Well, its been a tough few weeks. On top of everything else, my wife managed to prang the car (in to a stationary metal gate of all things!) and then i broke my airbrush. In the same day the valve went on my double action brush, i broke the feed on my suction feed single action brush and my compressor packed up! All in all it was a bit of a disaster!
So, I've decided that its time to get a new airbrush. My original airbrush (the one that packed up) was a cheap Chinese clone - it came as a set with a double action, a single action and a compressor in a box for about £50 on eBay. Whilst it was good for learning how to airbrush, I did become annoyed with the amount of time I have spent fixing it since i purchased it a couple of years ago. By the end i would avoid airbrushing things because I would have to spend an hour or so taking the entire thing apart to refit parts that would become stuck or would not clear properly.
Although i've been airbrushing for a few years now, I'm not really "up" on what i should be looking for in an airbrush. I know that I want a double action gravity feed brush, but beyond that I'm at a bit of a loss - so I'm asking about for advice from any experienced airbrushers out there.
I've been looking at the Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH airbrush after seeing it on a modelling video - the MAC valve looks very useful, especially given the amount of Armour that i airbrush. Does anyone have any experience of this brush? The other option that i have looked at is the AB-180 Professional Precision Double Action Airbrush Kit (about half way down the linked page). This looks like a cheaper version of the Iwata brush - its about 1/3 of the cost. But I'm a little worried about buying another cheap "knock" off again! Again, does anyone have experience of this brush?
On to a compressor - here is where i am totally lost! My only real requirements here are that the unit is small and *very* quiet. Given the small space available in the flat and my working hours, I often want to airbrush at night, so a quiet compressor is definitely needed! The two models that i have looked at are the AB-AS176 Finespray Pixie Mini Piston type Compressor and the SilentAire Scorpion IW-C. Both provide about the same pressure levels, although I'm not 100% sure what the CFM scales are about (can anyone advise on this one?). The AB Finespray unit is slightly quieter at 47dB (although they dont specify if this is A weighted), but either should be fine given they are both below 60dB. Can anyone suggest a small, cheap compressor that is quiet that would suit me for occasional armour airbrushing?
It's good to be back. Hopefully i can get some more work done on the Tau base for you guys to see!
2 comments:
i use a paasche VL dual action and it's a reasonable brush.
I'm posting about compressors though. I have a tankless "airbrush" compressor right now and frankly i'm not thrilled. It's a higher pitched noise than my big ole' tool compressor I had previously and i find the "pulsing" i get from the air supply to be distracting. It also doesn't keep it's pressure for long, so i set it for 25psi (for example) and it's down to 15 within seconds because that's all it can put out continually.
So whatever you get, make sure it has a nice big tank and a good regulator. You could get a big enough tank that you can fill it once in a while and then just use the tank gas when noise is an issue. Kinda shoots your "small" requirement out the window though...
Hi Blaise, thanks for the post. I think im gonna be going with the H+S Infinity airbrush. I did look at the Paasche VL, but when i tried it in my local art shop it just felt wrong in my hand - like the balance wasnt right for me. Just a personal thing tho
As for the compressor, I totally understand what you mean about the pressure, thats exactly the problem i used to have with my old one. I'm finding that choosing a compressor that matches my budget and specs is very hard!
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