Purchased an Airbrush – Happy times ahead

Posted on Jan 28, 2013

As the title suggests, I have purchased an airbrush and compressor set.

I’ll go through what I’ve purchased, but first I want to go through my reasons for purchasing this.

My Reasons

There are a couple of reasons why I wanted an airbrush for miniature painting, and it is my belief that this is a great investment.

Firstly, I absolutely despise basecoating models using cans outside.
Where I live I dont have a whole lot of outside room and it gets quite windy regularly and unexpectedly, so its a test of my patience to shield from the wing and spray when I think its safe. It also feels like a chore to get a cardboard box ready and prepare it outside, and takes a while to dry and is quite bad smelling.

Next, I’ve tried to make the experience of spraying better by using different brands of spray paint, from GW’s benchmark spray to Army Painter which is very unpredictable and a few others. I feel that I’ve wasted a lot of money doing this as some of the models and finishes have left me very dissapointed in how heavy they go on, messing up all the detail on the models. I’ve spent hours upon hors looking at forums and guides on how to spray correctly and avoid the issues encountered, but I see that so many others have had similar experiences that its disheartened me.

Lastly, I want to achieve a better finish and do it quickly. This is the main reason that I went with sprays to begin with, and why I eventually went to using sprays of varying color. I’d like to establish good even and thin coats quickly and in comfort. Sprays did not deliver this, and cost a lot as a result.

So in conclusion, I’m happy that I purchased this, and feel that I’ll be learning a cool new skill by using an airbrush also.

What I bought
I did lots of research and decided to purchase from this seller:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008BH2Z6G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1HGRE909K6WTV

It was a bit more expensive than other sellers but I discovered its from a real proper Airbrush specialist with a website store called Airbrush Supply Online, so I also ordered a bunch of other things from the same seller which reduced my postage (Shipping to Netherlands). I had a good think and when reading advice from professionals, it was advised that if you’re seriously considering getting into airbrushing, even on a budget, consider seriously that you may need to buy more than just the compressor and airbrush, such as cleaner and thinner (If you don’t want to use water). I purchased these things at once too.

I also emailed them for more details about the Amazon link above, because it was vague as to what was being supplied, and these are the models of compressor and airbrushes that come in the link above. They also responded promptly and with accurate information.

Compressor: AS-186

Airbrush 1: HS-35 (Gravity feed)

Airbrush 2: HS-28 (Bottom feed)

Lastly, I decided I wanted something extra fine as an airbrush once my skills develop a little.
From the same seller I purchased the HS-80 airbrush, which is apparently a straight clone of a £300+ Iwata:

So all in, this kit will set me back ~£120 not including extras I ordered.