So I bought a cheap airbrush kit

[Rumblestripe]

Just a couple of supporting pictures to let you have a look at "Airbrush 2" in more detail

 

Airbrush 2 shown here on a cutting mat with 1cm square grid and a pound coin shown to give an idea of size

 

A detail shot trying to show the (quite reasonable) quality of finish on the airbrush, this is the paint cup, behind it is the cap for the paint cup.

 

And this is how it fits in the hand of a bloke with fairly large hands (I'm a 6 footer). It sits quite nicely in the hand not too small or fiddly at all.

 

Memo to self - moisturise hands and trim nails

[Jaggzuk]

Thanks Rumblestripe, a really informative and detailed review of the kit and thanks for the added review of the airbrush.

 

I think for the price you cannot do much better, so I am pretty much sold, just need to choose which kit now.

[Rumblestripe]

Right this is going to have LOT of pictures! So I'll keep most of them small.

 

Taking the Airbrush apart (and putting it back together again!)

 

Ultimately you will need to take you airbrush apart to give it a thorough clean. Given the rather "basic"instructions that come with the airbrush I hope you will find it useful to follow me stripping and re-assembling the airbrush.

 

The unsuspecting airbrush, first remove the paint cup.

 

Then the needle protector, which simply unscrews

 

Next remove the nozzle shroud/cap, again simply unscrew

 

Now to remove the needle, remove the plastic handle then loosen the needle locking grip

 

Remove the needle locking grip then carefully pull the needle slowly backwards being careful to draw it straight backwards to make sure that the fine point of the needle does not get bent

 

Remove the Trigger Spring retention doodad (forgive me the techno babble) and the spring and trigger mechanism can be removed

 

With everything in bits (well apart from removing the nozzle which I chickened out of) take the opportunity to apply some lubrication to all the threaded components and any other moving or moveable parts. I was recommended that a thin wipe of "3-In-One" is perfectly acceptable. If you are using enamels it is a good idea to take the needle out and augment the rubber seal with some plumbers teflon tape. I am using acrylics which are much kinder to rubber components so didn't bother, you can always do it later if you find that the seal is failing.

 

Right, reassembly. The first thing to replace is the trigger, this drops into the hole above the air valve, it's fiddly (and I couldn't take a photograph to help you) if you look down into the body of the airbrush you can see the hole you are aiming for. It will take a few attempts as it seems to have a will of its own but once in you can feel the operation of the valve by pressing the trigger downwards and feeling the spring return.

 

Reassembly is pretty much the reverse of the tear-down procedure, so just a couple of pointers

 

1. The "Trigger Guide" is a right fiddly b to get back into place, unless you have fingers like a seamstress you will need a pair of tweezers! Hold the body of the airbrush upright and guide the trigger guide into place...

...keep the airbrush upright and replace the trigger mechanism and spring

Next screw the spring retention doodad into the body of the airbrush, screw it finger tight and then release it by half a turn.

 

Gently feed the needle back into the airbrush, if you feel ANY resistance STOP. Check what you have done, the needle should slide in with gentle sliding resistance, if you force it you may damage the top of the needle, push the needle gently home and then lock in place with the needle locking grip. Replace the plastic handle and then the nozzle shroud and needle cap.

 

And relax!

 

If you can get beyond the annoying presentation, this You Tube video shows you how to do this to a very similar airbrush

 

 

Sorry for the length of this posting and I hope it is useful.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Rumblestripe

[N15class]

Right this is going to have LOT of pictures! So I'll keep most of them small.

 

Taking the Airbrush apart (and putting it back together again!)

 

Ultimately you will need to take you airbrush apart to give it a thorough clean. Given the rather "basic"instructions that come with the airbrush I hope you will find it useful to follow me stripping and re-assembling the airbrush.

 

The unsuspecting airbrush, first remove the paint cup.

 

Then the needle protector, which simply unscrews

 

Next remove the nozzle shroud/cap, again simply unscrew

 

Now to remove the needle, remove the plastic handle then loosen the needle locking grip

 

Remove the needle locking grip then carefully pull the needle slowly backwards being careful to draw it straight backwards to make sure that the fine point of the needle does not get bent

 

Remove the Trigger Spring retention doodad (forgive me the techno babble) and the spring and trigger mechanism can be removed

 

With everything in bits (well apart from removing the needle which I chickened out of) take the opportunity to apply some lubrication to all the threaded components and any other moving or moveable parts. I was recommended that a thin wipe of "3-In-One" is perfectly acceptable. If you are using enamels it is a good idea to take the needle out and augment the rubber seal with some plumbers teflon tape. I am using acrylics which are much kinder to rubber components so didn't bother, you can always do it later if you find that the seal is failing.

 

Right, reassembly. The first thing to replace is the trigger, this drops into the hole above the air valve, it's fiddly (and I couldn't take a photograph to help you) if you look down into the body of the airbrush you can see the hole you are aiming for. It will take a few attempts as it seems to have a will of its own but once in you can feel the operation of the valve by pressing the trigger downwards and feeling the spring return.

 

Reassembly is pretty much the reverse of the tear-down procedure, so just a couple of pointers

 

1. The "Trigger Guide" is a right fiddly b to get back into place, unless you have fingers like a seamstress you will need a pair of tweezers! Hold the body of the airbrush upright and guide the trigger guide into place...

...keep the airbrush upright and replace the trigger mechanism and spring

Next screw the spring retention doodad into the body of the airbrush, screw it finger tight and then release it by half a turn.

 

Gently feed the needle back into the airbrush, if you feel ANY resistance STOP. Check what you have done, the needle should slide in with gentle sliding resistance, if you force it you may damage the top of the needle, push the needle gently home and then lock in place with the needle locking grip. Replace the plastic handle and then the nozzle shroud and needle cap.

 

And relax!

 

If you can get beyond the annoying presentation, this You Tube video shows you how to do this to a very similar airbrush

 

 

Sorry for the length of this posting and I hope it is useful.

It is generally better with any spray gun to remove the needle before the nozzles, as it is lees likely to damage the needle.

[Rumblestripe]

Fair point, you can leave the needle shroud in place if preferred until you have removed the needle, I haven't actually removed the nozzle, but you're right you need to be just as careful with the nozzle as the needle.

[Mick Bonwick]

Consider taking the needle out through the nozzle end of the airbrush so there is no chance of paint being dragged through the airbrush body and sitting there unnoticed until it's too late.

[ColinK]

Many thanks for the words and photos on how to dismantle and reassemble the airbrush. Now I can do mine.

[Quarryscapes]

Out of interest what are the hose fittings on these wee beasties? I've just bought a Neo CN airbrush and plan on getting one of these to power it so I don't have to go down the shed to the big compressor.

[Rumblestripe]

The fittings on the compressor and airbrush are the (as I understand it) standard 1/8in BSP fitting.

[Jaggzuk]

Just to say that I have now bought one of these complete airbrush and compressor kits, but I got mine from http://www.airbrushheaven.co.uk/products/?product_id=667 at what I would say was a fanatic price!  I cannot fault the company that sells these kits, I phoned to check a few things before ordering and the chap that I talked to (Martyn), was very helpful and knowledgeable of the products and was a modelling himself too.  Next day delivery too.

 

 

My kit was short of one item (planned), the cleaning pot, but this will be sent separately when stock comes in from China, (Chinese New Year delays).  This is why the kit is currently shown as out of stock on the website.  But by contacting them directly, they arranged for the kit sent part complete.

 

The two airbrush in the kit will complement my current Badger 200 very nicely.  One of them come with 3 sizes on nib, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5.  One of the bits in the kit that will be very useful is the 3 way hose junction, which will allow three airbrushes to be run at the same time, a bonus for tasks like weathering I think.  The kit also came with a variety of hose converter connectors.

 

I was extremely impressed with just how quiet the compressor is, but then as this is my first, I have little to compare with.  It just sounds very quiet to me and with the the reservoir tank the pump does not stay on all the time.

 

One thing to note if you looking around on the Net, on ebay, Airbrush Heaven (airbrushheavenuk2015) also trades under an older name, that of dmtrading2011, , but the products are the same and all come from Crewe.  Their main website shows all products sold, more than on ebay.

 

 

Again Rumblestripe, thanks for a great review and keep posting your airbrush results.

[ColinK]

I got my budget airbrush, compressor and paint from Finishing Touches at Ally Pally show last year, I'm really pleased with it. It uses glass jars for the paint which I find great for weathering. They are at the Chapel-en-le-Frith show this weekend and I bought another similar airbrush from them for just £18, this time with a paint cup for doing more detailed work. Finishing Touches can be contacted on 0116 278 5134. No connection with them other than as a very happy customer.

[Kelly]

Great post. I've been thinking about getting an airbrush recently and have looked at similar bundles to the one you went for. Good to see its turned out to be rather good value for money

[tractor_37260]

Consider taking the needle out through the nozzle end of the airbrush so there is no chance of paint being dragged through the airbrush body and sitting there unnoticed until it's too late.

 

 

??? That's just not possible with the airbrushes I use, a Badger and Kager, the needles having finely tapered ends, that are a precision fit in the nozzles, can only be removed from the rear. It may be possible to remove from the front, but only AFTER the nozzle assy has been removed, certainly NOT through it.

Edited February 27, 2016 by tractor_37260

[Mick Bonwick]

??? That's just not possible with the airbrushes I use, a Badger and Kager, the needles having finely tapered ends, that are a precision fit in the nozzles, can only be removed from the rear. It may be possible to remove from the front, but only AFTER the nozzle assy has been removed, certainly NOT through it.

 

You're absolutely right. I thought I had implied that the nozzle would have been removed by phrasing it as I did, using the term 'nozzle end'. Obviously not.

[tractor_37260]

You're absolutely right. I thought I had implied that the nozzle would have been removed by phrasing it as I did, using the term 'nozzle end'.

 

Indeed I miss-read your original post...doh !

[Rumblestripe]

Thank you for the positive comments and I hope those that have taken the plunge have as much fun with their new tool/toy as I'm having!

So just by way of a summary here are some pictures of the finished Matilda Tank.

 

 

 

 

The details have been touched in by using a brush. So the various tools are picked out in the required colours, there is a spade and a crow bar, the tracks and spare track links, canvas sheeting etc. Then the decals were applied, standard "waterslide" type. I then applied a thinned overall wash with "Sepia Ink" thinned 1:1 with a water and "W&N Flow Enhancer" mix. Washes seem to be a technique that isn't used often in Railway modelling but it is a very easy and effective technique. By adding the flow enhancer the wash flowed into panel joins and particularly on the exhaust where the wrapping was picked out to great effect.  Once everything had thoroughly dried I got out the airbrush again and applied some muck and rust around the wheels, tracks and underbody. The final colour coat is a unifying dust coat. Again, this is a technique I have not come across in Railway Modelling it is a very simple idea, you simply spray a thin coat of "dust" colour over the top of the model so that it falls, well, like dust. As this is a model of a vehicle from the Western Desert I used a thinned coat of Vallejo "Buff" which is a pale sand colour. For a model set in this country I would use a darker more "browner" shade.

I then finished with a protective coat of varnish. My favourite varnish is Windsor & Newton Acrylic varnish which is applied with a brush and dries to a lovely finish. I like it so much that I haven't even tried to airbrush it as it reliably dries to a nice matt finish when daubed on quite liberally by brush it is very forgiving and no chance of the dreaded "bloom" that can beset sprayed varnish coats.

 

...and I'm pretty pleased with the model, it's not perfect but I didn't really expect it to be! It has been a very useful learning exercise. I'd recommend anyone trying airbrushing for the first time to try something like this or perhaps an aircraft rather than something for the railway it's somehow more relaxing, the thought that it is not part of some greater project I suppose?

 

Pluses for me have been the paints. I've always been a big fan of Vallejo brushing acrylics and to find that the "Air" range is just as good is a big plus. They are used straight from the bottle and also give you a feel for what a paint should "feel" like to put through an airbrush. I know people say the "single pouring cream" thing but until you get some and try it I couldn't visualise that.

 

The airbrush has been of a better quality than I hoped. For the price of a couple of issues of MRJ it is certainly very usable. I think this is probably down to the expansion in markets for airbrushes, they are advertised (and presumably used) for body decoration(!), nail varnishing, craftwork and cake decorating, so I suppose that they are now selling into markets/sectors that they previously weren't so increased sales volume = cheaper? The spray is fine and controllable and I have found no issues with overspray mussing up the work area despite not having a spray booth. Another plus spraying acrylics is that there is no pong to offend the domestic authorities. One thing I did find useful that I wish I'd done at the start is to strip the airbrush down and lightly oil the components before use, it makes the (already quite smooth) trigger action smoother and freer.

 

If there is anything further I can help with I will reply here and maybe update with a something a bit more "Railway-ey" and thanks to those who have helped me along the way.

[Kelly]

That Matilda is great The markets for airbrushes are fairly varied, from model makers/wargamers to body painting to craft and art. Obviously this is a boon for those of us on a budget computer case modders also use them, as do some car and bike customisers (for the file detail, such as ghosted skulls etc).

[Jaggzuk]

Thanks Rumblestripe for the further shots of your tank paint job, looks great.  Also the info on paint washes, dusting and varnishing were useful too.

 

I put my kit together over the weekend and had a play; results are shown here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/106602-family-8x4-oo-layout-track-laying-wiring-commenced/?p=2220679

 

 

 

I also thought I would share a photo of one of the attachments that came with the kit; this is the duel brush holder.  This is fixed by removing the red plastic regulator locking ring and dropping the holder over the top.  One advantage of using this apart from the obvious, is that it partially covers over the three way adaptor, which also came with the kit, thus giving the adaptor a little bit of protection from accidental knocks, as it does stick out quite a bit.

 

One early question I have, which I am sure I may work out over time but I will ask anyway is, on the bottom feed airbrush version, is there a way to limit the flow of paint?  I guess by some form of stop lock to the trigger pull back.  I had a fiddle and could not work it out.  Instructions did not give anything on this.

[K14]

One early question I have, which I am sure I may work out over time but I will ask anyway is, on the bottom feed airbrush version, is there a way to limit the flow of paint? I guess by some form of stop lock to the trigger pull back. I had a fiddle and could not work it out. Instructions did not give anything on this.

Sort of... The conventional method is to have a screw adjuster on the end of the handle that limits the degree to which you can pull back the needle. Yours however has an adjuster that works the other way around. The little screw assembly in front of the trigger allows you to preset the needle position before you start spraying - so that you then just push down for air and paint (with the attendant risk that the first thing that will happen is a big splot).

 

The Badger 100 Side-Feed has the same arrangement. The manual has this to say on it:—

 

When the trigger of the air-brush is depressed (with adjustment screw all the way forward) air is released. As the trigger is drawn back (while still depressed) fluid is released. The further the trigger is pulled back, the larger the volume of paint is sprayed. A fine line or small dot is achieved by working very close to the work surface with the trigger drawn back slightly. A broad pattern is achieved by moving the air-brush away from the work

surface and pulling the trigger all the way back.

 

A trigger adjustment screw (No. 50-043) is located on top of the air-brush in front of the trigger. By turning the adjustment screw in, this pushes the trigger back, you can pre·set the amount of spray. This can also be done when the air-brush is not in use to keep the needle out of the tip when stored. This is the way the unit is shipped from the factory. The proper triggering of the air-brush is down for air movement, back for paint flow, and forward to stop paint flow and up to stop the air.

So basically, you're a bit stuffed there. Two choices - either pick up a bottom feed brush with a tail-stop adjuster or get the hang of a double-action brush. IMO you're better taking the latter approach as it'll pay off in the long run in terms of greater flexibility.

 

There are shedloads of tutorials on YouTube, most of which seem to be either way too advanced for a beginner or badly filmed/scripted (or both). I found this one which covers some of the basic trigger-control techniques:—

 

 

OK it flashes past in a blur & **at first** probably makes no sense. However, with practice, the strokes discussed within it will help you build 'muscle memory' so that controlling the trigger becomes second nature.

 

If you've got this far you're probably thinking "yeah, but all I want to do is spray a wagon, not paint the ******** Sistine Chapel!" & to some extent you'd be right - if all you want to do is lay down large areas of solid colour, then a pre-set handle gun is all you'll ever need. But... what if you want to accentuate the shadows & highlights on some scenery, or run a line of grot around the back of a downpipe, or waft soot-stains on an overbridge? That's when you'll find that the time spent playing around with Dots, Lines, Daggers & Swirly-Whirlys pays off.

 

Pete.

[Quarryscapes]

Those of you searching ebay for AS186 type compressor may well have seen the TC80T at a slightly higher price tag from a seller BARTSHARP, (£80) well they have their own website where you can buy the same compressor for £69, or add an airbrush kit to it and still save money over the ebay price. I've ordered one with a hose to suit my Iwata - we shall see how well things go. They have some very nice looking and very reasonably priced airbrushes too as well as the spares for them. 

[Jaggzuk]

Cheers K14 for the tips.

 

Not to flood this topic with too many videos, but whilst watching the one you linked to, this one was offered as being similar. The guy took things nice and slow and had some great tips. Mind you when he rattles of an eye, you know he's good!

 

 

[K14]

Cheers K14 for the tips.

 

Not to flood this topic with too many videos, but whilst watching the one you linked to, this one was offered as being similar. The guy took things nice and slow and had some great tips. Mind you when he rattles of an eye, you know he's good!

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=wekSe5Qp0Co

 

Thanks for putting that up. The sponge tip & the idea of using a cheap picture frame are priceless. I'm nicking those!

[Quarryscapes]

Just an update, my bartsharp compressor arrived today (should have been yesterday but wasn't in for courier so rescheduled for today). It's a cracking little thing, even came with PTFE tape for sealing up the unions, heartily recommended as a viable option from me - especially as the one in the OP is currently out of stock.

 

Now to find the sweet spot of pressure. 

[Holgate Junction]

Thank you Rumblestripe for this topic. I started reading it a couple of days ago and it made me get off my backside and unbox the similar model I bought a couple of weeks ago from Amazon.ca. I was using the excuse it was still too cold to paint in the garage  but really it was because I wasn't sure how to set it up and get the pressure regulated. This topic, and the post from Jaggzuk about the holder, helped me set it all up and point some paint towards a test piece last night. Everything is looking good so I now need to complete some work worthy of painting.

 

Thanks

 

Matthew

Edited March 3, 2016 by Holgate Junction

[Jaggzuk]

especially as the one in the OP is currently out of stock.

U

 

When I got mine from Airbrush Heaven, I was told that they were running out of some stock items due to Chinese New Year. So I guess with a lot of sites all selling out the same looking compressor that this may be the reason.

 

<edit added web link>

 

Will this might explain things, a very good insight in to the Chinese New Year and factory shutdowns.

 

http://www.thesourcingblog.com/effects-of-the-chinese-new-year-on-manufacturing-part-1/

Edited March 3, 2016 by Jaggzuk