Airbrush purchase

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, Swissrail said:

I understand what you mean but in my view I don't just want it to do the job, I want it to do a great job. I'm an obsessive perfectionist so buying a lesser tool would simply not give me the results I frankly crave and it would end in my being hacked off at myself for not spending more in the first place. To use the car analogy, a cheaper car like a Daihatsu will do the job of getting you from A to B, but an Audi A6 will do a better job of it.

 

 

As I said if something will get a lot of use, then its worth buying

 

But I remember that in my golfing days just because you have the most expensive item, it does not guarantee in the unskilled hands the finish may not be that good. The statement was " got all the gear, but had no idea (of how to use it !!!  Where as someone with not either the newest or the most expensive clubs could make the ball do what they wanted it to do

 

 

[Swissrail]

The Harder & Steenbeck is a wonderful bit of kit. I've gone from a Humbrol external mix splatter gun when I was a teenager, through an Aerograph Sprite and a Badger 155. The H&S is the best airbrush I've ever owned and by quite a margin too. It produces a finish second to none. It just oozes quality and class...it also looks and feels beautiful.

[Esmedune]

4 hours ago, Foden said:

My previous Audi done a very good job of getting from A - B, when B was the local dealership I bought it from, and A was the back of a recovery vehicle.

 

Back on topic, I’ve been very tempted to grab a H&S infinity to add to my collection, a lot of good reviews from people I listen to.

Oooh, they sexy!

[Foden]

2 minutes ago, Esmedune said:

Oooh, they sexy!

Well that’s what I thought too. Well designed, well made, and looks really nice too.

 

But honestly after my last experience I’d not bother with an Audi again.

[Esmedune]

Just now, Foden said:

Well that’s what I thought too. Well designed, well made, and looks really nice too.

 

But honestly after my last experience I’d not bother with an Audi again.

I'm not a fan of Audi. From back in the 80s, where their adverts were aimed at yuppies to today where if someone is up my backside or undertaking, it is usually an Audi. Plus, the only two Audi drivers I have ever worked with are intolerable, arrogant sociopaths.

[Swissrail]

11 hours ago, Esmedune said:

the only two Audi drivers I have ever worked with are intolerable, arrogant sociopaths.

Lest you think I'm an intolerable, arrogant sociopath, I don't have an Audi...I just think they're nice cars. Mine's a Mini Cooper S

[Esmedune]

On 14/05/2021 at 07:30, Swissrail said:

Lest you think I'm an intolerable, arrogant sociopath, I don't have an Audi...I just think they're nice cars. Mine's a Mini Cooper S

Oh no, you have too good a taste in airbrushes to be a sociopath ;-)

[Swissrail]

I thank you good sir! 

[laurenceb]

Another reason to buy a low cost is to see if you can get on with air brushing. Not everybody can & a quality airbrush is a lot of money for an orniment

[Swissrail]

Not necessarily. If you buy a cheap airbrush (and cheap usually means not very good, particularly if it's a Chinese knockoff) you'll probably find the results are so poor you give up on it. The failure has then become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Buy a decent one and you'll be far more likely to "get on with it". There's nothing inherently difficult about using one. Buy a book on airbrushing and read it thoroughly; I recommend George Dent's "Airbrushing for Railway Modellers" and after that it's simply a case of proficiency coming with practice.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Swissrail

[Philou]

I have both types of airbrush - a 'bottle' type splatter from Lidl plus their compressor and an Iwata. I do also a have a bigger compressor - more in a mo'.

 

The splatter gun I bought to be able to 'learn' as I was recommended the Iwata and as it was expensive and absolutely no knowledge of its use nor any other sort of airbrush, I didn't think I should use it straight out of its box without having some working knowledge.

 

I should also add that some knowledge of colours could be useful as having seen a professional weatherer at work - it's not just browns, greys and blacks, but also yellows, blues and can you believe purple?

 

I have used the bottle gun for just overspraying trackwork in greys and blacks and browns for the rails - the effect needs a lot of work yet. Now to the compressor: As it was a cheapy, the recommended use  was (IIRC) 10 minutes and then 30 minutes rest. I pushed it to its maximum as I was doing a large area of sidings. The thing seized after about 20 minutes due to overheating!! After about 30 minutes it was good to go - so choose a compressor adapted to your intended use.

 

Why didn't I use the bigger compressor? Well, it's noisy, it's heavy despite being quite small, it's oil-filled and care has to be taken in its use so as not to get oil in the air reservoir (it can happen if it's not kept upright) and most importantly the outlet thread does not match the smaller airline threads of Iwata or the bottle gun and at the moment I'm having difficulty in finding a suitable adaptor. The compessor was passed to me so I'm not too bothered at the moment and I have nowhere at the moment to be able to to any airbrushing anyway. I still haven't used the Iwata either!

 

Just my experience to date.

 

Cheers and good luck,

 

Philip

 

As an add-on: I forgot to add that the bigger compressor has an air reservoir so once up to pressure, it will switch itself off and will supply air at a constant pressure. When the reservoir falls below a certain threshold, it'll power up again, so it's not on constantly, whereas the small one was on all the time - another point to consider.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Philou
An add-on

[hayfield]

4 hours ago, Swissrail said:

Not necessarily. If you buy a cheap airbrush (and cheap usually means not very good, particularly if it's a Chinese knockoff) you'll probably find the results are so poor you give up on it. The failure has then become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Buy a decent one and you'll be far more likely to "get on with it". There's nothing inherently difficult about using one. Buy a book on airbrushing and read it thoroughly; I recommend George Dent's "Airbrushing for Railway Modellers" and after that it's simply a case of proficiency coming with practice.

 

Agreed there is a world of difference between cheap and good value, where as for some buying expensive may be a step too far. On the other hand if its something you will use a lot the expensive one may well turn out cheaper in the long term

[laurenceb]

Which is why I said lowcost not cheap! There is a difference

[Mick Bonwick]

14 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

Which is why I said lowcost not cheap! There is a difference

 

No there isn't. They are synonymous.

[rob D2]

All depends on your aspiration .I'm never likely to get anything better than my £80 Chinese thing because I do two tone weathering and am just trying a respray which is three simple colours .

 

Anymore expensive and it bites into the actual model budget too much , so I'm unlikely to do anything requiring super fine spraying 

[Torper]

You can get very competent airbrushes for around the £50/£60 mark.  That's not cheap when compared to airbrushes that can be bought for under £20 - Amazon, for example, has a dual action gravity feed one selling for £12.47 that gets four-star reviews.  But it is cheap when you see airbrushes going for over £200.  I've got a Sparmax Max 3, available from a number of retailers round about £55.  I think it's an excellent brush that will deal very competently with almost everything that most railway modellers will want.  I don't regard it aas a "cheap brush" but I do consider it to be very good value for money.

 

DT

Edited May 30, 2021 by Torper

[Swissrail]

3 hours ago, laurenceb said:

Which is why I said lowcost not cheap! There is a difference

How are they different?