silverline solo or 2in1 would be worth considering, they are well built & a dawdle to strip & clean. The Silverline variant of the Evolution has paint volume control & a different centre section to the standard Evolution, which doesn't have the rubber o-ring grips - this is better if you plan to use enamels, as enamel thinners can damage the grips on the standard model, but if you only use acrylics the standard Evolution would be fine.

Either way you have a brush which uses the same core components as the top of the range Infinity.

Thanks for the feedback everyone

I would like to use an airbrush with siphon jar capability as well as gravity feed.

I would like to change the amount I would like to spend, between 100.00 and 130.00 dollars

Regards,

Scott

The H&S Evolution & Evolution Silverline have an adapter available that will allow conversion to siphon jars which retails in the US for about $25. Failing that there is the Evolution Silverline M, which is side fed & comes with a gravity cup & siphon jar.

Can anyone tell me what (you think?) isthe best Badger Siphon Jar Dual Action Airbrush that can be used for large jobs is?

I purchased the Tamiya 1:350 Enterprise and I need to paint the Hull and I don't want to keep refilling my Patriot 105 

Thank-you

Scott

Arespontus

Can anyone tell me what (you think?) isthe best Badger Siphon Jar Dual Action Airbrush that can be used for large jobs is?

I purchased the Tamiya 1:350 Enterprise and I need to paint the Hull and I don't want to keep refilling my Patriot 105 

Thank-you

Scott

 

The Badger 155 Anthem will go from fairly fine lines to very wide coverage because of it's dual slope needle.  It is my favorite general purpose airbrush.  There are details on my website.

Don

Don Wheeler

 

Arespontus:

 

Can anyone tell me what (you think?) isthe best Badger Siphon Jar Dual Action Airbrush that can be used for large jobs is?

I purchased the Tamiya 1:350 Enterprise and I need to paint the Hull and I don't want to keep refilling my Patriot 105 

Thank-you

Scott

 

The Badger 155 Anthem will go from fairly fine lines to very wide coverage because of it's dual slope needle.  It is my favorite general purpose airbrush.  There are details on my website.

Don

Scott, you mention Iwata OR Badger at the beginning, which are very different in the trigger action. The Badger, with it short tapper, dual cone, opens the nozzle quickly and is good for larger area, or primer, or finish coat. On the other hand, the Iwata has longer, single tapper needle which results in long, gentle trigger action. You will have some adjustment since you are used to the Patriot 105.

For what you have in mind and 105 experience, the Badger 155 Anthem may be a better choice than the Iwata BCR or a H&S. On the other hand, I am not very skilled, and found the Iwata and H&S are easier to control the trigger action than the 105F. It is just a personal choice.

Arespontus

Hello

I have a testors Dual Action Airbrush and I have all the Airbrush Nozzles, I have an issue though. They all seem to do the same thing. Some spray a little wider than others but I can use them all for pretty much the same job

Regards,

Scott 

 

At first glance, the nozzles seem to do the same job, but they don't. If you're about to paint a 1/350 ship. I would do it with the White hi-flow nozzle and the siphon jar. That's exactly what I did with my slow WIP Trumpy 1/350 USS Nimitz. Having used the AZTEK system for over a decade, both, plastic and metal body and having at my disposal a Paasche Talon and a Badger Velocity, I tend to grab whatever makes the job faster and easier. In this case, the AZTEK gets my vote.

I also had Testor's airbrushes but I recently bought an Iwata HP-CS gravity feed airbrush and I absolutely love it. I can get just about any spray pattern I want from fine line to wide coverage and the control is great. Compared to the Testor's it was like getting out of my Camaro and stepping into a Ferrari. It's easy to clean and with pipettes refilling the color cup is a snap. I bought mine from MerriArtist.com and the price was quite reasonable. I got a 10' nylon covered braided hose for $21.06 and the HP-CS was 125.95.  Shipping was free and there was no tax so the grand total, delivered to my door, was $147.01, and I believe it only took about a week to get here. Best move I ever made where my airbrushing talents are concerned.

I agree with Garylee! HP-CS is the best!

HP-CS. go on hobbylobby.com and use their 40% coupon.