Need your opinion: best airbrush for under $100

Go to www.dixieart.com and you will find a lot of high-quality airbrushes for under $100. Several of the Badger and all Omni brushes are under $100. Same for Paasche. The Iwatas are a little over $100.

Which one you prefer is up to you. Lots of us here are big Badger / T&C fans, but there are just as many Iwata and Paasche fans. It's really in what you get used to and what you prefer. Just keep in mind that a good paint job is about 90% painter and 10% airbrush.

I had to come back and edit this because I Forgot one important thing. Whatever airbrush you decide on , get a double-action brush. I have both a single- and double-action brush and the level of control you get with a double-action brush is well worth the difference.

Ditto the previous post. For around $60 you can get an Iwata Revolution which will more than meet your needs.

Gravity feed

Badger 100LG ($60)
Badger 360 (around the $100)
Omni 4000($70)
Peak c5 ($89 includes hose)

Iwata Revolution CR ($59)
Iwata Eclipse CS ($105)


Siphon feed

Badger 155 anthem ($49)
Badger 150 (ask MikeV)
Badger 175 ($53)
Badger 360 (around $100)
Omni 3000 ($65 about)
Peak x5 ($80ish)
Iwata Revolution BCR ($59)
Iwata Eclipse BCS ($75)

Paasche VL ($?)
Paasche Millenium series ($?)

other (more expensive)
Tamiya hg-sf ($129)
Iwata Hp series ($129)
Tamiya hg-trigger type ($159)
Iwata Eclipses ($105)

Nice summary, 1337! Well done

I use an Aztek too, while I dont seem to have the problems of others with it,m but I am an Iwata fan. If ya don't mind spend a little extra, it is the best airbrush in the world in my eyes. Paashe Isn't all the good, kinda big and clumsy but Badgers are good too. Stay with a double action sprayer too. Get some scrap and practice on it.
For your compressor get on with a tank, moisture trap and regulator on it, Makes any brush a world class with that set up.

-Jeff

well i had thought about this not too long ago. the items given are much appreciated here also. thanks. good question mobydick.

joe

Thanks Music

For places to buy online, try:
Dixieart (not as much selection as coast, dirt cheap prices) www.dixieart.com
Bearair (More expensive)www.bearair.com
Coast airbrush (in between, very good selection) www.coastairbrush.com

1337,

Why did you say ask MikeV on the Badger 150 only?
I have the 150, 155 Anthem, 360, Omni 3000, Omni 4000, Vega 1000, Vega 2000, and an Iwata HP-CS.
The Sotar and 100LG should get shipped next week.

Mobydick,

If you want a Badger or Omni I can give you the number of a place to call that is direct from Badger and has a 40% off discount on any Badger product for Fine Scale Forum members.
Email me if you want the number.

Mike

Mike: That's the only one I needed a price quote for.

Geez, 1337, you didn't ask me anything. And I have a Iwata HP-B, HP-C, HP-CR. For Badgers I have a 100SG. I also have T&C Vega Nailaire and Omni 4000.

I figured while we were bragging I'd add my list of airbrushes.

I would have more but I don't get them for free.

and i have the paasche H, badger 200G, omni 5000, iwata hp-c, and eclipse hp-cs. which one would i spend my money on? hp-cs most definetly. later.

QUOTE: Originally posted by 1337 Mike: That's the only one I needed a price quote for.

Oh, sorry.
I misinterpreted your answer.

Roosterfish,

I was not bragging I was joking around.
Who said I get my airbrushes for free?
I bought five of the eight I own.

Mike

currently i 0wn an aztek 370, and my badger 100LG and peak c5 are coming soon

Hey Mike .. how do you like the 360? I'm sort of interested in one. I like my siphon feed Omni (guess I'm just used to having the weight of the bottle up there!) but occasionally I'd like to have a top cup with gravity feed. I've got a side cup for my 3000, but that's still basically siphon feed.

Scott,

The 360 is nice. If you need to touch-up something with a small amount of paint it is the one I usually use as the small color cup is easy to clean.
It is real small though and only holds about two eyedropper fulls of paint, but for small projects it is great. If you want a full-time gravity-feed model I would go with the Omni 4000, or the Badger 100LG if you want even finer lines.

Mike

Thanks, Mike. I was painting camo on my F-105 last weekend and was spraying at real low pressure. I was really getting irritated because my 3000 would work fine one minute and then wouldn't pick up the paint the next minute. I know, a little more pressure or a little thinner paint, but I had everything where it was working fine most of the time. I just decided that the next time I do one I'm going to have a gravity feed brush for the edge work since I think they will feed a little better at low pressures. I was sold on the 4000 but then saw the 360 and started thinking about it.

Scott,

Since you already have a good siphon-feed model I would opt for the Omni 4000 over the 360 just for the fact that the color cup is big enough to spray just about anything you want.
A correction on my last post: The color cup on the 360 will not hold two eyedropper's full of paint. It actually only holds less than one.

Mike

QUOTE: (Actually the quote is inverted) A correction on my last post: The color cup on the 360 will not hold two eyedropper's full of paint. It actually only holds less than one.

Now that would be a problem. An eyedropper of paint doesn't go very far especially spraying 1/32 scale airplanes.

QUOTE: Since you already have a good siphon-feed model I would opt for the Omni 4000 over the 360 just for the fact that the color cup is big enough to spray just about anything you want.

Not to mention the fact that the 4000 is significantly cheaper than the 360. I think the color cup size is going to be the deciding factor. That's just really not enough paint, and I think I'll probably go with the 4000.

Thanks again for the help.

My pleasure Scott.

The Omni 4000 has a 1/3 oz cup which is fairly big really.

Mike

QUOTE: The Omni 4000 has a 1/3 oz cup which is fairly big really.

Yeah, that's plenty big. I have a 3cc syringe I use for mixing paint, and a bunch of old bottles. I usually mix up 4cc at a time (3cc paint + 1cc thinner) and that's only 0.14 oz. It will go a pretty good distance

Music, I must admit I've never managed to get any where near emptying the colour cup on the 4000 even when spraying entire models, ie primer coat on large 1/72 bombers, so roughly equal in surface area to a 1/32 fighter.

And it's great for detail work as well, like the flap and wheel bays on my 1/72 Fw190!

Karl

Thanks, Karl. That's good to know. IT's amazing how a little paint will go a long way. I have an Omni 3000 that I really like but I want something that is gravity feed for doing camo at low pressure so I'll probably go with a 4000.

He who dies with the most airbrushes wins.

I have a Paasche VL set , a Paasche H set and I also purchased an Aztek POS. I loved the Aztek way it looked in the box. The wood box and the colorful tips really got me. Before I bought it I was having Azek deams. I used the Aztek three times. It's a pain to clean. It's too light. It looks nice though. Look for mine on Ebay. I never use the VL, I can't control it. It was my first airbrush, before I knew better. For our purposes, I recommend a Paasche H set. Easy to clean, easy to control, no problem getting parts. Also, I like bearair.com. hope this helps.

i have 2 aztek's, will soon have a peak c5, badger 100, and some time in the far future, I will have a tamiya trigger type, cm-c, sotar, H&S evolution special edition, colani, hp-a/b/c, hp as/bs/cs, hp ah/bh/ch, eclipse g6, badger 100/150/155/175/200/250/350/360, t&c omni 3000/4000/5000/6000, vega 1000/2000, omni matrix, tamiya hg-sf, revolution cr/bcr, you know, the good stuff. assuming I live to 100 (as if) then I will have to buy 2.2368421052631578947368421052632 airbrushes per year

I see this topic question has been re-born again! My vote for the best airbrsuh for under $100.00 is the Iwata HP-CS. Someone really should make a FAQ for this topic. I'm sure this topic has been asked and answered at least a thousand time by now. When new airbrushes are introduced on the market, one of us can do a Forum review of some sort and post the results to the FAQ. Just an idea, what do you all think? This sure would save alot of redundancy.

Greg Williams
IPMS/ Roscoe Turner Chapter
Indianapolis, IN.

Greg,

That's a good idea, but putting the Iwata HP-CS as the best is not.

Mike

and, we should all know by now that best is relative at best!!! i prefer the hp-c with the .4mm nozzle with the .3mm needle the best for detail work. then, i convert my hp-cs to the .5mm n/n combo for general spraying. i'm all whacked out fellows!!! anyway, my vote goes to the hp-cs when purchasing a new airbrush straight from the factory. later.

Well, it was my opinion, anyway...Mike. Who decides it's a good idea or not is up to the individual modeler I think. There is no right or wrong, definate or, set in stone answer to this very open-ended, subjective topic. All we can do is draw from our collective experiencies on this forum and offer our opinion as to what we individually feel is best. This topic is a bit wierd in that it almost requires each modeler to "qualify" their opinion in hopes to sway or convince other modelers that what we suggest must be absolute fact or that we are some sort of an authority on the whole subject. What...a...crock....of @!#$ and it ain't fair to other unexperienced modelers out there.
There are as most of us know, are a variety of airbrushes out there that are good for airbrushing models and some that are not. A modeler should then research which brands are good for use with our hobby paints and go from there. Compare style,( ie. gravity, bottom-feed, etc..), then decide how much paint you'll generally need to spray for your biggest projects to detirmine cup and bottle sizes needed. Finally; narrow it down to price. When it comes down to it, no one can tell you that your choice is not a good one or not. One modelers Aztek may be as another modelers Iwata. If spitting paint from your mouth to get the airbrsuh effect works for you, and another modeler likes to use say a; "Iwata Super-Dupur Micron Duluxe Tip with the Kung-Fu grip", then... great, if it works for you and your individual modeling needs. Its all subjective and NO ONE can tell you, sway you, convience you, that your airbrush choice isn't the best for YOU.

The same goes for model paints, paint brushes, paint thinners, cleaners, paint additives, paint retarders, airbrush cleaning method, airbrush maintainence, airbrush assessories, etc, etc, etc.

Thats kinda what I had in mind in the way of this topic FAQ.